U.S. actor George Clooney warned on Wednesday (September 2) that advances in artificial intelligence were making it increasingly difficult to distinguish truth from fiction, posing a challenge for journalists, governments and the public.

Speaking at the Venice Film Festival, where he is receiving a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, the actor and filmmaker said deepfake technology and AI-generated content was undermining trust in information.

"It's getting harder and harder for us to discern the truth," Clooney told reporters, adding that the burgeoning technology could make people doubt genuine evidence.

"Worse than that, because you poison the well of saying 'maybe this is true', 'maybe this isn't', then when you see real things that are really true, people are able to say, 'Well, that's fake'," he said.

The two-time Oscar-winner said he had recently met leading AI developers and was unconvinced current safeguards would be enough to keep pace with improvements in the technology.

"Everybody's working furiously at it, and I haven't seen any great strides yet in success," he said, joking that he didn't want to think of his likeness being used after he has gone.

"I would like to avoid being in a tampon commercial 20 years after I'm dead," he said.

The actor, whose political activism has often drawn headlines, linked the AI challenge to wider concerns about journalism, saying media ownership had become concentrated in the hands of a small number of wealthy individuals.

"The richest people in the world right now are owning the Washington Post and Twitter and most of the places we get our information, and that is a concern," he said, referring to Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk respectively.

"The state of journalism is always in flux, always challenged," he said. "But I do believe that information will find its way out."

He also expressed scepticism about Paramount's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros., saying media consolidation often led to job losses and were hard to pull off.

Clooney was in Venice to receive the festival's top career honour after nearly three decades of regular appearances on the Lido, dating back to the premiere of "Out of Sight" in 1998.

Reflecting on receiving the award at 65, Clooney joked that growing older inevitably brought a touch of melancholy.

"Everything is melancholy," he said. "You brush your teeth, you're like, 'Oh, my teeth used to be so much nicer'."

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

George Clooney tells Venice festival that AI threatens film and journalism

VIDEO SHOWS: GEORGE CLOONEY AT HIS VENICE PRESS CONFERENCE, OFFICIAL PHOTOCALL, CLOONEY LEAVING THE LIDO BY BOAT

RESENDING WITH SHOTLIST AND SCRIPT

SHOWS: VENICE, ITALY (SEPTEMBER 2, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. GEORGE CLOONEY WALKS INTO PRESS CONFERENCE AND SITS DOWN

(SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESS CONFERANCE MODERATOR SAYING:

May I have the first question?

ACTOR AND DIRECTOR, GEORGE CLOONEY, SAYING:

"Oh, yeah.

2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR AND DIRECTOR, GEORGE CLOONEY. SAYING:

"We have time for one more question!"

3. WIDE OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE ROOM

4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR AND DIRECTOR, GEORGE CLOONEY, SAYING:

"I think you all know it. And I hope you are aware, as we are, that AI is going to be a very big part of this industry."

5. WHITE FLASH

6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR AND DIRECTOR, GEORGE CLOONEY, SAYING:

"But it's going to get harder and harder and harder for us to discern the truth. And worse than that, because you poison the well of saying 'maybe this is true', 'maybe this isn't', then when you see real things that are really true, people are able to say, 'Well, that's fake'. So, we have always lived in a world where it says, don't believe everything you read. That happened in the 1800s. Don't believe everything you read. It's harder to convince people don't believe everything you see. It's going to get harder and it's going to get harder for you guys doing your job because you're going to say, this is real and you're going to get fooled sometimes, because a lot of good journalists have been fooled at times (inaudible) going to say, 'wow, look at this, and it's not real.' And once you get one wrong, you're disenfranchised. So it's a very complicated moment in time, and we're going to have to find a way to discern this. And everybody's working furiously at it, and I haven't seen any great strides yet in success."

7. WHITE FLASH

8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR AND DIRECTOR, GEORGE CLOONEY, SAYING:

"I would like to avoid being in a tampon commercial 20 years after I'm dead. I would like that. I would like to avoid that."

9. WIDE OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE ROOM

10. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR AND DIRECTOR, GEORGE CLOONEY, SAYING:

"The state of journalism is in question. Obviously, the richest people in the world right now are owning the Washington Post and Twitter and most of the places we get our information, and that is a concern. I think 5 or 6 of the biggest outlets for information are owned by the richest people in the world. That's a concern."

11. WHITE FLASH

12. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR AND DIRECTOR, GEORGE CLOONEY, SAYING:

"The state of journalism is always in flux, always challenged. It was that way in the 1700s. It is that way now. It's a concern for a moment. But I do believe that information is, will find its way out. And I think that's the important part. And that's what you guys do that's so beautiful."

13. WIDE OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE ROOM

14. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR AND DIRECTOR, GEORGE CLOONEY, SAYING:

"The merger is a complicated thing because, I don't know how it works out. I don't know how this goes through. There's so many issues involved. There's a great article that came out a couple of days ago about just the basics on how it works and how much money it's going to cost to make it work. And I don't know how that works. And it doesn't matter how much money you have, it's going to be very tricky to do. So, my opinion on the merger is I always worry whenever big companies are consolidating because it usually means a lot of people lose their jobs. That's the truth."

15. WHITE FLASH

16. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR AND DIRECTOR, GEORGE CLOONEY, SAYING:

"You know, it's, I'm 65 years old, everything is melancholy. You know, literally, you brush your teeth, you're like, 'oh, my teeth used to be so much nicer'. Everything about getting older, you get a little melancholy."

17. WIDE OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE ROOM

VENICE, ITALY (SEPTEMBER 2, 2026) (LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA/RAI - Broadcast: Part must courtesy La Biennale di Venezia/Rai, must not obscure Rai logo, editorial news us only, no more than ninety (90) seconds total of footage can be used per event and no more than three (3) minutes total per day from combined events of La Biennale di Venezia/Rai footage can be used, only to be used for news bulletins and cinema dedicated programmes, no internet usage allowed except for TV broadcasters' own internet news programme sites, no use after 2300gmt on September 24, 2026, no archive and no resales.

Digital: Part must courtesy La Biennale di Venezia/Rai, must not obscure Rai logo, editorial news us only, no more than ninety (90) seconds total of footage can be used per event and no more than three (3) minutes total per day from combined events of La Biennale di Venezia/Rai footage can be used, only to be used for news bulletins and cinema dedicated programmes, no internet usage allowed except for TV broadcasters' own internet news programme sites, no use after 2300gmt on September 24, 2026, at which time all La Biennale di Venezia/Rai content must be removed from digital facing platforms, no archive and no resales.)

18. CLOONEY AT HIS OFFICIAL PHOTOCALL

VENICE, ITALY (SEPTEMBER 2, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

19. VARIOUS OF CLOONEY MEETING FANS OUTSIDE THE PRESS CONFERENCE THEN WALKING TO BOAT

20. FAN WAVING

21. BOAT LEAVING THE LIDO