Want to send thoughts or suggestions to\u00a0Fortune Tech?\u00a0Drop a line\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sora videos of deceased celebrities spark backlash So_True_Media_1\/OpenAI Sora<\/p>\n As people worldwide explore OpenAI\u2019s new Sora 2 video generation AI model (and mobile app) by turning text prompts and images into videos, various reports suggest that we\u2019re already approaching what\u2019s socially (and legally) acceptable.<\/p>\n Should you be able to put words in a person\u2019s mouth? What if they\u2019re famous? What if they\u2019re no longer living? What if those words\u2014or indeed, actions\u2014are unnatural, unsavory, or hateful?\u00a0<\/p>\n From a policy standpoint, OpenAI prohibits the creation<\/a> of videos depicting living public figures without consent. So-called historical figures are a different story.\u00a0<\/p>\n With Sora, Tupac Shakur is still alive in Cuba, Lisa \u201cLeft Eye\u201d Lopes is moonlighting as a professional wrestler, and Steve Irwin is stabbing the stingray that killed him with its own barb.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not always humorous. Per the Washington Post<\/a>, clips of Malcolm X show the civil rights activist \u201cmaking crude jokes, wrestling with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and talking about defecating on himself.\u201d Yikes.<\/p>\n Unsurprisingly, the families of deceased celebrities caught in the crossfire\u2014those of Malcolm, MLK, Bob Ross, Robin Williams, and others\u2014aren\u2019t loving it.<\/p>\n \u201cPlease, just stop sending me AI videos of Dad,\u201d Zelda Williams, daughter of Robin, wrote last week<\/a> on social media, adding: \u201cIt\u2019s NOT what he\u2019d want.\u201d \u2014AN<\/p>\n Taiwan on China’s new rare earth restrictions: NBD<\/p>\n Each time China tightens trade restrictions on materials and products it dominates, the question returns: What does it mean for tech?<\/p>\n Last Thursday, China substantially expanded controls on rare earth minerals\u2014a category that\u2019s essential for today\u2019s electronic devices, and over which China has a near monopoly globally\u2014ahead of talks between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump.<\/p>\n A big deal, no? According to chipmaking capital (and home to top contract chipmaker TSMC) Taiwan, not so much.<\/p>\n Taiwan’s economy ministry said in a statement that the minerals covered by the new ban are different from those needed by its semiconductor manufacturers. Most of the materials it needs to make those oh-so-hot AI chips are sourced from Europe, the U.S., and Japan.<\/p>\n (That sound you hear is every hyperscaler breathing a sigh of relief.)<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t mean the restrictions won\u2019t hurt elsewhere. The rare earths involved this time around are indeed used in electric vehicles and drones\u2014more pain for two industries already on the tariff struggle bus. \u2014AN<\/p>\n What to expect from Apple smart glasses (so far)<\/p>\n In case you missed it, Apple is reportedly working on smart glasses after its $3,500 \u201cspatial computing\u201d Vision Pro headset underwhelmed in sales.<\/p>\n Cheaper, lighter, dare we say more Meta-like? That appears to be the ticket to mass-market adoption, according to perennial Apple watcher Mark Gurman.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was the right call for Apple to pause work on a lighter, cheaper version of its Vision Pro (something that might have been dubbed the \u201cVision Air\u201d) and refocus its engineers on smart glasses instead,\u201d he writes<\/a>. \u201cThe move fits both the company\u2019s strengths and the broader industry shift toward always-on, AI-powered devices.\u201d<\/p>\n Such a maneuver would mirror similar moves across the industry. (Including at Meta: Connected Ray-Bans appear to be moving far more units than Quest VR headsets.)<\/p>\n Perennial consumer rival Samsung is exploring conventional connected eyewear in partnership with Google (of pioneering \u201cGlass\u201d fame) despite having its own top-tier mixed reality headset in the pipeline.<\/p>\n And credit where credit\u2019s due: Snapchat parent Snap rolled out its Spectacles way back in 2016.<\/p>\n Per Gurman, Apple smart glasses would be \u201clikely to run the Vision Pro\u2019s operating system, visionOS, so all the work on that software isn\u2019t going to waste.\u201d And like iPhones and iPods before them, they would be a bit more fully featured when paired with a Mac. \u2014AN<\/p>\n More tech<\/p>\n \u2014Crypto crash!<\/a> Trump\u2019s threats of an extra 100% tariff on China is believed to have triggered a $19 billion sell-off that began Friday.<\/p>\n \u20145.7 million Qantas records stolen.<\/a> The customer records were pilfered in a July breach.<\/p>\n \u2014The web browser wars are back<\/a>, baby\u2014thanks to AI.<\/p>\n \u2014Dutch gov\u2019t takes control of Nexperia<\/a>. The Chinese-owned chipmaker had \u201cserious governance shortcomings.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014xAI is building world models<\/a>. Elon Musk\u2019s AI firm reportedly seeks to use them in gaming and robotics.<\/p>\n \u2014Word of the day: \u201cCobots.\u201d<\/a> Robots that collaborate with humans are popping up in industrial facilities across the U.S.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/tupac-marilyn-cuba-sora.png\"\/)
<\/a>A frame from one of several Sora clips depicting Tupac Shakur in Cuba.\u00a0<\/p>\n