60 Minutes created an AI version of reporter Jon Wertheim for a segment on how artificial intelligence is impacting the future of work, showcasing the current state of technology. Executive producer Nick Bilton informed viewers not to expect any other AI-generated content in the program.

The generated content was just the studio opening, with the script written by a human. The production team provided a previous opening video of Wertheim along with a new script to the AI company Runway. They reported receiving an AI version of Jon Wertheim five minutes later, which was displayed side by side with the real person on screen.

Bilton expressed his desire to find a way to both showcase and narrate within 60 Minutes. He viewed this as an opportunity to use the technology and let the audience see how far it has advanced. He is a former tech reporter and became the executive producer of the show in June 2026.

The same report included the headquarters of Mercor in San Francisco. CEO Brendan Foody, 23, told Wertheim that they aim to teach AI everything humans hope it can do. The company’s slogan is "Organizing Human Intelligence," utilizing over 100,000 freelancers to train models with human experiences from fields like finance, architecture, and poetry. Examples featured include a winemaker, a music producer, and a doctor training a model to interpret lab results.

According to Axios, Mercor's full-time staff grew from 20 in January 2025 to about 400, with annual revenue increasing from $1 million to $2 billion over 24 months. Foody is reported as a billionaire on paper. The report also highlights the counterpoint: models consuming the internet are still insufficient; human input is necessary for teaching.

This is a demonstration of trust, not a replacement of the production process. The audience, as buyers, wants to see the boundaries of technology, while the suppliers are Runway's video generation and Mercor's human annotation. 60 Minutes exchanged a five-minute opening for visual evidence while immediately reverting the rest of the broadcast content back to human production. Benefiting are Runway, which received national news exposure, and Mercor, which was included in the report. The pressure is on the news program itself, which relies on viewer trust to sell advertisements. Once generated content goes beyond the opening, the audience cannot distinguish who is reporting.

Source: Public Information