News
- Chinese police are preparing to monitor VPN and Telegram users with AI-powered tools
- AI technology was a key element at the largest policing tech expo held in Beijing last May
- People in China cannot access Telegram, the most popular social media app, and international news sites without a VPN
When considering the future of policing, China reserves the spotlight for AI-powered surveillance – and VPN and Telegram users are among the targets.
As reported by the South China Morning Post, AI technology was the key element throughout the 12th China International Exhibition on Police Equipment, the largest policing tech expo held in Beijing last May.
Alongside DeepSeek-inspired LLM models that support criminal investigations and identify high-risk individuals, two tools are set to make the lives of millions of Chinese people who regularly use the best VPNs even harder.
China's AI crackdown to online dissent and censorshipWhile it's difficult to estimate the number of people using a virtual private network (VPN) in China, we do know that the tool is crucial for accessing the likes of WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, as well as international and independent news sites – the South China Morning Post included.
As Freedom House wrote in its latest report, "Chinese internet users have faced the world’s worst conditions for internet freedom for a decade."
Severe legal repercussions for online activities and strict censorship, the report explains, are complemented by the work of authorities restricting access to anticensorship tools like VPNs.
Today, only a handful of VPN services for China function under these adverse conditions. Despite this, however, China's law enforcement seeks to become even more effective at blocking them.
This is, at least, what a technology company from Nanjing, a city in Eastern China, plans to do. During the event, the firm "showcased a tool capable of detecting such use [of VPNs]," the South China Morning Post reported.
A VPN is security software that encrypts users' internet connections while spoofing their real IP address. The latter skill is exactly what lets people bypass strict content geo-restrictions in place in China. (Image credit: Getty Images)Most of the people using a VPN are likely to do so to access Telegram, among other things. The popular messaging app and its official website have been blocked since 2015 in China, following a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on its servers.
If you cannot prevent it, you can control it, right? This is what the Third Research Institute of the Ministry of Public Security – the country's top police body – proposed to do with its new tools that, they say, can monitor Telegram.
This surveillance software is said to be able to monitor all Telegram accounts with Chinese mobile phone numbers, as these include strict real-name requirements.
"To date, the tool has collected more than 30 billion messages and monitored 70 million Telegram accounts, as well as 390,000 public channels and groups," said the group, as per the South China Morning Post.
Most crucially, however, this tool also seeks to target online dissent by scanning all Telegram messages related to politics and Hong Kong.
"The Institute cited the widespread use of Telegram by anti-government protesters in Hong Kong in 2019 as one of the reasons for developing the tool," wrote the South China Morning Post.
You might also like- New update for Windows 11 24H2 packing gaming fixes was paused for some PCs
- Those devices had a ‘compatibility issue’ meaning they needed a revised update
- Microsoft said this tweaked update should be out for all Windows 11 users by now, but some are still reporting that they don’t have the patch
Windows 11’s latest update has arrived, packing important fixes for PC gamers running version 24H2 of the OS, but it’s suffered an unusual technical glitch that’s causing some confusion.
Windows Latest noticed that Microsoft hit the pause button with the rollout of the June update (formally known as KB5060842), at least for some users after it started to be deployed yesterday.
As Microsoft let us know via the Windows message center: “Note: This update is being gradually rolled out to devices running Windows 11, version 24H2 throughout the day. We’ve identified a compatibility issue affecting a limited set of these devices. If your device is affected, you’ll receive a revised update with all the June 2025 security improvements by the end of the day.”
Microsoft didn’t specify what the compatibility problem is, but given the language used in terms of a ‘limited’ amount of devices being affected, the issue is being played down.
However, looking at a couple of Reddit threads – primarily the official announcement of the patch from Jen Gentleman of the Windows engineering team – there are quite a number of confused Windows 11 users wondering where their update is. Also, there are people with multiple PCs indicating that one has received the June patch, but others haven’t.
In theory, at the time of writing, yesterday ended a few hours ago (based on US Pacific Time, as used in Microsoft’s post on the message center) – and so everyone should have the patch by now. (Either the original, or tweaked update to resolve the compatibility wrinkle, which seemingly has a slightly different version number).
However, there are comments on the above Reddit thread along the lines of: “Is it not past midnight now? Still no update yet. What’s going on with this ‘compatibility issue.’”
Analysis: what’s going on – and what’s the big deal anyway?(Image credit: Future / Jasmine Mannan)Microsoft may have slipped with its deadline here. I’d hardly be surprised if this is the case, and it could just be a minor delay. However, what’s a bit more worrying is some scattered reports on Reddit of people ending up with broken operating systems (frozen on green screens or black screens) after applying this June update. There aren’t enough of those complaints to be truly concerned yet, but this is something to keep an eye on.
Could those be folks who accidentally got the update through for a PC vulnerable to the compatibility bug, before Microsoft put the brakes on? Maybe, but that’s just guesswork. Still, if you are getting impatient – and gamers might be in particular – I’d strongly advise against manually installing the June update if it’s not being piped to your PC via Windows Update automatically. Mainly because you may not be receiving it for a good reason, and by forcing the upgrade through, you might encounter a showstopping problem.
Gamers in particular will be keen for KB5060842 because this patch applies some crucial tweaks as mentioned at the outset. That includes the fix for problems with some PC games locking up in Windows 11 24H2 and improvements with stability for Nvidia GPUs (as well as a possible resolution for issues with mouse or keyboard lag). All this was seen in the preview version of this patch last month.
Another new feature introduced with this patch is cross-device resume. This allows you to seamlessly resume working on OneDrive files between your PC and smartphone (and it’s going to evolve into a grander vision of this functionality eventually).
There’s also a bunch of exclusive powers for Copilot+ PCs, including an Ask Copilot option for the Click to Do feature, and a change that has come in from left-field which wasn’t in the preview update in May. This is a limit of 60 days that has been imposed on system restore points, so from now on, restore points that are older than two months will vanish into the ether.
For the uninitiated, system restore is a feature that allows you to take a snapshot of the current configuration of your PC in a working state, so that if some kind of bug wreaks havoc on your device, you can in theory (assuming you can access the desktop) rewind time back to that point. Not that there’s any guarantee it’ll work, mind, but it’s an option that’s worth trying when troubleshooting.
This is a feature that Microsoft hasn’t touched in a long while, so why mess with it in this way now? That’s a good question, and I can’t think of a good answer, really. If I had to guess, maybe system restore just isn’t used so much these days, so it’s being scaled back.
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- Sam Altman says humanity is “close to building digital superintelligence”
- Intelligent robots that can build other robots “aren’t that far off”
- He sees “whole classes of jobs going away” but “capabilities will go up equally quickly, and we’ll all get better stuff”
In a long blog post, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has set out his vision of the future and reveals how artificial general intelligence (AGI) is now inevitable and about to change the world.
In what could be viewed as an attempt to explain why we haven’t achieved AGI quite yet, Altman seems at pains to stress that the progress of AI as a gentle curve rather than a rapid acceleration, but that we are now “past the event horizon” and that “when we look back in a few decades, the gradual changes will have amounted to something big.”
“From a relativistic perspective, the singularity happens bit by bit", writes Altman, "and the merge happens slowly. We are climbing the long arc of exponential technological progress; it always looks vertical looking forward and flat going backwards, but it’s one smooth curve.“
But even with a more decelerated timeline, Altman is confident that we’re on our way to AGI, and predicts three ways it will shape the future:
1. RoboticsOf particular interest to Altman is the role that robotics are going to play in the future:
“2025 has seen the arrival of agents that can do real cognitive work; writing computer code will never be the same. 2026 will likely see the arrival of systems that can figure out novel insights. 2027 may see the arrival of robots that can do tasks in the real world.”
To do real tasks in the world, as Altman imagines, the robots would need to be humanoid, since our world is designed to be used by humans, after all.
Altman says “...robots that can build other robots … aren’t that far off. If we have to make the first million humanoid robots the old-fashioned way, but then they can operate the entire supply chain – digging and refining minerals, driving trucks, running factories, etc – to build more robots, which can build more chip fabrication facilities, data centers, etc, then the rate of progress will obviously be quite different.”
2. Job losses but also opportunitiesAltman says society will have to change to adapt to AI, on the one hand through job losses, but also through increased opportunities:
“The rate of technological progress will keep accelerating, and it will continue to be the case that people are capable of adapting to almost anything. There will be very hard parts like whole classes of jobs going away, but on the other hand the world will be getting so much richer so quickly that we’ll be able to seriously entertain new policy ideas we never could before.”
Altman seems to balance the changing job landscape with the new opportunities that superintelligence will bring: “...maybe we will go from solving high-energy physics one year to beginning space colonization the next year; or from a major materials science breakthrough one year to true high-bandwidth brain-computer interfaces the next year.”
3. AGI will be cheap and widely availableIn Altman’s bold new future, superintelligence will be cheap and widely available. When describing the best path forward, Altman first suggests we solve the “alignment problem”, which involves getting “...AI systems to learn and act towards what we collectively really want over the long-term”.
“Then [we need to] focus on making superintelligence cheap, widely available, and not too concentrated with any person, company, or country … Giving users a lot of freedom, within broad bounds society has to decide on, seems very important. The sooner the world can start a conversation about what these broad bounds are and how we define collective alignment, the better.”
It ain’t necessarily soReading Altman’s blog, there’s a kind of inevitability behind his prediction that humanity is marching uninterrupted towards AGI. It’s like he’s seen the future, and there’s no room for doubt in his vision, but is he right?
Altman’s vision stands in stark contrast to the recent paper from Apple that suggested we are a lot farther away from achieving AGI than many AI advocates would like.
“The illusion of thinking”, a new research paper from Apple, states that “despite their sophisticated self-reflection mechanisms learned through reinforcement learning, these models fail to develop generalizable problem-solving capabilities for planning tasks, with performance collapsing to zero beyond a certain complexity threshold.”
The research was conducted on Large Reasoning Models, like OpenAI’s o1/o3 models and Claude 3.7 Sonnet Thinking.
“Particularly concerning is the counterintuitive reduction in reasoning effort as problems approach critical complexity, suggesting an inherent compute scaling limit in LRMs. “, the paper says.
In contrast, Altman is convinced that “Intelligence too cheap to meter is well within grasp. This may sound crazy to say, but if we told you back in 2020 we were going to be where we are today, it probably sounded more crazy than our current predictions about 2030.”
As with all predictions about the future, we’ll find out if Altman is right soon enough.
You might also likeThe Last of Us creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have confirmed what fans of the game already expected: The Last of Us season 3 is going to centre on Abby's story, with Kaitlyn Dever's character taking center stage.
Where The Last of Us season 1 followed the beats of the first game pretty faithfully, the second game is more complex and needs more time to tell its story – so where The Last of Us season 2 centered primarily on Ellie after the horrendous events of episode two and only covered part of the story arc, the third season is going to do the same switch of protagonist we experienced in the game and give us much more time with Abby.
That suggests that the rumored fourth and final season (which the show's composer Jake Staley suggests is definite, telling The Last of Us podcast Savage Starlight that "there'll be at least two more seasons, no question") will return to Ellie for its heart-stopping and desperately sad climax.
What to expect from The Last of Us season 3As the Hollywood Reporter explains (with some spoilers for season 2's big moments), season 3 is going to feel different. “It’s more of a water season than a fire season,” Druckmann revealed, as Mazin added, “It’s a wetter season than a hotter season.” And "season three is going to be starring – spoiler alert – Kaitlyn."
I'm excited about season 3, albeit with some reservations: as someone who loved and was probably deeply traumatized by playing The Last of Us Part II, I felt that season 2 of the TV show didn't feel like the game did.
That's inevitable with any adaptation, I know, but there were two things in particular that stood out for me (and for my teen, who's also a fan of the games): Bella Ramsay's portrayal of Ellie, and Kaitlyn Dever's casting as Abby.
In the game, Ellie's a monster – and Abby is built like a tank, her muscular body a huge contrast to Ellie's more slender build. But in season 2 Ellie's sad, not mad, and Kaitlyn Dever doesn't have the physical presence of her in-game equivalent. But her rage is just as terrifying, so maybe I just need to forget about the game and let the show do its own thing.
I think one of the things Mazin said about the show explains the different tone of the TV program compared to the game: "For me, this is not a show about revenge," he said. "It's a show about grief." But if you've played the game to the end, you'll know that it's about both: it's a meditation on the damage grief can do to people, both to themselves and to others.
The Last of Us season 2 is streaming now on HBO Max.
You may also like- OpenAI brings Google Cloud on board for cloud computing infrastructure
- Microsoft is no longer OpenAI's sole provider after a shakeup
- Google shares are up, Microsoft shares down
Despite having a long history with Microsoft, OpenAI is believed to have signed a deal with Google Cloud to help it meet rising demands for cloud computing services.
Reuters reports the deal was finalized in May 2025 after months of negotiating, citing an unnamed source familiar with the matter.
The finer details of its Google Cloud deal are unknown, but the move reflects OpenAI's effort to reduce its reliance on a single vendor – in this case, Microsoft – having recently announced its own $500 billion Stargate Project earlier in 2025.
OpenAI agreement with Google CloudAlthough Microsoft has fuelled much of OpenAI's growth with cloud infrastructure throughout a period of rapid expansion, the company stopped being its sole partner in March 2025, when OpenAI brought CoreWeave on board in a deal worth around $12 billion.
Now, Google Cloud will also provide resources to help OpenAI train and run its AI models.
During its first quarter of 2025, Google Cloud generated $12.3 billion in revenue, or nearly 14% of Google's total revenue. A deal with OpenAI could significantly increase the cloud division's revenue.
However, ChatGPT's success has allowed OpenAI to explore in-house opportunities.
Besides the Stargate Project, in collaboration with SoftBank and Oracle, OpenAI is also working on its own AI chip, which could spell disaster for Nvidia, which has once again taken prime position as the world's most valuable company, with a market cap of $3.510 trillion.
Sceptics are also uncertain about how Google Cloud's deal with OpenAI could impact its existing operations and customers, with the cloud hyperscaler already struggling to meet demand on occasions.
Google shares rose 2.1% after the news, with Microsoft shares dipping 0.6%, pulling it into second position with a market cap of $3.500 trillion.
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- Apple’s Wallet app got a big iOS 26 update at WWDC 2025
- There are new features for travel, from passports to boarding passes
- Virtual car keys are coming to more vehicles, too
At its WWDC 2025 event earlier this week, Apple took the time to showcase some new features coming to its Wallet app in iOS 26. This could make it easier than ever to manage your passports, boarding passes and more, and there are also new additions coming to connected cars that use virtual car keys using Wallet.
For starters, Apple Wallet is adding the ability to store virtual passports. Apple says this “is not a replacement for a physical passport, and cannot be used for international travel and border crossing in lieu of a U.S. passport.” Still, it can be used at various TSA checkpoints “for identity verification purposes during domestic travel.” Right now, it’s unfortunately limited to US passports.
Speaking of travel, Wallet can now provide you with more information on your stored boarding passes. These include Live Activities that show your flight’s progress, maps to your assigned terminal and baggage checking point, and information on your arrival terminal, gate, baggage claim area, and more.
Wallet’s upgrades are not just limited to airline travel, as it’s now able to display driver’s licenses and state IDs to websites for age and identity verification. This currently works with services like Chime, Turo, Uber Eats and U.S. Bank, plus the Arizona MVD, Georgia DDS, and Maryland MVA.
Apple Intelligence and car keys(Image credit: Apple)Thirdly, Wallet has also been refreshed with Apple Intelligence, which can now be used to identify, summarize and show order tracking info that it finds in your emails. The iOS 26 update also means you can pay in installments or with rewards when making in-store purchases using the Wallet app.
The Wallet app isn’t just used for purchases and travel, though – it can also store virtual car keys that unlock a connected vehicle using your phone. With iOS 26, that’s coming to more manufacturers, as spotted by 9to5Mac.
At the moment, virtual car keys work with 20 vehicle brands, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, and Volvo. At WWDC 2025, Apple said 13 more brands would be adding the feature soon, with manufacturers like Cadillac, GMC, and Porsche on the list (scroll down for the full list). We don’t yet know when these brands will add support, but with Apple teasing them as coming soon, hopefully we won’t have long to wait.
That all means that Apple’s Wallet app is going to be a lot more capable when iOS 26 launches this fall (although you can already try it out by downloading the iOS 26 developer beta).
Whether you’re traveling or paying for something on the go, it could be a great option, and with Apple agreeing to let users choose different payment apps in the EU, we could see some of these features come to rival iOS apps as well.
- Acura
- Cadillac
- Chery
- Chevrolet
- GMC
- Hongqi
- Lucid
- Porsche
- Rivian
- Smart
- Tata
- Voyah
- WEY
- watchOS 26 has removed several watch face designs
- They include the Gradient, Toy Story, and Vapor looks
- At the same time, there are no new faces to replace them
Typically, you expect big software updates to add features, not take them away. Yet sometimes a handful of things disappear in the process – and if you’re fond of a select few Apple Watch faces, you might be out of luck, as Apple is removing a number of well-known faces with the watchOS 26 update.
As spotted by Reddit user flogman12, Apple has ditched five faces in watchOS 26: the Fire and Water, Gradient, Liquid Metal, Toy Story, and Vapor designs.
It’s not known why these faces have been removed – Apple never gives a reason for removing faces or even announces that they’re gone – but they will likely be sorely missed by their fans. It’s possible that the faces were simply less popular than other options, and have been cleared out to make way for others.
Still, it’s not all bad news, as watchOS 26 has updated a bunch of new faces that are available for all of the best Apple Watches. While the company didn’t add any brand-new designs, it did bring its Liquid Glass visual style to a number of faces, bringing more translucency and light refraction to your Apple Watch.
Losing face(Image credit: Future)This isn't the first time Apple has cut a selection of faces from its watchOS operating system. It did so last year with watchOS 11. It’s not an unusual move for the company, and it often does this to make room for other additions when it releases a major new watchOS update.
This may also have been done simply to keep the list of watch faces at a manageable number. After all, if you’re faced with a daunting list of hundreds of different designs to choose from it might feel a tad overwhelming.
The fact that the Toy Story face has been dropped is interesting, as this was the first feature-length film released by Pixar while Apple founder Steve Jobs was Pixar CEO. You would think that would give this watch face a solid connection to Apple, but that wasn’t enough to save it from being axed.
While watchOS 26 hasn’t added any all-new options to the Watch face gallery, it has brought a bunch of new features in other areas. Be sure to check out our picks for the best watchOS 26 features to see what’s new.
You might also like- Researchers were able to access a now removed GitHub site plan
- The site showed plans for an AI website for the US Government
- It will also apparently contain a chatbot and implementation tools
An apparently leaked GitHub page has revealed the Trump administration is working on a website called ai.gov, set to launch on July 4 with the aim of trying to, “accelerate government innovation with AI”
The site was uncovered by 404Media researchers after an early version of the website was posted on GitHub by the General Services Administration (GSA), The Register reports.
Now taken down, the page was aimed at serving as a hub for government agencies to enable AI integration into their processes.
Tech spendingThe GSA department responsible for the website looks to be the Technology Transformation Service (TTS).
Headed up by Thomas Shedd, a close associate of Elon Musk, the TTS will seemingly launch the AI website with three key components; a chatbot, an “all-in-one” API that enables connections between existing systems and AI models from Anthropic, Google, or OpenAI, and ‘CONSOLE’ - a "groundbreaking tool to analyze agency-wide implementation," according to the page.
The initial staging site suggests that the ai.gov site will serve AI models through Amazon Bedrock, and most of the models listed in the API documentation on the GitHub page are FedRAMP certified for government usage, the researchers confirmed.
However, they note that one model identified and listed from AI firm Cohere is not FedRamp certified.
The fact the US government is planning to leverage AI or increase its connections with AI companies probably won’t come as much of a surprise to anyone - with the Trump administration pushing hard for widespread government adoption.
Earlier in 2025 it was announced that the IRS could use AI to replace fired workers following mass layoffs at the hands of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Other departments like the SEC and VA are reportedly bracing for ‘restructuring’ as the department investigated whether AI can be used to replace human workers across a range of government departments.
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- The UK government is developing a new tech procurement platform
- The National Digital Exchange will connect public agencies with suppliers
- This hopes to save £1.2 billion per year
The Department for Science, Information, and Technology has announced a ‘first-of-it’s kind’ new platform for public sector procurement, which it claims will unlock £1.2 billion per year in savings, and modernise the public sector’s tech investments.
The National Digital Exchange will be a platform in which public sector agencies can rate and review tech products, service, and software, which will help schools, hospitals, and other departments choose the most reliable and appropriate tech - and also help let them know which to avoid.
By helping the public sector make faster and better informed procurement decisions, the platform will open up the market to more UK tech firms, and to boost small business involvement in government tech contracts by 40% within three years.
Faster, fairer, and focusedThis platform is currently in development, and will be created under the Procurement Regulations, and is being developed alongside a "digital playbook” that will guide procurement officials towards responsible tech purchases.
The British Government has been pushing for tech development all round, with the introduction of the AI action plan, which is aimed at turbocharging the British AI sector.
This is a 50 point plan that includes initiatives like handing over public data to researchers, including anonymised NHS data, to train AI models, as well as introducing “AI Growth Zones” that speed up AI infrastructure - such as data centre building and access to the energy grid.
“We’ve all heard the stories — months of red tape, tech that doesn’t deliver, and money wasted. That’s not good enough for the people we serve,” said Feryal Clark, Minister for AI and Digital Government.
“The National Digital Exchange aims to change that. It will make it faster, fairer, and focused on what works — with real reviews, upfront pricing and smart AI to match buyers with the right suppliers in hours. It’s a clear example of our Plan for Change in action: cutting waste, boosting innovation, and backing British tech to deliver better public services.”
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- Dacora is the first female-founded and led automotive brand
- The debut model has been designed with Pininfarina Group
- Swappable upholstery is just one of many unique traits
Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Mercedes-Maybach… soon you’ll be able to add another, albeit far less recognizable, name to that list of the world’s most luxurious car makers. US start-up Dacora is here and wants a piece of the ultra-high-net-worth pie.
Founded in New York’s Hudson Valley by MIT-trained engineers Kristie and Eric D’Ambrosio-Correll, the fledgling brand is the first of its kind to be founded and led by a female CEO, as well as the first to have the confidence to command $500,000 (around £370,000 / AU$770,000) for a highly-personalized electric vehicle without hundreds of years worth of history to back it up.
The price point is set as such because Dacora claims each vehicle is “meticulously handmade” using American-sourced components and materials.
The 1930s-inspired design, produced in collaboration with Italy’s renowned Pininfarina Group, pays homage to the glamorous streamliners of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
Long hoods, shapely fenders and the option to specify real metal and hardwood inlays on the exterior are just a few of the stylistic talking points.
Inside, you won’t find any nasty plastics or cheap scratchy surfaces, as Dacora is only turning to natural wood, leather and woven wool for its interiors.
Image 1 of 3(Image credit: Dacora)Image 2 of 3(Image credit: Dacora)Image 3 of 3(Image credit: Dacora)In fact, the company says there will be twice-yearly ‘drops’ that will allow customers to completely swap out the interior fabrics with the changing seasons – wool for winter, linen for summer, for example.
The currently unnamed debut model will be available with anything from three- to seven-seat configurations, with each seat including its own independent lighting and climate controls.
Money No ObjectWe’re all about offering practical buying advice at TechRadar, giving our readers expert tips and insights on how to choose the right gadgets. But every so often, we also like to celebrate some of the more ridiculous tech on the market – the luxurious, high-end products that are simply fun to dream about buying. That’s the kind of kit we cover in our regular Money No Object column, which you can read more of here.
Dacora wants to take us back to a time when driving was a sensory experience, so has ditched today's screen-dominated cockpit, relying on just one, non-touchscreen display to take care of infotainment duties.
When not in use, this screen apparently disappears behind a semi-transparent wooden panel, while all controls are mechanical. Quite the analog move for two MIT-trained engineers.
As for performance, Dacora is yet to announce exact EV powertrain details, but says it is aiming for over 800hp and a projected 400-mile all-electric range. There will also be the option of a hybrid powertrain on request.
Analysis: keeping up with classy competition Image 1 of 2(Image credit: Dacora)Image 2 of 2(Image credit: Dacora)Co-founder and CEO Kristie D’Ambrosio-Correll was the former CTO of Mirror, a smart fitness product that proved a popular lifestyle product with the very wealthy.
Building on this blueprint, Dacora will open its 100-acre Hudson Valley Garage next year, complete with on-site production, design atelier and rooms for guests to stay. Every car will be a bespoke, personal commission, with the brand’s designer on-hand to guide them through the process.
Customers will also get to enjoy curated events, “immersive experiences” and all of the other lovely things rich people like to fill their spare time with.
Dacora will have to nail this side of things, because early images of the vehicle reveal divisive styling and half a million US dollars buys a lot of Rolls-Royce, which remains the final word in automotive opulence and the ultimate show of wealth.
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- US IT unemployment rates now stand at 5.5%, report claims
- Bosses could soon have to manage AI agents as well as humans
- Roles involving LLMs, blockchain and omnichannel models are most secure
Driven by widespread economic uncertainty and influenced by rapid AI adoption, new research has claimed the US IT job market could be declining.
Figures Janco highlighted a 5.5% unemployment rate among IT professionals in May 2025, compared with 4.6%, bringing unemployment within the sector above the national average for the fifth month in a row.
The report also highlights both regional shifts and the modernization of the IT sector, with legacy skill holders in smaller markets more likely to be affected than forward-thinking workers in major tech hubs.
IT jobs market is still seeing higher-than-average unemploymentJanco found many losses were concentrated in telecommunications, and other roles relating to reporting, monitoring and support. On the flip side, roles involve large language models, blockchain and omnichannel commerce looked to be the most secure.
"There continues to be uncertainty in the outlook for new IT job creation. For five consecutive months, the IT Unemployment rate has been greater than the national unemployment rate," Janco CEO M. Victor Janulaitis said.
Although roles relating to AI development are among the most secure, the figures suggest that AI could be replacing many entry-level IT jobs, particularly within the telecommunications sector.
The trend suggests a shift, rather than total worker displacement, however workers who fail to adapt to higher-skilled roles could risk being left behind.
Many businesses now report using AI agents to handle workflow tasks traditionally done by humans, including decision-making.
Looking ahead, Janco forecasts a continued IT job market decline for the third year in a row, with future roles potentially looking significantly different to traditional IT sector roles.
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- Apple has unveiled the official trailer for Foundation season 3
- The show's latest teaser puts its new, incredibly dangerous villain front and center
- His arrival in the Apple TV+ sci-fi series will cause two former foes to join forces
Foundation season 3's official trailer has made its debut online – and it not only reveals the show's new villain in all his terrifying glory, but also indicates that two former foes are about to form an unexpected alliance.
The Apple TV Original returns to our screens on Friday, July 11, and with exactly one month to go (at the time of publication) until it does so, a new teaser for one of its best Apple TV+ sci-fi shows around has certainly raised my excitement levels for its next installment.
So, what does the latest trailer for Foundation's third season tell us about its story? It tells us that The Mule, one of the most famous antagonists in Isaac Asimov's book series namesake, will be the primary villain of this season's 10-episode arc.
That won't come as a shock to fans of the critically-acclaimed program. Indeed, The Mule's arrival was teased in last season's finale – read my Foundation season 2 ending explained article for more details. He's also a hugely significant character in Foundation & Empire and Second Foundation, i.e., the second and third Foundation novels penned by Asimov, which have inspired the plot for seasons 2 and 3. So, The Mule needed to show up in one of the best Apple TV+ shows sooner rather than later.
Regardless, his live-action debut is set to put the proverbial cat among the pigeons. As this trailer and Foundation season 3's first teaser suggest, the threat posed by The Mule is so great that it'll force The Foundation and The Empire to form an uneasy alliance.
The Empire's Cleonic dynasty will need to ally themselves with The Foundation (Image credit: Apple TV+)Given that the series' two main factions have been at each other's throats throughout the show, it's clear that it would have taken something (or, rather, someone) especially alarming to make them do the unthinkable and join forces. Expect these frenemies to set aside their differences – albeit temporarily – to tackle a common foe in The Mule.
For more story-based details, check out the official blurb for this season: "Set 152 years after the events of season 2, The Foundation has become increasingly established far beyond its humble beginnings while the Cleonic Dynasty’s Empire has dwindled.
"As both of these galactic powers forge an uneasy alliance, a threat to the entire galaxy appears in the fearsome form of a warlord known as The Mule, whose sights are set on ruling the universe by use of physical and military force, as well as mind control. It’s anyone’s guess who will win, who will lose, who will live and who will die as Hari Seldon, Gaal Dornick, the Cleons and Demerzel play a potentially deadly game of intergalactic chess."
Gaal Dornick will be integral to the story that plays out in season 3 (Image credit: Apple TV+)Season 3 will see the return of key cast members in Jared Harris, Lee Pace, Lou Llobell, Laura Birn, Cassian Bilton, and Terrence Mann. Joining them on the main cast roster is Game of Thrones alumnus Pilou Asbaek, who replaced Mikael Persbrandt as The Mule last March as part of a Foundation season 3 cast shake-up.
That's not the only major adjustment to the show's cast and crew. In February 2024, Foundation showrunner David S. Goyer apparently stepped back from its production amid reported concerns about the Apple TV+ show's budget and filming schedule. Bill Bost is said to have replaced Goyer as its temporary showrunner to complete work on season 3.
Foundation's third season will launch with a one-episode premiere on Apple TV+, aka one of the world's best streaming services. New episodes will air weekly every Friday until its finale is released on September 12.
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