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Jamie Lee Curtis Celebrates Meta’s Removal of Fake AI Ad: ‘Shame Has Its Value’

The video showed the «Halloween» legend hawking something she «didn’t authorize, agree to or endorse.»

Jamie Lee Curtis went straight to the top, and it worked.

The legendary star of the «Halloween» movie franchise managed to get an AI-generated ad showing her likeness removed after sending a public message to Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta. The ad had used Curtis’ likeness to promote «some bullshit that I didn’t authorize, agree to or endorse,» Curtis wrote in the DM to Zuckerberg, whose company owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads, among other properties.

The fake AI commercial used footage from an actual interview Curtis did with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle about the deadly Pacific Palisades fires earlier this year. The ad, which had been circulating on Instagram for months, showed a likeness of Curtis advertising a dental product, the Los Angeles Times reported.

In an Instagram post directly addressing Zuckerberg on Monday, Curtis said, «If I have a brand, besides being an actor and author and advocate, it is that I am known for telling the truth and saying it like it is and for having integrity and this (MIS)use of my images (taken from an interview I did with @stephruhle during the fires) with new, fake words put in my mouth, diminishes my opportunities to actually speak my truth.»

A representative for Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Variety reported that Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said the ads violated Meta’s policies «and have been removed.»

Curtis celebrated via Instagram: «IT WORKED! YAY INTERNET! SHAME HAS IT’S VALUE! THANKS ALL WHO CHIMED IN AND HELPED RECTIFY!»

Taylor Swift, Tom Hanks have been victims

The Curtis incident is only the latest in the growing issue of AI being used to hijack celebrities’ likenesses for various purposes. Earlier this year, award-winning actor Scarlett Johansson warned about the «immediate future of humanity at large» after a deepfake video using her likeness went viral. 

Deepfakes are created using audio and visual samples of real people to create realistic-looking photos and videos (see our explainer here). This particular video used the likenesses of Johansson and other Jewish celebs such as Jerry Seinfeld and Drake protesting Kanye West for trying to sell T-shirts featuring the swastika symbol on his Yeezy website.

Another deepfake falsely showed superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes trashing himself after a blowout defeat in the 2025 Super Bowl. One from 2023 falsely showed actor Tom Hanks promoting a dental plan. And during the 2024 presidential election campaign, superstar singer Taylor Swift chastised then-candidate Donald Trump for posting a deepfake that purportedly showed Swift supporting his run for office.

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Google races to put Gemini at the center of Android before Apple’s AI reboot

Google is using its latest Android rollout to position Gemini as the AI layer across phones, Chrome, laptops and cars.

Google is using its latest Android rollout to make Gemini less of a chatbot and more of an operating layer across the phone, browser, car and laptop, just weeks before Apple is expected to show its own Gemini-powered Apple Intelligence reboot at WWDC.
Ahead of its Google I/O developer conference next week, the company previewed a number of Android updates, including AI-powered app automation, a smarter version of Chrome on Android, new tools for creators, a redesigned Android Auto experience, and a sweeping set of new security features.
Alphabet is counting on Gemini to help Google compete directly with OpenAI and Anthropic in the market for artificial intelligence models and services, while also serving as the AI backbone across its expansive portfolio of products, including Android. Meanwhile, Gemini is powering part of Apple’s new AI strategy, giving Google a role in the iPhone maker’s reset even as it races to prove its own version of personal AI on the phone is further along.
Sameer Samat, who oversees Google’s Android ecosystem, told CNBC that Google is rebuilding parts of Android around Gemini Intelligence to help users complete everyday tasks more easily.
“We’re transitioning from an operating system to an intelligence system,” he said.
As part of Tuesday’s announcements. Google said Gemini Intelligence will be able to move across apps, understand what’s on the screen and complete tasks that would normally require a user to jump between multiple services. That means Android is moving beyond the traditional assistant model, where users ask a question and get an answer, and acting more like an agent.
For instance, Google says Gemini can pull relevant information from Gmail, build shopping carts and book reservations. Samat gave the example of asking Gemini to look at the guest list for a barbecue, build a menu, add ingredients to an Instacart list and return for approval before checkout.
A big concern surrounding agentic AI involves software taking action on a user’s behalf without permissions. Samat said Gemini will come back to the user before completing a transaction, adding, “the human is always in the loop.”
Four months after announcing its Gemini deal with Google, Apple is under pressure to show a more capable version of Apple Intelligence, which has been a relative laggard on the market. Apple has long framed privacy, hardware integration and control of the user experience as its advantages.
Google’s Android push is designed to show it can bring AI deeper into the device experience while still giving users control over what Gemini can see, where it can act and when it needs confirmation.
The app automation features will roll out in waves, starting with the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer, before expanding across more Android devices, including watches, cars, glasses and laptops later this year.
The company is also redesigning Android Auto around Gemini, turning the car into another major surface for its assistant. Android Auto is in more than 250 million cars, and Google says the new release includes its biggest maps update in a decade and Gemini-powered help with tasks like ordering dinner while driving.
Alphabet’s AI strategy has been embraced by Wall Street, which has pushed the company’s stock price up more than 140% in the past year, compared to Apple’s roughly 40% gain. Investors now want to see how Gemini can become more central to the products people use every day.
WATCH: Alphabet briefly tops Nvidia after report of $200 billion Anthropic cloud deal

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Waymo recalls 3,800 robotaxis after glitch allowed some vehicles to ‘drive into standing water’

Waymo issued a voluntary recall of about 3,800 of its robotaxis to fix software issues that could allow them to drive into flooded roadways.

Waymo is recalling about 3,800 robotaxis in the U.S. to fix software issues that could allow them to “drive onto a flooded roadway,” according to a letter on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website.
The voluntary recall is for Waymo vehicles that use the company’s fifth and sixth generation automated driving systems (or ADS), the U.S. auto safety regulator said in the letter posted Tuesday.
Waymo autonomous vehicles in Austin, Texas, were seen on camera driving onto a flooded street and stalling, requiring other drivers to navigate around them. It’s the latest example of a safety-related issue for the Alphabet-owned AV unit that’s rapidly bolstering its fleet of vehicles and entering new U.S. markets.
Waymo has drawn criticism for its vehicles failing to yield to school buses in Austin, and for the performance of its vehicles during widespread power outages in San Francisco in December, when robotaxis halted in traffic, causing gridlock.
The company said in a statement on Tuesday that it’s “identified an area of improvement regarding untraversable flooded lanes specific to higher-speed roadways,” and opted to file a “voluntary software recall” with the NHTSA.
“Waymo provides over half a million trips every week in some of the most challenging driving environments across the U.S., and safety is our primary priority,” the company said.
Waymo added that it’s working on “additional software safeguards” and has put “mitigations” in place, limiting where its robotaxis operate during extreme weather, so that they avoid “areas where flash flooding might occur” in periods of intense rain.
WATCH: Waymo launches new autonomous system in Chinese-made vehicle

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