AI video commercials are starting to spread, but people won't trust uncanny valley endorsements (www.techradar.com)

Brands are increasingly replacing real shoots with fully AI-generated video ads—cheap, fast pipelines that can re-skin and re-dub talent for multiple markets, plug marketing copy into automated production, and optimize delivery algorithmically. The result: glossy, high‑production spots that never miss a cue or suffer bad weather, and that can be tailored at scale. But viewers are noticing an “uncanny valley” effect—fake smiles, hyper‑perfect interiors and avatars that feel eerily synthetic—and are reacting with distrust, social-media complaints, and lower engagement despite on‑screen AI disclaimers. For the AI/ML community this highlights a major product and ethics inflection point: generative video enables powerful personalization, testing and efficiency gains, but it risks eroding the authenticity that drives human connection and brand loyalty. Technical fixes (better photorealism, lip sync, emotion modeling) may narrow the gap, but the core issue is behavioral: people bond with imperfection. Responsible adoption means using AI to augment human storytelling—not replace it—designing for perceived authenticity, improving disclosure and detection, and measuring downstream brand effects, not just production-cost savings.