TechRadar News

• Microsoft launches two new AI agents for sales
• Sales Agent and Sales Chat Agent offer more insight and productivity
• New Microsoft AI Accelerator for Sales offers greater Copilot access and help

Microsoft has unveiled a host of new AI agents aimed at supporting salespeople in their quest to chase leads and close deals like never before.

The company has announced two new agents and a new accelerator program all directed at helping sales as the rise in AI agents continues.

"Our ambition is to empower every employee with a Copilot and transform every business process with agents," noted Jared Spataro, Chief Marketing Officer, AI at Work. "Today we are announcing two new agents that apply this ambition to sales - the revenue engine for every business - and can be used right in the flow of work."

Microsoft sales AI agents

First up is the Sales Development Agent, which Microsoft says can help "turn contacts into qualified leads", automating the process of developing leads and crafting customer outreach.

The agent can autonomously work all day (and night) researching leads, setting up meetings, and even reaching out to customers using a company's existing CRM set-up alongside company data (such as price sheets), as well as Microsoft 365 data such as emails and meeting notes to make sure each message is accurate. Microsoft says that for some low-impact leads, it can even complete a sale.

Similarly, the new Sales Chat Agent looks to get sales done faster, giving employees access to customer insights much quicker and easier.

Using natural language prompts, the agent gives sales reps actionable takeaways from CRM data, pitch decks, meetings, emails, and the web, so they can spend less time researching, and more time selling

Both agents can be fine-tuned to every organization's particular needs, and will be accessible within Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat, as well as connecting to both Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Salesforce, meaning salespeople can get deals done without ever needing to open their CRM.

Finally, Microsoft AI Accelerator for Sales, available from April 1, 2025, gives members access to the company's latest AI products and services, alongside access to AI experts at Microsoft to help customers migrate from legacy CRM systems and aid with seller adoption, plus "premium support" and fine-tuning of the agents for even unique business needs.

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• You can now start recording manually from Philips Hue security cameras
• It's also easier to manage Philips Hue lighting setups with multiple Bridges
• Bluetooth users can change the icon of each light for easier identification

The Philips Hue app has just received a significant upgrade that makes it easier to manage your lights, and gives you more control over video recording if your home setup includes any of the company's security cameras. App version 5.37.1 is available to download now for iOS and Android devices.

The biggest change to the app is the ability to start recording video clips manually. Signify (the company behind the Philips Hue brand) makes some of the best home security cameras around when it comes to value and convenience, but until now their recording functionality has been fairly limited.

Previously, you could set your camera to send you a notification when it detects movement and record a 60-second video clip that's stored in the cloud for you to review later. Once you've received the app update, you'll also be able to trigger recording manually while watching live footage from a camera on your phone.

As fan site Hueblog.com explains, you'll notice a new icon in Live View, which you can tap to start and stop recording. Clips recorded manually will be saved to your phone rather than the cloud.

Get organized

The software update also makes it easier to organize your Philips Hue lights, whether you're controlling them using a Philips Hue Bridge or Bluetooth on your phone.

Each Philips Hue Bridge can control up to 50 lights, creating a mesh network that connects them to your home Wi-Fi network and to each other. That might be plenty, but if you have a large house, you may need a second Bridge to link them all.

With app version 5.37.1, you can now organize the Home tab by Bridge, and show the names of your Bridges as headings. This should make it easier to see and control the lights linked to each one. To give it a try, tap the ellipsis icon (...) to open the menu, then tap Edit Home Tab and select the Bridge Names icon.

Finally, if you control your Hue lights using Bluetooth, you can now change the icon for each one to make them easier to identify at a glance. To do so, select the Light card, then tap the ellipsis icon and choose Light Settings. It's a small change, but one that makes some of the best smart lights you can buy even better.

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• The new M3 iPad Air offers good value at $599 / £599 / AU$999
• But it becomes less attractive when you start adding upgrades
• If you’re doing that, buying an iPad Pro might make more sense

Apple has just launched a new iPad Air with M3 chip, updating the mid-range tablet while keeping its $599 / £599 / AU$999 starting price the same as the M2 edition – a nice little boost for Apple fans. Yet I’ve been having a look at the different configuration options (see the full list below), and pretty quickly you run into a problem: the iPad Pro.

Here’s an example. If it was me and I had my heart set on buying an iPad Air, I would probably want to get the 13-inch model over the 11-inch version. Not only does this get you a more expansive screen – which is fantastic for watching movies and editing videos – but it’s actually brighter than the 11-inch iPad Air. Whereas that device goes up to 500 nits of brightness, the 13-inch iPad Air maxes out at 600 nits.

But picking that upgrade pushes the iPad Air’s price up to $799 / £799 / AU$1,349. Add in a storage upgrade from the base 128GB to 256GB and you’re looking at a grand total of $899. That’s fairly pricey for a mid-range tablet, and it means the iPad Air loses some of its luster.

A pricing problem

(Image credit: Future)

If you’re spending this much money, it might actually be worth considering the 11-inch iPad Pro, which starts at just $100 more ($999 / £999 / AU$1,699).

That gets you an excellent tandem OLED display, Face ID, ProMotion refresh rates, up to 1,600 nits of peak brightness, and the M4 chip, among other benefits. That’s a lot of extra oomph for not much more cash. The main drawback is you’re getting a smaller 11-inch screen, as the 13-inch iPad Pro starts at the more expensive asking price of $1,299 / £1,299 / $2,199.

But if you can live with the 11-inch display (which is still a fantastic screen thanks to that tandem OLED), you’re getting one of the best tablets money can buy for only a little more than a less-advanced iPad Air. And, ironically, the iPad Pro is even thinner than the iPad Air, despite the latter’s name implying that it should be the most lightweight option.

It’s a tricky position to be in. Don’t get me wrong, the base-level $599 / £599 / AU$999 iPad Air is great value, and you get a lot of tablet for your money thanks to its featherweight design and M3 chip. But once you start adding on the upgrades, it’s much less attractive compared to the iPad Pro.

Deciding which device is right for you comes down to personal preference, but if I was looking at the iPad Air and adding a few upgrades, I’d find myself drifting inexorably towards the iPad Pro.

Maybe that’s Apple upselling people by being clever with its pricing, or maybe it’s an oversight that’s undercutting the iPad Air. Either way, the new iPad Air makes the most sense when you don’t add any upgrades to it.

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• A new HBO Original movie is coming to Max "this Spring"
• The untitled project is Jesse Armstrong's directorial debut
• It's expected to be the long-awaited follow-up to the hit show Succession

Jesse Armstrong – the creator of Succession, one of the best HBO Max shows – looks set to make a directorial debut sometime in the next three months with a new movie that sounds like it could be the highly-anticipated follow-up that fans of the hit series have been waiting for.

While no title has yet been revealed – HBO has even gone as far to cover up the project's name in an image that it released alongside the announcement (see above) – we do know that the movie will star Steve Carrell and Jason Schwartzman, and the brief synopsis sounds reminiscent of Succession, with its focus on the rich and powerful.

It reads: "A group of billionaire friends get together against the backdrop of a rolling international crisis." What the crisis is, and how these cashed-up friends are connected, isn't yet clear, but considering that Armstrong is behind the project, many are expecting another hit satirical comedy drama.

Commenting on the new Max movie, Armstrong said he was "intrigued to discover whether being around so many brilliant actors and directors on Succession has in any way rubbed off on me. Let’s hope so". I certainly hope so, too, and I feel confident in predicting that he'll bring his considerable creative talents to this next project.

Indeed, with a high-profile cast including comedic actor Carrell (The Office; The Big Short), Wes Anderson alumni Schwartzman (Rushmore; The Darjeeling Limited), Cory Michael Smith (May December; Carol), and Ramy Youssef (Poor Things; Mo), there's certainly enough star power on board to warrant high expectations.

What do we know so far about Jesse Armstrong's new HBO movie?

Not a lot. Aside from the plot, cast and release window, HBO is keeping details of the project largely under wraps. But we should start to hear more soon, considering that it's due to debut in the next three months.

It's surprising that HBO has said the new movie will be released "this Spring", because in the same breath it also says that production is only beginning this month in Park City, Utah. Such a tight turnaround sounds very ambitious, so we'll have to see what updates we get in the coming months.

A report by The Hollywood Reporter in January said production was being fast-tracked to start "later this year", but it seems that the schedule has been accelerated even more going by the latest announcement, which makes me think HBO is particularly keen to get the movie in front of audiences.

I'm not entirely surprised by that. After all, Armstrong is behind some of my favorite TV shows, with writing credits for comedic classics like Peep Show and Fresh Meat as well as satirical sensations such as Four Lions, Veep and Black Mirror.

What's even more exciting is that the project will be Armstrong's first time directing a feature-length film, and given his impressive track record I expect many will be excited to see what he has in store for us.

While we wait for this potential HBO hit to arrive, why not take a look at everything new on Max in March in the US for details of all the new releases, or check out horror aficionado Lucy Buglass' top six new Max movies and shows that she's most excited to watch this month.

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• The Last of Us season 2's release date has been set for mid-April

• Daredevil: Born Again has already spawned big fan theories about two of its characters
• Some Disney+ viewers think they've worked out who'll play Muse in the Marvel TV show
• Others believe that episode 1's soul-destroying twist is a fake out

The devil's work is never done – and, after Daredevil: Born Again's first two episodes dropped on Disney+, the same is true of fan theorists.

Yes, the debut of a new Marvel TV show is upon us and some viewers have thrown themselves head-first into rabbit hole theory territory after Born Again's two-part premiere. The reason? A portion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's (MCU) fanbase have come up with theories about a couple of its characters – and, while they seem outlandish on the surface, I think there's some substance to both hypotheses.

Full spoilers immediately follow for Born Again's first two chapters, so make sure you've watched them (and read my spoiler-filled Daredevil: Born Again review) first before you proceed.

Is Franklin 'Foggy' Nelson really dead in Daredevil: Born Again?

It took just eight minutes for Born Again to break our collective hearts (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney Plus)

It's something of an irony that, for a show with a variation on the word 'birth' in its title, a major character death occurs in episode 1's first 15 minutes. You'll know the individual who dies is Franklin 'Foggy' Nelson, aka Matt Murdock's closest friend and fellow lawyer, too, because, well, you've seen one of the best Disney+ shows' two-episode premiere. And read this section's headline above.

But I'm getting off-track. Yes, Nelson is assassinated by Benjamin 'Dex' Pointdexter, aka Bullseye, in Born Again's first episode, titled 'Heaven's Half Hour'. It's a heart-breaking moment for Matt and Karen Page (the latter being another close confidante of Matt and Foggy's), and for those of us who watched Netflix's own Daredevil live-action series, which ran for three seasons between 2015 and 2019.

RIP to a real one (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney+)

However, while we bear witness to 'Foggy' passing away, some viewers aren't entirely convinced that he's shuffled off his mortal coil. Indeed, there are fans who actually believe he's still alive – and, as wild as that theory sounds, there's some cold-hard evidence to back it up.

For one, 'Foggy' has 'died' once in the comics. His infamous 'demise' occurs during the Ed Brubaker era, which saw 'Foggy' killed off in Daredevil Vol. 2 #82. However, five issues later, it's revealed that Nelson's death was faked by the authorities so he could be placed in a witness protection program.

There's no reason why a similar scenario couldn't play out in Born Again. In its Netflix forebear, 'Foggy' repeatedly tries to get Murdock to give up his life as a vigilante because a) he can't keep watching his best friend sustain life-threatening injuries and b) if someone learns of Daredevil's true identity, it'll put his loved ones (including 'Foggy') in real danger. It's possible, then, that 'Foggy' faked his own death to force Murdock's hand and make him retire from the crimefighting game.

Comment from r/MarvelStudiosSpoilers

"But Bullseye killed him!", I hear you cry. "And we watched 'Foggy' die!", some of you might also add – and I agree. To that, though, I have one response: what if the 'Foggy' who dies is actually a skrull?

I know, I know, the very mention of 'skrulls' is enough to strike fear into the heart of all MCU fans. These shape-shifting aliens haven't exactly been put to good use in the MCU thus far (I'm primarily looking at you, Secret Invasion...), but wouldn't it another stunning turn of events if the 'Foggy' who died is actually a skrull and the real 'Foggy' feigned his death to make Murdock turn his back on his superhero alias? How would Murdock react if he found out that 'Foggy' was not only alive and well, but also lied to him and Karen?

Alright, it's a long shot. For one, skrulls quickly revert to their normal form when they're killed, so we'd know if the death of 'Foggy' was a fake out straight away. Nevertheless, threads on the Marvel Studios and Marvel Studios Spoilers Reddit pages are full of fans suggesting that 'Foggy' may not be as dead as we think.

With Born Again producer Sana Amanat (per GamesRadar+) and Marvel's Head of TV Brad Winderbaum (per the Phase Hero podcast) insinuating that Elden Henson, the actor who plays 'Foggy', will return in season 2, there's every chance that this fan theory could prove to be true, too. Personally, I think Henson will only return for flashback sequences but, hey, I've been wrong before.

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Is Buck Cashman the man behind the Muse mask in Daredevil: Born Again?

I don't think Buck Cashman is masquerading as the serial killer known as Muse (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney+)

One of the biggest mysteries surrounding Born Again's plot is who'll play Muse. A serial killer who creates grotesque works of art using the body parts of his victims, Muse is one of the most sadistic members of Daredevil's rogues gallery and, based on Daredevil: Born Again's first trailer, it seems he'll either be the primary or secondary antagonist of the series' first season.

As of episodes 1 and 2, though, we still don't know which actor will portray Muse in his live-action debut. Indeed, he's the only character in my Daredevil: Born Again cast guide who doesn't have an actor attached to his article entry.

So, who might be tackling the role in Born Again on Disney+, aka one of the world's best streaming services? Muse doesn't appear in the two-episode premiere, so we still don't know. That hasn't stopped fans from speculating on his real-world identity, though – and some are saying that Buck Cashman (played by Arty Froushan) will be revealed to be Muse later in season 1.

Comment from r/MarvelStudiosSpoilers

Like the 'Foggy' fan theory, there seems to be some proof that fans are are on the right track. Cashman comes across as a bit of slimeball whenever he appears. He doesn't exactly hide how creepy he is when he attends a book signing for therapist (and Murdock's new love interest) Heather Glenn's new self-help book, either.

Sure, it's more likely that he's present at said book launch event because he's under instructions from Wilson Fisk, aka the new mayor of New York City. Fisk wants to keep tabs on his archnemesis in Murdock, so it makes sense that he'd get the greasier members of his team to tail anyone that Murdock is close to. Hey, Fisk is no longer the fearsome crime lord known as Kingpin, but he can still use the blackmail playbook to his advantage.

Now THIS character, played by Hunter Doohan, has to be Muse, right? (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney+)

That all said, I believe Cashman isn't Muse. In fact, there's another individual at the event, who gets his copy signed and asks Glenn if she's taking on new clients because he's struggling with his mental health, who seems to be a better fit for Muse.

I'm no the only one who thinks that, too. The same Reddit threads I linked to earlier are also filled with people commenting on the prospect that this character, who appears to be played by Wednesday star Hunter Doohan, moonlights as Muse. We'll see who's right as season 1 of this Marvel Phase 5 project progresses. In the meantime, check out more of my Daredevil: Born Again and wider Marvel coverage below.

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• A new patent has revealed Samsung is working on a unique upgrade to its smart ring
• A future Galaxy Ring could have a new type of built-in temperature sensor
• It would use motion sensors to determine what you're measuring

The Samsung Galaxy Ring is the best smart ring going thanks to its excellent health tracking features, but the company is already working on future upgrades, including a temperature sensor that could detect what you're trying to measure when you touch it.

A new patent unearthed by 91mobiles reveals the company is developing a new type of temperature sensor that would rest on the inner side of the ring, and could be used for taking the temperature of various surfaces – at least, determining when you're holding something that is affecting the Ring's temperature reading, like hot coffee.

The Galaxy Ring already features a built-in temperature sensor for measuring internal body temperature, a useful feature that helps power menstrual cycle predictions. However, this new patent reveals an external probe that could come in handy for measuring other things.

According to the patent, a motion sensor could detect movement and help establish what you're trying to measure. Based on how you've moved, the ring can identify what you're trying to measure, and will reportedly be able to distinguish between your own skin temperature and the temperature of another person or an object. The patent also includes visual, audio, or tactile alerts that could notify you of an abnormal reading.

What could Samsung's new smart ring patent mean?

(Image credit: Zachariah Kelly / TechRadar)

A couple of the patent images indicate some use cases. Notably, it shows a smart ring pressed up against a cup of coffee, possibly indicating you could use a future Galaxy Ring to check the temperature of a beverage to make sure it's safe to drink (or still warm enough to be worth drinking.)

Elsewhere, images reveal the ring pressed on a child's forehead, showing the feature could be used to take temperature readings to check for fever in young children.

It's a very novel idea and one that is surely years away, but also hints at future inclusion of haptic feedback in the Galaxy Ring, or perhaps even a display.

The company has also patented smart gestures on a ring that would let you control your laptop or tablet like Tony Stark, as well as technology for an inner adjustable band that would eliminate sizing problems.

As noted, these are just patents, so don't expect any of these to feature in the Galaxy Ring 2, which could launch as early as this year.

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• Microsoft has responded to the CMA’s Provision Decision Report
• It argues British customers haven’t submitted that many complaints
• AWS is not playing ball, and Google talks “out of both sides of its corporate mouth”

Microsoft, which has seemingly found itself at the center of countless antitrust investigations in recent years, has hit back at comments made in relation to an ongoing UK CMA investigation.

The tech giant has contested the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)’s Provisional Decision Report, arguing it is based on hypothetical concerns rather than actual market conditions.

Microsoft issued a 101-page official response tackling all aspects of the CMA’s probe, even asserting British customers have raised “limited” complaints and suggesting that the body has overreacted.

Microsoft challenges CMA’s investigation

“We are particularly concerned about its singling out of Microsoft and its accusation that Microsoft is unfairly using some of its software products to prevent Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud from competing effectively for UK customers," the company wrote.

In the letter, the tech giant even slammed its primary hyperscaler rival, AWS, for not sharing its own software with Microsoft “or anyone else” – the response criticizes AWS for believing it can license Microsoft’s software “for its own benefit and on favourable terms.”

Microsoft later went on to condemn Google for “talking out of both sides of its corporate mouth,” boasting about both its “incredible momentum in the Cloud business” and mocking Microsoft’s growth at the same time.

Turning its attention to artificial intelligence, Microsoft noted cloud computing providers are set to invest $250 billion globally to meet the intensifying demands for AI, arguing that the CMA has disregarded the relevance of the technology.

The company also noted measures it and its rivals have already taken steps to counter antitrust investigations, including removing egress fees for customers switching from one cloud computing provider to another 12 months ago. The firm dismissed egress fees as a major concern, claiming that the lack of a mass migration post-fee removal proves they did not significantly impact customer decisions in the first place.

Microsoft wrapped up by concluding that it has been a “major investor” in the UK economy for four decades, urging the CMA to tread carefully to avoid “weaken[ing] one of the UK’s most dynamic, high-growth industries.”

Looking ahead, all parties have until April 2025 to submit their responses. The CMA is set to make a final decision by July 2025, ahead of the August deadline.

TechRadar Pro has asked the CMA to share further commentary, but we did not receive an immediate response.

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• Gemini AI has been spotted in Android Auto
• Right now the responses could be more useful
• The upgrade isn't available for everyone yet

Google has been busy pushing Gemini into as many of its apps and devices as it can – from smartphones to email – and now it looks as though the AI assistant is about to make its debut on the Android Auto car dashboard platform too.

The team at Android Authority was able to get Google Gemini up and running on Android Auto, though the feature doesn't seem to be widely available yet. It may be some time before the upgrade is officially introduced, along with a Google announcement.

It's actually something of a surprise that it's taken this long for Gemini to make its way to Android Auto, considering that it's pushed its way into so many other parts of the Google ecosystem, primarily at the expense of Google Assistant.

This early look gives us a good idea of how Gemini will fit into the Android Auto interface, with an 'Ask Gemini' bar appearing along the bottom of the in-car display whenever you're chatting with the digital assistant. We'll let you know as soon as Google announces an official roll-out schedule.

More work needed

We tested out how Gemini will function as the default assistant on Android Auto.Android Auto is expected to get Gemini integration soon as part of Google’s push to bring AI across its ecosystem.✅ Check video - https://t.co/uHayIumKus pic.twitter.com/zSF9xs66mSMarch 5, 2025

The Android Authority report does mention that Gemini responses seem "somewhat generic" and not all that useful at the moment – navigation requests don't factor in your current location or different travel options, for example.

That perhaps indicates that this is still a work in progress for Google, with more refinements on the way before it goes live for everyone – after all, it's pretty essential for an AI helper to know where in the world you are when you're using it in your vehicle.

Another area where Gemini came up short in Android Authority's testing was with listing nearby food places. While it offered up a lengthy list, it didn't plot the places on a map, which would be a lot more useful for drivers and passengers.

The AI bot was able to play songs from Spotify and managed other "routine tasks", and did well managing natural conversations about all kinds of topics – including the weather and famous landmarks – just as it would on the web or on mobile.

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• Strava is allowing users to post external links again
• The feature is available in descriptions and athlete profiles
• Announced in a blog post, the feature was originally removed in September

Strava, one of the best fitness apps, deleted almost all external URLs on its platform in September 2024, and stopped users posting them altogether. However, as of March 3, users can now post links again on athlete profiles, club descriptions, event descriptions and activity descriptions.

Strava took these drastic measures five months ago after what it said was “a sustained campaign of inauthentic content”, including bots reportedly linking out to pornographic sites.

However, shuttering all external links resulted in an outcry from its users, as in some cases, years of posted links to training plans, external blog posts and fundraising pages were erased overnight.

Strava reportedly even removed other content, including anything separated by a decimal point, according to users on the Strava subreddit, resulting in users with runs labelled ‘4.5km easy run’ simply showing 'easy run'. Strava may have confused these run names with URLs due to the decimal point.

Strava's now using AI to police its app

(Image credit: Lauren Scott)

In October 2024, Strava posted on its Community Hub, stating: “Community safety is our highest priority, and we will take any action necessary to protect them. As this is an ongoing situation, we do not currently have a timeline for when the filtering of links will end, but we appreciate the community’s patience as we work to keep everyone on Strava safe.”

Yesterday (March 4), Strava’s Community Hub page was updated, stating “at the end of 2024, we temporarily removed links in response to a surge in harmful spam that targeted Strava users with fraudulent and misleading content. These attacks put our community at risk, so we immediately took action to protect athletes from scams and malicious intent.

We’ve been hard at work improving our spam detection systems to keep Strava a trusted space for users. With our upgraded machine learning model, we can better detect and block suspicious activity, so you can share links in the places that matter most.”

It sounds like Strava has improved its AI enough that it can now detect inauthentic content. While it’s very important to safeguard its userbase from bad actors and malicious content, Strava is doubtless hoping its updated machine learning model will make for less upheaval for its users in future as it continues to police the platform.

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The AI community experienced a seismic shift when DeepSeek unveiled R1, a high-performing AI model available for free. Its instant popularity, marked by a record number of downloads, wasn't just about the price tag; it represented a fundamental shift in access and understanding. By removing the cost barrier, R1 democratized AI technology, offering a glimpse into the model's reasoning process – a stark contrast to the traditional "black box" experience where users were left guessing at the logic behind the AI's output.

R1's transparency is a game-changer, not just for developers but for end-users. It empowers them to understand the model's "thought process," which is essential for building trust and identifying potential biases. By providing a clear view of the AI's decision-making, R1 allows users to make more informed decisions about its output.

This has already sparked a reaction within the industry, with OpenAI responding by updating ChatGPT o3-mini to display a summary of its chain of thought (CoT). This is available to both free and paid users of ChatGPT. While it's a step towards transparency, it still doesn't provide the raw, unfiltered CoT that would truly allow for rigorous scrutiny.

The rapid adoption of R1 underscores the value we place on transparency in the age of AI. We crave insight into how these powerful AI tools arrive at their conclusions. But this newfound transparency also highlights the inherent risks associated with AI models, including the potential to perpetuate and amplify existing societal biases.

The need for oversight

Consider the example of politically sensitive topics. When prompted about Tiananmen Square, R1 provides a canned response, raising concerns about the potential for AI to become a tool for reinforcing certain political narratives and limiting access to information. This underscores the complex challenges of building AI models that are both informative and unbiased.

Imagine an AI model trained primarily on data from a single news source, or worse, deliberately programmed to suppress certain viewpoints. The result would be an echo chamber, where existing biases are amplified, and dissenting voices are silenced. This is a very real possibility that we must actively guard against. As we continue to develop and deploy new AI models, it's essential that we prioritize transparency, accountability, and diversity of perspectives to ensure that these powerful tools are used for good.

To navigate this complex landscape, we need to adopt a multi-faceted approach that addresses the issue of bias at every stage of the AI development lifecycle:

Diverse Training Data: AI models are only as good as the data they are trained on. To avoid perpetuating existing biases, it's crucial to train AI models on datasets that reflect the full spectrum of human experience and opinion. This requires a concerted effort to collect and curate data from diverse sources, including those that are often marginalized or underrepresented. This also means actively seeking out and incorporating data that challenges dominant narratives.

Proactive Bias Detection: Even with diverse training data, biases can still creep into AI models. Developers must actively work to identify and mitigate these biases. This includes techniques like bias detection algorithms, fairness metrics (e.g., demographic parity, equal opportunity, and equalized odds), and adversarial testing to detect biases in the model.

Algorithmic Auditing: To ensure that AI models are fair and unbiased, it's essential to subject them to independent audits by external experts. These audits should assess the model's performance across different demographic groups and identify any potential biases. The results of these audits should be made public to promote transparency and accountability.

Transparency and Explainability: As mentioned earlier, transparency is crucial for building trust with users. AI models should be transparent about their training data, the methods used to mitigate bias, and the reasoning behind their decisions. Use Explainable AI (XAI) techniques such as saliency maps, feature importance, and model interpretability to give users insights into the model's decision-making process.

Human Oversight: AI models should not be treated as black boxes. It's essential to maintain human oversight over AI systems and to ensure that human judgment is used to validate the model's output and to identify any potential errors or biases before a decision is made. This is particularly important in high-stakes decision-making contexts, such as healthcare and criminal justice.

The Human Imperative in the Age of AI

As the race to democratize AI heats up, human skills are more valuable than ever. We need to double down on the human qualities that remain difficult, if not impossible, to replicate with AI.

Emotional intelligence (EQ), communication, and critical thinking are essential skills for navigating the AI-driven world. Emotional intelligence, the ability to recognize and manage emotions effectively, is a critical human skill that allows us to draw upon our personal experiences, relationships, and emotions to interpret and respond to situations.

Effective communication involves more than just exchanging information. It requires active listening and understanding nonverbal cues such as facial expressions and body language, which are difficult for AI at the moment. Cultural differences, idioms, sarcasm, and indirect implications are difficult for machines to interpret accurately. Additionally, human communication often involves creative expression, storytelling, and humor.

In a world increasingly saturated with fake news and misinformation, critical thinking is more important than ever. Critical thinking is the ability to analyze and evaluate information, arguments, and assumptions. While AI can process vast amounts of data and recognize patterns faster than we can, it cannot think critically and make complex human judgments. Human leaders, on the other hand, have the capacity for critical thinking, which is essential for making informed decisions, solving complex problems, and evaluating risks and opportunities.

As we continue to integrate AI into our workplaces, it's essential that we reevaluate our approach to professional development. These skills, emotional intelligence, communication, and critical thinking should no longer be called “soft skills” in the workplace. In the age of AI, they are the foundation upon which our success is built. Organizations that are implementing AI must also devote resources to developing these human skills within their employees. By prioritizing the development of these skills, organizations can create a more resilient workforce, where humans and AI collaborate rather than compete with one another.

The "Under $50" AI Revolution

Shortly after DeepSeek announced R1, researchers at Stanford and the University of Washington shocked the community with the news that they were able to train a rival AI model for under $50 in cloud compute credits. Their model, s1, is an open rival to both OpenAI's o1 and DeepSeek's R1. This is a testament to the power of innovation and collaboration. It also demonstrates that cutting-edge AI is no longer the exclusive domain of large corporations with huge budgets. More individuals and organizations are now able to participate in the AI revolution.

The Path Forward

As AI becomes an increasingly integral part of our lives, we must prioritize a human-centered approach that puts our well-being at its core. This requires a concerted effort from researchers, policymakers, industry leaders, and the public to establish guidelines and safeguards that promote responsible AI development. By working together, we can co-create a future where AI enhances human capabilities and drives sustainable progress. The path forward is complex, but with a shared commitment to the greater good, we can ensure that AI becomes a force for positive transformation.

We've listed the best Large Language Models (LLMs) for coding.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

• Sid Meier's Civilization 7 update 1.1.0 is now live
• It contains free changes to the Cultural Legacy Path, plus lots more
• This is in addition to a new leader and Civs for owners of the paid Crossroads of the World Collection

The first major update for Sid Meier's Civilization 7 is now live, bringing a handful of much-needed fixes and improvements and a few new features.

As outlined in the official update notes, update 1.1.0 contains a mix of both free and paid content. The most dramatic free change alters the Modern Age Geographic Society Cultural Legacy Path and seems geared towards preventing other leaders from instantly flooding your territory with tens of explorer units in a mad rush to claim all of your precious excavation sites.

Explorer units now cost more while fewer Exploration Age Artifacts spawn on each continent, slowing down the pace and making things a little more strategic. A new Natural History tech Mastery has also been added, which allows you to study Natural Wonders for Artifacts. You can also now earn additional Artifacts every time you complete the repeatable Future Civic, so you can now finally recover and be in for a chance of winning a Cultural Victory if you don't manage to get your hands on a sizeable proportion of the Artifacts in the world.

A minor chance has also been made Holy Cities, which can now be converted to another religion. It also adds a new free Natural Wonder, the mysterious Bermuda Triangle, to discover. This is all on top of a wide range of smaller tweaks and balance changes to almost every aspect of the strategy game.

As for the paid content, the first portion of the Crossroads of the World Collection (which is included in the Deluxe Edition of Founders Edition versions of the game or can be purchased separately) has released, adding the new leader Ada Lovelace in addition to two new Civs, Great Britain (Modern Age) and Carthage (Antiquity Age), and four new Natural Wonders.

As a pioneer computer scientist, Ada Lovelace is geared towards Scientific and Cultural play, gaining a major Science bonus whenever you complete a Civic Mastery. She pairs well with Great Britain, an Economic, Expansionist Civ which benefits from cheaper Building production and the unique Revenge naval unit. Carthage is a new Militaristic, Economic Civ, which can only have one city and boasts a unique Colonist settler unit.

Finally, the four new Natural Wonders are Machapuchare, Mount Fuji, Vinicunca, and Vihren.

(Image credit: 2K)

This is just the beginning for Sid Meier's Civilization 7, with a development roadmap outlining some of the additions and improvements in the works. The next update is set to arrive on March 25, with some much-requested features like the ability to customize the names of Cities and Commanders plus a new free Natural Wonder.

The game is available now for PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Xbox One.

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• PowerA has announced a new collaboration with Bandai Namco
• It will see the release of a Pac-Man product line to celebrate the game's 45th anniversary
• Products will include Nintendo Switch and Xbox accessories

Gaming accessory brand PowerA has announced a new collaboration with Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc. that aims to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the iconic Pac-Man arcade game.

The collaboration includes the introduction of a series of special edition Pac-Man gaming accessories for Nintendo Switch and Xbox. A few teaser images have been released, giving us a rough idea of what to expect.

Image 1 of 3

Our first glimpse at what appears to be a new Xbox controller (Image credit: PowerA)Image 2 of 3

This looks like a Nintendo Switch controller with some fancy lighting (Image credit: PowerA)Image 3 of 3

Could this be some kind of customizable Nintendo Switch case? (Image credit: PowerA)

The first shows off what appears to be an Xbox controller (which will presumably be compatible with Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, and PC) with a charming Pac-Man design. It's largely black, but boasts yellow and blue highlights in addition to a print of a Pac-Man screen.

As the image is a close-up of the left thumbstick, it's unclear whether the controller is wired or wireless. That said, given the faint glow that seems to be emanating from parts of the design, I wouldn't be too surprised if this is a new version of PowerA's Fusion Pro Wireless Controller with Lumectra, which is designed for Xbox and features similarly eye-catching lighting.

The next picture shows a Nintendo Switch controller with a similar, albeit distinct, design in a striking black and gold color scheme. Parts of the controller, again, appear to be glowing, which makes me think that it's based on the PowerA Enhanced Wireless Controller with Lumectra. Of course, this is just speculation and there's a chance that both of these images have simply been brightened up to show off the design - so this shouldn't be taken as any confirmation that the products feature lighting.

The final image shows what I suspect is the smooth exterior of a Nintendo Switch carrying case. Interestingly, we can see a hand applying a small sticker with a Pac-Man ghost to its maze-inspired design, which makes me think that this case will come bundled with a sticker pack for customization.

More information is set to arrive "this Spring", so it shouldn't be that long until we know what PowerA has in store. If you're interested in being kept up to date with the product line, you can sign up for updates now via the PowerA website.

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• A ransomware group has listed 1.4TB dataset for sale online
• The data is said to belong to Tata Technologies, which works with Honda, Jaguar, and Ford
• The firm suffered an attack earlier in 2025

Ransomware group Hunters International has listed a 1.4TB dataset for sale on the dark web, allegedly belonging to Tata Technologies - an Indian engineering firm which specializes in automotive and aerospace engineering, and whose customers include Airbus, Ford, Jaguar, and Honda.

Tata Technologies reported suffering a ransomware attack in February 2025 that crippled parts of its IT operation, forcing the firm to temporarily suspend some IT services. It wasn’t known at the time who the attackers were, but it seems we do now.

“Further detailed investigation is underway in consultation with experts to assess the root cause and to take remedial action as necessary,” Tata said at the time. “As a precautionary measure, some of the IT services were suspended temporarily and have now been restored.”

Unknown data

The hackers listed over 730,000 files, but haven’t specified the type of information stolen. The data was listed on the dark web on March 3, 2025, and has a countdown set to expire in six days - which typically means Hunters International will release the information if it doesn’t receive payment.

This isn’t the first ransomware incident the firm has suffered, as Tata Technologies is part of the huge Indian conglomerate Tata Group - which boasts over 100 companies across a range of industries - so is a pretty attractive target for hackers.

Back in October 2022, Tata Power reported a ransomware attack, whilst Tata Steel fell victim in 2021 to a gang dubbed REvil, and Tata Teleservices was reportedly targeted in 2023 - illustrating just how often the firm is targeted.

This just goes to show how prolific these attacks are, and reports claim this is only getting worse, with AI fueling a rise in ransomware and making cyberattacks more accessible by lowering the barriers for criminals.

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• Everyone on Windows 11 is now getting a new AI ‘Rewrite’ feature for Notepad
• It’s rolling out now, although Microsoft hasn’t officially announced this
• The catch is you need a Microsoft 365 subscription to use the functionality (beyond a very limited trial in certain regions)

Windows 11’s Notepad app is getting an AI-powered Rewrite ability, a feature previously seen in testing, going by a new report.

Windows Latest noticed the development, observing that rather oddly, Microsoft hasn’t yet declared that the ChatGPT-powered Rewrite feature is out of testing.

Rewrite does exactly what you’d expect, using AI to rejig any selected piece of text in Notepad (using various parameters that can be adjusted).

As noted, Microsoft’s official documentation still says this functionality is in testing (in the Canary and Dev channels for Windows 11), but in actual fact, it’s rolling out to finished versions of the OS.

The latest release of the full version of Notepad (v11.2412.16.0) has the Rewrite feature, according to Windows Latest, bringing it to all regions globally. It’s also worth noting that when in testing, this was a US-only feature, so its rollout has been swiftly progressed here, to say the least.

(Image credit: Microsoft) How it works – and the limitations of Rewrite

Rewrite in Notepad works similarly to the other incarnations you might have seen this AI-powered option offered in (such as Word, or indeed Copilot on the web).

You select some text, invoke the ability, and then the AI (ChatGPT in this case) will present you with a differently worded version of those sentences, based on certain selected options for tone, length and format. You can then check out three different possible versions of the rewrite and choose the one you prefer.

It’s a relatively simple, but still useful, implementation of text rewriting here, but with a notable catch – you can’t use Rewrite without a Microsoft 365 subscription (and you need to be signed in to use the ability, which has caused some confusion recently).

I say you can’t use it without paying, but that’s not strictly true, because as Windows Latest points out, Rewrite works on a system of paying ‘credits’ and in the US and Canada, along with the UK, you get a limited number of free credits. That limited amount is basically only enough to give you a teaser of how Rewrite works, really.

So, this is effectively a subscriber-only piece of functionality for Notepad, though some might not want it, anyway. I’ve already covered the arguments about Notepad suffering from feature-bloat more and more – moving the app away from its traditional design as a streamlined little text editor – and Rewrite isn’t going to help placate those who feel that Microsoft has lost its way with this piece of software.

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• Sony has announced Beta Program at PlayStation
• It provides a "centralized place" to keep track of PS5 and PC tests
• Tests may include PS5 and PC games as well as upcoming console features

Sony has announced a new initiative named Beta Program at PlayStation, which aims to offer a convenient hub to keep track of any and all pre-release tests for upcoming games on PS5 and PC as well as new features.

The accompanying PlayStation Blog post has all the details, with SIE senior director of content communications Sid Shuman describing the initiative as "an easy, centralized place for you to register your interest in a range of future PlayStation betas."

It doesn't sound too dissimilar to the Xbox Insider program for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One and PC which allows users to register interest in a range of tests for new games and features.

The post continues: "A single registration for Beta Program at PlayStation will allow you to express interest in gaining beta access to test participating games for the PS5 console and PC, new PS5 console features, PlayStation App features, and even user experience features on PlayStation.com.

"You only need to sign up once to express interest in these various betas, and if you receive an invitation to a specific beta, it’s up to you to decide whether you’d like to participate or not."

You can sign up for Beta Program at PlayStation over at its dedicated landing page, the only requirements being that you have a valid PlayStation Network account, live in a supported region and are at or above the legal age requirements for your region.

Additionally, it's worth noting that signing up for Beta Program at PlayStation doesn't necessarily guarantee entries into any and all game and feature tests. This seems to be more of a way to collect those tests in one handy sign-up place instead of having to trawl through separate blog posts or emails.

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• AWS looks to be gearing up to push forward with agentic AI
• Agentic AI will be a “multi-billion business”
• Other organizational restructuring is also happening as new division is formed

Amazon is betting big on the next generation of artificial intelligence – agentic AI – according to internal communications seen by Reuters revealing the company has established a new group focused on task automation.

The initiative is believed to be led by AWS AI and Data VP Swami Sivasubramanian, reporting directly to the cloud computing giant’s CEO, Matt Garman.

Although the company has not confirmed plans to push ahead with AI agents, they’re seen as the next stage in the world of artificial intelligence, and a key focus point for many of Amazon’s rivals.

AWS to invest more in agentic AI

“Agentic AI has the potential to be the next multi-billion business for AWS,” Garman wrote in an email seen by Reuters. “We have the opportunity to help our customers innovate even faster and unlock more possibilities, and I firmly believe that AI agents are core to this next wave of innovation,” he added.

The company isn’t new to agentic AI – the recently previewed Alexa+ voice assistant showcased agentic capabilities destined for consumers, though the time-saving tech is most commonly applied at enterprise levels in its current state – something Amazon might want to capitalize on.

With the example of a broken oven, Devices & Services VP Panos Panay wrote: “Alexa+ will be able to navigate the web, use Thumbtack to discover the relevant service provider, authenticate, arrange the repair, and come back to tell you it’s done—there’s no need to supervise or intervene.”

At the same time, Reuters reports that AWS SVP Peter DeSantis announced that some divisions would shuffle under different headings to “accelerate innovation.”

While Amazon’s key hyperscaler rivals, Microsoft and Google, have also been developing their own agentic AI, Salesforce has arguably led the way with its endless investments and innovations – Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff now envisions the next generation of CEOs having to manage humans an AI agents simultaneously.

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Whatever applications or services you might use, you will create data. According to Domo’s Data Never Sleeps report for 2024, 251.1 million emails are sent, 18.8 million text messages are received and more than 5.9 million Google searches take place every minute of every day. For businesses, the data they create is essential to their operations, and the volume of that data is going up all the time.

While your applications might not have the same level of traffic as a Google or Netflix, you will have to consider how you manage your data over time. Eventually - whether it is due to needing more space, replatforming your application or just to update your software and avoid end of life problems - you will have to move your data.

Data migration planning for data is a big deal. The potential impact from this kind of project can be massive. So how can you avoid problems and make migrations run as smoothly as possible?

Planning Ahead

To make your migration process a success, the first step is to understand what you intend to move. By taking an inventory of what your system is built on, and what it is connected to, you can create a list of dependencies that have to be supported as part of the migration. This can show up some items that you had either overlooked, or other updates that might be needed to complete your migration successfully.

For example, you may find that you have more instances of the system you want to migrate than you thought. This can include test and development environments for your apps, or other systems that were initially considered out of scope. Finding these before you carry out any move is essential, as you don’t want to deal with these issues when you are mid-way through a migration.

Similarly, review your implementations for any specific deployment patterns and the target state requirements that you should be aware of. Databases all scale differently - for instance, most relational databases are built around using a single primary server instance. If they have to scale, then either a bigger machine is needed or additional replicated databases can be used to allow for more read requests. For others, they run as sharded environments where many different nodes work in concert with each other to serve a large dataset.

Databases may also have specific capabilities to consider - for instance, Redis uses modules to supply additional functionality alongside its core in-memory database design. PostgreSQL also relies on extensions to the core database for further functionality, so any of these that are in place would also have to be updated during a migration.

Alongside the IT infrastructure components that you have in place, you should carry out a performance evaluation to see how your system currently processes data. This could include tracking metrics like application throughput, latency and patterns in transaction volume over time. Getting these figures in advance of any move provides you with a baseline to compare against once you have completed that move. You can then use this data to plan ahead on any expected growth in traffic levels, or whether you might need to add more capacity as part of any migration.

Understanding the full inventory

Understanding the full inventory of components involved in the data migration is crucial. However, it is equally essential to have a clearly defined target and to communicate this target to all stakeholders. This includes outlining the potential implications of the migration for each stakeholder. The impact of the migration will vary significantly depending on the nature of the project. For example, a simple infrastructure refresh will have a much smaller impact than a complete overhaul of the database technology.

In the case of an infrastructure refresh, the primary impact might be a brief period of downtime while the new hardware is installed and the data is transferred. Stakeholders may need to adjust their workflows to accommodate this downtime, but the overall impact on their day-to-day operations should be minimal.

On the other hand, a complete change of database technology could have far-reaching implications. Stakeholders may need to learn new skills to interact with the new database, and existing applications may need to be modified or even completely rewritten to be compatible with the new technology. This could result in a significant investment of time and resources, and there may be a period of adjustment while everyone gets used to the new system.

Therefore, it is essential to have a clear understanding of the target environment and to communicate the potential implications of the migration to all stakeholders well in advance. This will help to ensure that everyone is prepared for the change and that the migration goes as smoothly as possible.

Making The Move

The golden rule for any big data migration project is to work step by step. Rather than a ‘big bang’ cut-over, isolate any change so that you can track your progress and easily roll back if you need to. Alongside this you should carry out a full backup for your data so you have a version to migrate back to, or implement separately if something goes wrong. With some migrations, the process to move back is difficult, so this back-up is a necessary backstop in case of a failure.

In the ideal scenario, you will have a complete mirror of your production environment and associated load generators and tests that cover all usage scenarios. This is notoriously difficult and expensive to achieve and having that 100% confidence requires a lot of effort. Even if you do have that confidence, there is a law that things will probably go wrong at some point. There are several techniques that you can employ to improve your chances of success.

The first of these is a canary deployment. This involves looking at your systems and selecting one that you will migrate over first. This deployment can be used to see how successful the move is over time, and to help you find any potential problems before you move all your systems over to the new database. Like a canary in a coalmine saves the majority, this initial migration shows you where any problems exist and how to fix them before the complete change-over leads to more rework.

This approach relies on your before-and-after metrics so you can spot any discrepancies in performance, as well as any failures or integration problems. This can show potential issues when you move - for example, many of those migrating away from MySQL 5.7 found that the supported version (MySQL 8.0) had worse performance than their previous deployment. This dip in performance might be a problem for your specific application, but in this case, 5.7 has reached its End of Life (EOL).

Although EOL support is available from specialist vendors to keep your systems going, relying on this is merely postponing the inevitable. So, looking at why that performance is lower and where this can be fixed is in order. Once you have checked your metrics and you are in a position you are comfortable with, you can then move other instances into production.

One additional consideration once you are in the middle of your migration is tracking that performance side. Comparing reports or dashboards manually is time-consuming and hard work. To get around this, you can set automated alerts or rules for potential rollbacks. This approach involves creating specific triggers where your deployment would lead to an automatic rollback to the previous deployment. This can help you take your time when you run into a situation that you did not expect, and then take the time to understand the problem.

Know Your Status

Alongside the technical aspects of a migration, there is another area that should be planned in advance. When you make a major change like a data migration, a communications plan that brings together everyone involved is essential. For data, this can include multiple departments across IT including any application developers responsible for the system through to database and IT operations professionals that manage the deployment. However, this plan should also include business teams that rely on that application, as they would be affected by the change too.

This plan provides a framework for talking through developments as they come up, and ensuring that everyone is aware of any incidents. As any unforeseen problems arise, the whole organization can be aware of the impact and how this might affect the migration plan. This can then keep migration plans on track, or get support for any amendments to that plan as needed.

Forrester points to how companies are expanding their operations based on data, and this relies on applications, infrastructure, people and processes as well as the physical data itself. As you plan any migration, you will have to take that mix of dependencies into consideration. By looking at data as part of that wider framework, you can plan ahead and ensure your migration is successful.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

• Daredevil: Born Again episode 2 contains an unexpected Spider-Man Easter egg
• The webslinger is referenced by Wilson Fisk early in the series' second chapter
• It's highly unlikely that Spider-Man will appear in the show

Daredevil: Born Again's first two episodes are out now on Disney+ – read my Daredevil: Born Again review to see what I thought of it – and the eagerly awaited Marvel TV show is already generating plenty of discussions online.

Chief among those fan conversations is that emotionally devastating moment in its first episode (no spoilers for anyone who ended up here but hasn't watched it yet). Discussion-worthy as that incident is, though, I was far more surprised by an obvious reference to Spider-Man in the show's second episode, and it's one that's made me even more desperate for a big-screen team-up between Peter Parker and Matt Murdock.

Spoilers follow for Born Again episode 2, titled 'With Interest.' Turn back now if you haven't streamed it yet on Disney+.

The devil's in the details in Born Again's second episode (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney Plus)

The reference is made by Wilson Fisk as he addresses New York following his mayoral election victory. Speaking via a live stream that's shown on Times Square's giant screens and beamed into homes across the city, Fisk calls his triumph "a new era for the greatest city in the world," but it's the next part of his speech that contains the Easter egg-style remark concerning the web-slinger. "We don’t need a gun-toting vigilante who wears a skull mask on his chest," Fisk says before adding: "Or a man who dresses in a spider outfit, or a guy who wears devil horns to save us."

The "skull mask" and "devil horns" remarks, which refer to Frank Castle/The Punisher and Murdock's vigilante alias, respectively, are to be expected. After all, Fisk battled both crimefighters during his time as Kingpin, aka one of New York's most fearsome crime lords, during Daredevil's three-season run on Netflix.

His quotes about "a man who dresses in a spider outfit," though, is the first time that Fisk has acknowledged Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Okay, until Born Again's release, Fisk had only appeared in two MCU projects – Hawkeye and Echo – so he'd not had the chance to mention the wallcrawler. Now that he has, though, Marvel has a golden opportunity to bring Spidey and Daredevil together to potentially fight Fisk.

Will Spider-Man appear in Daredevil: Born Again?

You shouldn't expect Tom Holland's webslinger to appear in Daredevil: Born Again (Image credit: Sony Pictures/Marvel Entertainment)

Unfortunately, the chances of Peter Parker and Matt Murdock joining forces in Born Again are slim to none. That's in spite of Marvel fans thinking that they would, too, with some suggesting that Born Again's official trailer contained its own Spider-Man Easter egg.

Why won't Spider-Man appear in this Marvel Phase 5 project, then? In short, he's not allowed to show up in live-action productions on Disney+, aka one of the world's best streaming services.

Speaking on a February 2025 edition of the Phase Zero podcast, Marvel's Head of TV, Streaming, and Animation Brad Winderbaum explained why Spidey isn't allowed to appear in the studio's small-screen projects. Essentially, because Sony owns the long-form, live-action rights to the Spider-Man IP, the webslinger is forbidden from popping up in MCU TV shows.

However, he's allowed to feature in animated projects, which is why he made a brief cameo in X-Men 97 season 1 and starred in a completely separate animated series – Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man – earlier this year. Interestingly enough, Daredevil appeared in the latter and was voiced by Charlie Cox, who's played the character in a live-action capacity since 2015.

So, what are the chances of The Man Without Fear appearing in Spider-Man 4 instead? Vincent D'Onofrio, who plays Fisk, recently denied (via The Meltdown Press) that he and Cox aren't part of that Marvel Phase 6 movie's cast. That may be the case, but let's not forget that Andrew Garfield consistently denied he'd appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and look what happened there.

In short, don't expect Spidey to appear in Daredevil's first standalone MCU adventure. If he does, you can be darn sure that I'll be updating my Daredevil: Born Again season 1 hub, plus my Born Again cast and character guide, to reflect that crowd-pleasing moment.

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• The Circular Ring 2 was unveiled early in 2025
• It features digital ring sizing, ECG, and more
• It's now available to pre-order on Kickstarter

Following its reveal at CES 2025, the new Circular Ring 2 is now available to pre-order via Kickstarter.

The Circular Ring 2 will have its work cut out if it wants to challenge the Oura Ring 4 and Samsung Galaxy Ring for the title of best smart ring on the market, but it comes with some nifty and unique features that make it stand out. The Circular Ring Slim was a pretty disappointing offering, so can the Ring 2 do any better?

The Circular Ring 2 is priced at $549 (AUS and UK tbc), but you can save up to $310 as a Kickstarter backer. Headline new features include a new digital ring sizing system that lets you use a smartphone to measure your ring size before ordering. It's a far cry from the plastic sizing kits of other vendors and a much-needed upgrade in this sector.

Circular has added a wireless charging case to the Ring 2, which lets you store and charge your ring on the go so you're never caught short on battery life.

Another significant upgrade is women's health tracking, with personalized insight into cycle tracking, temperature monitoring, and insights into fertility, menopause, and overall well-being.

There are also more general health tracking advancements, notably a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved Afib detection and ECG capabilities.

Does Circular finally have a winning smart ring?

(Image credit: Circular)

With sleep-stage tracking, AI-powered insights, and all of the aforementioned upgrades, it sounds like the Circular Ring 2 might be a real contender in the smart ring space for 2025. Naturally, all of the features from the Ring Slim including activity tracking, blood oxygen, heart rate, and more are also included.

In our Ring Slim review, we noted the disappointing battery life, frustrating app, and the exterior, which is vulnerable to scratches. The Ring 2 promises up to seven days of battery life over the two on full features or five on limited features of the previous model, a promising sign.

As noted, you can pre-order now via Kickstarter for $549, and score yourself a discount of up to $310. Circular says the Ring 2 is expected to ship in June, 2025.

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The huge growth of public cloud computing providers in recent years has given rise to all kinds of digital-first businesses, and taken much of the hassle of establishing on-premise storage and computing power for others. But in moving to the cloud, organizations accept additional complexities around where and how their data is stored, encrypted and accessed in exchange for the flexibility and scalability that the cloud can offer them.

Data sovereignty is centered around these kinds of considerations, and represents a given country or territory’s ability to control the data within its borders. Whether it’s regulatory compliance, seeking a competitive advantage, or simply addressing the basics of building trust with customers and partners and ensuring data security, more and more businesses are turning to data sovereignty as a discipline to help give some of this control back.

What are some of the common business challenges when it comes to data sovereignty?

One significant influence is the fact that many laws around data, such as the US CLOUD Act or the European Union’s GDPR, extend beyond the borders of their originating countries. These impact how companies store and process data globally, and can often create conflicting legal obligations and complexities. At the same time, the increased focus on compliance needs can’t come at the cost of cybersecurity in the cloud, which still needs to be maintained. Security needs to be tight, but the data still needs to be accessible for business operations to stay agile enough.

Challenges also arise around data sovereignty efforts due to the need to classify data by sensitivity. Doing this can be nuanced and challenging – not to mention the fact that sensitivity of data can change over time. Working with such a constantly moving target, it’s therefore no surprise that data sovereignty was ranked amongst the top three emerging security concerns amongst enterprises in the annual Thales Data Threat Report. Businesses need tools that can help them continuously monitor, protect and classify data by risk as contexts change.

How do organizations operationalize data sovereignty?

Typically organizations start by classifying their data. This can become extremely complex when you consider the different business functions, deliverables and divergent needs – but generally organizations use a three- or four-level system.

Next can come an analysis of applicable regulations to the business, such as the GDPR, CCPA or other national laws, to understand what data protection requirements are in play. From there, IT teams need to assess where data is geographically located, as in some jurisdictions, regulations require residents’ data to be stored and processed in the country where the legislation applies. As a result, this may impact the choice of cloud storage, or mandate additional measures around protection to ensure compliance is achieved.

Taking the time to do this allows organizations to determine the extent of their needs, and the resulting encryption key management strategy that’s right for them. There are broadly three types of key management strategies. Bring Your Own Keys (BYOK), where an organization generates keys in their own environment, and imports them into the cloud to then use; Hold Your Own Key (HYOK), where keys remain stored in the organization's domain; and finally Bring Your Own Encryption (BYOE), which offers the highest level of security with organizations using their own cryptography as well as the keys themselves.

These all offer varying levels of control and security depending on the level of assurance required for a given dataset. Often organizations might find it easiest to take a high-watermark approach, secure everything at the level required for the most sensitive, and avoid the complexity of managing different standards.

How does encryption tie into data sovereignty needs?

Fundamentally, encryption asserts control over who can access data – meaning data sovereignty can’t exist without it. In many legal jurisdictions, it’s also a compliance requirement to be actively using it. But encryption is only as good as the key management in place allows it to be. The key management infrastructure is essential in ensuring proper control over the encryption mechanism. The value of any sovereignty program comes from the control in place of users, entities and applications that can access and use encrypted data.

A good encryption strategy should cover the whole process, from key generation to their correct distribution, usage, and disposal at end-of-life. In turn, that encryption should be also flexible enough to cover data in transit across networks as well as at rest in storage.

What other measures should businesses be considering to protect their data?

Alongside encryption, strict access control and security policies are essential to limit the risk and impact of data breaches. Regularly reviewing who has access to what data, and revoking permissions if they’re no longer needed, can reduce the risk of some of the most common source of breaches.

Upgrading the authentication technologies used beyond passwords alone also makes it harder for account takeover attacks or credential theft to impact the business. Two-factor authentication, passkeys or biometrics can help overcome some of the common security risks that come with using solely passwords, and relying on users to remember and regularly change them.

Cloud backups and snapshots are the final piece of an effective data protection strategy, with rapid restoration and resumption capability in the event of an emergency. Businesses must also take care to regularly test this data to ensure it is immediately operable in such a high-pressure situation.

What role might quantum computing have on the future of data sovereignty?

Quantum computing is not yet a mainstream prospect, but in the wrong hands, it has the power to crack the underpinning cryptography that powers the encryption that we all rely on today. This has led to research into the development of post-quantum cryptography (PQC), that are intended to be resistant to this threat.

The other notable risk around quantum computing is around ‘harvest now, decrypt later’ activity by cybercriminals, which takes advantage of flaws in how encrypted data might be stored now to steal it. The eventual goal would be to leverage the power of quantum at some point in the future in order to later decrypt that stolen data.

The risk from quantum, though seemingly far off, represents a huge change in how organizations approach encryption, and it will take some time to switch. It emphasizes the importance for businesses to begin planning for this transition as soon as possible, staying informed about advancements in quantum computing, and exploring PQC solutions to minimize the chances of any operational disruptions or compliance failures.

How could next-generation mobile connectivity like 5G and 6G impact data sovereignty measures?

With enhanced bandwidth and spectrum efficiency, the evolution from 5G to 6G standards and beyond address the ever-growing demand for improved bandwidth and reduced latency for both consumer and enterprise applications. But as these network capabilities expand, so do the complexities of managing privacy and data sovereignty.

To make the best use of the available bandwidth, network operators will likely have to be more intrusive about the data they’re collecting on usage as well as the devices used. 5G’s very architecture also makes edge computing – the practice of decentralizing data processing and moving it closer to the data source – a reality. For enterprises, this means greater flexibility about how and where they decide to base their operations, and for the countries and territories they’re operating in, greater control around how this data is being generated and processed.

At the same time, 5G’s high-speed connectivity also means significantly more data generated, transmitted and processed, making the control and enforcement of data residency laws and associated regulation more complex. The overall decentralization of data processing that 5G makes possible can make it harder for CSOs to enforce consistent security protocols.

What is AI’s possible impact on data sovereignty?

What and where the underlying data that AI is drawing on comes from is the main concern here. Emphasis should be placed on the importance of protecting the personal data that is used to train AI. As the rollout of this technology continues, robust frameworks around data governance must be established so that data privacy and integrity become foundational aspects in how AI model are developed.

Such is the speed of technological development in this area that it will take some time for legal frameworks to catch up, and this lag creates a vacuum where data can be misused or mishandled. In the meantime, enterprises must establish guardrails of their own in their investigations and research with AI, as they would with any other technology that collects and analyses data to power decision-making.

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