Digital cooperation Archives | Page 172 of 221

Microsoft bets on AI openness and scale

Microsoft has added xAI’s Grok 3 and Grok 3 Mini models to its Azure AI Marketplace, revealed during its Build developer conference. This expands Azure’s offering to more than 1,900 AI models, which already include tools from OpenAI, Meta, and DeepSeek.

Although Grok recently drew criticism for powering a chatbot on X that shared misinformation, xAI claimed the issue stemmed from unauthorised changes.

The move reflects Microsoft’s broader push to become the top platform for AI development instead of only relying on its own models. Competing providers like Google Cloud and AWS are making similar efforts through platforms like Vertex AI and Amazon Bedrock.

Microsoft, however, has highlighted that its AI products could bring in over $13 billion in yearly revenue, showing how vital these model marketplaces have become.

Microsoft’s participation in Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol initiative marks another step toward AI standardisation. Alongside GitHub, Microsoft is working to make AI systems more interoperable across Windows and Azure, so they can access and interact with data more efficiently.

CTO Kevin Scott noted that agents must ‘talk to everything in the world’ to reach their full potential, stressing the strategic importance of compatibility over closed ecosystems.

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Meta and PayPal users targeted in new phishing scam

Cybersecurity experts are warning of a rapid and highly advanced phishing campaign that targets Meta and PayPal users with instant account takeovers. The attack exploits Google’s AppSheet platform to send emails from a legitimate domain, bypassing standard security checks.

Victims are tricked into entering login details and two-factor authentication codes, which are then harvested in real time. Emails used in the campaign pose as urgent security alerts from Meta or PayPal, urging recipients to click a fake appeal link.

A double-prompt technique falsely claims an initial login attempt failed, increasing the likelihood of accurate information being submitted. KnowBe4 reports that 98% of detected threats impersonated Meta, with the remaining targeting PayPal.

Google confirmed it has taken steps to reduce the campaign’s impact by improving AppSheet security and deploying advanced Gmail protections. The company advised users to stay alert and consult their guide to spotting scams. Meta and PayPal have not yet commented on the situation.

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EX90 will be first to feature Gemini AI

Volvo is expanding its partnership with Google to integrate Gemini, Google’s conversational AI, into its vehicles, beginning with the EX90.

Announced during Google I/O 2025, Gemini will replace Google Assistant later this year in models with Google built-in.

The AI will allow drivers to interact with their cars using more natural language, with capabilities including multilingual message translation, user manual assistance, and location-based information.

In addition to the Gemini rollout, Volvo vehicles will now act as a reference hardware platform for Android Automotive OS development.

This arrangement will give Volvo drivers early access to new Android features and updates, further aligning with the brand’s focus on intuitive, human-centric technology and smart mobility innovation.

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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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OpenAI buys Jony Ive’s AI hardware firm

OpenAI has acquired hardware startup io Products, founded by former Apple designer Jony Ive, in a $6.5 billion equity deal. Ive will now join the company as creative head, aiming to craft cutting-edge hardware for the era of generative AI.

The move signals OpenAI’s intention to build its own hardware platform instead of relying on existing ecosystems like Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android. By doing so, the firm plans to fuse its AI technology, including ChatGPT, with original physical products designed entirely in-house.

Jony Ive, the designer behind iconic Apple devices such as the iPhone and iMac, had already been collaborating with OpenAI through his firm LoveFrom for the past two years. Their shared ambition is to create hardware that redefines how people interact with AI.

While exact details remain under wraps, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Ive have teased that a prototype is in development, described as potentially ‘the coolest piece of technology the world has ever seen’.

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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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Ransomware threat evolves with deceptive PDFs

Ransomware attacks fell by 31% in April 2025 compared to the previous month. Despite the overall decline, the retail sector remained a top target, with incidents at Marks & Spencer, Co-op, Harrods and Peter Green Chilled drawing national attention.

Retail remains vulnerable due to its public profile and potential for large-scale disruption. Experts warn the drop in figures does not reflect a weaker threat, as many attacks go unreported or are deliberately concealed.

Tactics are shifting, with some groups, like Babuk 2.0, faking claims to gain notoriety or extort victims. A rising threat in the ransomware landscape is the use of malicious PDF files, which now make up over a fifth of email-based malware.

These files, increasingly crafted using generative AI, are trusted more by users and harder to detect. Cybersecurity experts are urging firms to update defences and strengthen organisational security cultures to remain resilient.

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Google brings sign language translation to AI

Google has introduced Gemma 3n, an advanced AI model that can operate directly on mobile devices, laptops, and tablets without relying on the cloud. The company also revealed MedGemma, its most powerful open AI model for analysing medical images and text.

The model supports processing audio, text, images, and video, and is built to perform well even on devices with less than 2GB of RAM. It shares its architecture with Gemini Nano and is now available in preview.

MedGemma is part of Google’s Health AI Developer Foundations programme and is designed to help developers create custom health-focused applications. It promises wide-ranging usability in multimodal healthcare tasks.

Another model, SignGemma, was announced to aid in translating sign language into spoken text. Despite concerns over Gemma’s licensing, the models continue to see widespread adoption.

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Microsoft and GitHub back Anthropic’s MCP

Microsoft and GitHub are officially joining the steering committee for MCP, a growing standard developed by Anthropic that connects AI models with data systems.

The announcement came during Microsoft’s Build 2025 event, highlighting a new phase of industry-wide backing for the protocol, which already has support from OpenAI and Google.

MCP allows developers to link AI systems with apps, business tools, and software environments using MCP servers and clients. Instead of AI models working in isolation, they can interact directly with sources like content repositories or app features to complete tasks and power tools like chatbots.

Micro soft plans to integrate MCP into its core platforms, including Azure and Windows 11. Soon, developers will be able to expose app functionalities, such as file access or Linux subsystems, as MCP servers, enabling AI models to use them securely.

GitHub and Microsoft are also contributing updates to the MCP standard itself, including a registry for server discovery and a new authorisation system to manage secure connections.

The broader goal is to let developers build smarter AI-powered applications by making it easier to plug into real-world data and tools, while maintaining strong control over access and privacy.

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Met Office and Microsoft debut AI-ready forecasting system

The UK’s Met Office has launched a new supercomputer designed to significantly improve weather and climate forecasting accuracy. Operated via Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform, it is the world’s first cloud-based supercomputer dedicated solely to weather and climate science.

Capable of performing 60 quadrillion calculations per second—more than four times faster than its predecessor—the system is expected to enhance 14-day forecasts, improve rainfall predictions, and offer better data for sectors like aviation and energy.

The infrastructure, split across two data centres in southern England, runs entirely on renewable energy. Originally announced in 2020 with a £1.2 billion UK government investment, the project faced delays due to COVID-19 and global supply chain disruptions.

Despite recent cyberattacks on UK institutions, Met Office officials say the new system has robust security and represents a major technological upgrade.

The Met Office also says the new system will support AI integration and provide better insights into climate change-related events, such as floods and wildfires.

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