News

• KPMG's TaxBot development consumed months of drafting a 100-page prompt
• Partner-written tax advice had been scattered across countless laptops
• KPMG Workbench hosts multiple LLM models from competing vendors

When large language models began attracting global attention in late 2022, KPMG’s digital leaders immediately recognized potential benefits but also major risks.

Chief digital officer John Munnelly admitted that first experiments with ChatGPT produced “really scary” results, including the discovery of sensitive financial data sitting unsecured on internal servers.

That incident caused the firm to suspend experiments, restrict access to public AI tools, and reassess the dangers that uncontrolled deployment might introduce.

KPMG subsequently began constructing a closed environment for AI work, supported by software licenses that allowed access to OpenAI and Microsoft systems.

This move gave the consultancy a chance to design applications within safer boundaries, eventually leading to a platform called KPMG Workbench.

The system combined retrieval-augmented generation, multiple LLM options, and agent hosting capabilities.

Rather than depending on a single vendor, the firm deliberately spread usage across OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Anthropic, and Meta.

Throughout 2023, extensive effort was devoted to training employees on how to write prompts effectively and interact with AI writer systems.

By 2024, the Australian arm of KPMG initiated projects to build specialized agents. Among them was the so-called TaxBot, a tool designed to prepare tax advice.

Munnelly explained that development began by gathering partner-written advice that had been “stored all over the place,” often scattered on laptops.

That information, combined with Australia’s tax code, was placed into a RAG model to produce automated drafts. TaxBot, however, was not trivial to construct.

According to Munnelly, its creation required a 100-page prompt, drafted over months by a dedicated team, and ultimately fed into Workbench.

The result is a system that requests several inputs, seeks guidance from human experts, and then generates a 25-page document for client review.

Munnelly claimed the agent now performs tasks that once took two weeks in a single day, a change he described as “very efficient.”

He suggested that quick turnaround is particularly important for clients engaged in time-sensitive deals such as mergers.

Yet he also emphasized that only licensed tax agents are permitted to operate the tool, acknowledging that output without professional oversight is not suitable for general users.

Beyond efficiency, KPMG argues that the introduction of agents has boosted staff satisfaction, since repetitive tasks can be avoided.

Additionally, some clients have expressed interest in acquiring similar agents, generating revenue streams KPMG did not originally anticipate. Nevertheless, the firm concedes that measuring precise benefits remains difficult.

Via The Register

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When Apple launched the Studio Display in March 2022, it seemed that its purpose was to be an advanced monitor for creative pros who didn’t want to shell out for the $4,999 Pro Display XDR. Since then, though, it’s been over three years without a single update, leaving it suspended in an uncomfortable limbo.

When we initially reviewed the Apple Studio Display, we thought it was good but not great, with a few glaring omissions and frustrating oversights marring its final score. It’s fallen further behind in the years since, and with rival monitors offering OLED panels and higher refresh rates for lower prices, the Studio Display is in a tough spot.

Fortunately, there are rumors that Apple is working on several new monitors, one of which is likely to be a new Studio Display. Rumors have suggested it could arrive in 2026 with a mini-LED panel, making it four years between hardware updates.

And while that mini-LED screen would be a serious upgrade over the LCD panel in the current Studio Display, there’s one thing that I’d love to see above all else in the new model: a higher refresh rate. This isn’t just about gaming, although that’s part of it – this upgrade would benefit a wide range of users and scenarios, making it a change that could finally bring the Studio Display right up to date.

Let’s start with the elephant in the room, the aspect that, on the surface, perhaps makes the least sense: gaming. The Studio Display is not a gaming monitor, and Apple never claimed it was in the first place. The clue is in the name, after all: Studio Display. It’s meant for designers, photographers, and videographers – creatives, in other words, not gamers.

But in the years since the Studio Display’s 2022 launch, Apple’s gaming prowess has gone from strength to strength. We can no longer scoff when someone suggests that a MacBook is a gaming machine – it’s genuinely true. Apple has also demonstrated more of a commitment to gaming on Mac, with a new Metal dev toolkit and triple-A games featuring more frequently in Mac event presentations.

That’s mostly thanks to Apple’s in-house chips, with the latest editions offering bona fide gaming performance. Throw in frame generation, and even the most demanding games can run at high resolution and high frame rates on a Mac.

Yet right now, the Studio Display is singularly unsuited to take advantage of that. That’s because it’s limited to a measly 60Hz refresh rate, which Apple chips can go blast past these days. Pair up a Studio Display and a powerful Mac, and it’s the screen that will let you down, not the chip – and who thought we’d be saying that a few years ago?

Increasing the Studio Display’s refresh rate – ideally to the 120Hz of the latest MacBook Pros and iPhones – would significantly improve the gaming experience for Apple users. After all, Apple has already added this smooth refresh rate tech to other Macs. Why not the Studio Display?

A higher refresh rate wouldn’t just be good for gamers – creatives would feel the benefits too. Despite the recent advances in gaming performance, Apple’s products are still primarily aimed at designers, artists, and other creatives. Upping the refresh rate could therefore bring noticeable benefits to a significant chunk of Apple’s target audience.

For example, what if you’re editing high-refresh-rate video footage on a Studio Display? Right now, you’re limited to playing it back at 60 frames per second on your monitor, which could be well below what your video is set to. That’s an obvious flaw that is likely to prompt creatives to look for alternatives. The same applies to many professionals working in game design; if you need to verify the performance of a test build, you can't be limited by your monitor's refresh rate.

Unlike gaming, this is a problem for the Studio Display’s core audience, which highlights the importance of fixing this issue. There’s no way that Apple can pitch the Studio Display as a great solution for creatives if it can’t serve them on such a basic level. Considering its $1,599 price tag, that’s a major problem.

Whether it’s a core use case like creative work or an incidental one such as gaming, upping the Studio Display’s refresh rate would improve life for a large swathe of Apple’s users.

With the company aiming to appeal more strongly to gamers, the good news for Apple is that both creatives and gamers can benefit from smoother on-screen motion. That means it can effectively kill two birds with one stone by improving this aspect of the Studio Display.

As I mentioned earlier, current rumors suggest that Apple is looking to add mini-LED tech into the Studio Display’s monitor, but there’s no word yet on whether the refresh rate will change. We can only hope that this, too, is coming, given how much of a difference it could make – and how much it’s really needed in Apple’s monitor.

Apple already has the technology in place to make this a reality, and you can get it today in the MacBook Pro and pro-level iPhones. Now, the company just needs to bring it to the Studio Display. If it does, Apple’s device could become one of the best monitors around, for both creatives and, perhaps, gamers.

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A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Sunday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Sunday, August 31 (game #1315).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,100 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 0.

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 2.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

• R

• B

• S

• S

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1316, are…

• RECAP
• BRIDE
• SMACK
• SPOIL

After crashing out yesterday I was delighted to just finish today's Quordle unscathed.

Three-letter-combinations were the key to my success, with I-D-E leading to BRIDE and O-I-L leading to SPOIL. My only lucky guess was for SMACK which, at that stage, could have been “scamp”.

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1316, are…

• FLASH
• THEME
• DAIRY
• CONDO

• Quordle #1315, Sunday, 31 August: MORAL, ENTER, FOIST, TESTY
• Quordle #1314, Saturday, 30 August: RHINO, FLUNG, JUICY, DROVE
• Quordle #1313, Friday, 29 August: FLAIR, TAROT, FRAIL, PRUNE
• Quordle #1312, Thursday, 28 August: AFOOT, TANGO, LUMEN, NAVAL
• Quordle #1311, Wednesday, 27 August: TWEED, SCRAP, SHEIK, AWOKE
• Quordle #1310, Tuesday, 26 August: BEGET, WRATH, HEARD, INDEX
• Quordle #1309, Monday, 25 August: GEEKY, SHALT, CHIEF, JIFFY
• Quordle #1308, Sunday, 24 August: ROVER, GONER, ANTIC, OUTDO
• Quordle #1307, Saturday, 23 August: DEMON, GRATE, FLYER, SHEEP
• Quordle #1306, Friday, 22 August: TROOP, SCOPE, TORSO, BRINY
• Quordle #1305, Thursday, 21 August: QUEST, SPARK, WHITE, ACUTE
• Quordle #1304, Wednesday, 20 August: DOLLY, MERRY, BUGLE, WORST
• Quordle #1303, Tuesday, 19 August: KNAVE, SMART, CARRY, MAMMA
• Quordle #1302, Monday, 18 August: FIBER, TRADE, RAYON, TEASE
• Quordle #1301, Sunday, 17 August: FUNGI, AMITY, DRIER, CHECK
• Quordle #1300, Saturday, 16 August: OWING, QUAKE, SLIDE, ELITE
• Quordle #1299, Friday, 15 August: WHALE, PRISM, DRAKE, TEPEE
• Quordle #1298, Thursday, 14 August: LAPEL, IDIOM, RENEW, LIVER
• Quordle #1297, Wednesday, 13 August: CACTI, HOMER, EMAIL, ALBUM
• Quordle #1296, Tuesday, 12 August: SPOOL, TITLE, JAUNT, OVINE

• Details of the OnePlus 15 have leaked
• We also have new renders of the design
• The phone could launch in November

We haven't heard too much about the successor to the OnePlus 13 so far, but a fresh batch of leaks gives us a good idea of what's on the inside and on the outside of the OnePlus 15 (the number 14 is being skipped, due to its associations with bad luck in China).

First up, the team at Android Headlines has pulled together some interesting information about OnePlus 15 benchmark scores that have appeared online. The scores indicate that the phone will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 chipset.

The scores themselves are actually pretty low, but at this stage in the phone's development, it's not worth paying much attention to them – they're unlikely to match the real world performance levels of the handset once it sees the light of day.

It also looks as though the OnePlus 15 is going to come with 16GB of RAM, or at least the option of 16GB of RAM, based on this benchmark listing. The OnePlus 13 is available with 12GB, 16GB, or 24GB of RAM, though that last option isn't available in many places.

OnePlus 15 storage & color options, as per DCS- 12GB+256GB, 12GB+512GB, 16GB+256GB, 16GB+512GB, and 16GB+1TB- Black, Purple, and Titanium color options pic.twitter.com/Do9n9Uhaw9August 29, 2025

We've also seen some unofficial renders from tipster @Sudhanshu1414 (via Notebookcheck), though as always nothing is certain about these leaks – not until OnePlus actually gets around to launching the flagship phone.

There are three colors on show here, which are black, silver, and a dark purple. The outer camera module is a square, rather than a circle as it is on the OnePlus 13 – and it looks like there are three rear cameras here again, matching the current model.

Interestingly, an executive from OnePlus parent company Oppo has gone on record as saying that the design of the OnePlus 15 is one of his favorites in recent years, although there doesn't look anything too out of the ordinary.

The standard OnePlus 13 was launched in China at the start of November 2024, before becoming more widely available in January 2025, and it's likely that the successor is going to follow a similar sort of schedule but 12 months further on.

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• AI impersonation scams use voice cloning and deepfake video to convincingly mimic trusted people
• Cybercriminals target people and businesses through calls, video meetings, messages, and emails
• Experts say that independently verifying identities and using multi-factor authentication are key to protecting yourself

Imagine getting a frantic call from your best friend. Their voice is shaky as they tell you they’ve been in an accident and urgently need money. You recognize the voice instantly; after all, you’ve known them for years. But what if that voice isn’t actually real?

In 2025, scammers are increasingly using AI to clone voices, mimic faces, and impersonate people you trust the most.

The rise in this type of scam has been staggering. According to Moonlock, AI scams have surged by 148% this year, with criminals using advanced tools that make their deception near-impossible to detect.

So how can you stay safe from this growing sci-fi threat? Here's everything you need to know, including what cybersecurity experts are recommending.

AI impersonation scams are a fast-growing form of fraud where criminals use artificial intelligence to mimic a person’s voice, face, or typing style with alarming accuracy.

These scams often rely on voice cloning, which is a technology that can recreate someone’s speech patterns with just a few seconds of recorded audio.

The samples aren’t hard to find; you can often spot them in voicemails, interviews, or social media videos. According to Montclair State University, even short clips from a podcast or online class can be enough to build a convincing AI impersonation of someone’s voice.

Some scams take this even further, using deepfake video to simulate live calls. For instance, Forbes reports that scammers have impersonated company executives in video meetings, convincing staff to authorize large wire transfers.

Experts say the rapid growth of AI impersonation scams in 2025 comes down to three factors: better technology, lower costs, and wider accessibility.

With these digital forgeries at their side, attackers assume the identity of someone you trust, such as a family member, a boss, or even a government official. They then request valuable, confidential information, or skip the extra step and ask for urgent payments.

These impersonated voices can be very convincing, and this makes them particularly nefarious. As the US Senate Judiciary Committee recently warned, even trained professionals can be tricked.

AI impersonation scams can happen across phone calls, video calls, messaging apps, and emails, often catching victims off guard in the middle of their daily routines. Criminals use voice cloning to make so-called "vishing" calls, which are phone scams that sound like a trusted person.

The FBI recently warned about AI-generated calls pretending to be US politicians, including Senator Marco Rubio, to spread misinformation and solicit a public reaction.

On the corporate side of "vishing," cybercriminals have staged deepfake video meetings posing as company executives. In a 2024 case threat actors posed as the CFO of UK-based engineering company Arup, and tricked its employees into authorizing transfers totaling a whopping $25 million.

These attacks generally scrape pictures and videos from LinkedIn, corporate websites, and social media in order to craft a convincing impersonation.

AI impersonation is getting more sophisticated, too – and fast. The email provider Paubox found that nearly 48% of AI-generated phishing attempts, including voice and video clones, successfully sidestep detection by current email and call security systems.

Experts say that AI impersonation scams succeed because they create a false sense of urgency in their victims. Criminals exploit your instinct to trust familiar voices or faces.

The most important defense is to simply slow down; take your time to confirm their identity before you act. The Take9 initiative says that simply pausing for nine seconds can go a long way toward staying safe.

If you receive a suspicious call or video from someone you know, hang up and call them back on the number you already have. As cybersecurity analyst Ashwin Raghu told Business Insider, scammers count on people reacting in the moment, and calling back eliminates that urgency.

It’s also important to watch for subtle red flags. Deepfake videos can have a few tells, such as unnatural mouth movements, flickering backgrounds, or eye contact that feels a little 'off'. Similarly, AI-generated voices can have unusual pauses or inconsistent background noise, even if they sound convincing at first.

Adding extra layers of security can help, too. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) makes it harder for scammers to get into your accounts even if they successfully steal your credentials.

Cybersecurity expert Jacqueline Jayne told The Australian that your best bet is to pair direct verification with some form of MFA — particularly during periods of high scam activity, such as during tax season.

AI offers a ton of mind-boggling capabilities, but it also gives scammers powerful new ways to deceive. By staying vigilant, verifying suspicious requests, and talking openly about these threats, you can reduce the risk of being caught off guard — no matter how real the deepfake may seem.

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