Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast

Snapshot · Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast

Your Luxury Car Now Has Ads!

Explore episode Aug 7, 2026

Where this was said

CMF Clip Pro Ads: AI Models, Hidden Disclosures, EU Backlash

At 1:17:52 · chapter starts 1:15:55

Marques reports that CMF by Nothing's launch campaign for the Clip Pro open earbuds used fully AI-generated people — disclosed with a barely-readable watermark in light-grey text on a lighter-grey background, in compliance with the EU's new AI Act which came into force just days before. One ad even features AI-generated people photoshopped over stock images with visible cut-out artifacts. Andrew argues this isn't a crazy thing to shoot practically — a girl waking up, a guy climbing — and that CMF is big enough to afford real models. Marques surfaces the structural tension: companies are pressured by investors to adopt AI everywhere, but now they must legally disclose it, putting them in a no-win position where the disclosure itself triggers the backlash. The group debates where the line falls between acceptable AI assistance (removing dust from a product photo) and unacceptable AI replacement (generating entirely fake humans). David predicts the EU labeling requirement will eventually desensitize consumers the way legal disclaimers do today. Marques closes with the observation that MKBHD's own team pre-emptively told viewers their 3-nanometer chip video used real VFX artists — and that disclaimer now reads as a luxury signal.

Technology
CMF's AI Model Ad Campaign Backfired Badly

Your Luxury Car Now Has Ads! · Aug 7, 2026 Technology

CMF by Nothing used fully AI-generated people in ads for the Clip Pro earbuds, disclosing it with near-invisible light-grey text on a lighter-grey background. The EU's new AI Act, which came into force days earlier, legally required the label — and the internet is furious.

Technology
OpenAI Published iMessage Screenshots to Fight Apple's Lawsuit

Your Luxury Car Now Has Ads! · Aug 7, 2026 Technology

OpenAI published a blog post titled 'Apple is Getting This Wrong,' complete with reconstructed iMessage conversations showing Apple's lawyers emailed the wrong person and misrepresented conversations. Publishing details of active litigation in a public blog is almost never done — which is why it's striking.

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