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Connect the World

Monaco Bomb Target Speaks to CNN; Trump: U.S. to Begin "Crushing Economic Operation" on Iran; TikToker Who Posted About Lindsay Clancy's Case Takes the Stand in Her Trial; National Debt Hits Record $40 Trillion; Filmmakers Use AI to Bring Val Kilmer Back to the Big Screen. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired August 20, 2026 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: These are live pictures from the White House. President Trump saying he'll beat Iran by crushing

its economy, but he's already had a defiant response from Tehran. It's 09:00 a.m. in Washington, and it is 02:00 p.m. here in London. Welcome to

the show. I'm Christina Macfarlane, and this is "Connect the World".

Also coming up, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are moving back to Britain later this month. More on the shock royal move. And on the big screen after

death, thanks to AI, the controversial new film with a performance by Val Kilmer, digitally created months after he died.

Now the target of a recent bomb attack in Monaco tells CNN that rogue Ukrainian intelligence agents may have been paid to assassinate him in the

wealthy Mediterranean tax haven. Vadym Yermolaiev survived the powerful blast in June, which also seriously injured his partner and a child.

Speaking in his first television interview since then, he is now calling on the authorities in Kyiv to step up their investigation. Matthew Chance has

this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a super glamorous playground for the super-rich. One of the world's tiniest

nations, Monaco promotes itself as a haven of wealth and tranquility on the picturesque shores of the Mediterranean.

But one evening in June, as a Ukrainian-born businessman walked home with his family, that carefully manicured image of security and calm was

shattered, plunging the principality into violence and chaos.

CHANCE: Well, this is the exact place where the explosion took place. You can still see the impact of the shrapnel, the stucco plaster work here

around the door has all fallen off. And you know if I lift up the tarp here, you can see the marble steps and the brickwork is all shattered.

We've also made contact with the target of the attack, and despite his grave injuries, he's agreed to speak out.

VADYM YERMOLAIEV, BUSINESSMAN: When the explosion went off, I saw my partner Anna lying on the steps with badly injured legs. My son was waving

his bloodied arms, and I had burns across my whole body and was missing pieces of flesh. I'm not a confrontational person. I've always tried to

avoid any sharp conflicts, so I don't understand the reason why this happened.

CHANCE: There's a suggestion in Ukraine, and there are reports in Ukraine that this assassination attempt was linked to your involvement, alleged

involvement in organized crime. How do you answer that?

YERMOLAIEV: I personally have never in my life had anything to do with that. The Monaco police also asked me if my family could be involved, which

was almost funny, as everything I own is already registered to my wife and children.

CHANCE (voice-over): But clearly, someone wanted to send a message. This is the face of the bomber, a 39-year-old single mother from Ukraine,

Anastasiia Berezovska. She even recorded herself planting the device, in what investigators say was part of a complex international plot. They're

still trying to unravel.

CHANCE: Well, these narrow, twisting streets snaking through tiny Monaco are some of the most heavily surveilled anywhere in the world. There are

more than 1400 surveillance cameras, basically watching everything anybody does, and a police officer for every 60 residents of the principality. The

bombing appears to have been carefully planned to bypass all of that tight security.

CHANCE (voice-over): And Monaco's police department is now under intense pressure to understand what went wrong. Multiple theories are being

explored. The police chief admitted, though he refused to elaborate or discuss the glaring connections with Ukraine and its security services.

Within a Kyiv court those connections have become impossible to ignore.

[09:05:00]

Two men, a serving officer with Ukrainian military intelligence and a former security agent, now stand accused of executing Anastasiia Berezovska

and burying the Monaco bomber in a shallow grave after she fled home.

For the Ukrainian authorities fighting a bitter war with Russia, it's a potentially embarrassing link that risks straining relations with its

European backers. Ukrainian military intelligence say the suspects are just criminals. But fueling speculation, Vadym Yermolaiev is sanctioned by

Ukraine for doing business with its Russian enemies, though he's ruling out any link to his bombing.

YERMOLAIEV: I can't imagine it had anything to do with the Ukrainian sanctions against me, because that would mean our state is potentially

engaged in extrajudicial executions, and I just can't believe that.

CHANCE: After the bombing, you accuse the Ukrainian security services of being behind it. Is that still your view?

YERMOLAIEV: That's not just my view; all the facts point to it. But I think this was a contracted hit. Someone privately hired military intelligence

specialists who know how to do this, and they took it on for money.

CHANCE (voice-over): In both Monaco and Kyiv, investigations are now in full swing to uncover the facts, including the possible role of Ukrainian

guns for hire or rogue agents, making one of the world's most glamorous enclaves feel a lot less secure. Matthew Chance, CNN, Monaco.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: At least 16 people have been killed and dozens more wounded in the region of Kyiv in a massive Russian attack that's according to

Ukrainian authorities. It's yet another painful strike exposing Kyiv's dwindling anti-missile defense supplies.

In a recent CNN interview, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine only has 10 percent of the interceptor missiles it urgently needs from the U.S.

and other allies. CNN's Sebastian Shukla has been following the latest from Berlin. So, Seb, this was a massive attack in the early hours of this

morning. What more do we know about the strikes?

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER: Well, what we know is that the strikes have caused extensive damage across the Ukrainian capital, which was largely the

focus here. Our producers in Kyiv have told us that this attack or air raid sirens sounded initially around 06:00 p.m. and continued for many hours.

And that what they heard and what they saw is really catastrophic damage across the entire city. Buildings on fire, smoke rising from all corners of

the city, seemingly shrouding it in that acrid pall of gunpowder smoke.

But what we're seeing here now is just the continuation of what is now a week's long, if not months long, air war between the two nations, because

the Ukrainians, albeit on the receiving end of an attack that we've seen just tonight, have also been launching their own attacks on Moscow and

different parts of Russia too.

This reprisal situation that we're in has being seemingly continues unabated for the time being. 16 people are known to have died so far as a

result of these attacks, which have targeted hospitals, schools, apartments, warehouses, and the emergency services are still trying their

best to recover bodies and recover survivors from the rubble as best they can.

The Russian Ministry of Defense, commenting specifically on last night's attack, have said that they launched a massive strike using high precision

weapons. And what President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said today is that this particular attack have been planned for quite some time.

The usage of ballistic missiles has become one of the major ways that both of these, or that the Russian side is targeting Kyiv and the capital city

and other cities around Ukraine. But the dwindling supplies of Patriot missile interceptors is just the major problem that Ukraine faces right now

in enormous shortages.

You mentioned 10 percent they have of the stock piles that they need, if they do not get those supplies replenished in the short and medium term,

that is going to have a knock-on effect for what happens through the winter.

[09:10:00]

Because if the Russians are able to continue to produce ballistic missiles at the rate that they currently are, then that means that they will have an

overwhelming advantage versus Ukraine's air defense systems, which, as the winter gets colder and as winter draws near and gets colder, we will see

the renewed efforts by Moscow to hit Ukraine's critical infrastructure, plunging it not into colder but also into darkness and just increasing the

misery on Ukrainian people.

It cannot be understated just how vital it is that the U.S. and the Europeans try their best to try to gather as much stockpiling of these

missiles as they can and deliver them to Ukraine. And it's something that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, his aides, his ambassadors, his diplomats

are all trying to negotiate with allies. Please try and deliver us what you can.

The Europeans are saying we're doing everything that we possibly can, but they are a little reticent on their behalf to give over stockpiles that

they have here for want that they won't be able to be resupplied themselves, leaving gaps and potential gaps in their own arsenals, and then

obviously gaps in their own abilities to defend themselves.

In a worst-case scenario, it's a really delicate balancing act at the moment. But both sides are trying to find ways to out maneuver each other

to hit them where it hurts the most. And at the moment, the Russians appear to have a little bit more of an upper hand in being able to target Ukraine,

but the Ukrainians are doing their best on their side too.

It's a real. It's -- this is the real dynamic on the ground right now that we're seeing coming from across the country. And it's one, unfortunately,

that looks to show no signs of abating in the short little while, Chrissy.

MACFARLANE: Yeah. And as you say, without those air defense missiles, it is a bleak picture for Ukraine heading into this winter. Seb Shukla, we

appreciate it. Thank you. And new today, Tehran is firing back after President Donald Trump's threat to impose what he calls the most crushing

economic operation ever taken against our country.

Mr. Trump offered few specifics on the operation, though he also pledged to crack down on allies helping Iran keep its economy afloat. The Iranian

foreign minister calls the U.S. President's latest move a diversion, warning it will only bring further defeat.

CNN's Betsy Klein is covering the latest for us from the White House. So, Betsy, President Trump has now shifted towards economic pressure after many

months of military and diplomatic pressure. Why does the president believe that this strategy may work when military and diplomatic pressure have not?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, it's a great question. But right now, we know that President Trump is making the calculation here

that economic pressure might be able to do what military force just hasn't been able to accomplish throughout the course of this almost six-month long

conflict, and that is to bring Iran in a serious way to the negotiating table.

Iran, for its part, isn't making clear that they are willing to do that at this stage. And we reported earlier this week that the president has

instructed his top envoys, including Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, the vice president, to halt those talks with Iran until officials signal some sort

of fresh willingness to make a deal.

The White House is also communicating to allies privately that there has been a shift in strategy, and that is moving away from this hammer Iran

ASAP, get this done quickly through military force and shifting toward more of a strangle them over time economically strategy.

The president now taking that economic step. He announced in that post to social media, I am announcing the most crushing economic operation ever

taken against any country. This will be economic warfare and isolation on an unprecedented scale. He suggests that there is going to be economic

consequences for any country that provides what he says is any lifeline to Iran.

We're still waiting for more specifics on what that will entail? But he is describing it as an economic D-Day. And Iran, as you said, has shown no

signs that they are on board with this. Experts have suggested that the country is willing to tolerate more economic pain, and the president has

repeatedly said he's not in a rush to end this conflict.

But the pressure is mounting here at home. There is both military pressures. We've been reporting on some of those conditions for the service

members abroad who have really low morale amid some uncertainty about the mission here. There's also political pressure. Gas prices at $4.10 a

gallon.

The president's approval rating at 33 percent, according to a new poll from Reuters. And while the president says that the midterm elections coming up

in just two months aren't really factoring into his thinking here, it is putting that pressure on Republicans who are running in these races, and

that is all going to come to a head in just a few short weeks, Christina.

[09:15:00]

MACFARLANE: Yeah, much to watch here. Betsy Klein, appreciate it. Thank you. Now, Britain's Duke and Duchess of Sussex are planning to move back to

the UK CNN understands. In just a few days from now, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan are leaving the U.S. and relocating to a private home near

London.

Well, the move marks a major shift for the couple, coming six years after they stepped back from royal duties and fell out with other members of the

Royal Family. CNN's Royal Correspondent Max Foster is joining us live from Buckingham Palace. Max, unsurprisingly, this has triggered a fierce

reaction here this morning in the UK. But the big question in all of this is why is this move happening now?

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's a big question. The only thing I've got from someone close to the Sussexes is that they very much

enjoyed their visit to the United Kingdom in July. They came over as a family. They met the King and Queen. The meeting went well.

Presumably, now that they've enrolled their children at school, we know that they were looking at schools at that time. I mean, I haven't got that

on the record, but you'd expect that Meghan and the kids would want to see the school that they're going to. So, at that time, it would have been in

the planning process.

They didn't talk to the King and Queen about it at that time. The King was only told about it on Sunday. Prince William was only told about it on

Sunday, and they were informed that it was happening. It wasn't discussion. So, it's not clear whether they want English schooling for the kids or

sometime in the UK for the kids, or whether something didn't work out in California.

But Harry has spoken about spending more time in the UK, carrying out more engagements relating to his charities. So, we were expecting to see more of

him, but absolutely a surprise, Chrissy, that they were all coming over.

MACFARLANE: Yeah. And I don't know, Max, if you've had a chance, sort of get out and speak to people on the streets? But do you know how the British

public in general are reacting to this, and whether there's going to be support for this move?

FOSTER: Well, it's interesting. We have been out and about asking people. It's very divided, as you can imagine. A lot of people saying that we

shouldn't welcome them back because they deserted the UK. Others saying, you know, Harry was such a great member of the Royal Family; he was a very

effective Royal. Bring him back and welcome him back.

But you know, there's going to be now tension in the Royal Family, and it's true because whilst there has been some reproachment with the King, there

hasn't been any at all with William. And if Harry and Meghan continue with these private engagements that look very much like public engagements in

the UK.

You've effectively got two houses of Windsor operating independently, and there could be clashes of engagements. There could be a split of attention.

Then you have this thing. You remember, Chrissy, before they left the UK all those years ago, there was a very big divide. Are you on Cambridge's

side? Are you on the Sussex's side?

You know, it's been quite welcome to William that that has moved out of the country. For having it coming back into the country is a real challenge to

him. And whether or not he does try to reach out to Harry and Meghan to avoid those clashes, or allows, you know has this continues with this

feeling that Harris really let the family down and staying tough with him. It's a real dilemma, I think, for William in particular.

MACFARLANE: Yeah, there's so many unanswered questions at this moment, but we'll continue to follow it. Max, appreciate it. Thank you. And you are

watching "Connect the World".

Still to come, the rise and fall of a tycoon. China punishes the man who made billions in the real estate boom before it all came crashing down.

Details on that in just a moment. And how the Palestinian Ambassador to the UN responded to Israel acknowledging the tragic killing of five-year-old

Hind Rajab.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:20:00]

MACFARLANE: From one of China's richest men to a prison cell, the founder of what was the country's biggest property developer has been sentenced to

life in prison, according to Chinese state media. Hui Ka Yan pleaded guilty in April to charges including fraud and the misuse of funds, he was the

driving force behind Evergrande, which dominated China's real estate market during years of break net growth.

Towering debts eventually pushed the company over the brink, triggering a countrywide property crisis that still hasn't passed. CNN's Anna Stewart

has been following the story. So, this is quite the fall from grace, Anna. What more do we know about this sentencing?

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, Hui had already pled guilty to some of the charges earlier this year, so that wasn't a huge surprise. But this was

the sentencing, a life in prison, and he's had to forfeit all personal assets. He and the company face multiple charges, including financial

fraud, inflating assets, concealing liabilities, illegally absorbing public deposits, and honestly, the list just goes on.

The company and its subsidiary will also fine more than $2 billion. I don't think we can underestimate, you know, how prominent this company was. It

was really the poster child for China's economic boom, but also the poster child, of course, for what became a real estate crash, and even threatened

China's financial markets.

People today will be questioning, though, that what were the failings of the company and its founder, but also what were the failings systemically?

What was the issue in China that allowed companies like this, because there were others that were able to borrow a huge amount of money, and eventually

there was a big oversupply in housing.

People were buying homes that weren't ever built at this point, so this was a huge issue. At one point, Evergrande had a liability of $300 billion. It

was absolutely massive. So, yeah, many questions to probably never be answered, Chrissy. But not just about this company, which is certainly

feeling the wrath of Beijing today, but also what could have been done differently, perhaps.

MACFARLANE: Yeah, and Hui's rise itself to the peak of Chinese business was, in many ways, the sort of classic rags to riches story. Tell us about

that and what went wrong for him.

STEWART: I know it's a fantastic tale. Born in rural China, raised by his grandmother, I believe he was once a steel technician before founding

Evergrande in 1996. By 2017, he had a net worth of around $45 billion. According to Forbes, he was Asia's richest man.

He was very visible at Communist Party events, so that was a huge embarrassment, of course, for Beijing when it all went wrong. An amazing

rag to rich's tale, but of course, back to rags again now facing a life in prison.

MACFARLANE: All right. Well, Anna Stewart with the latest there. Thank you very much. And let's get you up to speed on some other stories that are on

our radar right now. We are expecting more testimony later today in the murder trial of Duane Davis, the man accused of orchestrating Tupac

Shakur's 1996 killing.

Wednesday, a Former FBI agent said Davis blamed Compton police, allegedly working for Suge Knight for Tupac's death. But a Former LAPD detective

testified that Davis described his own crew carrying out the attack.

The captain of a boat that capsized in New York, killing a baby and her mother, has now been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Police arrested the 46-year-old earlier this month, but a Coast Guard investigation revealed he was also undocumented. He did not enter a plea

during his initial arrest.

A judge has ruled a former psychiatric hospital employee and TikToker who criticized prosecutors and the facility -- at the facility where Lindsay

Clancy was treated will not testify in Clancy's murder trial. The judge said her testimony had limited value because she had not worked there for

some time before Clancy's 2023 Commitment.

[09:25:00]

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian Ambassador to the UN, claims that Israel allotted more than $700 million to quote clean its image. This comes as the

Israeli military acknowledged for the first time it opened fire on a vehicle carrying a five-year-old girl in January 2024. Mansour spoke to CNN

Jim Sciutto about Israel's acknowledgement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RIYAD MANSOUR, PALESTINIAN AMBASSADOR TO UN: The evidence is crystal clear. The names of those who committed this crime is unknown. And what would give

them credibility is to detain those criminals and to begin immediately, you know, a court in order to serve justice for the victims and to give

credibility to accountability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well, a new report finds that 94 percent of Palestinians in Gaza need shelter and basic household assistance. And in the next hour,

I'll be speaking with Shaina Low from the Norwegian Refugee Council, which leads the group that published the report. Stay tuned for that.

You are watching "Connect the World". Still to come, in a few minutes, we will see how U.S. shares react to the Treasury's announcement of a $40

trillion national debt. Just moments before the opening bell today, futures are down, and we will tell you how the U.S. economy is attempting to get a

hold on the economy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: Welcome back. I'm Christina Macfarlane in London, and you are watching "Connect the World". The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are planning a

move back to the UK CNN understands. Prince Harry and Meghan have lived in the U.S. since leaving both Britain and their royal duties back in 2020.

They're expected to remain private citizens and non-working members of the Royal Family upon their return to Britain.

A barrage of missiles struck the region of Kyiv, killing at least 16 people and wounding dozens more that's according to Ukrainian authorities. It's

the latest attack exposing Ukraine's chronic shortage of interceptor missiles.

And several people died when a helicopter carrying tourists crashed in Central Kenya on Wednesday. Five Americans and the head of Ecuador's

intelligence agency are among the dead. An investigation is under way to find out the cause.

[09:30:00]

And we are waiting and watching the opening bell here on Wall Street. And as the U.S. markets open, let's take a look at how they're faring this

Thursday. There, we can see the DOW is down in the red. Investors following the American retail giant Walmart, who posted a strong sales and profits in

the first quarter, helped by a massive $2.9 billion in tariff refunds.

Well, the national debts of the United States this week hit a record, eye- watering $40 trillion on Tuesday. It's a monster number and a grim milestone that has been hit much sooner than the U.S. government expected a

few years ago. Experts say the ever-growing debt will have consequences for the government, business, and the American people for years to come.

But a surprise move on Wednesday by the Treasury Department may provide some breathing room for the bond market. Joining me now with more Senior

Reporter David Goldman live from New York. So, David, just explain to us what the Treasury Department move is meant to do here for the bond market,

and whether or not it will actually help with the national debt.

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: Well, it is helping to lower bond rates, and that's important, which I'll explain in a moment. And you

know, this is just a temporary measure. It can't do this forever. But the government is saying we're going to buy more of our own debt, and that way

it creates more demand for those bonds.

When demand goes higher, then the yield goes lower. I'll explain all of this. So basically, the government, well, it pays for a lot of things, a

lot of social services that people really care about, but it also wanted to do something earlier this year. It wanted to go to war, and so when you

have that, you need to say, well, that's really expensive. I'm going to borrow money, and I'm going to borrow money in the form of bonds.

Bond investors are going to charge an interest rate. So, you know maybe that was around 4 percent before, and they say you know what, there's a lot

of demand for bonds. We're going to make that 5 percent because we're worried about this escalating debt, and so when that happens, the war

raises your gas prices.

The higher yield raises consumer loan prices that are pegged to that higher yield. You have 5 percent now, and the government says, well, wait a

minute. We now have, as you mentioned, $40 trillion in debt just to pay the financing charges, the bond rates on that that amounts to $1.2 trillion

every year.

That means the government is dedicating 19 percent of its total federal budget just to pay the interest on the borrowing that it has to do to

finance all the things, and so what do you do about this? Well, there's a couple decisions you can make. You can raise taxes. Well, no one wants to

do that.

That is not politically viable. The other thing you can do is you can cut some of these services. Which one do you want to get rid of? You want to

get rid of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid? Make cuts into those, and that is what the Trump Administration and the Congress has started to do.

This is why the bond market matters to you, even if you're not invested yourself.

MACFARLANE: Yeah, I mean, none of this reads well for the American people, does it? But what are the impacts of this ever-growing debt hole on the

rest of the world, David?

GOLDMAN: Well, the rest of the world needs to finance that $40 trillion. We in the United States rely on Japan and China and a number of countries in

Europe and elsewhere to invest in the United States. Well, if they're going to be continuing to fund all of this, well, they're going to charge a

higher rate.

Now also, those countries are doing borrowing of their own, and all of this is related. And all of this sends those rates higher too. So, the higher

costs for American consumers, well, those are being echoed around the world. Those are higher costs for European consumers, Asian consumers.

Everyone is paying a little bit more because of all of this escalating debt.

MACFARLANE: It's a bleak picture, David.

GOLDMAN: I'm sorry. Tomorrow's Friday, though. That's good news.

MACFARLANE: Let's look ahead to that. Thank you for now. OK, up next on "Connect the World", an AI generated version of Val Kilmer is set to appear

on the big screen.

[09:35:00]

We'll have more on how they captured his role after he died.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: Welcome back. Late Actor Val Kilmer is set to return to the big screen for the movie "As Deep as the Grave", thanks to generative AI. He

was originally cast in the film before he died last year, but never made it to set.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Answer me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just seeing what you might have left behind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Val Kilmer's family approved of him using AI, an AI younger version of himself, as you see here. And yeah, this is the result. First

Line Films released this new seven-minute clip of the AI-generated performance. Our Tech Reporter Clare Dusky has been following the story. I

find this all rather dystopian. Clare, tell us more about this film.

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: Yeah, Christina, it is really fascinating to see the result of what is really the first film where we are seeing a

real famous actor having their likeness used to create an entire AI character to play a role in the film.

And of course, as you said, Christina, it is important to point out that Val Kilmer had agreed to participate in this film, but filming was delayed

because of COVID. He got sick. He could no longer participate in the filming, and then of course he died last year.

And so, the filmmakers wanted to continue to include him in this part, and working with the family, they created this AI-generated recreation of him.

Now it is kind of wild to see just how realistic this looks. I spoke with Val Kilmer's daughter Mercedes Kilmer for my podcast earlier this year.

And I asked her if it's possible that we will see the AI Val Kilmer in future films by other filmmakers? She told me probably not because this was

a very specific situation. He had agreed to participate in this film. It is set in the American South West, a place that was very important to Val

Kilmer. But take a listen to what she told me about this decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MERCEDES KILMER, VAL KILMER'S DAUGHTER: And it's so specific, and it's a story that he really wanted to tell. I feel very confident, and my brother

as well. Speaking for both of us, we were so close with our dad. And I feel very confident in our ability to steward his legacy and stuff, but not to

make choices for him necessarily.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DUFFY: A question of consent and how families deal with this question about whether or not to recreate loved ones with artificial intelligence after

their death is something that many more people are going to be having to deal with into the future. Very interesting to see these filmmakers trying

to walk a line and responsibly use this technology in a way that still reflects and respects the human performers behind the camera.

[09:40:00]

MACFARLANE: Yeah. And as you've noted, Clare, I mean, his family obviously and his estate agreed to this. But is there a danger that you know this

could start to happen without that kind of close buy in with other actors?

DUFFY: Well, certainly, I mean, there are actors in Hollywood, and I think human consumers who like to consume the art that is made in Hollywood who

are worried that we will start to see completely AI-generated actors who are not based on a real person coming onto our screens.

And what does that mean for the jobs that they might be taking away from human actors? I do think it is also important for human actors and their

families to start having conversations and consider this question of how their likeness might be used after their death.

I do think this is something that every family is probably going to come down in a slightly different place on, but it is an interesting question. I

think it will be very fascinating to watch the reception of this film when it's released, if people are open to watching a movie that includes an AI-

generated actor.

MACFARLANE: Yeah. Not just actors, news anchors perhaps as well. But this is a whole sort of issue, isn't it --

DUFFY: You can replace that.

MACFARLANE: that -- world is yeah. But this speaks to a whole issue, really, is, doesn't it? That the entertainment world is grappling with

here, and whether people need to kind of copyright their image.

DUFFY: Absolutely, yeah, it is a really important question.

MACFARLANE: Well, it's one that we shall continue to debate back and forth. Clare, I look forward to seeing the film. Not quite sure how I'm going to

feel about it. Thank you very much. And that is it for us here at "Connect the World". Do stay tuned. "World Sport" is going to come up after this

quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

END