George Clooney has revealed the one thing involving artificial intelligence he hopes never happens to him after he dies. The actor touched down on the Lido this week to receive the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the Venice Film Festival. Between celebrating four decades on screen, he faced a lively press conference covering Hollywood mergers, politics, and the future of filmmaking. What followed was equal parts humor and honest unease about where the industry stands.

While Clooney wore the honor well, one question about the future turned his answer from celebratory to unexpectedly personal.

George Clooney gets candid about artificial intelligence and his legacy

George Clooney made his stance on artificial intelligence unmistakably clear during the Venice press event. He spoke about the technology reshaping visual effects and film production, warning that entire departments could vanish as studios lean further into automation. He admitted the exact numbers were still unclear, though he could not help joking about the situation.

“Well, I would like to avoid being in a tampon commercial 20 years after I’m dead,” Clooney joked, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

He then added, “I would like to avoid that.”

During the same Venice press event, Clooney admitted Hollywood seems unprepared for the shift, according to the Hollywood Reporter. He noted the industry remains on the back foot, letting technology dictate the pace instead of shaping its own direction. Visual effects professionals, he suggested, may struggle most as automated tools take over more of that labor. Even so, Clooney balanced the concern with his usual optimism, insisting meaningful conversations around fairness are only just beginning.

As artificial intelligence rattled his nerves, another looming shake-up in Hollywood kept Clooney equally unsettled.

George Clooney weighs in on the Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery merger

George Clooney also addressed the proposed merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery during the Venice press event, questioning whether the deal truly makes financial sense. He described the transaction as a complicated matter and admitted even he does not know how it will play out. Clooney pointed out that having deep pockets does not make such consolidation easy to execute. His hesitation echoed a broader skepticism shared by many industry veterans watching two giants attempt to combine forces.

Clooney emphasized that his real worry around any large consolidation involves the people behind the scenes rather than executives. He explained that companies combining forces typically result in job losses across departments that rarely make headlines. That same unease echoes his broader concern about artificial intelligence replacing human talent throughout Hollywood. Whether mergers or a digital resurrection long after his death, Clooney made clear there is one fate he intends to avoid at any cost.

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