Technology

• Proofpoint observes notable spike in phishing emails targeting Japanese businesses
• The emails are being sent out via a kit called CoGUI
• The researchers attributed the attack to a Chinese-speaking threat actor

Threat actors are flooding Japanese businesses with phishing attacks, and are using a unique phishing kit framework called CoGUI to do it.

Cybersecurity researchers Proofpoint say they have observed a “notable increase” in high-volume Japanese language campaigns using CoGUI in the wild in October 2024, before starting to track it in December of the same year.

“The campaigns typically include a high-volume of messages, with counts ranging from hundreds of thousands to tens of millions per campaign, with an average of approximately 50 campaigns per month campaigned by our researchers,” Proofpoint explained.

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Millions of messages

The campaign peaked in January 2025, when 172 million messages were sent out.

The attackers were mostly pretending to be Amazon, PayPal, or Rakuten, but other brands were abused, as well. Japan was, by far, the most targeted country, but Proofpoint also said that there were victims in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States.

The goal of the campaign was to steal people’s login credentials, and system information. That data includes the geographical location of the IP address, language configuration of the browser, browser type and version, monitor height and width, OS, and the type of device used (mobile, desktop, laptop).

Proofpoint added the kit cannot grab 2FA code, but still described it as “sophisticated”, with advanced evasion techniques such as geofencing, header fencing, and fingerprinting.

These allowed the threat actors to focus on specific geographies, while evading most of today’s security measures.

The researchers attributed the attacks to a Chinese-speaking threat actor that mainly targets Japanese language speakers in Japan.

The best way to defend against these attacks remains the same - to use common sense, and slow down when reading and responding to email messages.

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• Electric bike manufacturer Cowboy is recalling its C4 ST MR Edition
• The voluntary recall is due to a frame problem, after cracks appeared in some models after 2,500km
• Cowboy will provide a replacement frame free of charge

Electric bike manufacturer Cowboy is recalling the MR Edition of its step-through C4 bikes, after identifying an issue with cracks forming in the frame after the bikes have been ridden for an extended period of time.

The Cowboy 4, now named the C4, is on our list of the best electric bikes you can buy in 2025, but some owners of the step-through (ST) MR Edition version of the bike have noticed cracks appearing in the bike's frame, as described in the Reddit post below.

Cowboy has said this is a frame problem that occurs after the bike has been ridden for around 2,500km, stating on its website that "these bikes, welded by one manufacturing partner, may develop fatigue cracks at the joint between the headtube and downtube.

"This issue stems from a production deviation and does not reflect the standards we uphold. As rider safety is our top priority, we are taking proactive measures and have initiated a voluntary recall of the affected frames."

Cowboy will be contacting registered riders likely to be affected, and will be replacing frames free of charge. If you own a C4 ST MR Edition but haven't yet been contacted, you can check if your bike is eligible for recall here.

What happens when a bike is recalled? Do you think I had a lucky escape? from r/cowboybikes

Cowboy has asked users whose bikes are likely to be recalled to not use their bike for the foreseeable future, in case the frame breaks completely while it's being ridden. Or, as one Reddit user put it, "this is some Final Destination level bull****".

Cowboy does have the ability to disable your bike using its anti-theft measures, but it has decided not to do so in this instance – so the onus is on owners to not use their bikes.

Eventually, all owners will be contacted by Cowboy, and their frame will be replaced free of charge.

Cowboy states: "Cowboy is committed to completing each frame replacement as quickly and safely as possible. Bikes with the highest mileage will be given priority, as they carry a higher risk."

Cowboy has committed to replacing all affected frames this year. However, if you've got an affected bike that's relatively low in mileage, you might be waiting a while to get a replacement, so it may be worth looking at our best cheap e-bikes list for a temporary fix.

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• The Sony WH-1000XM6 are expected to launch this month, May 2025
• They're likely to be significantly more expensive than the current model
• Specifications have leaked and now there's a photo too

Sony's latest flagship headphones are leaking all over the place. Over the weekend, The Walkman Blog reported that the Sony WH-1000XM6 were slated for a May release; two days later a listing for the new headphones accidentally appeared on Amazon Spain with some key specifications. And now there's another leak that appears to be a photo, which we've included below.

The news comes via Notebookcheck.net, which spotted that the image (below) had leaked on Reddit. And while it's hardly hi-res, it does show enough detail to corroborate one of the key details of the Amazon Spain link: a return to the foldable hinges of the XM4, which Sony dropped for the WH-1000XM5.

WH-XM6 from r/SonyHeadphones

The lack of a foldable hinge was something we noted in our Sony WH-1000XM5 review, which concluded that this makes them "a bit large when it comes to storing them away" and that if you wanted a "truly on-the-go pair of headphones" you should consider Sony's WF-1000XM4 in-ears (now succeeded by the WF-1000XM5, and perhaps one day this year by the XM6s) as an alternative.

Well, it seems the incoming WH-1000XM6 flagships could again offer a more travel-friendly design than their predecessors, alongside some other new features...

Sony WH-1000XM6: what we know so far

The Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones could bring back some foldable hinges like the ones last seen in the XM4 model (above). (Image credit: Aakash Jhaveri)

The Amazon leak included a price of €470 including tax; without, it's about €439. That's roughly $499 / £439 / AU$770, which tracks: rumors suggested we'd see a price hike with this new version. The current model launched at $399 / £380 / AU$649.

The Amazon listing detailed a new QN3 processor, more microphones for the noise cancellation and a new magnetic case. It also listed a 10-band equalizer, 30-hour battery life and 30mm drivers – smaller than the ones in the XM5. The listing also promises 360-degree audio upmixing to create surround sound.

The marketing text from the Amazon listing, as screenshotted by The Walkman Blog, also includes some handy details. We can apparently expect that "new HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN3 and 12 microphones", a "new headband" that's "even more comfortable and secure than the previous model" and "six Al-powered microphones" that use Al noise reduction to filter out unwanted sounds.

So while the rumored price rise isn't great news, it sounds like the Sony WH-1000XM6 could still deliver some worthy upgrades – and we should hear about them all officially during their launch this month.

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• Security researchers have seen a bug in Samsung MagicINFO 9 Server abused in the wild
• It is being used to deploy malware
• The bug was fixed in August 2024, so users should patch now

Cybercriminals are abusing a vulnerability in Samsung MagicINFO 9 Server that was patched almost a year ago.

Cybersecurity researchers SSD-Disclosure published an in-depth analysis and a proof-of-concept (PoC) of the threat against the company's digital signage content management system (CMS).

It is used to manage, schedule, and monitor multimedia content across Samsung smart displays, and is a popular solution in different industries such as retail, or transportation.

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It uses zero-knowledge encryption and offers features like two-factor authentication, dark web monitoring, secure file storage, and breach alerts to protect against cyber threats.

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PoC and abuse

In August 2024, Samsung announced fixing a remote code execution vulnerability. It described it as an “improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory vulnerability allowing attackers to write arbitrary files as system authority”. It was tracked as CVE-2024-7399, and was given a severity score of 8.8/10 (high).

BleepingComputer described it as an ability to upload malware through a file upload functionality intended for updating display content. Samsung addressed it in version 21.1050.

Despite being fixed almost a year ago, threat actors are finding unpathed endpoints to target. SSD-Disclosure said attackers are uploading malicious .jsp files via an unauthenticated POST request.

In addition, security firm Arctic Wolf noted how, several days after the PoC was released, it observed the flaw being leveraged in attacks.

"Given the low barrier to exploitation and the availability of a public PoC, threat actors are likely to continue targeting this vulnerability," the researchers said.

We don’t know how successful these attacks are, who the threat actors are, or how many organizations fell victim. We also don’t know if the threat actors are focusing on any specific industry, or if they are simply casting a wide net.

In any case, organizations using Samsung MagicINFO 9 Server are advised to apply the latest patch, or at least bring their software to version 21.1050 to mitigate the risks.

Via BleepingComputer

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• One UI 8 should bring new features to the Now Bar
• The software may also fix a problem with the Secure Folder
• One UI 8 assets for watches have also leaked

With One UI 7 (based on Android 15) only just making its way out to older Galaxy handsets, Samsung is already prepping One UI 8 (based on Android 16) – and there are some key upgrades in the pipeline for both phones and watches.

We know that Google is planning to push out Android 16 very soon, ahead of the Pixel 10 phones, and it looks as though Samsung is keen to catch up. There have been rumors that One UI 8 could launch with the next Galaxy foldables sometime in July.

Let's start with the Now Bar, the dynamic lock-screen widget added in One UI 7. As per @Topraks9plus on social media (via 9to5Google), the One UI 8 version of the widget will add the ability to show phone calls and 'do not disturb' modes.

Both would be useful additions. Right now, the Now Bar can show live updates from apps such as Samsung Health and Google Maps, but the more information that's available on the lock screen the better.

Phones and watches

Updates are also on the way for the Galaxy Watch 7 (Image credit: Samsung)

Separately, a social post from @DevOfIpos (via Android Authority) suggests the Secure Folder in One UI 8 will be based on the Private Space feature in Android 15. This would be a small change, but it would fix one of the few privacy issues with Secure Folder.

Right now, the apps and files in Secure Folder can be exposed in certain scenarios. Samsung hasn't publicly acknowledged the problem, but it seems it might be about to fix it.

We've also seen assets for One UI 8 Watch leaked, again leaked by @DevOfIpos (via SamMobile). There are new system sounds, refined app icons, and more hints that Gemini will soon be appearing on Galaxy Watch devices.

Samsung hasn't yet updated any of its Galaxy Watches to One UI 7, and it looks almost certain that wearables like the Galaxy Watch 7 will jump directly to One UI 8 instead. We can expect more leaks in the near future, and hopefully some official news fairly soon too.

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• Screen Time is set to gain new parental controls in iOS 18.5
• Other changes include tweaks to Mail, Settings, and more
• iOS 18.5 is expected to launch as soon as next week

Apple is on the brink of releasing the iOS 18.5 update, and it’ll come with a bunch of useful new features that could enhance all the best iPhones when it arrives. And judging by Apple’s release notes for the update, there’s a particularly useful change coming to Screen Time.

According to Apple, parents will soon be notified when their Screen Time passcode has been successfully entered into a child’s device. That should immediately let parents know that their offspring have found a way past the restrictions on their device.

Screen Time can be used to limit how long a person spends in a specified app, block inappropriate content, and confine device access to predefined times. If a child finds a way around these restrictions, they might be able to change or disable them.

Parents will also be able to get similar notifications in macOS once they’ve installed the macOS 15.5 update. The release candidate builds of both iOS 18.5 and macOS 15.5 were released yesterday, with the full versions expected to be launched next week.

More changes coming to iOS 18.5

(Image credit: Future)

Improved parental controls are not the only changes coming to Apple’s next operating system updates. There are minor tweaks like Apple bundling a new Pride Harmony wallpaper to support LGBT rights, but some wider changes are coming too.

The Mail app now has options to show or hide contact photos in your inbox, while you can also disable the Group by Sender view. In the Settings app, meanwhile, it’s now easier to view your AppleCare+ information and find out more about the service. These updates were previously spotted in the iOS 18.5 beta in early April.

The changes aren’t just focused on the latest iPhones. Users of the iPhone 13 will also benefit, with carrier-provided satellite services available to all models in the iPhone 13 range. That doesn’t refer to Apple’s own satellite services – like Emergency SOS via Satellite – but rather those provided by carriers, such as T-Mobile’s collaboration with Starlink.

With iOS 18.5 on the brink of launching to the public, it won’t be long until everyone will be able to try out these new features. That should set us up nicely for Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, where iOS 19 is expected to be unveiled to the world.

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• ServiceNow is adding agentic AI to its CRM platform
• The company criticized the market for being "outdated" and "overbuilt"
• AI agents promise contextually-aware resolutions for happier customers

ServiceNow is looking to take on industry giant Salesforce with its next-generation CRM platform, enhanced with agentic AI, in a bid to help significantly improve efficiency across the board.

ServiceNow's agents will connect with third-party tools and systems using open source protocols like Google's A2A and Anthropic's MCP to make the platform even more powerful.

Referring to the CRM industry as one, "dominated by outdated, overbuilt systems," the company says its updated platform will enable it to make better use of data that was previously siloed, such as "spreadsheets, shared inboxes, and human middleware."

ServiceNow criticizes CRMs

In a press release, the company revealed CRM is its fastest-growing workflow, reaching $1.4 billion in annual contract value and growing 30% year-over-year. In fiscal 2024, the company made $10.98 billion in revenue, marking a healthy 22% growth compared with 2023.

"ServiceNow is delivering a groundbreaking new vision for CRM that transforms the entire customer experience around the powerful capabilities of AI," explained John Ball, the company's EVP and GM of CRM and Industry Workflows.

The company added customer service has evolved in recent years, and customers are now expecting "personalized, proactive experiences that anticipate their needs and resolve issues without friction."

ServiceNow also compared next-generation agentic AI with existing automation solutions, detailing how AI agents can dynamically determine the best course of action while taking into account broader context for quicker and more accurate resolutions.

"Far beyond rebranded chatbots, we’re enabling our customers to orchestrate end‑to‑end sales and service on a single AI‑powered platform, helping organizations manage the entire customer lifecycle with greater efficiency," Ball added.

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It's slick, comfortable and clever, but you pay the premium for it.

• Garmin released its new subscription service in March
• It has proven extremely unpopular with users
• CEO Cliff Pemble says the response has been positive, and says the company will likely reserve some premium features for it going forward

Garmin claims the response to its Connect+ subscription service "has been positive," but it's also hinted at a future where premium features are reserved for behind the paywall, in what is likely to be seen as another blow to loyal users.

During its recent Q1 2025 earnings call, Garmin announced earnings of $1.54 billion, up 11% year on year, and a record $330 million in operating income.

Naturally, questions and concerns revolved around the impact of tariffs on Garmin's business. However, CEO Cliff Pemble also touched on the launch of its controversial Garmin Connect+ service, with some news that users of the best Garmins devices won't want to hear.

In the opening Q&A, Pemble was asked about Garmin's decision to launch Connect+ when it did, given the company's previous reservations about charging its customers for more features.

"I think we've been saying for a while that we are evaluating opportunities to have a premium offering on Garmin Connect," Pemble responded. "I think the developments of AI and particularly around AI-based insights for our users was one of those things that we felt was important to recognize the value for the investment that it takes to do."

He added that "we felt like it was the right time," and echoed previous sentiments that Connect+ isn't a requirement for users, and that the company hasn't taken away any previously free features from users.

A positive response?

(Image credit: Garmin)

Pemble claimed the response to Connect+ "has been positive," despite widespread user outcry over the principle of a subscription service and specific complaints about the extremely thin offering Connect+ currently gives users.

Active Intelligence insights, in particular, are woefully basic, and mocking them has become something of a sport over on the Garmin Subreddit.

In passing, Pemble also dropped a very quiet bombshell. Noting the broad range of features available to users currently, he said, "certain ones, we will likely reserve for premium offerings." It's the clearest confirmation yet that Garmin plans to introduce future premium features to its lineup that will only be accessible to Garmin Connect+ subscribers.

The news is a double-edged sword, of course. Garmin is under fire in part because the Connect+ offering isn't fantastic, so adding more features to it is a key part of improving the product. However, that will mean some features aren't accessible to users who don't pay, a fact that goes to the heart of why Garmin users seem so opposed to a subscription service in principle.

Garmin users' worst fears, that a growing subscription service will eventually see more and more features hidden behind a paywall, are quickly being realized.

That's not such a burden if you've spent a relatively small sum on a Garmin Forerunner 55, but for those who've spent the best part of $1,000 / £1,000 on a Fenix 8 hoping for Garmin's most premium experience, it could prove a bitter pill to swallow.

You can read the transcript of the earnings call, or listen to a recording on YouTube. Pemble's Connect+ remarks can be found beginning at 19 minutes and 40 seconds.

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• AWS study finds 90% of businesses use AI, with spend now surpassing security
• Three in five have already appointed a Chief AI Officer
• Budgets and uncertainty could hinder training efforts

Spending on generative AI has surpassed cybersecurity, with financial services, ICT, manufacturing and retail all looking to adopt the technology, new research has claimed.

As a result, three in five organizations have now appointed a Chief AI Officer (CAIO) or similar to oversee their strategy, the latest Generative AI Adoption Index from cloud computing giant AWS found.

According to the report, almost all (90%) organizations are using GenAI in some capacity, with 44% already having moved from experimentation to full implementation.

GenAI spending has surpassed security spending

AWS's report explores the different ways companies are planning to go about deploying AI, with half as many companies again planning to build their own custom apps using existing models (58%) as those using off-the-shelf tools (40%).

An equally high number of businesses will also use fine-tuned models based on their own proprietary data. (55%), but on the whole, a hybrid of building and buying AI tools appears to be favored.

Over half (56%) or the companies surveyed also noted that they already have internal AI training programs, but that figure is expected to jump by 19 percentage points to 75% by the end of 2025. However, with constrained budgets and uncertainty about how to go about defining precise AI skillsets, it's clear that companies will be spending time finding their feet before workers might feel fully supported.

Still, 92% of companies are requiring AI skills during recruitment in 2025, demonstrating a huge opportunity for workers to upskill and prepare for an evolving workplace.

An additional one in four (26%) also plan to adopt more AI over the next year, showing how leadership roles are developing to handle AI as well as humans – a sentiment felt by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, who believes the current and next generations of CEOs will need to manage AI agents alongside humans.

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• The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 could be just 3.9mm thick when unfolded
• It might also have new battery and charging tech
• We're also hearing again that the Galaxy Z Flip 7 could have a bigger battery than its predecessor

We’ve heard from several sources that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 could be impressively slim, but a new claim suggests it will be even thinner than we’d previously heard, at least when unfolded.

According to @UniverseIce, a leaker with a solid track record, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 will be just 3.9mm thick when unfolded – that’s even slimmer than a 4.5mm claim we’d previously heard.

When folded, it’s a slightly different story, with this source claiming the Galaxy Z Fold 7 will be 8.9mm thick, which would actually be thicker than the 8.2mm we’d heard elsewhere. Either way though, that’s exceptionally slim for a foldable phone.

According to some exclusive information, the next direction of Samsung flagship machine is still to be thin and light, and the battery will be thin and thin, and the body will continue to be thin. The Galaxy Z Fold7 will be the thinnest folding machine in the world at that time,… pic.twitter.com/uAs3NzAf8jMay 7, 2025

@UniverseIce also shed some light on the battery, echoing previous leaks in saying that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 will have a 4,400mAh battery, just like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, but intriguingly also claimed that it will use new battery and charging tech.

It’s unclear what they mean by this, but it could mean the battery will last longer than the battery in the Z Fold 6, despite apparently being the same capacity, and it may also mean we see higher charging speeds than the 25W of the Z Fold 6.

From the Fold to the Flip, and the S26

Moving away from the Galaxy Z Fold 7, the same source has also claimed that the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 will have a 4,300mAh battery. That would make it bigger than the 4,000mAh battery in the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, and this is something we’ve heard from multiple sources, so there’s a good chance it’s accurate.

Finally, @UniverseIce claims the Samsung Galaxy S26 “will continue to be thin”. For reference, the Samsung Galaxy S25 is 7.2mm thick, so this suggests its successor won’t be much thicker, and could possibly be thinner.

Of course we’d take all of this with a pinch of salt, but as far as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 go we should know all about them soon, as they’re likely to be unveiled in July. The Samsung Galaxy S26, though, probably won’t land until early 2026.

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• Microsoft has revealed some smart new features for Copilot+ PCs
• Windows 11 is getting an AI agent to help you easily adjust settings
• There's a bunch of other features coming (in testing), including powering up Narrator, the Photos app, and Snipping Tool

Copilot+ PC owners are getting some very useful introductions for Windows 11, including functionality that Microsoft has been promising for a long time now – the ability for AI to change settings for you in the operating system.

Microsoft covers all the introductions it’s making in a blog post – note that these additions will all be in testing only (for now) – as well as recapping a bunch of other features that have already been seen in testing.

The key introduction for many (coming off the back of the full release of Recall, finally – and more besides) will be the change for the Settings app which brings in an AI agent.

This takes the form of a bar at the top of the Settings panel into which you can type natural language queries. The idea is to take all the pain out of tweaking the various settings in Windows 11, of which there are a ton (and a half).

So, as an example, if you wanted to make the mouse cursor larger, rather than searching for ‘mouse’ in the normal Settings search bar, you can ask the AI instead, and just type a query: “How do I make my mouse pointer bigger?”

You can phrase it any way you want (within reason), and the AI should surface the option you need so you can click to enable it. Or it might go even further and make suggestions as to what setting you might want to pick (like a recommended size for the pointer in the example above). When it comes to such recommendations, the obvious caveat that AI can be wrong is included.

The ability for AI to make sweeping changes in Windows 11 has been something Microsoft has been talking about since it first introduced Copilot to the OS. And while these are smaller tweaks, rather than big swathes of options being adjusted, it’s still a very nifty move – and likely a safer way to work (for now, certainly) given the propensity for AI to make mistakes at times.

Check out the YouTube video above to see the feature in action. However, do note that this functionality is coming to Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon X chips only to begin with (in testing, as mentioned), but it shouldn’t be long before it arrives for devices with AMD or Intel processors.

There are a few other notable features being brought in for Copilot+ PCs here (also in testing), and I’ll take a look at them next.

1. Relight your photos

The Photos app in Windows 11 is getting dynamic lighting controls which are facilitated by AI (and the NPU on your Copilot+ PC).

This allows you to correct poor lighting in an image, or just play around with different (or even oddball) lighting effects, using up to three light sources.

Check out the example tweaking shown in the above video (where another feature, object select in Paint, is showcased too).

2. Easy screenshots with AI doing the heavy lifting

The Snipping Tool is getting a new ‘Perfect Screenshot’ feature. Invoke this and you can roughly frame an area of the screen that you want captured, and AI will crop it down to the key part that (it assumes) you want to screenshot.

Check it out in the above sample video clip – this could be another substantial timesaver. Should the AI get it wrong, there are handles to adjust the errant crop, too.

3. Narrator gets powered up

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Windows 11’s screen reading tool is getting a boost, as Microsoft explains: “Narrator now offers rich image descriptions, which provide detailed context for visuals including charts, photos and UI elements.”

What this means is that where web content doesn’t have alternative text provided – words that can be read out to describe an image for those who can’t see it – Narrator can do this itself.

This should be a major step forward with accessibility for blind (or low-vision) Windows 11 users. As with the Settings AI agent, this functionality is coming (in testing) to Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon X chips before other models.

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• Andor season 2 episode 9 finally sees Mon Mothma's infamous Senate speech brought to life
• Genevieve O'Reilly said she was "so nervous" about doing justice to the iconic moment
• Fans have waited years for it to be depicted in a live-action or animated project

Full spoilers immediately follow for Andor season 2, up to and including episode 9.

Genevieve O'Reilly has revealed why she was "so nervous" about finally delivering Mon Mothma's famous Senate speech in a Star Wars project.

Before Andor season 2 was released in late April, I sat down with O'Reilly to discuss the scene that's not only a landmark moment for the Chandrilan Senator but also for O'Reilly.

O'Reilly is renowned for portraying Mon Mothma in Andor on Disney+, but she's actually played the character in multiple projects since 2005's Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

Throughout her 20-year (and counting!) career as part of Lucasfilm's legendary sci-fi franchise, O'Reilly has never had the opportunity to bring her character's hugely significant speech to life before. That's changed now, though. To the delight of Star Wars fans who've waited years for this moment, Mon Mothma finally gets on her proverbial soapbox to denounce Emperor Palpatine for his autocratic rule of that iconic galaxy far, far away.

Benjamin Bratt's Bail Organa is the only Senator who agrees with Mon Mothma's stance on the Empire (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney+)

It's a hugely pivotal moment for Mon Mothma, the nascent Rebel Alliance, and the galaxy as a whole.

Indeed, while Mon Mothma has been part of Luthen's quickly evolving, galaxy-wide rebellion for years at this point, she's largely operated in the shadows to keep herself and her family safe from the Galactic Empire's prying eyes.

All of that is thrown out the window in this season's ninth episode. The emotionally devastating events in season 2 episode 8, which depicted the Ghorman Massacre in all of its harrowing glory – an event Andor season 2 has laid the groundwork for since its first episode – Mon Mothma decides to take a public stand against the Emperor and those who follow his every whim.

Mon Mothma's speech has been 20 years in the making for Genevieve O'Reilly (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney+)

Addressing the Senate in one of the best Disney+ shows' latest episodes, Mon Mothma not only condemns Palpatine for the slaughter of innocent and largely peaceful protestors on Ghorman, but outright rejects his tyrannical leadership.

Vilified by her fellow Senators (aside from Bail Organa, anyway, who silently supports her) and knowing that the Empire will come for her, Mon Mothma quickly flees the scene.

With the aid of Cassian Andor, who's been sent by Luthen Rael to get her to safety, Mon Mothma escapes Coruscant. Off-screen, she's passed onto the crew of The Ghost, aka the heroes of Star Wars: Rebels, in season 3 episode 18, titled 'Secret Cargo', of that animated program. A couple of Rebels characters appear in another live-action series Star Wars: Ahsoka, too, which further highlights the connective tissue between numerous Lucasfilm productions.

Now we know who delivers Mon Mothma to the crew of the Ghost in Rebels' 'Secret Cargo' episode (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney+)

But I digress. Andor has been building towards this significant Mon Mothma moment ever since we were reintroduced to her in mid-2022. O'Reilly has also harbored ambitions of giving this speech for almost two decades, too, so how did it feel to finally deliver it in one of 2025's new Star Wars shows?

"The opportunity to give that speech, as well as the lead up to it, was everything I could have hoped for," O'Reilly replied.

"I was so nervous that, because it's existed previously in canon, we might not get to visit it. But what [showrunner] Tony [Gilroy] did, which was so clever, is carve a space to allow us to see that moment.

I was so nervous that... we might not get to visit it

Genevieve O'Reilly

"I think it makes sense of everything about her," O'Reilly continued, "And not just her. It makes sense of our show. If sacrifice is at the cost of everyone, Mon has to understand and be at peace with what she has to sacrifice.

"I also think it's important to mention that a voice can be powerful. It's not about the fact that we pick up weapons, but perhaps a voice can shift things, and that speaks to everything that is why I think Mon Mothma is valuable to the rebellion."

Andor season 2 episodes 1 to 9 are out now on Disney+. The final three chapters will air on May 13 (US) and May 14 (UK and Australia).

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In today’s digital-first world, citizens naturally expect that public services should be as quick and easy to use as their smartphone apps.

In Britain, we are at a turning point in our approach to artificial intelligence, particularly in the public sector. Governments are increasingly recognising that upgrading the ‘citizen experience’ by investing in cutting-edge technology will be vital to delivering tomorrow’s public services.

Earlier this year, in the Government’s new ‘AI Opportunities Plan’, the Prime Minister highlighted how AI tools can “transform” public services and deliver seamless experiences similar to how we manage money or book flights online. Most recently, the Prime Minister’s announcement to “reshape” the state offers a huge opportunity to reinforce the UK’s ambitions to be an AI leader across the public sector.

AI adoption starts now

At ServiceNow, we are working with hundreds of public sector bodies and can see how AI is already helping to cut through challenges, such as the 13.5 million hours doctors lose annually to outdated IT. Virtual assistants and advanced triaging systems are now helping to cut through the ‘8am rush’ to book a GP appointment. We are seeing similar impacts in other departments such as the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

For public services, the impact of technology is not some futuristic fantasy: it is here, now, today. The key to implementing this successfully is partnerships between the public and private sector. The Government’s plan calls for the public sector to become a “great customer” of AI services. And yet analysis by GDS suggests that almost half of Government IT spend is dedicated to ‘keeping the lights on’ maintaining legacy systems. In the private sector, businesses are implementing AI to drive productivity and enhance the customer experience. It is vital that the public sector does so too.

Delivering for citizens

The first step for government is replacing patchwork legacy systems with an AI platform to speed innovation, scale business processes, and forge a solid foundation. Analysis by the Social Market Foundation suggests that at HMRC and the DWP alone, eight million hours of staff time could be saved every year by using technology to streamline routine tasks. Moving away from legacy systems, siloed departments and patchwork IT is also crucial to delivering citizen experience, making it easier to connect to government services.

Rather than waiting for working-hours call centers and having to work out who the ‘right’ department is to speak to, digital channels and generative AI are offering real-time answers to citizens. Not only that, but AI’s capacity also to process large stores of data are making digital services more effective and accessible.

AI in public service

Forward-thinking government organizations have already adopted generative AI to deliver better service for citizens, as well as increasing efficiency and offering instant access to data. Large Language Models (LLMs) trained on domain-specific data are already helping government organizations respond rapidly, either by empowering agents with the information they need which might previously have been inaccessible, or by offering citizens direct access to data.

The future of government

From managing risk to delivering improved citizen experience, cutting-edge technology is the key to overcoming many of the hurdles seen in previous government attempts at digital transformation. Ripping out the siloed legacy systems, which are all too often seen in the public sector and replacing them with a single AI platform connecting all data across the organization, will not only drive efficiency, but also pave the way for more wholesale innovation.

The addition of AI, and of its latest evolution with Agentic AI, is a stepping stone towards a new era of innovative, automated services – with citizens able to access personalized experiences, where and when they want.

We've compiled a list of the best IT infrastructure management services.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

• Agentic AI adoption will rise by 327% by 2027, boosting productivity by 30%
• Workers will need to share their roles with AI agents soon, Salesforce claims
• Many workers could be reassigned roles, report says

AI agents are here to stay, with new Salesforce research claiming agentic AI adoption is projected to grow by 327% by 2027, with the company calling the trend a revolution of "digital labor."

Chief Human Resource Officers (CHROs) are expecting to keep 61% of their existing workforces in their current roles, however employees are set to be working alongside AI.

Most CHROs (88%) surveyed added the redeployment of human resources alongside tech can be more cost-effective than external hiring, suggesting workers' jobs could be more secure than they think, but that the change they're subjected to could also be greater.

Combining workers with AI

In line with the projected growth of AI agents, Salesforce believes an increase in productivity of 30% could be realized. The figures also forecast a 19% reduction in labor costs.

With AI literacy identified as the top skill needed in the modern workplace, four in five (81%) CHROs are reskilling or planning to reskill employees for future roles, including reassigning many to technical roles like data scientists and technical architects.

Among the teams expected to see the biggest growth are IT, research & development, and sales. Customer service, operations and finance are expected to shrink.

Fortunately, workers seem to have plenty of time to get their affairs in order and to embark on their training journeys, because 85% of organizations have not yet implemented agentic AI.

Unprepared workers don't have unlimited time, though, because 86% of CHROs believe integrating AI will be a critical part of their role within the next five years, with four in five believing that AI agents and humans will coexist in this timeframe.

"Every industry must redesign jobs, reskill and redeploy talent – and every employee will need to learn new human, agent and business skills to thrive in the digital labor revolution," explained Salesforce Chief People Officer Nathalie Scardino.

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Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for May 7.

• OpenAI’s latest AI models, GPT o3 and o4-mini, hallucinate significantly more often than their predecessors
• The increased complexity of the models may be leading to more confident inaccuracies
• The high error rates raise concerns about AI reliability in real-world applications

Brilliant but untrustworthy people are a staple of fiction (and history). The same correlation may apply to AI as well, based on an investigation by OpenAI and shared by The New York Times. Hallucinations, imaginary facts, and straight-up lies have been part of AI chatbots since they were created. Improvements to the models theoretically should reduce the frequency with which they appear.

OpenAI’s latest flagship models, GPT o3 and o4-mini, are meant to mimic human logic. Unlike their predecessors, which mainly focused on fluent text generation, OpenAI built GPT o3 and o4-mini to think things through step-by-step. OpenAI has boasted that o1 could match or exceed the performance of PhD students in chemistry, biology, and math. But OpenAI's report highlights some harrowing results for anyone who takes ChatGPT responses at face value.

OpenAI found that the GPT o3 model incorporated hallucinations in a third of a benchmark test involving public figures. That’s double the error rate of the earlier o1 model from last year. The more compact o4-mini model performed even worse, hallucinating on 48% of similar tasks.

When tested on more general knowledge questions for the SimpleQA benchmark, hallucinations mushroomed to 51% of the responses for o3 and 79% for o4-mini. That’s not just a little noise in the system; that’s a full-blown identity crisis. You’d think something marketed as a reasoning system would at least double-check its own logic before fabricating an answer, but it's simply not the case.

One theory making the rounds in the AI research community is that the more reasoning a model tries to do, the more chances it has to go off the rails. Unlike simpler models that stick to high-confidence predictions, reasoning models venture into territory where they must evaluate multiple possible paths, connect disparate facts, and essentially improvise. And improvising around facts is also known as making things up.

Fictional functioning

Correlation is not causation, and OpenAI told the Times that the increase in hallucinations might not be because reasoning models are inherently worse. Instead, they could simply be more verbose and adventurous in their answers. Because the new models aren't just repeating predictable facts but speculating about possibilities, the line between theory and fabricated fact can get blurry for the AI. Unfortunately, some of those possibilities happen to be entirely unmoored from reality.

Still, more hallucinations are the opposite of what OpenAI or its rivals like Google and Anthropic want from their most advanced models. Calling AI chatbots assistants and copilots implies they’ll be helpful, not hazardous. Lawyers have already gotten in trouble for using ChatGPT and not noticing imaginary court citations; who knows how many such errors have caused problems in less high-stakes circumstances?

The opportunities for a hallucination to cause a problem for a user are rapidly expanding as AI systems start rolling out in classrooms, offices, hospitals, and government agencies. Sophisticated AI might help draft job applications, resolve billing issues, or analyze spreadsheets, but the paradox is that the more useful AI becomes, the less room there is for error.

You can’t claim to save people time and effort if they have to spend just as long double-checking everything you say. Not that these models aren’t impressive. GPT o3 has demonstrated some amazing feats of coding and logic. It can even outperform many humans in some ways. The problem is that the moment it decides that Abraham Lincoln hosted a podcast or that water boils at 80°F, the illusion of reliability shatters.

Until those issues are resolved, you should take any response from an AI model with a heaping spoonful of salt. Sometimes, ChatGPT is a bit like that annoying guy in far too many meetings we've all attended; brimming with confidence in utter nonsense.

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Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 226, for May 7.

• Gigabyte AI TOP 100 Z890 PC blends elite gaming hardware with AI-focused design and software
• AI TOP Utility supports LLMs with 405B parameters and real-time model monitoring tools
• Eight SATA ports and two NVMe drives make storage scaling effortless for creators and devs

Gigabyte has revealed a new desktop PC designed for users working with artificial intelligence in professional creative tasks and high-end gaming.

The company says its the system is equipped with Nvidia’s flagship GeForce RTX 5090 GPU and Intel’s top-tier Core Ultra 9 285K CPU, and introduces the new Z890 AI TOP platform.

The GeForce RTX 5090 WINDFORCE GPU includes support for DLSS 4.0 and Multi Frame Generation, making it suitable for machine learning workloads.

Advanced memory and cooling design

The Gigabyte AI TOP 100 Z890 business PC comes with 128GB of DDR5 memory, supported by D5 Bionic Corsa technology, which enhances stability during intensive AI and gaming sessions.

A unique feature is the inclusion of a 320GB AI TOP 100E cache SSD alongside a 2TB AORUS Gen4 7300 SSD. The latter is built to endure heavy data writes, boasting a lifespan up to 150 times greater TBW than standard SSDs.

The system also supports up to eight additional SATA drives, making it a viable option for users needing scalable storage without sacrificing speed.

To cool all this hardware, Gigabyte installed its AORUS WATERFORCE II 360 liquid cooling system, which keeps thermal output in check even under prolonged workloads.

While not a portable machine, the system maintains a standard ATX form factor, measuring 594 x 336 x 584 mm, and supports both Windows 11 Pro and Linux.

For connectivity, the workstation offers a solid I/O setup, including front-mounted USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, USB 3.0, and audio jacks, as well as a rear panel with two Thunderbolt 5 ports, six USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, HDMI, DisplayPort In, dual 10GbE RJ-45, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 5.3.

Gigabyte’s AI TOP Utility suite simplifies AI workflow management, supporting memory offloading and fine-tuning for models up to 405 billion parameters. It also includes tools for dataset creation, real-time training dashboards, and model validation. Cluster computing is enabled via Thunderbolt and Ethernet links, allowing scaling across multiple systems.

According to Gigabyte, “users can access AI computing with a standard power setup and plug-and-play convenience.” This new system targets a wide range of users - from researchers and developers to content creators and gamers.

At the time of writing, there is no official word on pricing or availability, but it’s not expected to be cheap.

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• Google’s Gemini can now edit both AI-generated and personal images using text prompts
• The editing tools allow for precision changes using AI
• Gemini also now supports uploading up to 10 images or files at once

Google's Gemini AI is taking out a canvas and palette for your AI-fueled image creation in a couple of major upgrades. Gemini can now edit images directly within its chat interface, and you can send a bunch of images (or other files) for it to examine at the same time.

The new editor can work AI magic on any image you upload or that Gemini produces. You simply ask Gemini to make the changes you want. You can change the backdrop of your vacation photo to put your sad Airbnb kitchen on a Santorini cliff, get rid of that mustard stain on your jacket, and even put a funny hat on your dog despite her refusal of all headwear in real life.

You can apply multiple edits through your conversation with Gemini, stacking changes as you go. And each modification keeps earlier changes, so you don't have to start from scratch when you decide the last couple of edits made things worse.

Under the hood, Gemini’s editor is running a combination of tools that work together so you don't end up with a visual Frankenstein's monster stitching together conflicting textures, lighting, angles, and other aspects of the image. Gemini promises to keep things grounded in reality even when your imagination goes off the rails.

Google claims the editor will have many positive uses for a range of professions. Teachers could quickly build illustrated storyboards, designers could make a portfolio of product photos, and architects might visualize tweaks to building designs mid-meeting.

The editor pairs nicely with Google's move to blow up the single-file upload limit for Gemini. Now you can upload up to ten images, PDFs, or other files all at once and ask Gemini to make sense of the mess.

AI image imagination

You may be wondering how Gemini's editor will prevent people from leveraging its abilities to make deepfakes of real people or events for less than benign reasons. Google is keen to show that the company has thought of that. That's why every AI-edited image gets not one but two watermarks. One is visible, and one uses Google’s SynthID, which can only be detected with software. There are also filters powered by human feedback that block ethically dicey requests.

The editor and expanded upload option are not breaking new ground, but they add depth to Gemini. It’s not just about what Gemini can tell you, it’s about what it can help you make. Google is investing a lot of effort in building Gemini into the kind of well-rounded, versatile toolkit that people are comfortable relying on.

Instead of thinking of Gemini as a mere digital notetaker or search engine with a sense of humor, Google wants people to view Gemini as a partner in creative and productive tasks. We’re still a ways off from a world where you ask Gemini to “design a birthday card and bake the cake,” but it's closer than you might think. Until then, being able to throw ten files at Gemini and have it respond with something coherent while also placing a hat on your dog is a pretty good start.

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