For Mike Hill and Guillermo del Toro, it all started with Frankenstein.
Technology
How Frankenstein’s creature designer found a new look for an iconic monster
Years ago, Hill — a sculptor and special effects artist — was exhibiting his works at a convention in Burbank. Del Toro saw some of Hill’s monstrous creations on display and was so impressed that he decided to get in touch, tracking down Hill’s contact info from an obscure model kit forum. “I don’t know how he found me from some 20-year-old website,” says Hill, who describes del Toro’s investigation as “very Columbo-esque” work. “But he wrote to me, told me who he was, and asked to commission something.”
That first commission turned out to be a sculpture of Boris Karloff having his makeup applied for the iconic 1931 version of Frankenstein, and it would go on to be displayed in the director’s famous Bleak House. “Immediately it was Frankenstein,” Hill says, “our very first job together.”
From there, a fruitful relationship blossomed; Hill went on to design creatures for films like Nightmare Alley and The Shape of Water, and the Netflix anthology Cabinet of Curiosities. But when word came out that del Toro was working on his own long-awaited version of Frankenstein, Hill’s phone remained curiously silent. “I was fretting because I knew he was going to do Frankenstein and hadn’t been in touch with me,” Hill tells me. “It was driving me bonkers.” But del Toro hadn’t forgotten about his partner — in fact, it turns out Hill was vital for the project.
“Guillermo invited me for breakfast and he said: ‘Listen, we’re doing Frankenstein. If you’re not doing it, then I’m not doing it, so it depends on you right now. Eat your eggs and tell me at the end of it if we’re doing the movie.’”
Naturally, Hill said yes.
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That version of Frankenstein had a brief run in theaters and will be streaming on Netflix on November 7th. And it was particularly challenging for Hill given how ubiquitous Frankenstein’s creature is. Karloff’s interpretation from Frankenstein in 1931, designed by legendary Universal makeup artist Jack Pierce, is an indelible part of pop culture, and since then there have been hundreds of variations across stage and screen. “It was very difficult trying to come up with something that no one had ever seen,” Hill says.
The design process was a collaborative one between the director and artist. Del Toro didn’t provide explicit instructions, but instead explained what he didn’t want. The creature shouldn’t be hideous, for example, which meant no heavy, ugly stitching. From there Hill created a few options, and spent some time researching 18th-century surgery techniques, before hitting on the final version. “I just wanted to make him of the period, like he was built in the 1800s,” Hill says. “I wanted it to look like a human being had meticulously done this to him.”
This iteration of the creature is tall and lean, with scars covering his entire body to create an almost geometric pattern. This fits with the story of the film, which really digs into the pseudoscientific process that Victor Frankenstein goes through to build this creature and eventually bring him to life. And that contrast between beauty and horror is a key part of the character, according to Hill. “There’s a certain beauty that Victor was striving for,” he says. “He tried to make a beautiful glass window, it just ended up stained and broken.”
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In those early stages, Hill had little to go on. There was no script, nor was anyone cast as the creature. Later, he spent eight months designing prosthetics for an actor who eventually left the project due to a conflict. At that point, del Toro sent Hill a list of potential actors he was considering to take over, and one in particular stood out: Jacob Elordi, who eventually took on the role.
Hill cites “his demeanor, his gangliness, his limbs, his doe-like eyes,” as the reasons Elordi was so perfect as the creature. It helps that the Euphoria star is a towering 6-foot-5 and, according to Hill, has the kind of face that makeup artists dream about. “Jacob’s bone structure made things a lot easier,” he says. “He has this very strong jaw, this very strong chin. Speaking as a prosthetics artist, chins are a pain in the ass.” The final version of the design involved 42 different prosthetics pieces, and when Elordi had to wear the full-body kit, it required around 10 hours in the makeup chair.
One of the most important parts of the final design is how it’s able to evolve over the course of the movie. Initially, the creature is bald and nearly naked, signaling his childlike innocence. But after being abandoned by his creator, he takes on a harder look, eventually growing out his hair and wearing a long cloak. Elordi’s demeanor changes as well; he mostly cowers early on, before being turned into something much more menacing and terrifying. From a design standpoint, all that really changes is the hair and wardrobe; and yet, the transformation is dramatic.
In the end, Frankenstein proved to be an ideal collaboration for Hill and del Toro. The artist tells me that he’s been making monsters since he was a kid, scooping up mud from a nearby riverbank to sculpt them with, and from those early days Mary Shelley’s story was a guiding influence. He went on to create multiple versions of the creature as a professional artist, and is currently working on a short film based on a decade-old sculpture. Just like del Toro, the idea of tackling Frankenstein in his own way was a longtime goal. So while it may have involved a bit of stress waiting for del Toro’s call, it was ultimately worth it.
“I always dreamed that he would make it,” Hill says.
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Valve has some good news and bad news about Steam Controllers. The good news: if you make a reservation for a Steam Controller, the company will now show you one of three estimates of when you’ll be able to actually order your gamepad: by September 2026, by December 2026, or sometime in 2027. The bad news: any reservations made today “indicate a 2027 date for shipping,” Valve says.
“We have no plans to stop making Steam Controller,” according to Valve. “But as we look at the current demand compared to how many we know we can make by the end of the year, we want to manage expectations as much as we can with regards to when folks can expect to receive their order.”
Valve’s very good new Steam Controller went on sale in early May, and the initial rush led some people to run into frustrating problems with trying to check out ahead of the controllers eventually going out of stock. A few days later, the company announced that it would be implementing a reservations queue for interested buyers so they could get on a waitlist. If you’re on the waitlist, when you get notified that a Steam Controller is ready for you to buy, you have 72 hours to actually make the order.
“When we launched Steam Controller last month, we quickly saw that initial demand exceeded our expectations,” Valve says. “Switching to a reservation queue has (hopefully) cut down on the headaches on the customer side, and for us it’s also been helpful as we plan ahead and try to get as many out as quickly as we are able.”
All three of Valve’s big hardware products were delayed from a planned early 2026 launch because of the component crisis, Valve still hasn’t announced when the Steam Machine PC or Steam Frame VR headset might go on sale. However, just yesterday, Valve officially launched its big SteamOS 3.8 update with support for the Steam Machine. It’s also been importing a lot of hardware into the US as of late.
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The next time you pull up to a McDonald’s drive-thru, the voice taking your order may not be human. McDonald’s is testing a new AI-powered system called ArchIQ at five U.S. locations. The company has not said where those restaurants are located. The voice assistant, nicknamed Archy, can take drive-thru orders and has shown it can handle both English and Spanish.
For anyone who has repeated “no pickles” into a speaker box more than once, this could sound helpful. However, if you remember McDonald’s last AI drive-thru experiment, you may also wonder whether your burger order could somehow turn into a bag full of surprise McNuggets.
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WOULD YOU EAT AT A RESTAURANT RUN BY AI?
McDonald’s is testing an AI drive-thru system called ArchIQ at five U.S. restaurants. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
What is McDonald’s AI drive-thru?
ArchIQ is McDonald’s new AI system for restaurants. It can take drive-thru orders and also help with operations behind the scenes.
In a post on X, McFranchisee, an anonymous McDonald’s franchisee account, said the system is currently in five test stores and has processed more than one million transactions. The account also said about 90% of orders were completed without a human stepping in. That number sounds promising. Still, McDonald’s has not confirmed a nationwide launch date. For now, this remains a limited test.
The system also appears to connect with a bigger McDonald’s plan called “McDonald’s > NEXT.” CEO Chris Kempczinski described the strategy as a way to bring in more customers and improve restaurant productivity. The plan also includes menu changes, restaurant redesigns, technology upgrades and more focus on hospitality.
Why McDonald’s is testing AI ordering
Drive-thrus can get chaotic fast. Someone changes an order after the total appears. A child calls out from the back seat. Road noise makes the speaker hard to hear. Then the driver remembers the extra sauce after everything has already gone through. That is the type of pressure McDonald’s wants AI to handle.
If ArchIQ works well, it could help restaurants move cars through the line faster. It may also reduce mistakes during busy hours. Workers could then focus more on preparing food, handling payments and helping customers who need a real person.
ArchIQ also appears to have a management role. In the same X post, McFranchisee described Archy as a tool that could alert managers to bottlenecks or other issues before they slow down operations.
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The AI assistant, nicknamed Archy, can take drive-thru orders and may also help managers spot restaurant slowdowns. (McFranchisee)
McDonald’s tried AI drive-thru ordering before
This new test follows McDonald’s earlier AI drive-thru experiment with IBM. That program involved more than 100 restaurants. McDonald’s ended the test in 2024 after customers complained about order accuracy. Some mistakes also went viral, creating an embarrassing moment for McDonald’s and raising questions about whether the technology was ready for the drive-thru. Customers reported wrong items, strange quantities and other order mix-ups. That history is why this new test will get extra attention.
This time, McDonald’s is working with Google technology. McFranchisee also claimed every McDonald’s in the U.S. is getting Google Edge Cloud hardware in anticipation of the rollout. McDonald’s seems to believe the newer system can perform better than the last one. The real test will come when regular customers use it during real drive-thru rushes.
How McDonald’s AI drive-thru could help customers
If McDonald’s gets this right, the most obvious benefit is speed. An AI ordering system does not get tired during a long shift. It may also help more customers order in the language they prefer. That could make a busy drive-thru feel less frustrating, especially during breakfast or late-night hours.
The system may also ask clearer follow-up questions and catch missing details before the order reaches the kitchen. That would be a win for customers who want to get in, get their food and get on with the day.
The biggest problem with AI drive-thru orders
The biggest concern is accuracy. AI can still misunderstand people. That gets frustrating fast when you are trying to grab lunch between errands or get your kids fed from the back seat. A wrong order wastes time. It also puts workers in the position of fixing a mistake the machine made.
There is also the customer service side. Some people like hearing a real person at the speaker. Others may find an AI voice cold or annoying, especially if the system gets confused.
Then there is the privacy question. If an AI system takes your order, customers may wonder what gets collected, how long it is kept and who can access it. McDonald’s has not publicly explained those specifics for this current ArchIQ test.
ALEXA+ LETS YOU ORDER FOOD LIKE A REAL CONVERSATION
A drive-thru menu board stands outside a McDonald’s restaurant in Hercules, Calif., on Oct. 23, 2024, amid an E. coli outbreak linked to onions in Quarter Pounder sandwiches that has sickened dozens and killed one person across the U.S. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
How to avoid AI drive-thru mistakes
Before you leave the drive-thru, take a moment to check the order screen. Make sure the items match what you said. Listen when the system repeats your order. Keep your receipt until you confirm the food is right.
Also, avoid sharing extra personal details at the speaker box. Your order should only require your food choices and payment.
If the AI gets confused, ask for a crew member. You do not need to keep going back and forth with a machine over fries.
What this means for you
For now, you probably will not notice a change at your local McDonald’s. The ArchIQ test appears limited to five U.S. restaurants, and the company has not said when it could expand.
Still, this gives customers a preview of where fast food may be heading. AI could soon play a bigger role in how restaurants take orders and manage the kitchen. That may speed up the line, though it could also make the experience feel less personal.
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Kurt’s key takeaways
McDonald’s clearly wants AI to play a bigger role in its restaurants. From a business point of view, the idea makes sense. Shorter drive-thru lines could help franchisees and customers. Better restaurant data could also help managers fix problems faster. But I still want the human backup. Food orders can be messy because people are messy. We change our minds. We talk over each other. We forget the extra ketchup until the last second. AI may handle much of that one day. For now, I would treat it like any busy drive-thru interaction. Speak clearly. Check the order. Do not pull away until you know your food is right.
Would you trust an AI voice to take your McDonald’s order, or do you still want a real person on the other end of the speaker? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com
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Midjourney CEO David Holz just showed off the company’s first hardware product and plans to build a San Francisco spa, which he admitted is a bit different from the “cat pictures” produced by its AI image generator. Dubbed The Midjourney Scanner, it’s an ultrasound-based full-body scanner that uses a ring of sensors to capture vertical slices of the inside of your body, looking at the composition of your muscle, fat, bone, and organs to start. Holz said ideally, you could do this once a year or every single day, as it “aims for image quality comparable to MRI in many ways.”
He mentioned that one way he’d like to use it would be to see how his body changes in response to diet and workout changes, saying, “I’m not the most measured man on Earth yet, you know, but maybe I want to have that daily [measurable information].” A set of job listings advertises the company’s goal as trying to “build and launch the world’s first full-body ultrasound CT scanner, ultimately bringing safe, fast, and high fidelity preventative scanning to billions via a magical spa experience.”
The Midjourney Scanner was developed in a partnership with ultrasound tech company Butterfly Network, which said it uses “40 Butterfly Ultrasound-on-Chip imaging modules per system.”
The scanning process starts with stepping onto a platform that drops down into the water on rails through a ring of thousands of transducers that create ultrasonic waves. It then records the ripples passing through your body to analyze them and create detailed 3D images. The scan takes about 60 seconds. Holz said about a dozen people have been scanned so far.
It starts by stepping into a shallow pool of golden light. You then begin to descend into the water. Your body passes through a ring of underwater sensors, each acting like a dolphin, using its echolocation. The sensors send ultrasonic sound waves through your body from every angle. With enough waves, and enough angles, we form an image of what’s happening inside your body.
It combines those sensors with two petaflops of processing power. But after watching the livestreamed reveal, I’m still unclear on what Midjourney’s AI image generation tech exactly has to do with the Midjourney Medical effort, beyond an alternative business for otherwise-unused AI compute.
Holz hopes to put 10 of the scanners into a Midjourney Spa location in San Francisco’s Union Square that will open before the end of 2027 and offered to scan the hands of attendees at its launch event. The Midjourney Spa will have a gym, saunas, and cold plunges to go along with the hot tub–equipped scanning rooms where visitors will get into the water to be scanned.
He did mention that various medical applications would require FDA clearances, but for now, Midjourney Medical says it’s working on “body composition maps” that don’t require the same level of clearance as diagnostic imaging. It also says the “library of scans” users create can be shared with doctors, AI health tools, or others, and that, “We take data privacy seriously — more details on our data policies will come as we get closer to launch.”
Holz suggested that eventually these scans could become better than an MRI, without radiation, powerful magnets, or other complicating factors, to get a look at what’s going on inside people’s bodies “real fast.” In response to a question, he imagined a future where the FDA had a class of devices to look at “weird” things and allowed people to “just try to get as much data as we can.”
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