Big News Made Easy: Dune, Instagram AI, Tiny Cars, Fake Life, and Watches

Dune Part Three: What’s Coming Next?

Imagine a hero named Paul Atreides in a desert world. For the third movie (Part Three), the story will show the big ending of Paul’s journey.

• His “holy war” (a big war fought in the name of his religion) is now happening.
• Political tensions (arguments between groups about who is in charge) are always present and threatening.
• As a fun treat, we get to see actor Robert Pattinson with funny bleached (super light) hair and eyebrows.

This movie will be the end of director Denis Villeneuve’s version of the story. But the movie series only covers the first two books, leaving plenty of room for future filmmakers who want a challenge. The writer is hoping some director out there is eager to bring Leto II (Paul’s son) and his big, weird sandworm body to the giant IMAX screen.

Meta Now Lets Anyone Use Your Instagram Photos in AI Images—Unless You Opt Out

Remember about 10 years ago when older folks (Baby Boomers) would post on Facebook and Instagram saying, “I HEREBY DECLARE I DO NOT GIVE FACEBOOK PERMISSION TO USE MY PHOTOS. SHARE THIS IF YOU AGREE AMEN”? Back then, it seemed a bit silly. But now, maybe my Aunt Peggy was onto something. I can only guess that years of putting a diet shake (SlimFast) in her morning coffee gave her the same future-seeing power (prescience) as Paul Atreides!

Here is what is happening:

• Meta (the company that owns Instagram) made a new tool called “Muse Image.”
• This tool lets people make fake AI pictures using public Instagram accounts as the inspiration.
• As reported by WIRED, someone can type a public profile name into a prompt and use Meta’s AI to make a picture of that person’s face, even if they didn’t say yes.
• Public accounts are automatically included unless you say “no” (opt out).

Important Point: Giving people a tool to use someone else’s face to fulfill fantasies carries obvious right-versus-wrong and law-related risks. It adds another reason to the “I think it’s time to delete all social media” list!

Fiat Topolino EV Brings Tiny Cars to America for Just $13,995

The writer says they spent the whole week dreaming about the Fiat Topolino—imagining wearing a little scarf and big gardening hat, driving to an antique store for ice cream (in this daydream, they live in the South and always eat ice cream and wear scarves). Sounds nice, right? Well, now that Fiat brought this little guy to the US, that dream is closer!

Here are the simple facts about this tiny car:

• Price: Starts at just $13,995.
• Seats: It has room for two people.
• Colors/Styles: Comes in a mint green color (“Verde Vita Mint”) with two model options:
  • Standard Topolino: Has uneven (asymmetrical) doors and a glass roof.
  • Topolino Dolce Vita: Has rope doors and a soft top you can roll back.
• Battery: Can go up to 46 miles on one charge.
• Charging: Takes about 5 hours to charge up.
• Speed: Right now, it tops out at 19 mph.

Important Point: The car is not fully street-legal yet! But Fiat says a “Street Legal Conversion Kit” is expected this Fall. That kit will bring the speed up to 25 mph and allow it to be driven on most roads posted at 35 mph or less. Imagine commuting in this cutie!

Scientists Build Fully Synthetic Life Form That Can Eat and Reproduce

This is both super exciting and a tiny bit terrifying. Scientists at the University of Minnesota announced they created cells from synthetic (man-made), non-living chemical parts. Nicknamed SpudCell, the cell can:

• Grow
• Copy its genome (the instruction book for a cell)
• Divide
• Continue across multiple generations

This brings up the uneasy realization that “being alive” is like a sliding scale. Viruses, for instance, are not usually considered fully alive, but they can copy themselves inside a host. SpudCell is in a similar gray area:

• It acts like a cell in important ways.
• But it relies on outside help to survive—including having tiny building-block machines called ribosomes “fed” to it, because it cannot make these important life pieces on its own.

Even with this catch, this finding could help make medicines, materials, or industrial chemicals (the bioeconomy). Until then, maybe the university can give these scientists a grant for a PR agency—because the name SpudCell could use some work!

Important Point: SpudCell is not fully alive, but it behaves like a cell and could change the future of science and medicine.

Haim Viajero SE: A Watch Made for Travel Lovers

If you know the writer, you know they never stop talking about travel (they still mention studying abroad 16 years ago!). Well, the watch brand Haim made a new collection that seems designed just for them.

The new SE series focuses on the travel theme of the Viajero collection:

• Each has a painted (enamel) watch face with hand-drawn 1600s maps.
• The ring around the watch (bezel) includes three rows of cities and can account for half-hour time zones like Mumbai and Tehran.
• A custom spinning part shaped like Atlas (the rotor) can be seen through the see-through (exhibition) back.

The collection comes in three styles:

1. Antique Cobalt: Dark cobalt blue ring with a full-color map (an extension of the older Air model).
2. Grayscale: Black-and-white with the subtlest bit of blue on the hands and markers.
3. Polyglot (writer’s favorite): Salmon-toned ring that displays each city in its native writing. Since the writer tried (and failed) to learn French, Spanish, Italian, German, Norwegian, Swedish, and Dutch, they might feel like a bit of a fake wearing this one!

Across the collection:

• Each watch comes in a 39.5mm stainless steel case.
• Uses a bracelet with round links like grains of rice (beads-of-rice).
• Powered by the Sellita SW330 automatic movement (a self-winding engine that powers with your wrist movement).

If you’re in Chicago, stop by the Windup Watch Fair going on now and visit Haim’s table to see them in person!

Summary

This week brought a mix of fun and fascinating news! We learned that Dune Part Three will wrap up Paul’s story but leave room for more books. Meta’s new AI tool might use your Instagram photos unless you opt out, so be careful. The cute Fiat Topolino tiny electric car is coming to the US for under $14k. Scientists made an almost-alive “SpudCell” in a lab, and Haim released a beautiful travel watch with old maps. Lots of cool stuff to think about!

FAQ

1. Will there be more Dune movies after Part Three?
Yes! The current series only focuses on the first two novels. Future filmmakers can take on the challenge of later books, like the story of Leto II.

2. If my Instagram is public, can Meta use my photos for AI by default?
Yes. Public accounts are opted in by default with Meta’s Muse Image tool, meaning anyone could use your likeness unless you manually opt out.

3. Can I drive the Fiat Topolino on the highway?
No. It currently tops at 19 mph, and even with the Fall street-legal kit, it will only go 25 mph and be allowed on roads posted at 35 mph or less.

4. Is SpudCell a real living creature?
Not fully. It is made from chemicals in a lab and can grow and divide, but it needs humans to feed it ribosomes from the outside, so it sits in a “gray area” of life.

5. What makes the Haim Viajero SE special for travelers?
It has a map dial, a bezel showing world cities (even tricky half-hour time zones), and a see-through back showing a custom atlas-shaped spinning part.