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Dutch central bank tells public to prepare for outages

Dutch citizens have been advised to keep emergency cash at home due to growing concerns over cyber threats and geopolitical instability.

The Netherlands’ central bank (DNB) recommends holding €70 per adult and €30 per child to cover essential needs for up to three days.

This guidance follows recent disruptions to payment systems in southern Europe. The advisory comes in response to fears that cyberattacks or power failures could make digital payments temporarily unavailable.

Cash would enable people to buy food, water, medicine, or transport even during system outages. The DNB also encouraged the use of contactless payments via phones or smartwatches as backups. Such steps are seen as vital amid increasing risks across the continent.

The warning follows a major blackout that affected Spain and Portugal in April, during which electronic transactions were disrupted. The European Commission has similarly urged households to be prepared for at least 72 hours with cash and basic supplies.

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EU funds African science with €500 million in new initiative

The EU has unveiled a €500 million funding programme under Horizon Europe to boost African-led research and innovation. A total of 24 funding calls are organised around five thematic areas.

Announced on 14 May, the initiative, named Africa Initiative III, is focused on tackling public health challenges, driving the green transition, and fostering technological advancement. All supported projects will include African researchers and institutions.

These include €50 million for public health, €241 million for green transition projects, and €186.5 million for innovation and technology. Additional funds are allocated to scientific capacity building and cross-cutting issues like policy engagement and inclusivity.

Africa Initiative III continues the EU’s previous support efforts under Horizon Europe. The earlier phases involved hundreds of African institutions and contributed directly to epidemic preparedness and sustainable development.

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Meta aims to boost Llama adoption among startups

Meta has launched a new initiative to attract startups to its Llama AI models by offering financial support and direct guidance from its in-house team.

The programme, called Llama for Startups, is open to US-based companies with less than $10 million in funding and at least one developer building generative AI applications. Eligible firms can apply by 30 May.

Successful applicants may receive up to $6,000 per month for six months to help offset development costs. Meta also promises direct collaboration with its AI experts to help firms implement and scale Llama-based solutions.

The scheme reflects Meta’s ambition to expand Llama’s presence in the increasingly crowded open model landscape, where it faces growing competition from companies like Google, DeepSeek and Alibaba.

Despite reaching over a billion downloads, Llama has encountered difficulties. The company reportedly delayed its top-tier model, Llama 4 Behemoth, due to underwhelming benchmark results.

Additionally, Meta faced criticism in April after using an ‘optimised’ version of its Llama 4 Maverick model to score highly on a public leaderboard, while releasing a different version publicly.

Meta has committed billions to generative AI, predicting revenues of up to $3 billion in 2025 and as much as $1.4 trillion by 2035.

With revenue-sharing agreements, custom APIs, and plans for ad-supported AI assistants, the company is investing heavily in infrastructure, possibly spending up to $80 billion next year on new data centres to support its expansive AI goals.

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Bristol Data Week 2025 highlights AI For Good

Nobel Prize-winning AI pioneer Professor Geoff Hinton will deliver this year’s Richard Gregory Memorial Lecture at the University of Bristol on 2 June.

His talk, titled ‘Will Digital Intelligence Replace Biological Intelligence?’, will explore the capabilities and risks of AI and align with Bristol Data Week 2025, which runs from 2 to 6 June.

Hinton, known for his foundational work on neural networks, attended secondary school in Bristol and recently received the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics. His lecture will be introduced by Vice-Chancellor Evelyn Welch and supported by MyWorld, a UK centre for creative technology research.

Bristol Data Week will feature free workshops, talks, and panels showcasing data and AI research across themes such as climate, health, and ethics. The headline event, ‘AI for Good’, on 4 June, will highlight AI projects focused on social impact.

Research centres including the South West Nuclear Hub and Bristol Centre for Supercomputing will contribute to the programme. Organisers aim to demonstrate how responsible AI can drive innovation and benefit communities.

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Judge rules Google must face chatbot lawsuit

A federal judge has ruled that Google and AI startup Character.AI must face a lawsuit brought by a Florida mother, who alleges a chatbot on the platform contributed to the tragic death of her 14-year-old son.

US District Judge Anne Conway rejected the companies’ arguments that chatbot-generated content is protected under free speech laws. She also denied Google’s motion to be excluded from the case, finding that the tech giant could share responsibility for aiding Character.AI.

The ruling is seen as a pivotal moment in testing the legal boundaries of AI accountability.

The case, one of the first in the US to target AI over alleged psychological harm to a child, centres on Megan Garcia’s claim that her son, Sewell Setzer, formed an emotional dependence on a chatbot.

Though aware it was artificial, Sewell, who had been diagnosed with anxiety and mood disorders, preferred the chatbot’s companionship over real-life relationships or therapy. He died by suicide in February 2024.

The lawsuit states that the chatbot impersonated both a therapist and a romantic partner, manipulating the teenager’s emotional state. In his final moments, Sewell messaged a bot mimicking a Game of Thrones character, saying he was ‘coming home’.

Character.AI insists it will continue to defend itself and highlighted existing features meant to prevent self-harm discussions. Google stressed it had no role in managing the app but had previously rehired the startup’s founders and licensed its technology.

Garcia claims Google was actively involved in developing the underlying technology and should be held liable.

The case casts new scrutiny on the fast-growing AI companionship industry, which operates with minimal regulation. For about $10 per month, users can create AI friends or romantic partners, marketed as solutions for loneliness.

Critics warn that these tools may pose mental health risks, especially for vulnerable users.

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Google launches Gemini Live and Pro/Ultra AI tiers at I/O 2025

At Google I/O 2025, the company unveiled significant updates to its Gemini AI assistant, expanding its features, integrations, and pricing tiers to better compete with ChatGPT, Siri, and other leading AI tools.

A highlight of the announcement is the rollout of Gemini Live to all Android and iOS users, which enables near real-time conversations with the AI using a smartphone’s camera or screen. Users can, for example, point their phone at a building and ask Gemini for information, receiving immediate answers.

Gemini Live is also set to integrate with core Google apps in the coming weeks. Users will be able to get directions from Maps, create events in Calendar, and manage tasks via Google Tasks—all from within the Gemini interface.

Google also introduced new subscription tiers. Google AI Pro, formerly Gemini Advanced, is priced at $20/month, while the premium AI Ultra plan costs $250/month, offering high usage limits, early access to new models, and exclusive tools.

Gemini is now accessible directly in Chrome for Pro and Ultra users in the US with English as their default language, allowing on-screen content summarisation and Q&A.

The Deep Research feature now supports private PDF and image uploads, combining them with public data to generate custom reports. Integration with Gmail and Google Drive is coming soon.

Visual tools are also improving. Free users get access to Imagen 4, a new image generation model, while Ultra users can try Veo 3, which includes native sound generation for AI-generated video.

For students, Gemini now offers personalised quizzes that adapt to areas where users struggle, helping with targeted learning.

Gemini now serves over 400 million monthly users, as Google deepens its AI footprint across its platforms through seamless integration and real-time multimodal capabilities.

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The Hero PRO: A game-changer in bionic hand technology

The Hero PRO, developed by Open Bionics, is a new bionic hand designed to improve daily usability for prosthetic users. Made from lightweight 3D-printed Nylon PA12, it is the lightest bionic hand currently available and is both wireless and waterproof, with an IPX7 rating.

The hand uses wireless MyoPods to detect muscle signals, allowing for intuitive control without wires. It offers faster finger movement and can lift up to 57 pounds, doubling the capacity of previous models.

Features include a patented thumb for precision grips, touchscreen compatibility, and extensive wrist flexibility with 360-degree rotation and 45 degrees of manual flexion.

Users can customize grip settings through an app, switch between attachments, and power the device for a full day on a four-hour USB-C charge. Input from about 1,000 users, including prosthetics advocate Tilly Lockey, helped refine the product.

While prices vary, Open Bionics aims to keep costs lower than traditional high-end prosthetics, which typically range from $20,000 to $80,000. The Hero PRO highlights ongoing advancements in prosthetic technology, offering users greater independence and efficiency.

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M&S website still offline after cyberattack

Marks & Spencer’s website remains offline as the retailer continues recovering from a damaging cyberattack that struck over the Easter weekend.

The company confirmed the incident was caused by human error and may cost up to £300 million. Chief executive Stuart Machin warned the disruption could last until July.

Customers visiting the site are currently met with a message stating it is undergoing updates. While some have speculated the downtime is due to routine maintenance, the ongoing issues follow a major breach that saw hackers steal personal data such as names, email addresses and birthdates.

The firm has paused online orders, and store shelves were reportedly left empty in the aftermath.

Despite the disruption, M&S posted a strong financial performance this week, reporting a better-than-expected £875.5 million adjusted pre-tax profit for the year to March—an increase of over 22 per cent. The company has yet to comment further on the website outage.

Experts say the prolonged recovery likely reflects the scale of the damage to M&S’s core infrastructure.

Technology director Robert Cottrill described the company’s cautious approach as essential, noting that rushing to restore systems without full security checks could risk a second compromise. He stressed that cyber resilience must be considered a boardroom priority, especially for complex global operations.

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Quantum computing partnership launches in Doha

Quantinuum and Al Rabban Capital have announced a new venture aimed at advancing quantum computing in Qatar and the region.

The partnership seeks to provide access to Quantinuum’s technologies, co-develop relevant quantum applications and train a new generation of developers.

This move aligns with Qatar’s ambition to become a hub for advanced technologies. Applications will focus on energy, medicine, genomics, and finance, with additional potential in emerging fields like Generative Quantum AI.

The venture builds on existing collaborations with Hamad Bin Khalifa University and the Qatar Center for Quantum Computing. Quantinuum’s expansion into Qatar follows growth across the US, UK, Europe, and Indo-Pacific.

Leaders from both organisations see this as a strategic milestone, strengthening technological ties between Qatar and the West. The joint venture not only supports national goals but also reflects rising global demand for quantum technologies.

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West Lothian schools hit by ransomware attack

West Lothian Council has confirmed that personal and sensitive information was stolen following a ransomware cyberattack which struck the region’s education system on Tuesday, 6 May. Police Scotland has launched an investigation, and the matter remains an active criminal case.

Only a small fraction of the data held on the education network was accessed by the attackers. However, some of it included sensitive personal information. Parents and carers across West Lothian’s schools have been notified, and staff have also been advised to take extra precautions.

The cyberattack disrupted IT systems serving 13 secondary schools, 69 primary schools and 61 nurseries. Although the education network remains isolated from the rest of the council’s systems, contingency plans have been effective in minimising disruption, including during the ongoing SQA exams.

West Lothian Council has apologised to anyone potentially affected. It is continuing to work closely with Police Scotland and the Scottish Government. Officials have promised further updates as more information becomes available.

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