Netflix uses AI effects for first time to cut costs, Ring denies cameras have been hacked

Netflix says it has used visual effects created by generative artificial intelligence (AI) in one of its original TV shows for the first time. The streaming giant’s co-chief executive Ted Sarandos said AI, which produces videos and images based on prompts, was used to create a scene of a building collapsing in the Argentine science fiction show, The Eternaut. He said the technology allowed the production team to complete sequences faster and at a lower cost. The use of generative AI is controversial in the entertainment industry over concerns it creates content using others’ work without their consent. BBC 

If a TikTok trend has you spooked about your Ring camera’s security, there’s good news — everything is OK and nobody is watching your videos. Over the past 24 hours, videos of a strange problem with Ring cameras have flooded TikTok. The videos make some fairly unsettling claims and urgent warnings. If you check your device history, people say, you may notice a series of logins on May 28, 2025, from devices that aren’t yours. This means that for the past two months, the videos warn, strangers have been accessing your videos….Ring says these claims aren’t true. Neither your account nor Ring itself has been hacked. ZD Net 

Users of ChatGPT will be able to ask an AI agent to find restaurant reservations, go shopping for them and even draw up lists of candidates for job vacancies, as the chatbot gains the powers of a personal assistant from Thursday. ChatGPT agent, launched by Open AI everywhere apart from the EU, not only “thinks” but also acts, the US company said. The agent combines the powers of AI research tools with the ability to take control of web browsers, computer files and software such as spreadsheets and slide decks.

Uber is to start rolling out self-driving taxis next year after striking a deal to take a $300m (£224m) stake in a US electric vehicle maker. The ride-sharing giant has agreed to buy 20,000 vehicles from Lucid Group to operate as a fleet of robotaxis. The Lucid Gravity SUVs, which use technology from robotics company Nuro, will be deployed over a six-year period, starting in a major US city next year. As part of the deal, Uber will take a $300m stake in Lucid, becoming the California-based company’s second-largest investor behind Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. Telegraph

Lawmakers in the US have passed the country’s first major national cryptocurrency legislation. It is a major milestone for the once fringe industry, which has been lobbying Congress over regulation for years and poured millions into last year’s election, backing candidates that included Donald Trump. The bill sets up a regulatory regime for so-called stablecoins, a kind of cryptocurrency backed by assets seen as reliable, such as the dollar. BBC 

There’s going to be a number of changes coming to Apple CarPlay with the arrival of iOS 26, as long as your iPhone is compatible. The headlines were stolen by CarPlay Ultra – the experience that takes over all the screens in your car – but there’s another interesting feature coming to those who won’t get CarPlay Ultra. You could get this feature in just a few weeks too, because Apple previously confirmed that the iOS 26 public beta would land in July – with reputable leaker Mark Gurman suggesting it could be available “around” 23 July. T3.com