Clooney warns AI is blurring truth

George Clooney has warned that artificial intelligence is making it dangerously difficult to tell truth from fiction, posing a threat to film, journalism and public trust.

Speaking at the Venice Film Festival, where he received a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, the actor and filmmaker said deepfakes and AI-generated content were undermining confidence in genuine information.

"It's getting harder and harder for us to discern the truth," Clooney told reporters. He cautioned that the technology could lead people to dismiss authentic evidence as fake: "when you see real things that are really true, people are able to say, 'Well, that's fake'."

Clooney, 65, said he had recently met leading AI developers and was unconvinced that current safeguards could keep pace. He predicted AI would take a heavy toll on the industry, potentially eliminating around 30 per cent of jobs, particularly in visual effects. On a lighter note, he quipped that he hoped to "avoid being in a tampon commercial 20 years after I'm dead".

He linked these concerns to journalism, noting that ownership of major outlets had concentrated among a few wealthy individuals, singling out Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. Still, he remained hopeful: "information will find its way out."

Clooney also voiced scepticism about Paramount's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros, warning that consolidation typically costs jobs. "I don't see how it financially ends up making sense," he said, "but we'll see."