Google's AI image generation just levelled up, with a new version of Imagen 4 bringing with it a bunch of big upgrades including a higher resolution and better text handling.
The upgrade was announced at Google I/O 2025 today, and should noticeably improve Gemini’s image capabilities, which were already rivalling those of ChatGPT.
Taking over from the previous version 3, Imagen 4 has "remarkable clarity in fine details like intricate fabrics, water droplets and animal fur, and excels in both photorealistic and abstract styles”, according to Google. You can see the new level of detail in the preview images above and below.
Imagen 4 is also the first version of Google’s AI image generator that can go up to 2K resolution, meaning you’ll be able to make larger images for presentations and pictures that will look even better when printed out.
The detail on the water droplets in this image generated by Imagen 4 is quite impressive. (Image credit: Google)A real challenge for AI image generators in the past (apart from creating realistic fingers) has been representing text in a way that makes sense and is readable.
While Imagen 3 did make significant inroads into presenting typography in a better way, Imagen 4 promises to take text to the next level.
Google claims Imagen 4 will be “significantly better at spelling and typography, making it easier to create your own greeting cards, posters and even comics”.
Usage limitsWhen it comes to the usage limits on Imagen 4, we don’t expect the situation to be radically different from those with Imagen 3, but will update this post if we hear anything different.
Currently, if you are using Imagen 3 through the Gemini chatbot, daily limits vary depending on whether you’re a free Gemini user or a Gemini Advanced subscriber.
Free users can expect around 10-20 image generations per day, depending on how heavily the service is being used. Gemini Advanced subscribers can expect higher limits of up to 100-150 daily image generations.
As with Imagen 3, there are content restrictions on Imagen 4, especially around generating images of real individuals. However, Imagen 4 has no problems generating images of generic people.
Available today across Google appsImagen 4 isn’t only available in Gemini, either; from today you’ll be able to use it across Whisk, Vertex AI, Slides, Vids, Docs and more in Workspace.
And there’s more to come, too. Google says that it will “soon” be launching a super-fast variant of Imagen 4 that’s up to 10x faster than Imagen 3 at generating images.
You may also likeGoogle is adding some extra brainpower to Gemini with a new Deep Think Mode. The company unveiled the latest option for Google Gemini 2.5 Pro at Google I/O 2025, showing off just what its AI can do with extra depth.
Deep Think basically augments Gemini's AI 'mind' with additional brains. Gemini in Deep Think mode won't just spit out an answer to a query as fast as possible. Instead, it runs multiple possible lines of reasoning in parallel before deciding how to respond. It’s like the AI equivalent of looking both ways, or rereading the instructions before building a piece of furniture.
And if Google's tests are anything to go by, Deep Think's brainpower is working. It’s performing at a top-tier level on the 2025 U.S. math olympiad, coming out on top in the LiveCodeBench competitive programming test, scoring an amazingly high 84% on the popular MMMU, a sort of decathlon of multimodal reasoning tasks. Deep Think isn’t widely available just yet. Google is rolling it out to trusted testers only for now. But, presumably, once all the kinks are ironed out, everyone will have access to the deepest of Gemini's thoughts.
Gemini shines onDeep Think fits right into the rest of Gemini 2.5’s growing lineup and the new features arriving for its various models in the API used by developers to embed Gemini in their software.
For instance, Gemini 2.5 Pro now supports native audio generation out. That means it can talk back to you. The speech has an “affective dialogue” feature, which detects emotional shifts in your tone and adjusts accordingly. If you sound stressed, Gemini might stop talking like a patient customer service agent and respond more like an empathetic and thoughtful friend (or at least how the AI interprets such a response). And it will be better at knowing when to talk at all thanks to the new Proactive Audio feature, which filters out background noise so Gemini only chimes in when it’s sure you’re talking to it.
Paired with new security safeguards and the upcoming Project Mariner computer-use features, Gemini 2.5 is trying very hard to be the AI you trust not just with your calendar or code, but with your book narration or entire operating system.
Another element expanding across Gemini 2.5 is what Google calls a 'thinking budget.' Previously unique to Gemini 2.5 Flash, the thinking budget lets developers decide just how deeply the model should think before responding. It's a good way to ensure you get a full answer without spending too much. Otherwise, Deep Think could give you just a taste of its reasoning, or give you the whole thing and make it too expensive for any follow-ups.
In case it's not clear what those thoughts involve, Gemini 2.5 Pro and Flash will offer 'thought summaries' for developers, a document showing the exact details of what the AI was doing in terms of applying information through its reasoning process, so you can actually look inside the AI brain.
All of this signals a pivot from models that just talk fast to emphasizing ones that can reason deeper, if slower. Deep Think is part of that shift toward deliberate, layered reasoning. It’s not just trying to predict the next word anymore, it's applying that logic to ideas and the very process of coming up with answers to your questions. Google seems keen to make Gemini not only able to fetch answers, but to understand the shape of the question itself.
Of course, AI reasoning still exists in a space where a perfectly logical answer might come with a random side of nonsense, no matter how impressive the benchmark scores. But you can start to see the shape of what’s coming, where the promise of an actual 'co-pilot' AI comes to fruition.
You might also likeDeath Stranding 2: On the Beach director Hideo Kojima has said that his next game, Physint, is still at least five to six years away from release.
In a new interview with French magazine Le Film Français(via VGC), ahead of the launch of Death Stranding 2, Kojima was asked whether he would ever consider directing a film in the future.
The game director said he would, and that he "received many offers after leaving Konami."
Besides the Death Stranding sequel, Kojima is currently working on his action espionage game Physint, which he said will take another five to six years to finish before he can consider moving into filmmaking.
“Besides Death Stranding 2, there is Physint in development," Kojima said. "That will take me another five or six years. Maybe after that, I could finally decide to tackle a film. I grew up with cinema. Directing would be a kind of homage to it. Besides, I’m getting older, and I would prefer to do it while still young.”
Phyisint is a brand new "original IP" that was announced during the PlayStation State of Play in January 2024 and will be Kojima Productions' third major game.
Kojima is also developing OD, his horror project for Microsoft that was revealed back in 2023. The director didn't mention anything new about OD during his interview, but it's said to be a "totally new style of game" being developed alongside Xbox Game Studios and will star actors Sophia Lillis, Udo Kier, and Hunter Schaffer.
For now, Kojima fans can look forward to Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, which is set to launch on June 26, 2025, for PS5.
You might also like...The 2025 Europa League Final is here - Tottenham face off against Man Utd in all English final as both teams look to put behind dreadful domestic campaigns.
The final will not only see one team lift the trophy, but also secure Champions League football for 2025-26 - a sweet reward for UEFA's second-tier competition.
FREE coverage has been provided thanks to TNT Sports via Discovery Plus in the UK and Ireland.
Ready to catch all the action? We'll keep you up-to-date with all the latest from Bilbao including highlights, replays and live updates.
(Image credit: Photo by Alex Pantling - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)Tottenham and Man Utd face off tomorrow night in one of the most highly anticipated Europa League Final's in many a year.
The finalists have only received 15,000 tickets, but if you can't make it to Bilbao you can keep up with the action across a multitude of tv channels and streams.
TNT Sports have made it FREE via Discovery Plus in the UK and Ireland. While those in the US can keep up with the action using Paramount Plus.
Ange Postecgolou denies being a 'clown'.
The Australian has addressed the press 24 hours out from their crunch clash against Ruben Amorim's side tomorrow.
We'll show you how to catch all the action wherever you are right here.
Europa League Final: FREE in the UKDid you know the game is being broadcast for FREE on Discovery Plus in the UK and Ireland.
Windows 10 users need to be aware of a fresh bug in the latest update for the OS, even though it’s a glitch that’s going to be much more prevalent with business laptops rather than consumer machines.
That’s because if your Windows 10 PC does encounter the problem, it can be quite a nasty one to have to rescue your system from – and you can avoid any potentially technically traumatic episode by simply installing an emergency fix Microsoft has just rushed out.
Windows Latest reported the issue with the May update for Windows 10, which causes an affected PC to fail to install the upgrade, and then run an automatic repair – a process that can happen several times, confusingly.
Adding further to the confusion is that if you have BitLocker or Device Encryption turned on (so the data on your drive is encrypted), you’ll end up at the recovery screen. That recovery process asks for your key ID, and if you don’t have that info to hand, then you’re in something of a pickle, shall we say.
Let’s cover those all-important caveats first, though, the main one being that to be affected, your PC must be running an Intel vPro processor (10th-gen or newer). This is because the bug relates to Intel Trusted Execution Technology (TXT for short) which is part of the vPro array of security measures.
As the name suggests, vPro is a brand of chips mostly used for professional (business) notebooks, but they can be found in consumer laptops, too. As Microsoft notes: “Consumer devices typically do not use Intel vPro processors and are less likely to be impacted by this issue.”
It’s worth checking if your PC has such an Intel vPro chip inside, and if it has, if you haven’t already installed the May update for Windows 10 22H2, whatever you do, push pause on that.
Rather than grabbing the May cumulative update, to avoid the bug in question, make sure you install Microsoft’s emergency patch which was deployed yesterday.
This is KB5061768, which you can only install manually – it won’t be delivered by Windows Update. Get it from Microsoft’s update catalog here, and download the ‘Windows 10 version 1903 and later’ variant which is correct for your PC. (That’s likely the 64-bit (or x64) version – check your processor type in the Device Specifications section of System > About in the Settings app, but if you don’t have a 64-bit CPU and OS, you want the x86 version, ignore the Arm variant).
(Image credit: MAYA LAB / Shutterstock) Breaking down the problem – and what to do if you’re already hit, and locked out of your PCWhat’s actually happening with this glitch? There’s some problem with the May update for Windows 10 which is causing a process (lsass.exe, a security-related service) to be terminated unexpectedly. This is prompting the automatic repair process to run to try and fix things, though as noted above, your Windows 10 PC may make several repeated failed attempts to install the update before it gives up and rolls back to the previous (April) update (hopefully).
That’s messy, but things are worse for those using Device Encryption or BitLocker, who could end up stuck at the recovery screen if they don’t have their recovery key to hand.
So, what happens if you’ve missed the boat to install this emergency fix from Microsoft, as you’ve already installed the May update for Windows 10, and now you can’t get into your system (past the recovery screen) to download and apply said fix?
Well, in this case, Microsoft advises that to start Windows 10 successfully, you’ll need to turn off Intel Trusted Execution Technology and another setting, Intel VT for Direct I/O, in your PC’s BIOS. However, that apparently requires entering your BitLocker recovery key (again, problematic if you don’t have it on hand).
If you’re stuck in this particular dead-end, according to Windows Latest, it’s possible to simply turn off Intel Trusted Execution Technology (TXT) in your BIOS, without touching the other setting (Intel VT), and then you can successfully restart your PC to get back to the desktop.
The first step here is to get into the BIOS, and the method to do this varies depending on your PC (check the manuals supplied with your machine). The key to access the BIOS can be one of a number of possibilities, but it’s often F2, F10, or F12, which you press repeatedly as the system just starts to boot up.
Once in the BIOS, you need to find the Intel TXT (or Trusted Execution Technology) setting. This is likely in Security > Virtualization, or System Security Settings, or some label pertaining to Security or System Configuration. It’ll most likely be a security-related title, so check carefully through any such option screens looking for Intel TXT. When you locate this, turn it off, but as mentioned, you can leave Intel VT for Direct I/O alone.
Now choose the option to save changes to the BIOS and reboot your PC, and you should be back in Windows 10, where you can now install Microsoft’s patch (KB5061768) from the update catalog. Once that’s done, you can go back into your BIOS and switch Intel TXT back on.
All things considered, to avoid any potential messing around like this, it’s a far better idea to install the fix before you grab the May cumulative update for Windows 10.
This is not the first time Microsoft has visited a bug like this on Windows 10 users (or indeed Windows 11 PCs). It’s also worth remembering that if you’re running Windows 11, and you upgrade to the latest version, 24H2, using a clean install, this applies the Device Encryption feature automatically. Note that an in-place upgrade to Windows 11 24H2 won’t do this, only a clean install of Windows 11 24H2. Furthermore, it has to be an installation linked to a Microsoft account, too, as that’s where the encryption recovery key info is saved (which is why you must be very careful about deleting a Microsoft account, as the key vanishes with it).
Device Encryption is basically a ‘lite’ version of BitLocker, providing encryption for Windows 11 Home PCs, but it only covers the data on the main system drive.
You may also like...Ransomware remains one of the most disruptive and costly cyber threats facing businesses and public sector organizations. In June 2024, a ransomware attack on Synnovis, an NHS laboratory services provider, resulted in £32.7 million in damages – over seven times its annual profits. This incident caused widespread disruption to medical procedures across London hospitals, further reinforcing the real-world consequences of such attacks.
This is just one example of the many high-profile incidents that have occurred over the years, despite successful efforts by the UK Government and their allies to use various tools to disrupt and counter the operations of ransomware gangs.
One tool under consideration by the UK Government is extending a ban on ransom payments beyond central government to all public sector bodies and Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) operators.
The aim is clear: reducing the financial incentives that sustain ransomware operations. While disrupting the revenue stream for cybercriminals is a logical step, it raises a critical question: will this make the public sector and CNI more resilient?
The pitfalls of paying ransomWhile paying a ransom may seem an appealing way to quickly recover your operations, it is a risky gamble. There is no guarantee that cybercriminals will restore access to systems, refrain from selling your stolen data, or even re-exploit an organization. Furthermore, organizations risk making payments to a sanctioned entity that might have obfuscated their affiliation
If public sector organizations are stripped of the option to pay, they need to be equipped with the resources to defend against and recover from attacks. That might require additional funding to bolster security and resilience programs, timely access to specialist expertise, and the use of real-world threat intelligence to guide decisions. The NHS, for example, presents a particularly complex challenge - could a blanket ban on payments be maintained in cases where a ransomware attack might impact public safety?
Additionally, if ransom payments become increasingly banned, they may be excluded from cyber insurance coverage. Organizations could face steeper premiums as insurers adjust for potentially increased recovery costs. Forensic investigations, system rebuilds, and operational downtime might exceed the cost of a ransom demand.
The supply chain dimension of ransomware attacksComprehensive supply chain security should be a critical part of an organization's resilience strategy. Even if an organization has strong cybersecurity defenses, it is still vulnerable if its suppliers do not.
The government is weighing up whether to extend ransom payment prohibitions to critical suppliers of public sector bodies and CNI. If suppliers fall victim to ransomware, how confident can organizations be that those suppliers can recover quickly without paying?
A ransomware attack on a critical supplier can trigger a domino effect. Many businesses lack visibility into these hidden dependencies, only realizing their exposure when a disruption occurs. A single compromised supplier could paralyze multiple organizations downstream, causing widespread outages and significant business challenges.
Without clear visibility of supply chain risks, businesses can only prepare for a limited range of scenarios and are unable to identify and prepare for risks resulting from dependencies from suppliers existing at the 4th party level and beyond, i.e. subcontractors and suppliers’ suppliers.
Industry-wide collaboration can increase resilienceRegardless of whether ransom payments get banned, the key to enhancing operational resilience to ransomware attacks lies in proactive, collaborative defense. When businesses share information about suppliers, they may spot risks that a single company might miss on its own. By exchanging timely insights, organizations can detect and respond to emerging threats before they escalate into serious incidents.
Mapping out these connections help reveal concentration risks where an attack could cause widespread damage. Organizations may then initiate discussions with targeted suppliers on their ability to recover from a ransomware attack without the ability to pay a ransom.
Additionally, by taking a broad view across the industry, this enables organizations to make informed decisions on their overall supplier base. This may include whether to diversify their set of suppliers to reduce concentration risks or introduce additional controls to reduce exposure to ransomware attacks.
Organizations can better prepare for additional risk scenarios that are only illuminated after consolidating supply chain information with their peers and seeing a comprehensive and holistic view of their supply chain. While many businesses recognize that a supplier might be the limiting factor in their overall security, it is imperative for them to understand that this potential limiting factor may be beyond their current visibility.
Banning ransom payments may remove some of the financial incentives for cybercriminals, but it won’t make ransomware disappear. However, organizations are right to scrutinize their suppliers’ ability to resume operations without paying a ransom. Therefore, the real challenge lies in building organizational resilience – and that requires a shift in mindset.
Businesses must move beyond siloed thinking and treat cybersecurity as a shared responsibility. Only by working collaboratively with peers, suppliers, and regulators, and by broadening visibility across the supply chain to identify and address potential risks, can we reduce the impact of ransomware and make it less viable business model for criminals.
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Announced at Microsoft's annual developer conference, Build 2025, GitHub launched a new and updated version of its Copilot AI assistant designed to streamline the integration of computer-aided coding even further.
"GitHub Copilot now includes an asynchronous coding agent, embedded directly in GitHub and accessible from VS Code," the company wrote.
GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke explained how the agent gets to work in the background when you assign a GitHub issue to Copilot or prompt it in VS Code, adding that it enhanced productivity without putting organizations' security at risk.
GitHub's Copilot agent sits quietly in the background, ready to spring into action"Having Copilot on your team doesn’t mean weakening your security posture – existing policies like branch protections still apply in exactly the way you’d expect," Dohmke explained.
The new tool works by booting a secure dev environment via GitHub Actions, cloning the repo, analyzing the codebase and pushing to a draft pull request. Users can observe session logs for greater visibility, validation and progress, with the Copilot agent promising to help across feature implementation, bug fixes, test extensions, refactoring and documentation improvements.
Dohmke also noted that users can give the coding agent access to broader context outside of GitHub by using Model Context Protocol (MCP).
The Copilot agent acts much like a human colleague in that it will tag you for review, where you can then leave a further comment asking it to make more changes, which it processes automatically.
Emphasizing the enterprise-grade security measures, GitHub noted: "The agent’s internet access is tightly limited to a trusted list of destinations that you can customize." GitHub Actions workflows also need developer approval.
Copilot Enterprise and Copilot Pro+ will be the first account types to get access to GitHub's new powerful agent, with each model request the agent makes costing one premium request from June 4, 2025.
GPT-4.1, GPT-4o, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Claude 3.7 Sonnet and Gemini 2.5 Pro each account for one premium request, however more powerful and complex models have considerably higher multipliers. For example, one question using o1 costs 10 premium requests, and GPT-4.5 has a 50x multiplier. On the flip side, Gemini 2.0 Flash has a 0.25x multiplier, meaning four questions cost one premium request.
You might also likeA 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 Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Tuesday, May 20 (game #1212).
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.
Quordle today (game #1213) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today?• 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).
Quordle today (game #1213) - hint #2 - repeated letters Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 0.
Quordle today (game #1213) - hint #3 - uncommon letters Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.
Quordle today (game #1213 - hint #4 - starting letters (1) Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?• 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:
Quordle today (game #1213) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?• N
• C
• D
• D
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
Quordle today (game #1213) - the answers (Image credit: New York Times)The answers to today's Quordle, game #1213, are…
If I had chosen COULD as a start word instead of WOULD I would/could have finished today’s Quordle a little more quickly, but that’s my only gripe.
NOVEL was the only word I struggled to find, but with three letters in the correct positions it didn’t take long to uncover it. How was it for you?
The Daily Sequence was far more challenging after I took seven tries to get the first word.
How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.
Daily Sequence today (game #1213) - the answers (Image credit: New York Times)The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1213, are…