Technology

• Grok Imagine asked users to create an AI version of The Odyssey
• You can now see the winners online
• There are some tell-tale signs of AI filmmaking in these clips

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was pretty clear about his opinions on Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey movie when it came out, promising us that the Grok Imagine AI generator would have a full-length, "historically accurate" take on Homer's epic poem by the end of 2026.

Well, we don't have that yet, but we do have the winner of a $100k Grok Imagine competition (via PetaPixel) that tasked AI prompters to put together 3–5 minutes of video footage of scenes from The Odyssey, with at least a minute of dialog.

Step forward filmmaker Nem Perez who has scooped the top prize, creating what he calls "The Odyssey as Homer intended" (a claim which seems hard to verify). He puts more of a focus on Odysseus telling his story to Princess Nausicaa, a framing device that was in Homer's poem but wasn't in the Nolan adaptation.

@JSFILMZ0412 scoops the second $50k price with an extended ending to the story of The Odyssey, which imagines an older Odysseus passing on his knowledge to the next generation. In third place, earning $25k, is @Mr_AllenT, who has turned the Cyclops cave scene into something out of a horror movie.

Still work to do

This is "The Odyssey" as Homer intended. My longest, most intricate work to date. I pushed @grok @imagine to its absolute limits to create this 5-minute epic. What bothered me most about the recent adaptation was the omission of the Phaeacians and Princess Nausicaa, whom… https://t.co/awYW6Hu4W8 pic.twitter.com/hJHOgdkEecAugust 31, 2026

It's clear that AI video generation has come a long way in recent years, but we're also still a long way from the point at which it can match up to real filmmaking — even if you dismiss worries about copyright violations and energy use.

The Odyssey as prompted by Nem Perez of course has the bad physics and random costume changes you could expect from AI videos, plus that generic AI look to everything. From swords and trees to faces and monsters, it's all the smooth mush you would expect to get from training the AI on millions of hours of actual video made by actual humans.

We've got Princess Nausicaa and Odysseus swapping their seating positions and angles from scene to scene, sailors' hands that look suspiciously like feet, a bow that seems to work backwards, and a Cyclops monster who keeps changing size and has three eyes rather than one — surely not what Homer intended.

AI critics from across Reddit and social media naturally aren't impressed, with some equating it to "eating a bowl of wet cardboard" and others succinctly calling it "outstandingly bad".

Of course, AI doesn't really understand anything about story, physical space, or scene setting: it's just trying to create frame-by-frame approximations to match prompts, based on its training. Are real filmmakers in trouble? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

• The world of Umamusume: Pretty Derby is coming to a major motorsport event in a new collaboration
• Game art will be featured at the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix
• Voice actor Tomoyo Takayanagi will also wave the chequered flag at some races

The viral horse girls of Umamusume: Pretty Derby will appear at the upcoming MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix thanks to a new crossover with publisher and developer Cygames.

The 2026 FIM MotoGP World Championship Round 16 MOTUL Grand Prix of Japan (to give it its full official title) is a motorcycle race set to take place from October 2 to 4 at Mobility Resort Motegi in Motegi, Japan.

Thanks to this collaboration, the course will be decorated with a gigantic 155-meter display decorated with eight popular characters from the game for fans to appreciate as the racing action unfolds.

The big display is hard to miss. (Image credit: Cygames, Inc)

There will also be a special display board at the Grandstand entrance featuring art of the game, as well as special character photo spots within the venue itself.

Those attending the Moto2 and Moto3 races will also be able to see voice actor Tomoyo Takayanagi in the flesh, waving the checkered flag at the end of the race. Takayanagi is known for her portrayal of the famous Japanese racehorse Oguri Cap in the media franchise.

Umamusume: Pretty Derby is a hit mobile game where players train and compete in races as anthropomorphized horse girls that has been spun out into multiple anime and manga adaptations. The characters are based on real-life horses, past and present, and its popularity has been credited with reviving interest in the sport.

It's the first video game to become an official MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix event partner, but this is far from the only time Umamusume: Pretty Derby has crossed over with real-world events. Earlier this year, a special Umamusume livery appeared on a Pacific Racing Team BMW M4 GT3 Evo in Japan's Super GT racing championship.

(Image credit: Cygames, Inc)

Umamusume: Pretty Derby is available to download for mobile devices with the App Store and Google Play Store. You can also play it on PC via Steam.

• Bose unveils two new clip (or ear cuff style) earbuds
• Bose Sport Open Earbuds are a more affordable, simple option
• Ultra Open Earbuds 2nd Gen supersede our top picks, with some refinements

For a long time, the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds took pride of place as the 'best premium open earbuds' in our round-up of the absolute best open earbuds. Even if the Shokz OpenDots 2 hadn't stolen that spot recently, it's likely a new competitor would have — this category is growing like you wouldn't believe.

And Bose is back too, with upgraded flagship open earbuds called, as you might have guessed, the Ultra Open Earbuds (2nd Gen), which bring some refinements over the first-gen clip-style buds. They're set to sell from October 1, for £299.95 (about $400, AU$600, but we're waiting on international pricing).

This offering doesn't come alone. Likely taking inspiration from rival Shokz and the OpenDots Air, Bose has unveiled a cheaper alternative and called it the Sport Open Earbuds. These buds cut some of the features, use a different design, and will start selling on October 15, for £179.95 (roughly $240, AU$360). That makes them Bose's first affordable open earbuds.

Naturally, we'll be grabbing these buds as soon as possible to see how well they work, so prepare for reviews in the near future. Perhaps Bose will claw its ranking spots back from Shokz sooner than expected...

Lay me down on a bed of Boses

(Image credit: Bose)

Let's start by looking at the sequel set: the Ultra Open Earbuds (2nd Gen). These mostly retain the angular look of the originals, but with a slightly revised look for a better hold, and a charging case that's easier to open and close (and has little feet so it can stay upright).

Under the hood, there have been a number of small refinements like a higher volume, extended battery life and improved bass response. They also feature Bose's TrueSpatial audio, improving on Bose Immersive Audio, to provide better spatial audio while you're exercising.

Like the previous Ultras, these are a premium product, and I see most people skipping them for the price tag alone. That's where the other buds come in.

The Bose Sport Open Earbuds ditch the angular look of the Ultras, for a more standard curvy clip-style design. That is to say, despite being new, I've been seeing these puppies for years.

Bose hasn't detailed the audio specs of these buds — it rarely does for its headphones, frustratingly for coverage — but reading between the lines, the Sport Open won't have quite the same bass response as the Ultras. I'm sure they won't sound bad, but you're not getting Ultra sound.

I'm pleased to see that the Sport Open have an IP54 rating, which makes them better-protected than the IPX4 Ultras, even if their battery life is slightly worse at 7 hours. However most features, specifically Bose ones, are likely missing here. There's no mention of TrueSpatial Audio, for example.

With the Bose Sport Open Earbuds, you'll likely miss some of the fancy tools of the Ultra. But just as in the Shokz rivals mentioned before, many users might not mind, if they're getting a more affordable product for it. I see the Sport Open being the more popular of the two here.

A note, before you get too excited for the new buds. While researching this article, I noticed that the original Bose Ultra are enjoying quite a solid discount in the US, perhaps to clear stock. You can get them for just $200 at Amazon, which is a $100 saving, effectively making them a better pair of 'budget' buds than the Sport Open. Just food for thought.

• Snap’s Specs are its sixth-generation AR glasses
• They may be hefty devices, but they’re surprisingly comfortable to wear and easy to use
• The Specs come packed with engaging features, including a new AI assistant

It’s been almost a decade since Snap Inc. released its first Spectacles smart glasses back in 2016, and the series has grown a lot since then. The original pair was essentially an extension of Snapchat, designed to record short 10-second clips for the social platform.

Since then, Snap’s tech has grown into a robust augmented reality platform, improving both the hardware and software along the way.

Cesar CadenasCesar CadenasCesar Cadenas

For Fall 2026, Snap Inc. will soon launch what is technically its sixth generation of Spectacles. However, it seems that the company is looking for a fresh start, as these smart glasses will simply be known as the Snap Specs.

The Specs were initially unveiled at the Augmented World Expo 2026 in June, and it was revealed then that the company was placing greater emphasis on regular consumers rather than strictly an enterprise audience.

I had the opportunity to try out the Specs myself at Snap Inc.’s headquarters in Santa Monica, California. And it was instantly clear to me that the glasses are meant to be the entry point to a vast AR ecosystem. While I had a lot of fun using them in an early demo, the experience wasn’t without its quirks.

Big frames, vibrant screen

While these 6th-gen Specs are much slimmer than the previous generation, they are still quite chunky, sporting thick black frames made out of a Swiss TR90 polymer.

Snap offers two sizes: a 47mm model weighing 132 grams and a 52mm model weighing 136 grams. For anyone keeping score, that's significantly heavier than a pair of Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses, which weigh just 50 grams. But Snap did a good job of distributing weight. The 52mm devices felt quite comfortable on my head. The smaller 47mm glasses, on the other hand, pinched my temples.

These glasses project a digital screen with a 51-degree field of view (FoV) in front of your eyes, providing a decent amount of viewing space. Snap equates the floating display to a 24-inch desktop monitor. Combine that with the liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) lenses, and you get high-resolution, vibrant images.

(Image credit: Cesar Cadenas)Smart, intuitive software

Most of my hands-on time with the Specs was spent using the consumer-facing software. The UI is clean and easy to understand. Features are split between the Home and My Lenses menus, with the main window remaining visible in your immediate view. Digital objects can be repositioned using a simple pinching gesture.

In my experience, dragging and dropping windows was a little finicky. The process was smooth most of the time, although there were instances when the glasses didn’t register my hand movements, and I had to repeat the gesture several times.

Navigating the interface takes some getting used to, although there is an alternative. Holding your left hand up toward the camera brings up a quick menu that lets you quickly navigate to the Home screen as well as other parts of the system.

A major aspect of the Specs is the new on-board AI assistant, Specs Intelligence. Like other AI assistants, such as Google Gemini, Specs Intelligence can provide contextually relevant information in response to voice commands. It will keep listening until instructed otherwise. Do note that you’ll need to speak up for the microphones to pick up your voice.

It also builds an understanding of your routines so it can surface useful information when you need it. I found Specs Intelligence to be one of the best parts of the glasses. It’s quick to operate, delivering accurate search results and suggestions in almost no time.

Seeing the Apps

I had access to a few third-party apps, namely Spotify and Google Docs. When it comes to audio, the glasses' stems have speakers on either end that point directly toward your ears. Music from Spotify came through crystal clear, with a bit of punchy bass. The best part is how little audio leakage there is. I held the glasses close to my face during the demo, and I could barely hear the music.

With Google Docs, you can connect a wireless keyboard to the Specs glasses via Bluetooth for on-the-go work. It’s a nice utility to have, although there was noticeable latency between the keyboard input and what appeared on the page. I asked if I could connect a mouse to the wearables. I was told that currently, users can't connect computer mice.

Cesar CadenasCesar Cadenas

Outside the third-party software, there were plenty of first-party apps, including an internet browser, an image gallery, navigation, direct access to Snapchat, and, most notably, a translation tool. What’s cool about the translation tool is that it translates other languages in real time. I had a Snap representative speak to me in Italian, and the translated text appeared on the display a few seconds after they finished speaking.

Admittedly, I don’t know how accurate the translation tool is. I don’t speak Italian, so I can’t verify it myself, but we were able to have a fluid conversation without issue.

The early verdict

Snap’s new Specs were pretty fun to use. They’re comfortable to wear despite their size, and the software felt intuitive. Yes, the gesture controls were a little inconsistent, but there is still time before the official launch to address those quirks.

At the time of this writing, you can pre-order the Snap Specs for an eye-watering $2,195 (around £1,640 / AU$3,090) with a $200 deposit, making them quite the investment.

A release date is set for sometime this Fall (in other words, sometime before the end of November). An exact date has not been given. It is worth pointing out that Snap Inc. will let interested shoppers try the smart glasses at the Specs First Look pop-up in the Westfield Century City shopping mall in Los Angeles, starting October 1. Given that date, an October launch seems likely.

Right now, you can save an impressive 50% off your Squarespace subscription with code SQSP50.

Squarespace is ranked as one of our best website builders, thanks largely to its excellent design features, business tools, and ease of use. I’ve spent a lot of time using and researching Squarespace over the past 3 years, and this is one of the biggest discounts I have ever seen the platform offer.

Is Squarespace right for you?

Due to a heavy emphasis on website aesthetics, Squarespace is a natural choice for creative types such as photographers, musicians, and artists. However, it is also a favorite among businesses that want a website that really wows visitors.

In recent years, the platform has expanded beyond a simple drag-and-drop website creator, rolling out a full AI website builder along with helpful business tools such as appointment scheduling, memberships, and extensive ecommerce features.

Although Squarespace isn’t the cheapest option on the market, for those who will use at least one or two of its built-in business tools, it offers fantastic value for money along with a name you can trust.

Picking a plan and getting 50% off

Squarespace offers a range of plans spanning from its entry-level ‘Basic’ plan to its premium ‘Advanced’ plan, with the 50% discount only being available on the ‘Core’ plan and above. Although you can sell on all plans, dedicated online stores are better off considering the ‘Core’, ‘Plus’, or ‘Advanced’ plans, all of which offer advanced ecommerce features.

To access the discount, simply select an annual plan and then enter the code SQSP50 when you check out.

Although this is a good deal, it won’t carry over into your second billing cycle. So, it is important to take some time to assess whether the renewal rate will still work for you once the initial period is over.

Alongside the unveiling of the iPhone Duo, AirPods 5, iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max, and the Apple Watch Series 12, the Cupertino giant also launched the Apple Watch Ultra 4. There’s no price increase, no major change to the design, and no change to the color options.

It’s a pretty similar upgrade to the Series 12, which you can read my preview of here — it gets the redesigned rear as part of the new health-sensing system, there’s a new S11 chip inside with a Secure Enclave and separate always-on processor, a new Readiness Score that looks set to take on Oura and Whoop, two new AI features will begin rolling out later this year, and it can deliver HRV (heart rate variability).

But one key change is a bigger battery: the Apple Watch Ultra 4 has a 5% larger battery than the Apple Watch Ultra 3, paired with more efficiencies to deliver Apple's promised runtimes. That means the Ultra 4 can truly go the extra mile, with a promised up to 50 hours in normal use, up to 84 hours in Low Power Mode, and up to 45 hours in Max Extended Workout Mode.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

Those are strong numbers, and thus far, it’s lasted in lockstep with the Ultra 3, offering more than a day of use and getting pretty close to a full two days. I’ll need more time with it before I can say whether that bigger battery and the efficiency gains translate into a meaningful real-world improvement, but so far, there’s plenty of endurance here.

There’s also a new Apple Watch Charger in the box. It looks the same as the previous one, but the cable has new tech that lets it charge even faster, with Apple promising up to 18 hours of battery life from a 15-minute charge. That’s mostly been the case in my testing so far, but I want to put it through some more charging cycles before I can say exactly how much of a difference it makes.

And just like with the Series 12, I’m holding off on a full verdict for now. The new Readiness Score is one of the biggest changes to the Apple Watch experience, and I want to give it enough time to build a picture of my data before I draw any conclusions. Apple says it generally takes seven nights of wear to calculate a score.

Future/Jacob KrolFuture/Jacob KrolFuture/Jacob Krol

The redesigned health-sensing system and more frequent heart-rate and HRV tracking are already interesting additions, particularly on a watch built around fitness and endurance. It’s paired with full activity tracking, dual-band GPS, hypertension notifications, blood oxygen tracking, and satellite connectivity. Being able to pull up real-time heart rate and have the watch sample this data more frequently should make the Ultra 4 even more useful for workouts, while HRV adds another metric that brings it closer to competing devices.

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There’s also the AI side of things, although that story isn’t fully here yet. Sound Recognition and faster Shazam are already available, while Live Rewind and Siri Recap are slated to arrive later this year, initially in beta and in the U.S. I’ll need more time with those once they launch to see whether they actually change how I use the Ultra 4 day-to-day. And, certainly, the Ultra 4 could have an advantage over the Series 12 when running these features thanks to its larger battery — time will tell.

So, for now, the Apple Watch Ultra 4 is very much an evolution of the Ultra 3 rather than a reinvention, but the bigger battery is a really nice surprise. The changes are mostly under the hood, with health sensing, processing, battery life, and charging all getting some attention.

I’m going to spend more time with it before I deliver a full verdict, especially when it comes to Readiness. But after several days, the Ultra 4 is already shaping up as a familiar Apple Watch Ultra with a little more endurance and a lot more data happening underneath the surface.

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 is up for preorder now at the same price of $799 / £749 / AU$1,349 and will officially launch on September 18, 2026.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

Now, I typically wear an Apple Watch daily, and have since the wearable launched in spring 2015, but for the past week, I’ve swapped my Ultra 3 or Series 11 for the Apple Watch Series 12.

Unveiled at Apple’s September 9, 2026, ‘Surprise and shine’ event, the next-generation mid-range Apple Watch — err, flagship for everyone in between the SE third-gen and Ultra 4 — doesn’t change much in terms of looks over the Series 11, but does usher in a redesigned rear as part of a new health-sensing system, a new SoC under the hood to power some new features, and a good bit of AI on top of what we knew was coming with watchOS 27.

And while I do have a full review coming, I’m waiting to gather more data and get my first taste of a Readiness Score — Apple’s fresh take on contextualizing all your data in an upgraded Vitals experience that I’m pretty stoked to try. In most cases, it will take just seven nights of wear to calculate.

While there are new case types — Ceramic arrives alongside Titanium and Aluminum — the Series 12 design is very similar to the Series 11. You can pick between a 44mm or a 46mm display, and it’s still an Always-On OLED that goes pretty close to the edges and even curves down a bit. I’ve specifically been testing the black aluminum, which looks fine and a bit plain — more importantly, it retains the slim profile.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

Thankfully, all your previous bands will still work, but on the back you’ll see the new health-sensing system. The layout is different; it looks almost like a sundial with new placements for electrodes and diodes. Apple also swapped in a green LED, which is more efficient at getting readings. Despite the changes, the watch still sits on the wrist just as well. Of course, it still protrudes a bit from the back; see the photo below.

This, in conjunction with the new S11 chip, which is actually a derivative of the A20 Pro in terms of design and components, makes use of a Secure Enclave and an always-on processor section to improve sampling rates. This is the big ‘aha’ achievement, as it lets the Apple Watch track HRV and real-time heart rate whether you open the app or use the complication, and it also speeds up pedometer performance for faster step tracking.

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Heart rate variability is a really sweet metric to have, and its arrival on the Apple Watch brings it closer to some competitors. This will also inform the Readiness Score. My Apple Watch still needs one more night of sleep tracking and one more overall HRV rating — it’s helpful that the watch can keep you informed about what’s needed, and fair to expect it to take about a week of wear before you get that reading.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

Still, I am bullish on how Readiness will perform and will circle back with full thoughts on that front in due time. For now, the ability to pull up real-time heart rate is great for workouts, whether it be something more endurance-focused or just a walk and/or run. I really like the steps complication, as it auto-updates, and a quick glance at your wrist can show you how you’re pacing for the day.

As of yet, I’d note that actively having these complications running — either steps or heart rate — doesn’t seem to tank the battery life. It’s very much a full day of use, after a day or two of indexing, like the Series 11 established last year.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

And then there’s the AI side of things, which I’m only getting a taste of for now. Sound Recognition and faster Shazam are already here, and both are nice little quality-of-life additions, but the more intriguing stuff is still to come.

Live Rewind and Siri Recap are slated to arrive later this year, initially in beta and in the U.S., and I’m especially curious to see how useful they are in the real world. The former can capture and transcribe a recent snippet of a conversation thanks to a rolling 15-second buffer, while the latter can recap what you’ve been talking about throughout the day down to the facts.

I’ll need more time with both once they launch before I can say how much they actually change the Apple Watch experience, but they’re another piece of the Series 12 story that could become more interesting as the year goes on. It also pushes the Apple Watch — mainly Series 12 and Ultra 4 — as more of an AI wearable, beyond activity or health tracking, notifications, and on-wrist apps.

For now, the Apple Watch Series 12 delivers more of the same in a familiar package, with better processing that’ll speed up classic features and enable new ones in two key areas. It’s a refresh of sorts for activity. The updates to Vitals, HRV, more frequent heart rate tracking, and Readiness bring it in line with other wearables like the Oura Ring, Whoop, or Fitbit Air. Simultaneously, it’s getting smarter with new audio recognition features and even taking on more of a role with AI functionality — a real first step for Apple.

We’ll be back soon with our full review, but if you have an older watch or have been waiting for Apple’s take on further contextualizing health data — or just really need HRV — this might be an excellent year to upgrade.

If you’re sold, the Apple Watch Series 12 is up for preorder now and begins shipping tomorrow, September 18, 2026, at the same starting price as the Series 11: $399 / £369 / AU$649.

Commentary: The iPhone 18 Pro seems to fix almost every gripe I’ve had with my iPhone 17 Pro Max — especially for how much I travel.

When Apple officially unveiled the Apple Watch Series 12 and the Ultra 4, it claimed that its latest generation of smartwatches offered the most accurate heart rate sensing on a wearable, thanks to its redesigned Health Sensing System. Accuracy improvements aside, the new system’s advances have made it possible for Apple to introduce new Watch features like its Readiness score.

This metric looks at a myriad of watch data to determine whether you’re in optimal shape to tackle a physically or mentally demanding day. That’s accompanied by a simple prompt to put that score into context. However, this isn’t a new development for other wearable owners: if you use an Oura Ring, a Garmin watch, a Whoop or even a Google Fitbit Air, receiving a readiness score of some description won’t be new to you. So why did Apple feel now was the time to join the Readiness party?

“It’s down to the evolution and the advancements we've made in the hardware technology, which has really brought about this to be the right time,” says Craig Bolton, Director of Fitness Technologies.

“We've built many health and fitness features, and quite a few of them are related to Readiness. The Health Sensing System unlocks the ability for continuous heart rate variability and all-day heart rate measurements and that's really important and critical when we think about trying to bring a really accurate and concise and simple feature to users.”

How Readiness scores work

(Image credit: Apple)

Readiness scores can be viewed from the dedicated Readiness Watch app, Watch complication and the redesigned Health app. It looks at your sleep score, vitals data including temperature and blood oxygen, as well as your most recent workout data and training load.

Apple confirmed to us that workout data can be taken from third party apps as well as Apple’s own apps. To start seeing scores, you need to record seven night’s worth of sleep data to establish a baseline.

Unlike Oura, Google and Garmin, Apple has opted to score users Readiness on a scale of 1-10 as opposed to 1-100. Apple has its reasons for choosing a different scoring scale and it underpins how it thinks about delivering new fitness features.

“All of our features in general and particularly in the health and fitness space, we want them to be simple and intuitive,” explains Bolton. “We thought providing a score alongside a simple category saying you’re ready or to pace yourself gives that instant glanceable view. If you're waking up in the morning or throughout the day and you want to have a quick check-in, that can give you that little insight that you need.

“One of the principles that was really important to us was if you want to go deeper, there is more depth there. So you can instantly see what's driving that score up or down, tap into it to your heart's content, and dig into the various apps and features that are driving scores.”

Why HRV is key to getting you ready

(Image credit: Apple)

Readiness scores are strongly tied to Apple’s ability to continuously monitor heart rate at a much higher sampling frequency than previous watches, thanks to the new Health Sensing System. The Apple Watch Series 11 can continuously monitor heart rate every five minutes. The Series 12 and Ultra 4 can do that every five seconds. Apple says it’s this massive improvement in the fidelity of heart rate monitoring that explains why only the Ultra 4 and the Series 12 can dish out Readiness scores.

There’s another heart-related metric that’s vital and that’s heart rate variability. This is the measurement of the intervals between heart beats. It’s a measurement that again has featured on wearables for some time and has been used to better understand stress, recovery and the effect of diet and exercise on your body.

For Series 12 and the Ultra 4, Apple is introducing two HRV measurements: overall HRV and recovery HRV. It’s the latter that’s most relevant for your Readiness scores and can additionally be viewed inside of Apple’s heart app on the Watch.

“It's a critical element to this,” says Bolton. “[Recovery HRV] feeds into Readiness, but it’s also part of our Vitals experience as well. So you’re going to be able to independently look at HRV recovery through the course of the night and throughout the day and that’s providing added insight and education about what that could mean for you.

“For us, the real value here is we're taking that and we're partnering it with these other existing features like sleep and other vitals and also your activity, to give this really distilled and synthesised version of all your metrics and what they might mean for you.”

Rooted in research

(Image credit: Apple)

It will come as no great surprise that Apple hasn’t just plucked its Readiness score out of thin air. It’s a metric that’s been developed through various studies conducted by Apple. That includes Apple’s Heart Rate and Movement study, which was first announced in 2019. Data was used from the study to “tune the experience” of Readiness scores. Apple’s Heart Rate Accuracy study, which summarises the accuracy of its new Health Sensing System also played its part too. There were also additional studies conducted surveying people to understand their fatigue levels and how people felt versus what their metrics said.

“We also did some testing and studies to make sure that the Readiness feature was behaving the way it should for users,” says Bolton. “The reality is sometimes in the morning you will wake up and this may confirm exactly what your body's already telling you. In some other instances it may actually surface something that you didn't notice about before. But in terms of the underlying data, the features that provide it have been studied and there's a lot of rigour independently on each of them.”

Readiness is not just about the AM

Before Apple, Readiness scores were something you mainly glanced at in the morning. On the Watch Ultra 4 and the Series 12, Apple sees Readiness as an all-day affair. That means what happens during the day will have an impact on your Readiness score, whether that’s completing a tough workout or something has changed in your vitals data.

“So something that our new health sensing system unlocks is this continuous heart rate monitoring throughout the course of the day,” says Bolton. “This could potentially lead to us or the feature recognising that you've got an elevated heart rate throughout the course of the day and that will change your Readiness. So as you're going throughout the day there's this value that it brings as well.”

While previous takes on readiness scores have felt more fitness-centric in terms of who will find this metric most valuable, Apple believes this is something all Watch wearers can get value from glancing at.

“You might have someone who’s managing a busy week with kids, work and trying to get adequate sleep, squeezing a workout in here and there," says Bolton. “For that person, sometimes it's just going to reaffirm or confirm to them something that they already know or they're already feeling in their body that today's a good day or you're not feeling things aren't great today.

“For that same person, it may actually surface something that they're not already noticing. So they've been under some stress at work. This might give that sort of little red flag to say, hey, it might be time to recover or take it easy because of some of these metrics we're seeing.

“You don't have to be an elite athlete to get value out of this, and anyone who's wearing the watch and sleeping with it at night can get this incredible insight each day to help them get through it.”

• Check Point warns scammers spoof airline customer support on social media to steal payment data
• Hundreds of fake accounts created daily, luring frustrated passengers into private chats or forms
• Campaign active since 2024; mirrors earlier fake support scams seen during crypto wallet fraud

Scammers are now posing as customer support for airlines, tricking already frustrated customers into sharing payment details and possibly losing money, too.

People who have had poor experiences flying would often vent their frustration on social media, be it X, Facebook, Instagram, or any other platform. They would tag the company and demand help, or at least an explanation. However, according to new research from security experts Check Point, the airline’s social media department is not the only one monitoring these complaints - hackers do it, too.

Not only are they monitoring the channels, they are actively preparing to hop in and talk to the customers.

Years-old campaign

Every day, hundreds of new social media accounts are created - some are built to spoof the airlines themselves, others are built to look as if they’re used by the airlines’ customer support or similar department. When the customer leaves a post or a comment, the criminals swoop in, publicly apologizing for the inconvenience, and offering assistance in a different, private channel. Sometimes those are the platform’s DMs, and sometimes it is WhatsApp or a different platform entirely.

The end result differs from case to case. Sometimes, the criminals would try to get the victims to share their personal and payment information and would later try to make a wire transfer. In other instances, the crooks would prepare a fake form for the victims to fill out, possibly creating a database for later use.

Check Point doesn’t know exactly when the campaign started but found some of the impersonation accounts dating back to before 2024, with the majority being created either in 2024, or later. “This suggests that the activity has accelerated over the past two years. The campaign remains highly active, with hundreds of new accounts appearing daily and new scam techniques continuing to emerge,” they said.

However, we can confirm that this type of fraud has been around for a lot longer than that. Fake customer support scams were rampant on X even in 2021, during the crypto ICO craze, during which crooks were taking advantage of people losing access to their wallets, or making transactions towards nonexistent wallet addresses in the same way.

MobLand season 2 makes its debut on Paramount+ very soon — and, if you've read my five-star review, you'll know that you're in for an absolute treat.

In short, it's a chaotic masterclass in storytelling. Season 2 picks up Conrad's (Pierce Brosnan) feud with Kevin (Paddy Considine) as it ramps up a notch, embroiling new 'fixer' Frankie (Johnny Flynn) in their mess. Frankie is acting on behalf of the Harrigan's arch-rival Kat (Janet McTeer), who is trying to take control of London from a distance.

This leaves Harry (Tom Hardy) having to clean up even more mess than before, particularly considering his and Jan's (Joanne Froggatt) impending divorce. On top of that, daughter Gina (Teddie Allen) has gone missing.

Just another average day with this lot, eh? Even with the above onslaught of drama, one thing that's still not sunk in after two years of watching is just how much deadly, explicit swearing there is. Weaponised by a former James Bond and a Dame, no less.

With so many See You Next Tuesdays flying about — I did count, and there's four from Conrad in season 2 episode 1's opening six minutes — I asked the young cast members if it's any less surreal watching Brosnan and Mirren at work.

As it turns out, they're much more at ease with the insults than I am... but they're all leading to something even more unhinged.

'You ain't seen nothing yet'

"I think I'm so used to it," Mandeep Dhillon, who plays Seraphina Harrigan, told me, before Allen added: "I think I feel desensitised to it. We get so much, and then when we're doing the extra takes for scenes, it's like a second language."

Anson Boone, who plays grandson Eddie Harrigan, interjected: "I'm desensitised to the swearing, but not the fact that I'm in scenes with them. That is still mad to me. I was a little boy who would watch them in films, and to think that I'm now playing a family with them is still a bit mental."

Watch any episode of MobLand and you won't see a trace of being starstruck in Boone's performance. However, you will notice that Eddie and his grandmother Maeve (Mirren) have a fairly bizarre relationship.

While they rarely cross paths, their time together is charged with an underlying chemistry that borders on Oedipus levels of uncomfortableness. According to Boone, the outlandish swearing is only a gateway for more of those scenes this season... and they go even further.

"Keep tuning into season 2 because things just get weirder and weirder," he teased. "You ain't seen nothing yet. In season 1, we were all getting to know each other, so to then come back for season 2, you have that added level of comfort. We're all pals now.

"It's so exciting when you get to read a really meaty, shocking or strange scene... and then getting to play that out with a national treasure like Dame Helen Mirren is surreal, but amazing."

If I could sum up what's to come in three words, meaty, shocking and strange is also what I'd choose. Without giving anything away, keep your eyes particularly peeled for episode 3.

• ArenaNet says Guild Wars 3's ancient Orr setting will interest longtime lore fans and newcomers
• Studio head Colin Johanson says the game is "very much for our fans" who are invested in the game's lore
• He adds that the game is also for new players, and they won't need to play the first two games to understand what's going on

ArenaNet has confirmed that Guild Wars 3 takes place 1000 years before the first Guild Wars game in the ancient land of Orr, which it believes will interest both hardcore fans and new players.

Speaking at an exclusive preview TechRadar Gaming attended at Gamescom, where we saw a guided presentation exploring the game's new momentum system, studio head Colin Johanson shared additional details about the game's setting, where players are a Veil Warden.

Johanson explained that much of Guild Wars' history and lore originates from ancient Orr, and he knows fans "care deeply" about it and have been asking ArenaNet for more, so it felt like a natural direction for the sequel.

"Some of the themes from Guild Wars 1 all tie back to moments in this timeline before the gods disappeared from the world," he said. "In Guild Wars 2, the ruins of Orr are raised from the bottom of the ocean by a giant undead dragon, and players get to visit the remains of what Orr was 1000 years in the future, and players have been asking us for over a decade to see what Orr was like before the gods left, before it was destroyed, and so this is very much for our fans to give them something to get excited about."

However, while Guild Wars' setting might seem lore-heavy, the studio head confirmed that "it's also for new fans" and that newcomers won't need to play the first two games to understand what's going on.

"This period of time has about two pages of recorded history that we've ever released outside of the studio," Johanson said. "We have a lot more internally that we haven't shared, but our fans have only seen a tiny amount of info about what actually happened in this timeline and setting, which means it's the perfect time for new people to come join the Guild Wars franchise because you don't have to have played Guild Wars 1 or Guild Wars 2 to understand what's going on in the story."

He continued: "Everyone's going to learn it all together, and if you're a big Guild Wars fan, you'll know what some of the species are and some of the characters or some of the locations. But for the most part, everybody is on equal footing."

Guild Wars 3 doesn't have a release date yet, but a beta is scheduled for Fall 2027. The game is launching on PC and PlayStation 5.

• 58% of UK businesses say security and privacy are major barriers to AI adoption
• Customers and partners are also demanding that companies go sovereign
• Sovereignty should cover data transmission as well as residency

One in two UK enterprises now want greater control over their most sensitive data, per new IDC findings commissioned by Expereo, with nearly a third (29%) of Britain's businesses now considering digital sovereignty either a top or high priority.

To this tune, more than a quarter (27%) now rank digital sovereignty as one of the leading drivers behind the tech investments going forward.

And it's all in relation to artificial intelligence, because more than half (58%) of the organizations surveyed said security and privacy remains one of the biggest barriers to AI adoption.

UK orgs want more control over their data before they invest in AI

"Digital sovereignty is increasingly being driven by a desire for greater control over how data moves across cloud, network and AI environments," Expereo CEO Ben Elms wrote. A similar number (56%) of tech leaders worry that AI could create new security risks for their business.

Expereo argues that sovereignty means much more than just where data is stored, but that it also covers how it moves between networks and clouds, calling for greater transparency and visibility across this too.

And it's not just leadership concerns that a driving this push for sovereignty, because a quarter (26%) of the orgs surveyed also said that customers and partners are adding pressure to localize data.

More broadly, while 33% of organizations globally consider digital sovereignty a high or top priority (slightly ahead of the UK), reasons differ by region. In Europe, IDC's data found that regulations like GDPR are major drivers, while the US is more focused on national security.

Despite this, AI is a uniting factor globally, as Elms concludes: "As AI adoption accelerates, this visibility will become an increasingly important part of helping organisations maintain control, manage risk and operate confidently across many jurisdictions."

• Google Translate now has an offline mode for Live Translations
• This only works between English and ten other languages
• It also only works on Pixel 11, Pixel 10, and Pixel 9 series phones

Live Translate is a feature that has the potential to break down language barriers, by letting you speak to someone in your native language and have it automatically translated to theirs. But while this Google Translate feature is undoubtedly useful, it’s also so far been held back a bit by a need for an internet connection. That though, is now changing.

As spotted by Android Authority, Google has started rolling out an offline mode for Live Translate, which could be hugely beneficial, since this feature will probably mostly be used when abroad, where data costs can be higher, and network connectivity can potentially be less reliable.

But even if you’re traveling somewhere that has widespread mobile coverage and affordable pricing, it’s still reassuring to know an internet connection won’t be required to effectively communicate with the locals.

Limited languages and phones

(Image credit: Google / Android Authority)

Of course, there are some restrictions here. First, offline Live Translate currently only works between English and French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Russian, and Swedish. So that leaves out a lot of languages, and also means that English has to be one of the two languages being spoken — you can’t for example get offline live translations between French and German.

The other major limiting factor is that for now at least, offline Live Translate is only coming to the Google Pixel 11 series, Pixel 10 line, and Pixel 9 series. So if you have an older Pixel or a phone from another brand, you’re currently out of luck.

All of which means that the vast majority of people won’t be able to benefit from this, so hopefully it’s a temporary restriction.

Then again, iOS already has a Live Translation feature of its own which can be used offline, and Samsung Galaxy phones also have a similar feature with offline functionality, so there are other options from the biggest rival brands.

Still, Google’s Live Translate feature isn’t exclusive to Pixels, so it would be nice to see this offline upgrade make it to other phones too.

• The Philips Hue Bridge Pro has increased in price by at least 40%
• Hue Essential multi-packs have also gone up in price
• However, a new software update supports 'Bridgeless Sync' for some devices

Philips Hue has had quite an illustrious few weeks, it’s just launched over a dozen new smart lights and accessories, but the latest product price hike could tarnish the company’s insane run of new announcements — and the Philips Hue Bridge Pro has received quite a shocking increase.

In the US, the Philips Hue Bridge Pro, a hub that unlocks advanced control features for the best smart lights, has risen in price from $99 to $139 — an increase of roughly 40%. In the UK, the Bridge Pro is £129.99 in the Philips Hue Autumn Glow-Up sale, up from its launch price of £79.99. That's an increase of around 35% (though the device is currently discounted to £90.80 on Amazon).

According to 9to5Google, the price changes rolled out in August, but it’s not just the US and UK that are bearing the brunt of these increases.

Eurozone regions are also affected, with the Philips Hue Bridge Pro spiking from €99 to €149. The device was €89 at launch and increased to €99 euros in March, so the latest change marks the second European price hike this year, and a total price increase of 51%..

Other Hue products that have been hit by unexpected prices as well. As spotted by Hue Blog, multi-packs of Hue Essential lamps and spotlights have shot up to €69.99 from their previous €59.99 price point. It’s not ideal, but at least these increases aren’t as substantial as the Bridge Pro.

The most frustrating part is that the Philips Hue Bridge Pro, together with the Hue Essential devices, are relatively new products that were only released last year. But with the rising cost of manufacturing and memory alike, it was only a matter of time before Philips Hue succumbed to this upheaval.

It's not all bad news...

(Image credit: Signify)

Philips Hue’s latest stunt is quite the kick in the teeth if you were just about to embark on your new smart home journey with the brand.

However amid the price hike chaos, a new software update supports ‘Bridgeless Sync’ for Philips Hue lights with the Hue Play Screen Sync TV camera and Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 4K.

What that means is that both devices can now communicate with a single Hue light via Bluetooth without the need for a Bridge or Bridge Pro hub. Additionally, the new camera-based Screen Sync system works with any TV source, removing the need for a HDMI Sync Box.

Ultimately, this removes a handful of tedious steps and significantly reduces the price for setting up your own Hue ecosystem. It also comes in handy if you want to seriously upgrade your TV viewing, but aren’t too concerned about having the entire Hue smart home experience.

Meta has a new proposition for anyone who looks at Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp and thinks they could use a little more artificial intelligence. Meta One, launched this week, packages additional features with expanded access to some of the company’s most compute-intensive AI tools.

Pay $7.99 a month for Core and you can generate more images and videos, use Instagram’s AI Restyle tools more often and generally enjoy a larger serving of Meta AI. Premium costs $19.99 and provides even more tokens.

The core Meta experience remains free, while subscriptions allow the company to build specialized or expensive features for people willing to pay for them.

Horror author Joe Hill had another idea, posting on the Meta-owned Threads: “That’s sweet, so pay a fee, get more AI, pay nothing, get a little less AI. Can we work out a deal where you pay ME and I get no AI at all?”

It is a very good joke. It may also be an unexpectedly good piece of product strategy.

Post by @joe_hill View on Threads

A lot of companies have settled on the assumption that more AI is inherently worth more money. Chatbot subscriptions offer higher limits and access to more capable models. Meta One follows the same logic by adding AI generation behind its Core and Premium tiers, though the bundles include plenty of non-AI extras too.

But while some people may want more AI and are prepared to pay for it, it's not a universal desire. Hill’s response gets at the other half of the equation, where the people who increasingly encounter AI inside products they already use would quite like a large, clearly labeled switch that makes it disappear.

The premium feature nobody is selling

There is an important distinction here between choosing AI and receiving AI. Opening ChatGPT because you want help planning a vacation is an active decision. Finding AI summaries sitting above your search results or AI buttons suddenly appearing inside software you already use, is something else entirely.

The evidence suggests consumers understand that distinction perfectly well. A Pew Research Center study last year in 2025 reported that 59% of American adults felt they had little or no control over how AI was used in their lives and 55% wanted more control. That fits with a Gartner survey from this year showing that 50% of U.S. consumers would prefer to buy at businesses that do not use generative AI in consumer-facing content.

That hardly amounts to a mass rejection of artificial intelligence. People use ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Meta AI because those tools can be genuinely useful, and there is clearly a market for subscriptions that make them more capable. The resistance seems less about AI existing than about losing the ability to decide when it enters the room. Gartner found something similar in customer service this year. Half of customers said generative AI could make service interactions easier, yet 87% considered access to a human agent essential when companies used AI. People can appreciate the robot while still wanting an emergency exit from the robot.

Tech companies have done this before. Advertising was once simply part of using many online services. Eventually companies realized the absence of advertising was itself valuable enough to sell. Meta already offers subscriptions without ads on Facebook and Instagram in the UK and Europe, although those plans were introduced in response to regulatory requirements. In the UK, Meta charges £2.99 a month on the web or £3.99 through iOS and Android for its ad-free option, but doesn't offer the option in the US or Australia.

Meta minus AI

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Poetra.RH)

There would be something faintly absurd about paying a technology company to remove a technology it added in the first place. Unfortunately, anyone who is currently paying for YouTube Premium to escape commercials will recognize the business model immediately.

An AI-light subscription could remove generated content from recommendations, hide AI assistants and shortcuts, and otherwise keep AI tools away unless deliberately summoned. Apple Intelligence already has a feature like it, in that it can be switched off systemwide, and Microsoft lets Copilot users disable features including personalization and memory. These controls are imperfect, but their existence recognizes the appeal of an off switch to many consumers.

None of this means Meta One is a bad idea. For someone who frequently generates images, edits Instagram Stories with AI or wants Meta’s more advanced creative tools, $7.99 could be perfectly reasonable. Meta says its early testing showed real demand, and a subscription is arguably a better way to offer computationally expensive generative features than pretending unlimited AI costs nothing.

The mistake would be assuming that the only direction people want AI to move is upward. AI companies are currently fighting over who can provide the most capable model and the highest usage limits. Enthusiasm makes sense when hundreds of billions of dollars are being spent on AI infrastructure.

Eventually, though, AI may become distasteful enough to enough people to make its absence worth paying for. Meta One is built around the proposition that customers will pay to receive more AI. The most successful premium AI feature might end up being as simple as a switch labeled “Off.”

The EcoFlow Solar Generator Delta 3 Classic bundle with solar panel charging is tailor-made for off-grid independence and emergency home backup.

• Best for: Those who want a high-capacity portable power station with fast charging, substantial output, and the option to recharge using solar energy.

• The deal: The EcoFlow Solar Generator Delta 3 Classic with 220W Solar Panel is $698.99 (was $999) at Amazon.

• Why it matters: You get a 1,024Wh LFP battery with 1,800W continuous output, plus a 220W bifacial solar panel. It can reach 80% charge in 45 minutes using AC power and provides sub-10ms UPS switching.

Solar Generator Delta 3 Classic with 220W Solar Panel: was $999 now $698.99
EcoFlow's Delta 3 Classic has a 1,024Wh LFP battery, 1,800W output, 45-minute 80% charging, sub-10ms UPS switching and includes a 220W bifacial solar panel and solar charging cable for off-grid power.View Deal

Why we recommend it

We've had exceptional experiences testing the EcoFlow Delta line of power stations, which have proved reliable, fast-charging units. The 1,800W continuous output is great for high-draw devices and appliances, while the included 220W solar panel is designed for off-grid independence. Long-lasting LFP battery cells also ensure more than 10 years of daily use.

For more options, take a look at our roundup of the best portable power stations.

Price context & historical value

Amazon has cut the price of this EcoFlow Delta 3 Classic bundle from $999 to $698.99, giving you a $300.01 saving of about 30%. It's a decent discount, although not the cheapest we've seen it. The bundle fell as low as $509 last year, making today's deal $189.99 more expensive than its previous low.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the EcoFlow Delta 3 Classic solar bundle if...

You want a reliable, high-output emergency and home backup system with solar panel charging.

❌ Skip the EcoFlow Delta 3 Classic solar bundle if...

You need a fully portable power station for charging small devices around the home, as this one weighs in at 42.1 pounds.

• Shop generators and portable power devices at Amazon

How customers discover products and information is constantly changing.

Search engines, social media and marketplaces like Amazon and Ebay, previously shaped how consumers discovered brands. But now AI-driven Large Language Models (LLMs) form another layer of that ecosystem, with more than 50% of online adults having used generative AI to find answers to questions, according to Forrester.

Thanks to LLMs, people can go beyond traditional search to ask questions and compare options through natural conversation, often before they ever visit a website.

What do businesses need to know to adapt in the face of that influence?

Discovery is becoming conversational

For what felt like forever, keywords shaped digital discovery. Customers would type a short query into a search engine and receive a list of links. But LLMs have changed that dynamic, enabling people to solve their needs in a more detailed and natural way.

Instead of a simple search for “best running shoes” consumers may now ask what products they need for marathon training, whether certain shoes suit a specific foot type, how they compare with alternatives, and where to buy them.

This changes the role of the search interface. Rather than sifting through a page of results themselves, users are increasingly comfortable letting AI narrow the field for them before they decide where to go next.

Consumers are already using AI tools for practical research and purchase-related decisions. We found informational (39%) and transactional (37%) prompts account for more than three-quarters of LLM usage.

And AI is not just acting as a neutral directory of options. 70% of LLM responses position a single brand as the primary recommendation.

Increasingly, people are being handed a single, curated recommendation rather than a page of results to compare themselves.

Intent starts to form before consumers reach the open web

LLMs are not just impacting discovery, but changing where research and purchase intent develop.

Historically, organizations have relied heavily solely on search queries, clicks and browsing behavior to understand user searches. But conversational AI introduces another signal, in the form of the questions people ask even before they know what to search for.

Consider a shopper comparing skincare ingredients, a traveler planning a family itinerary, or a business buyer evaluating software vendors. All reveal more context through their conversations than through simple keyword queries.

According to Gartner, consumers are using AI to research and compare products, but only 11% of consumers said they would be willing to let AI make purchase decisions on their behalf.

So while the final transaction may still happen on a retailer’s website, app or a physical store, the research and decision-making process is beginning much earlier, inside an AI conversation.

Meanwhile, AI-influenced journeys often reach their highest conversion point after five to six prompts, with 75–85% of those journeys converting within two weeks. Consumers rely on AI to narrow choices, test assumptions and build confidence, before moving to the open web.

That has implications for how organizations understand demand, but also how they understand and speak to the consumers driving it.

First, it may mean less traffic arriving directly on their website - but the users who do land there after an AI conversation are likely to arrive with a clearer understanding of the product, and a higher likelihood to purchase.

Second, it changes the nature of the signals organizations can learn from.

Traditional search data tends to be brief and transactional, while AI conversations are longer, more exploratory, more emotive, and reveal more about what people are trying to understand before they buy. Looking at both the questions consumers ask and the responses they receive offers a richer picture of how purchase decisions take shape.

Different models mean different pictures of the consumer

It's not just the type of data that's different, but its consistency.

Different LLMs draw on different sources, weighting information and signals in different ways. A company that appears frequently in one may barely register in another, in fact brand recommendations can vary by as much as 27 percentage points across ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity.

But a lot of what's marketed as AI consumer insight isn't based on real consumer behavior.

Often AI insight is built by taking top search terms, feeding them into a model, and treating the output as a proxy for what consumers think or want. This AEO or GEO-style focus understands the model but not the consumer.

A more useful approach starts with real consumer behavior; looking at what people actually ask, how they phrase it, and what they're trying to work out. All observed directly and not inferred from a model's output.

Defining success in an AI landscape

As AI becomes another discovery layer, organizations will need to broaden how they measure digital performance. Search rankings, website traffic and conversion rates will remain important. But they won’t tell the full story.

The way consumers research and decide has become more layered, playing out across search, social, marketplaces and now AI conversations, often before a brand ever sees a website visit.

Understanding that shift means going beyond how a model behaves to understand how people actually think, ask and choose. For businesses to succeed in this new era, the key is not simply having the biggest dataset, but having the one that offers the most complete picture of consumer intent, and understanding what that reveals about the opportunity ahead.

We've featured the best AI chatbot for business.

This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to 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/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit

The manufacturing sector is predicting a shortfall of 1.9 million manufacturing jobs over the next 10 years. As industry moves towards autonomy, trusted measurement will be essential for assessing the quality of the decisions these technologies make. From optimizing production lines and validating critical infrastructure to enabling scientific discovery, organizations continually rely on data to guide decision-making.

Metrology plays a critical role here. It provides the accurate measurement data that many workers and automated systems use as a foundation to make more informed decisions. As precision measurement technologies combine advanced sensors, software, and analytics, they enable organizations to optimize processes in real time.

In a world where microscopic inaccuracies can have consequences at scale, trusted measurement not only assures quality but is also a strategic capability that underpins safe, efficient, and data-driven industries.

From sport to science

Trusted measurement is the backbone of high-performing industries. In the background, it enables some of the most complex processes, and this takes place across a number of sectors.

Motorsport offers a clear illustration. Teams from the factory to the track rely on trusted measurement data to make informed engineering decisions. In fact, a 1mm difference in ride height can determine both performance and regulatory compliance.

Precision ensures every part of the car complies with regulations, but it also ensures that thousands of individual components can work together to unlock significant gains. In a sport where races are won by milliseconds, confidence in measurement equates to confidence in performance.

The same principle applies in scientific research. Where scientists are exploring the fundamental building blocks of our universe, discoveries of particles would not be possible without intricate technical and engineering work. Precision measurement provides assurance that every observation and experiment is built on accurate data.

Importantly, whether in motorsports or science, better decisions begin with better measurement. However, measurement spans the entire workforce and plays a valuable role in supporting the shifts many organizations are grappling with.

The era of automation

As experienced engineers retire and manufacturers contend with persistent skills shortages, organizations can no longer rely solely on manual inspection to maintain quality. Instead, digital measurement technologies are helping organizations preserve consistency while simultaneously scaling productivity.

By enabling faster, more reliable inspections and identifying issues before they disrupt production, precision measurement allows fewer specialists to oversee increasingly complex operations.

And precision measurement addresses more than just efficiency. In sectors such as aerospace, automotive, and medical manufacturing, safety isn’t optional so getting components right the first time is essential. Safety instruments use precise data to track ground instability or the structural deformation of buildings, triggering alerts for rapid incident response, in turn, protecting workers in hazardous environments.

Precision measurement has therefore evolved from an engineering support function into a strategic capability that helps organizations maintain safety across the board as well as competitiveness among growing workforce pressures.

Another option for organizations looking to address these challenges is accelerating investment in AI tools and autonomous systems, which further increases the need for trusted measurement data that those technologies can rely on.

Building trust in AI-driven industry

Trusted measurement has always been imperative, and that hasn’t changed. But as AI and automated systems continue to make decisions that were once the responsibility of experienced engineers, including adjusting production processes and inspecting components, the data fed into these models is so significant. These decisions are only as reliable as the data they are built upon.

Without accurate, robust measurement, AI can amplify errors at scale, leading to unnecessary downtime, wasted materials, and compromised quality. Precision measurement provides the confidence these intelligent systems need to make reliable decisions.

Today, precision measurement is delivered through highly sophisticated sensors, software, AI, and connected data, all working together to create a trusted digital understanding of the physical world. As industries become increasingly autonomous and data-driven, precision measurement is no longer an option to ensure accuracy. It is a non-negotiable capability that unlocks the full potential of AI and the shift toward autonomous systems.

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• Spain’s data protection agency (AEPD) reported its first breach carried out by an autonomous AI agent
• Agent chained multiple attack stages: accessed public files, scanned systems, exploited a flaw, and modified data
• AEPD urged businesses to factor AI‑driven attacks into risk assessments, stressing faster response and stronger identity controls

A Spanish company was apparently hit with a data breach conducted by an autonomous AI agent.

Earlier this week Francisco Pérez Bes, president and deputy of the Spanish data protection agency (AEPD) published a new article on the agency’s blog, saying it “received the first notification of a personal data breach in which the incident was reportedly carried out using an artificial intelligence agent powered by a well-known large language model.”

As per Pérez Bes, the agent first used the target’s “publicly accessible files”, through which it was able to log into its system. From the inside, the agent then started scanning for vulnerabilities and after finding one, used it to modify personal data and gain access to invoices.

A call to action

The author stresses that there is very little known about this incident and that a thorough investigation is currently ongoing. He pointed out that the attack doesn’t imply the AI model or the provider’s infrastructure were compromised or malicious by design, but said that the attack was “significant from a data protection perspective,” since the AI agent was used to chain together multiple stages of the attack.

For Pérez, the attack is a call to action - businesses need to rethink how they assess and manage security risks. He claims businesses need to “explicitly account for AI-assisted and AI-driven attacks when assessing the risks associated with personal-data processing,” and need to reassess their response times.

“Procedures designed around manually executed attacks may not be sufficient when an AI agent can analyze multiple assets at once, test different avenues of attack, and rapidly adapt its behavior based on what it finds.”

He also stressed the “growing importance of digital identities and credentials,” since an AI agent with an account or an API key “can operate at machine speed and move across different services before an organization has time to detect the anomalous activity.”

Via The Register