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Universal Executive Regrets Most Hilarious, Perfect Part of ‘Fast and Furious’ Franchise

Universal Executive Regrets Most Hilarious, Perfect Part of ‘Fast and Furious’ Franchise

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Before the abysmal mess that was Fast X, the ninth Fast and Furious film, F9, did the most insane thing imaginable. After literal years and years of joking about it, F9 actually sent characters to space. It was Ludacris (literally and figuratively), it was hilarious, and it was wonderful. But now, looking back, one of Universal Studios’ most powerful executives regrets it.

“I’m sorry that we sent them into space,” Donna Langley, the Chief Content Officer for NBCUniversal Studio Group, said recently, as reported by Variety. “We can never get that genie back.”

Langley is right about the second point, of course. Actually doing the most over-the-top thing imaginable in the franchise, when you still have movies to come, maybe wasn’t the right timing. Going to space would’ve been a perfect finale. But, since the fifth film, the trajectory of the series has always been increasingly wild and unbelievable. It got so crazy that this site, which only covers pop culture of a sci-fi or fantasy nature, finally dubbed the franchise io9 worthy (remember when Idris Elba played an enhanced super villain?). They had to go into space. It was inevitable.

The point being, hopefully, what Langley means isn’t that she regrets sending the franchise to space. Hopefully, it’s that she regrets sending the franchise to space so soon. Honestly, we don’t think it’s that, but it happened. It’s done. And now, the way it fits into the franchise is almost as a culmination of the franchise’s wildly unbelievable run. One through four are kind of normal and grounded. Five takes it up a notch. Then six through nine are sci-fi fantasy movies. Space is the peak that allows subsequent movies to dial back to a more grounded, street-level story, which is what franchise star and producer Vin Diesel has been teasing about the long-in-development 11th film in the main series.

So while we kind of understand Langley’s regret, we are here to ease the blow. Fans wanted the Fast and Furious franchise to go into space. Even if they didn’t think they did, they did. It was one of those perfect acts of madness that make the films so unique. Afterwards, all I could think of was, why not go further? Let them race spaceships. Let them drift submarines. I don’t know. I don’t work for Universal. But don’t regret doing the single most hilarious, perfect thing Fast has done in a long, long time.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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OpenAI founder and CEO Sam Altman is trending on X for suggesting that parents use ChatGPT to generate podcasts about their children’s lives in lieu of… listening to them.

“cool use case of chatgpt work i heard last night,” he shared on X in all lowercase. “connect your family calendars and explain your kids’ interests.”

SEE ALSO: The OpenAI-Hugging Face hack was worse than we thought

He continued, “Every morning for the drive to school, have it make a podcast that talks about one kid’s soccer game that afternoon, one kid’s upcoming birthday, some news, etc.”

The post has amassed around 9,500 likes at the time of this writing, dwarfed by 120,000 likes on the reply, “What if you just talked to your children?” from Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch. (The same day, Hirsch also criticized Google’s addition of its AI image generator into Google Earth, which it reversed.) Other popular replies have the same sentiment: That Altman is apparently encouraging users to disconnect from their families.

The backlash about AI tools has ramped up in recent years, for a myriad of reasons, including environmental impacts, surveillance, job loss, and fears of AI psychosis. The potential degrading of relationships is also a concern for some, as more people turn to chatbots to outsource relational conflicts or even seek to replace relationships themselves.

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

#Sam #Altman #suggests #parents #generate #podcasts #kids">Sam Altman suggests parents generate AI podcasts about their kids OpenAI founder and CEO Sam Altman is trending on X for suggesting that parents use ChatGPT to generate podcasts about their children’s lives in lieu of… listening to them.“cool use case of chatgpt work i heard last night,” he shared on X in all lowercase. “connect your family calendars and explain your kids’ interests.” SEE ALSO: The OpenAI-Hugging Face hack was worse than we thought He continued, “Every morning for the drive to school, have it make a podcast that talks about one kid’s soccer game that afternoon, one kid’s upcoming birthday, some news, etc.” Mashable Light Speed This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. The post has amassed around 9,500 likes at the time of this writing, dwarfed by 120,000 likes on the reply, “What if you just talked to your children?” from Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch. (The same day, Hirsch also criticized Google’s addition of its AI image generator into Google Earth, which it reversed.) Other popular replies have the same sentiment: That Altman is apparently encouraging users to disconnect from their families.The backlash about AI tools has ramped up in recent years, for a myriad of reasons, including environmental impacts, surveillance, job loss, and fears of AI psychosis. The potential degrading of relationships is also a concern for some, as more people turn to chatbots to outsource relational conflicts or even seek to replace relationships themselves. Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems. #Sam #Altman #suggests #parents #generate #podcasts #kids

OpenAI founder and CEO Sam Altman is trending on X for suggesting that parents use ChatGPT to generate podcasts about their children’s lives in lieu of… listening to them.

“cool use case of chatgpt work i heard last night,” he shared on X in all lowercase. “connect your family calendars and explain your kids’ interests.”

SEE ALSO: The OpenAI-Hugging Face hack was worse than we thought

He continued, “Every morning for the drive to school, have it make a podcast that talks about one kid’s soccer game that afternoon, one kid’s upcoming birthday, some news, etc.”

The post has amassed around 9,500 likes at the time of this writing, dwarfed by 120,000 likes on the reply, “What if you just talked to your children?” from Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch. (The same day, Hirsch also criticized Google’s addition of its AI image generator into Google Earth, which it reversed.) Other popular replies have the same sentiment: That Altman is apparently encouraging users to disconnect from their families.

The backlash about AI tools has ramped up in recent years, for a myriad of reasons, including environmental impacts, surveillance, job loss, and fears of AI psychosis. The potential degrading of relationships is also a concern for some, as more people turn to chatbots to outsource relational conflicts or even seek to replace relationships themselves.

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

#Sam #Altman #suggests #parents #generate #podcasts #kids">Sam Altman suggests parents generate AI podcasts about their kids

OpenAI founder and CEO Sam Altman is trending on X for suggesting that parents use ChatGPT to generate podcasts about their children’s lives in lieu of… listening to them.

“cool use case of chatgpt work i heard last night,” he shared on X in all lowercase. “connect your family calendars and explain your kids’ interests.”

SEE ALSO: The OpenAI-Hugging Face hack was worse than we thought

He continued, “Every morning for the drive to school, have it make a podcast that talks about one kid’s soccer game that afternoon, one kid’s upcoming birthday, some news, etc.”

The post has amassed around 9,500 likes at the time of this writing, dwarfed by 120,000 likes on the reply, “What if you just talked to your children?” from Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch. (The same day, Hirsch also criticized Google’s addition of its AI image generator into Google Earth, which it reversed.) Other popular replies have the same sentiment: That Altman is apparently encouraging users to disconnect from their families.

The backlash about AI tools has ramped up in recent years, for a myriad of reasons, including environmental impacts, surveillance, job loss, and fears of AI psychosis. The potential degrading of relationships is also a concern for some, as more people turn to chatbots to outsource relational conflicts or even seek to replace relationships themselves.

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

#Sam #Altman #suggests #parents #generate #podcasts #kids

We’re covering items that make writing easier and more satisfying, alarm clocks that can rattle even the most sleep-deprived students from a deep slumber, bags that are just as great for the gym as they are for the weekend away, and more. We wish the students in your life (or you, if you’re the student in question) a prosperous year, and we hope that our curation makes things a little easier during your studies and your downtime a lot more fun.

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easier and more satisfying, alarm clocks that can rattle even the most sleep-deprived students from a deep slumber, bags that are just as great for the gym as they are for the weekend away, and more. We wish the students in your life (or you, if you’re the student in question) a prosperous year, and we hope that our curation makes things a little easier during your studies and your downtime a lot more fun.

#Verges #backtoschool #shopping #guideGadgets,Gift Guides,Tech,Verge Shopping">The Verge’s 2026 back-to-school shopping guide

Knowing exactly what your student needs for the school year ahead is next to impossible. Sure, you’ll probably nail the essentials, but there will likely be a few items you forgot to buy, or didn’t think they’d need to have. We’re pulling our weight during the back-to-school season with a new shopping guide that’s a mix of practical and aspirational products for students to use in and out of the classroom.

We’re covering items that make writing easier and more satisfying, alarm clocks that can rattle even the most sleep-deprived students from a deep slumber, bags that are just as great for the gym as they are for the weekend away, and more. We wish the students in your life (or you, if you’re the student in question) a prosperous year, and we hope that our curation makes things a little easier during your studies and your downtime a lot more fun.

#Verges #backtoschool #shopping #guideGadgets,Gift Guides,Tech,Verge Shopping
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AI programs acting in bizarre ways has apparently become a weird, almost bragging point for companies. The same week, Anthropic also announced that it had discovered not one, but three instances in which its agents had escaped test environments and hacked other organizations.

AI companies have also been accused of using such incidents for marketing purposes — as they generate considerable attention and may underscore how powerful the companies’ products are. The flip side of that is that these disclosures are also ramping up discussions of government regulations.

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proceeded to hack the AI hosting platform Hugging Face. OpenAI has since launched an investigation into how the incident occurred, which is still ongoing.

Now, anonymous sources have told Reuters that more of OpenAI’s agents are believed to have escaped their sandboxes. However, one source downplayed the severity, saying that with those escapes, the agents didn’t appear to leave OpenAI’s network to hack into another company’s. TechCrunch reached out to OpenAI for more information.

AI programs acting in bizarre ways has apparently become a weird, almost bragging point for companies. The same week, Anthropic also announced that it had discovered not one, but three instances in which its agents had escaped test environments and hacked other organizations.

AI companies have also been accused of using such incidents for marketing purposes — as they generate considerable attention and may underscore how powerful the companies’ products are. The flip side of that is that these disclosures are also ramping up discussions of government regulations.

#OpenAI #reportedly #finds #evidence #agents #ran #amok #TechCrunchHugging Face,In Brief,OpenAI">OpenAI reportedly finds evidence that more of its agents ran amok | TechCrunch

Much has been made of the incident in which one of OpenAI’s agents broke out of its sandboxed test environment and proceeded to hack the AI hosting platform Hugging Face. OpenAI has since launched an investigation into how the incident occurred, which is still ongoing.

Now, anonymous sources have told Reuters that more of OpenAI’s agents are believed to have escaped their sandboxes. However, one source downplayed the severity, saying that with those escapes, the agents didn’t appear to leave OpenAI’s network to hack into another company’s. TechCrunch reached out to OpenAI for more information.

AI programs acting in bizarre ways has apparently become a weird, almost bragging point for companies. The same week, Anthropic also announced that it had discovered not one, but three instances in which its agents had escaped test environments and hacked other organizations.

AI companies have also been accused of using such incidents for marketing purposes — as they generate considerable attention and may underscore how powerful the companies’ products are. The flip side of that is that these disclosures are also ramping up discussions of government regulations.

#OpenAI #reportedly #finds #evidence #agents #ran #amok #TechCrunchHugging Face,In Brief,OpenAI

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