George Clooney has a warning about artificial intelligence, calling it a crisis event for films and journalism. And oh, he tore into the trend of AI reviving dead actors. “I would like to avoid being in a tampon commercial 20 years after I'm dead,” roared the veteran. Norway is thinking about banning smart glasses outright, and it could set the ball rolling for more such measures. The camera-equipped glasses are already not welcome in many public places in the UK, and they’re raising bullying and privacy scares for even high school kids. And finally, Range Rover just priced its first EV at a number that reads more like a down payment on a house. Three separate stories, one nervous thread running through all of them.

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George Clooney warns AI is making truth impossible to verify and roars at Hollywood, too

George Clooney used his appearance at the Venice Film Festival, where he accepted a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, to raise pointed concerns about artificial intelligence and its growing threat to the integrity of information. Speaking to reporters, the actor and filmmaker said deepfake technology and AI-generated content are making it increasingly difficult for journalists, governments, and ordinary people to tell truth from fiction. His core worry is a kind of epistemic poisoning: once fake material becomes convincing enough, it gives bad actors the ability to dismiss genuine evidence as fabricated. He also had choice words for AI in movies, and how numerous dead A-listers have recently been revived with AI in films and live shows. “"I would like to avoid being in a tampon commercial 20 years after I'm dead," he said.

Clooney said he had recently sat down with leading AI developers and came away unpersuaded that current safeguards are keeping pace with how fast the technology is improving. He folded that concern into a broader critique of concentrated media ownership, noting that a handful of the world's wealthiest individuals now control major information platforms, singling out Jeff Bezos's ownership of the Washington Post and Elon Musk's ownership of Twitter as examples worth scrutinizing. He also expressed skepticism about the proposed Paramount acquisition of Warner Bros, arguing that media consolidation typically produces job losses and rarely makes financial sense. Despite the gloomy inventory, Clooney said he still believed that accurate information would ultimately find its way to the public, even as the obstacles in its path keep multiplying.

Four printheads could change what a desktop 3D printer can do
SPONSORED BY LIGHTMAKE

Four printheads could change what a desktop 3D printer can do

Most desktop 3D printers are still limited by a single printhead, even as print speeds continue to improve. LightMake’s L4 takes a more ambitious approach, using four independent printheads to work in parallel and increase output without requiring a larger fleet of machines. For print farms, design studios, and other high-volume users, that could mean faster production, less wasted time, and a more efficient way to scale.

Norway may ban smart glasses over facial recognition and privacy concerns

Norway is moving toward a potential ban on smart glasses and other camera-equipped wearable headsets, with digital minister Karianne Tung citing serious concerns about privacy and the growing integration of artificial intelligence into everyday objects. Devices made by companies like Meta and Snap sit at the center of the debate, or broadly, internet-connected wearables with built-in cameras that critics, and some consumers, have taken to calling "pervert glasses" due to their capacity for covert surveillance. The concern is not hypothetical: facial recognition capabilities are expected to arrive in these products, raising the stakes considerably for civil liberties advocates who argue the technology enables monitoring of ordinary people without their knowledge or consent.

Tung described a clear trend toward combining AI with cameras and microphones embedded in glasses, headphones, hats, and other common objects, warning that the government must act before the technology becomes entrenched in public spaces. A ban on the use of facial recognition against other people in public is one option on the table, and Tung has announced plans to assemble a panel of experts to advise the government on strengthening privacy protections. Norway's deliberations add to a broader international conversation about where the line should be drawn between wearable innovation and the right to move through the world without being recorded or identified, and the outcome of its expert review could influence how other countries approach the same question.

Range Rover's first electric SUV starts at a staggering rate card

Range Rover has unveiled its first-ever electric SUV, arriving a year behind schedule but carrying enormous symbolic weight for Jaguar Land Rover, the Tata Motors-owned British automaker. Built at the brand's historic Solihull plant, its home since 1970, the electric Range Rover starts at £154,070 (or roughly $208,420), placing it firmly in the realm of ultra-luxury vehicles. The company says the car can reach 60mph in 4.3 seconds and has undergone testing equivalent to 38 trips around the world, more than any previous Range Rover model. The launch comes at a meaningful moment for JLR, which has weathered a difficult stretch that included falling profits tied to Donald Trump's tariff policies and supply chain disruption following a serious cyberattack.

To bring the electric model to production, JLR provided extra training to 10,500 staff and leaned on its propulsion manufacturing centre in Wolverhampton, which produces battery packs and electric drive units alongside traditional combustion engines. Managing director Martin Limpert described the vehicle as the result of "a decade of considered engineering and technological development." With the electric Range Rover now confirmed for production, attention will turn to how quickly JLR can scale its electrification ambitions beyond this flagship model and whether the marque can translate the momentum into broader commercial recovery.

Quick Hits

Computing

  • Mac App Store developers can now officially drop Intel support, meaning leaner downloads and yet another sign that Intel Macs are being phased out. (More)

  • HUMAIN's Horizon Ultra AI PC runs on Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 Elite and handles AI tasks locally, only tapping the cloud when extra muscle is needed. (More)

Mobile

  • Google Messages now integrates with Google Keep, letting you create and edit shared notes and lists without ever leaving a conversation. (More)

  • Google's new hardware security alliance aims to make digital IDs on Android phones safer and more widely accepted. (More)

Gaming

  • Mario Kart 8 Deluxe just got a major Switch 2 update adding 8-player split-screen multiplayer and a 96-course VS Race marathon mode. (More)

  • Game Pass Ultimate's September 2026 lineup is off to a slow start, with Cyberpunk 2077 leaving and little arriving to fill the void. (More)

  • LEGO's Haunted Mansion set has dropped to a new low price, and it includes three builds: a mansion, a graveyard, and a haunted train. (More)

Entertainment

  • Onslaught director Adam Wingard is returning to horror after *Godzilla x Kong*, with his new action-packed slasher starring Adria Arjona and Dan Stevens drawing inspiration from John Carpenter classics. (More)

  • A single trailer just outmuscled every movie Netflix served up this week. (More)

  • The Street Fighter movie's new trailer packs in nearly the entire roster, and yes, everyone looks gloriously ridiculous in the best way possible. (More)

AI

  • Claude Sonnet 5.1 and Opus 5.1 arrive with stronger coding and research chops, and Anthropic also slashed cache read pricing for developers by 75%. (More)

  • Apple is accusing OpenAI of destroying evidence in their ongoing legal battle, and is now pushing for expedited discovery after a MacBook belonging to a former employee allegedly contained discussions about destroying files. (More)

Smart Home

  • Roomba's latest robot vacuums pack stronger suction and smarter mopping, with docks designed to handle most of the dirty work automatically. (More)

  • Shelly's first security camera skips mandatory subscription fees, keeping cloud storage optional so you actually own what you buy. (More)

Wearables

  • Huawei’s new Watch D3 brings medical-grade blood pressure monitoring to your wrist (More)

  • Huawei Watch 6 arrives with an all-ceramic build and 18K gold accents, joined by the outdoor-ready Watch GT 7 series and a new pair of affordable ANC earbuds. (More)

Final Bits

New Street Fighter trailer puts Guile in the spotlight

CDC deleted two disputed measles death reports

Razer Prio is a foldable controller that fits in your pocket

No Rest for the Wicked is delayed until 2027

The World Robot Humanoid Games had robots falling everywhere

Japan's Pokéball hotel lets you sleep inside one

Acer's new Predator monitor hits 1,000Hz while keeping full 1080p resolution