The US House of Representatives has passed an $848 billion defence policy bill with new provisions for cybersecurity and AI. Lawmakers voted 231 to 196 to approve the chamber’s version of the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA).
The bill mandates that the National Security Agency brief Congress on plans for its Cybersecurity Coordination Centre and requires annual reports from combatant commands on the levels of support provided by US Cyber Command.
It also calls for a software bill of materials for AI-enabled technology that the Department of Defence uses. The Pentagon will be authorised to create up to 12 generative AI projects to improve cybersecurity and intelligence operations.
An adopted amendment allows the NSA to share threat intelligence with the private sector to protect US telecommunications networks. Another requirement is that the Pentagon study the National Guard’s role in cyber response at the federal and state levels.
Proposals to renew the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act and the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program were excluded from the final text. The Senate is expected to approve its version of the NDAA next week.
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Europe’s General Court has backed challenges by Meta Platforms and TikTok against an EU supervisory fee imposed under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The companies argued that the levy was calculated unfairly and imposed a disproportionate financial burden.
The supervisory fee, introduced in 2022, requires large platforms to pay 0.05% of their annual global net income to cover monitoring costs. Meta and TikTok said the methodology relied on flawed data, inflated their fees, and even double-counted users.
Their lawyers told the court the process lacked transparency and produced ‘implausible’ results.
Lawyers for the European Commission defended the fee, arguing that group-wide financial resources justified the calculation method. They said the companies had adequate information about how the levy was determined.
The ruling reduces pressure on the two firms as they continue investing in the EU market. A final judgement from the General Court is expected next year and may shape how supervisory costs are applied to other major platforms.
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Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has confirmed that data was affected in a cyberattack that has kept its UK factories idle for more than a week. The company stated that it is contacting anyone whose data was involved, although it did not clarify whether the breach affected customers, suppliers, or internal systems.
JLR reported the incident to the Information Commissioner’s Office and immediately shut down IT systems to limit damage. Production at Midlands and Merseyside sites has been halted until at least Thursday, with staff instructed not to return before next week.
The disruption has also hit suppliers and retailers, with garages struggling to order spare parts and dealers facing delays registering vehicles. JLR said it is working around the clock to restore operations in a safe and controlled way, though the process is complex.
Responsibility for the hack has been claimed by Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters, a group linked to previous attacks on Marks & Spencer, the Co-op, and Las Vegas casinos in the UK and the US. The hackers posted alleged screenshots from JLR’s internal systems on Telegram last week.
Cybersecurity experts say the group’s claim that ransomware was deployed raises questions, as it appears to have severed ties with Russian ransomware gangs. Analysts suggest the hackers may have only stolen data or are building their own ransomware infrastructure.
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Anthropic’s Claude has expanded its role as a leading AI assistant by adding advanced tools for creating and editing files. Instead of manually working with different programs, users can now describe their needs in plain language and let the AI produce or update Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF files.
A feature that supports uploads of CSV and TSV data and can generate charts, graphs, or images where needed, with a 30MB size limit applying to uploads and downloads.
The real breakthrough lies in editing. Instead of opening a document or spreadsheet, users can simply type instructions such as replacing text, changing currencies, or updating job titles. Claude processes the prompt and makes all the changes in one pass, preserving the original formatting.
It positions the AI as more efficient than rivals, as Gemini can only export reports but not directly modify existing files.
The feature preview is available on web and desktop for subscribers on Max, Team, or Enterprise plans. Analysts suggest the update could reshape productivity tools, especially after reports that Microsoft has partnered with Anthropic to explore using Claude for Office 365 functions.
By removing repetitive tasks and making file handling conversational, Claude is pushing productivity software into a new phase of automation.
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If AI is to matter in the economy, it must first matter to small businesses. Firms employ over 61 million people, nearly half the private workforce, yet most run on outdated technology. While smartphones update monthly, many small businesses still use systems built a decade ago.
Search fund entrepreneurs bridge this gap by upgrading established firms with modern tech. One deal turned a 50-person roadside assistance firm into Asurion, now a global tech-care provider. Others have scaled compliance firms into nationwide SaaS platforms.
Generative AI now accelerates these transformations, cutting work times by over 60% across supply chains, compliance, and document processing functions. Complex tasks can now be completed in hours, unlocking double-digit productivity gains and allowing small businesses to focus on growth.
Search funds are not the only path forward. AI consulting firms, tech studios, and AI-powered roll-up strategies bring enterprise-grade tools to family-run firms. For communities that have relied on traditional playbooks, decades of growth can be compressed into months.
The cost of AI has never been lower, and the opportunity is wide open. Once deployed at scale, AI could power a wave of productivity on Main Street, helping small businesses compete and strengthening the economy for half of their workforce.
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Macrophages drive immune responses, including inflammation, tissue repair, and tumour growth. Identifying their polarisation states is key for diagnosis and immunotherapy, but current methods, such as RNA sequencing and flow cytometry, are expensive, slow, and unsuitable for real-time use.
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has emerged as a powerful tool for decoding mechanobiological signatures of cells. Combined with AI, AFM data can be rapidly analysed, but macrophage phenotyping has been relatively underexplored using this approach.
Researchers led by Prof Li Yang at the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology have now developed a label-free, non-invasive method combining AFM with deep learning. The system accurately profiles human macrophage mechanophenotypes and identifies polarisation states in real-time.
The AI model was trained on well-characterised macrophage subtypes and validated using flow cytometry. Results showed that pseudovirus stimulation mainly produced M1 macrophages, with smaller populations of M2 and mixed phenotypes, closely matching the model’s predictions.
The study, published in Small Methods, offers a promising diagnostic tool that could be extended beyond macrophages to other cell types. It could support new approaches in cancer, fibrosis, and infectious disease diagnostics based on mechanophenotypes.
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OpenAI has finalised a record $300 billion deal with Oracle to secure vast computing infrastructure over five years, marking one of the most significant cloud contracts in history. The agreement is part of Project Stargate, OpenAI’s plan to build massive data centre capacity in the US and abroad.
The two companies will develop 4.5 gigawatts of computing power, equivalent to the energy consumed by millions of homes.
Backed by SoftBank and other partners, the Stargate initiative aims to surpass $500 billion in investment, with construction already underway in Texas. Additional plans include a large-scale data centre project in the United Arab Emirates, supported by Emirati firm G42.
The scale of the deal highlights the fierce race among tech giants to dominate AI infrastructure. Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Meta are also pledging hundreds of billions of dollars towards data centres, while OpenAI faces mounting financial pressure.
The company currently generates around $10 billion in revenue but is expected to spend far more than that annually to support its expansion.
Oracle is betting heavily on OpenAI as a future growth driver, although the risk is high given OpenAI’s lack of profitability and Oracle’s growing debt burden.
A gamble that rests on the assumption that ChatGPT and related AI technologies will continue to grow at an unprecedented pace, despite intense competition from Google, Anthropic and others.
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Dutch voters have been warned not to rely on AI chatbots for political advice after Google’s NotebookLM mixed up VVD and PVV policies.
When asked about Ukrainian refugees, the tool attributed a PVV proposal to send men back to Ukraine to the VVD programme. Similar confusions reportedly occurred when others used the system.
Google acknowledged the mistake and said it would investigate whether the error was a hallucination, the term for incorrect AI-generated output.
Experts caution that language models predict patterns rather than facts, making errors unavoidable. Voting guide StemWijzer stressed that reliable political advice requires up-to-date and verified information.
Professor Claes de Vreese said chatbots might be helpful to supplementary tools but should never replace reading actual party programmes. He also urged stricter regulation to avoid undue influence on election choices.
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Researchers at NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering have demonstrated how large language models can be utilised to execute ransomware campaigns autonomously. Their prototype, dubbed Ransomware 3.0, simulated every stage of an attack, from intrusion to the generation of a ransom note.
The system briefly raised an alarm after cybersecurity firm ESET discovered its files on VirusTotal, mistakenly identifying them as live malware. The proof-of-concept was designed only for controlled laboratory use and posed no risk outside testing environments.
Instead of pre-written code, the prototype embedded text instructions that triggered AI models to generate tailored attack scripts. Each execution created unique code, evading traditional detection methods and running across Windows, Linux, and Raspberry Pi systems.
The researchers found that the system identified up to 96% of sensitive files and could generate personalised extortion notes, raising psychological pressure on victims. With costs as low as $0.70 per attack using commercial AI services, such methods could lower barriers for criminals.
The team stressed that the work was conducted ethically and aims to help defenders prepare countermeasures. They recommend monitoring file access patterns, limiting outbound AI connections, and developing defences against AI-generated attack behaviours.
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Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman now reports that Apple plans to introduce its AI-powered web search tool in spring 2026. The move would position it against OpenAI and Perplexity, while renewing pressure on Google.
The speculation comes after news that Google may integrate its Gemini AI into Apple devices. During an antitrust trial in April, Google CEO Sundar Pichai confirmed plans to roll out updates later this year.
According to Gurman, Apple and Google finalised an agreement for Apple to test a Google-developed AI model to boost its voice assistant. The partnership reflects Apple’s mixed strategy of dependence and rivalry with Google.
With a strong record for accurate Apple forecasts, Gurman suggests the company hopes the move will narrow its competitive gap. Whether it can outpace Google, especially given Pixel’s strong AI features, remains an open question.
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