On The Up: Blood Diamond on UFC exit, renewed reason for competing ahead of King in the Ring return
The disappointment was clear for the world to see as he awaited the decision at UFC 293 in Sydney; a decision that was going
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NZ Herald
13 hours ago
- NZ Herald
AI influencer Mia Zelu stuns Wimbledon with lifelike Instagram posts
The model, who bills herself as a 'digital storyteller' and 'AI influencer', captioned one picture: 'Still not over the event … but the party's a whole other game.' She asked her thousands of followers, who often leave compliments and answers in her comment section: 'Which Wimbledon match was your fave?' Another post portrayed the tennis influencer watching a match on what appeared to be Centre Court, where A-listers rub shoulders with royalty every summer. The AI-generated model presents a hyper-realistic front, coupled with human-like feelings and thoughts expressed in her captions. Photo / AI-generated Influencers have been more prominent in SW19's star-studded crowd in recent years, with glamorous tennis 'WAG' Morgan Riddle taking centre-stage this month. The partner of Taylor Fritz, the American professional, Riddle championed Wimbledon's sporty chic aesthetic with viral posts across her social media platforms from the courtside. The former model was profiled in Netflix's Break Point series in 2023, in which she became known for her 'tennis-core' chic. The New York Times later dubbed her 'the most famous woman in men's tennis'. Morgan Riddle, partner of Taylor Fritz, the American tennis pro, is a real person. Photo / Getty Images It seems Zelu, whose creator remains unknown, may be aiming to capitalise on the same trend with her picture-perfect, elegant outfits and flowing blonde hair. Despite disclosing the use of AI in her bio, the model was inundated with admirers who took to the platform commenting 'will you marry me' and 'you look stunning'. She even has a brunette 'sister' named Ana, who has amassed 266,000 followers on her own page. In one post, appearing to be at the French Open, Zelu's pictures on court were captioned, arguably misleadingly: 'Pure sunshine and good vibes! Soaking up every bit of this energy … Which photo is your favourite?' Generative AI in the entertainment industry It comes after Netflix said it had used the controversial technology in one of its TV shows for the first time. Ted Sarandos, the streaming giant's co-chief executive, said visual effects were created by generative AI, which produces videos and images based on human-inputted prompts, in one of its original series. It was used to create a scene of a building collapsing in The Eternaut, the Argentine science fiction show. Sarandos said the technology had allowed the show's production to finish the scenes at a lower cost and 10 times faster than if they had used traditional special effects tools. Generative AI could be useful for productions with smaller budgets in the long term, but remains controversial in the entertainment world, however. Politicians and creatives are fighting to protect artists' copyright amid concerns that AI will create content using others' work without their consent. Some of Britain's most prominent artists and musicians have demanded more protections in the last year. They include Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, Billy Ocean, The Clash, Cat Stevens and Hans Zimmer. AI-generated content might prove more difficult to police within the sphere of social media. Meta has introduced an opt-in label for the content, but there have long been fears that AI image tools could be used to create highly convincing 'deepfakes' and images or videos that could help spread disinformation or influence elections. While Zelu might not present an electoral threat, the fake model's plausible captions and hyper-realistic images may have fooled even the most tech-savvy Wimbledon fans.
NZ Herald
15 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Venus Williams, 45, to end 16-month layoff in Washington
Venus Williams will make her return from a 16-month layoff at this week's DC Open, the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion saying on Sunday she is not sure of anything beyond that. The 45-year-old American overcame a serious health scare last year and after enjoying a visit to Wimbledon decided
Otago Daily Times
20 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Scottie Scheffler strolls to Open Championship victory
A relentless Scottie Scheffler sealed his first British Open triumph by four shots as he turned the final day of the tournament into a procession at Royal Portrush on Sunday. The 29-year-old American world number one started out with a four-stroke lead and apart from one mid-round blip, never looked like relinquishing his iron-like grip as the chasing pack were left scrapping for minor places. Scheffler resembled a towering giant amongst men all week on the glorious Causeway Coast, rekindling memories of 15-times major winner Tiger Woods in his pomp, and he rubber-stamped his fourth major title with a clinical final-round 68. After tapping in for his par in front of a packed 18th green grandstand, Scheffler's laser-focus finally cracked and he threw his white cap skywards before hugging caddie Ted Scott and enjoying a tearful embrace with his wife Meredith and son Bennett. "Thanks to the fans for all the support. I know I wasn't the fan favourite today so I appreciate you guys coming out to support, overall it's been a great week," the under-stated Scheffler, the third successive American to win the Open and fourth in five years, said after lifting the Claret Jug. Take the dominant Scheffler out of the equation and the 153rd Open would have been a thriller with the leaderboard underneath him chopping and changing all weekend. In the end, Harris English was the best of the rest on 13 under after a 66 with fellow American Chris Gotterup, winner of last week's Scottish Open, a further shot back. Huge galleries descended on the course all week and thousands arrived on a sunny Sunday hoping to witness a Rory McIlroy miracle. But Northern Ireland's favourite sporting son, who began six shots behind Scheffler, was unable to mount a charge and ended up in a tie for seventh on 10 under along with 2024 champion Xander Schauffele and Scotland's Robert MacIntyre. "I wish I had have been closer to Scottie going into today and been able to make a real push," said McIlroy, who completed his career Grand Slam by winning this year's Masters. "But he's been on a different level all week and he's been on a different level for the last two years to the rest of us." LI TIED FOURTH Li Haotong, the first Chinese man to go out in the final group of a major, finished tied fourth on 11 under with England's Matt Fitzpatrick and American Wyndham Clark. Scheffler has now three legs of his career Grand Slam and needs a US Open crown to complete the set. He is also the first player in more than 100 years to win his first four majors by three strokes or more and the first world number one to win the Open since Tiger Woods in 2006. "When you play against the best they make it look easy and you can't quite figure out whey they are so good," said England's Justin Rose, who finished on seven under. "He is unconventional in some of his technique but the golf ball doesn't lie. He does everything really well and his record with a 54-stroke lead is Tiger-esque." Those thinking or even hoping that Texas-based Scheffler might stumble on a layout featuring holes known as Calamity Corner and Purgatory should probably have known better. On the last nine occasions Scheffler had gone into the final round of a PGA Tour event ahead, he emerged victorious. His three previous major wins also came after a 54-hole lead. A sense of anticipation brewed as the leading groups reached the first tee but when Scheffler birdied the first, fourth and fifth holes to move eight strokes clear the only question seemed to be whether he could eclipse Wood's modern era Open record winning margin of eight strokes at St Andrews in 2000. Even when errors did creep in, he simply rolled in long par-saving putts on the sixth and seventh holes to crush the spirit of those hoping for an unlikely collapse. Only when he double-bogeyed the eighth after failing to get out of a bunker did Scheffler look like a mere mortal, his lead was suddenly sliced to four strokes. But it proved false hope for those pursuing a giant of golf, and a birdie at the ninth and another at the 12th hole steadied the ship. All that needed deciding then was who would come second to golf's undisputed powerhouse.
