Sept. 9, 2026
Today Apple released the first major design change to its iPhone line in nearly 20 years in the $1,999 iPhone Duo, its first foldable smartphone. It’s not the first foldable smartphone, but reviewers are, predictably, already calling it the best-in-class. So will we begin to see pedestrians in major cities worldwide staring down into their new folding iPhones in the coming months? Time and the economy will tell, but in the meantime, a new video has arrived that ponders the question of what the iPhone has done to human society.
The video is called “The Influencer,” and it depicts Apple co-founder Steve Jobs (who passed away in 2011) emerging from cryogenic slumber to enter the world of 2026 dominated by iPhones. Dressed in his classic black Issey Miyake turtleneck shirt, Levi’s jeans, and New Balance sneakers, a very realistically rendered Steve Jobs exits the cryo chamber hidden on the campus of Apple’s Cupertino, California, headquarters and goes for a walk.
Resurrected Jobs is immediately struck by how many people are using iPhones, and you can see a hint of satisfaction pass across his face. But as he continues to walk around town, he begins to realize that hardly anyone is looking at another person. They’re all glued to their smartphone screens. At one point, strolling in a park, he sees a mother seemingly ignoring her newborn baby to scroll through her iPhone. Pedestrians pass by without ever acknowledging his presence, as they’re completely focused on the screens in their hands. Finally, near the end of his walk, as he ponders the new world while standing on a pier looking out to sea, a couple approaches him. The man hands Jobs a smartphone, asking him to take a photo of the couple. Jobs takes the smartphone, pauses, and then throws it into the ocean, walking away as the man who handed him the phone collapses to his knees, yelling, “Why, man?! I need my phone!”
The video zooms in on Jobs’s face as he smirks while shedding a single tear.
Produced by Los Angeles-based creator Andrew J. Oleck for his GenMagnetic studio, it’s a powerful message, especially as the world greets a totally different iPhone era.
As for how the video was produced, yes, the video is AI-generated. And yes, AI-generated videos that use the likenesses of famous individuals are often, and rightfully, called “AI slop.” But what happens when so-called slop delivers a distinctly critical take on technological innovation? Suddenly, it becomes a bit more difficult to ignore.
Cover: A scene from ‘The Influencer’ via GenMagnetic
