• New usage limits up the amount of messages per week for o3 and o4-mini
• You get 100 messages a week for o3 and 300 a day for o4-mini
• You can see the date that your usage limits will reset

ChatGPT has updated its usage limits for Plus users, meaning you now get more time with its latest models like ChatGPT-o3 and ChatGPT o4-mini.

With a ChatGPT Plus, Team or Enterprise account you now have access to 100 messages a week with the ChatGPT-o3 model and a staggering 300 messages a day with the o4-mini model. You also get 100 messages a day with the programming-focused o4-mini-high.

OpenAI describe ChatGPT-o3 and ChatGPT o4-mini as their “smartest most capable models yet”, and emphasise that they contain “full tool access”, which means they can agentically access all of ChatGPT’s tools.

This tools include web search, analyzing files with Python, deep reasoning and what OpenAI calls “reasoning with images”, meaning it can include analyzing and even generating images as part of its reasoning process.

In our testing we’ve been most impressed by the speed of both new models.

The new usage limits are effectively a doubling of the old rate limit for the o3 and o4-mini models, and mean we can all enjoy more time using them, provided you are a Plus subscriber, which costs $20 a month (£16 / AU$30) a month.

(Image credit: Apple/OpenAI) How do I know how much I have left?

There is no way to determine how many messages you have left in your current week while using ChatGPT Plus, however, you can check the date that your weekly usage limit restarts at any time by highlighting the model in the model picker drop-down.

When you hit your limit you’ll no longer be able to select the model that you’ve maxed-out on in the model drop-down menu.

What's next for ChatGPT?

The next release from OpenAI will be o3-pro. In a message on the updated usage limits page OpenAI say “We expect to release OpenAI o3‑pro in a few weeks with full tool support. For now, Pro users can still access o1‑pro.”

While it won’t affect people using ChatGPT.com, the usage limits also apply to developers using the API, which has recently had image generation capabilities added.

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• The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are getting two major AI updates
• AI camera features are rolling out to countries in Europe
• Live translation tools are rolling out everywhere the glasses are available

Following the rollout of enhanced Meta AI features to the UK earlier this month, Meta has announced yet another update to its Ray-Ban smart glasses – and it's one that will bring them closer to being the ultimate tourist gadget.

That’s because two features are rolling out more widely: look and ask, and live translation.

Thanks to their cameras, your glasses (when prompted) can snap a picture and use that as context for a question you ask them, like “Hey Meta, what's the name of that flower?" or “Hey Meta, what can you tell me about this landmark?”

(Image credit: Meta)

This tool was available in the UK and US, but it’s now arriving in countries in Europe, including Italy, France, Spain, Norway and Germany – you can check out the full list of supported countries on Meta’s website.

On a recent trip to Italy I used my glasses to help me learn more about Pompeii and other historical sites as I travelled, though it could sometimes be a challenge to get the glasses to understand what landmark I was talking about because my pronunciation wasn’t stellar. I also couldn’t find out more about a landmark until I learnt what it was called, so that I could say its name to the glasses.

Being able to snap a picture instead and have the glasses recognize landmarks for me would have made the specs so much more useful as a tour guide, so I’m excited to give them a whirl on my next European holiday.

(Image credit: Meta) Say what?

The other tool everyone can get excited for is live translation, which is finally rolling out to all countries that support the glasses (so the US, UK, Australia, and those European countries getting look and ask).

Your smart specs will be able to translate between English, French, Italian, and Spanish.

Best of all you won’t need a Wi-Fi connection, provided you’ve downloaded the necessary language pack.

What’s more, you don't need to worry about conversations being one-sided. You’ll hear the translation through the glasses, but the person you’re talking to can read what you’re saying in the Meta View app on your phone.

(Image credit: Meta)

Outside of face-to-face conversations I can see this tool being super handy for situations where you don’t have time to get your phone out, for example to help you understand public transport announcements.

Along with the glasses’ sign-translation abilities, these new features will make your specs even more of an essential travel companion – I certainly won't be leaving them at home the next time I take a vacation.

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• Windows 11 24H2 caused a plane to completely disappear from GTA: San Andreas
• A lengthy investigation determined it was a coding error in GTA, and not Microsoft’s fault
• The error in the plane’s Z axis positioning, which was finally exposed by the 24H2 update, effectively shot it into space

A two-decade-old game has produced a marked demonstration of just how strange the world of bugs can be, after Windows 11 24H2 appeared to break something in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – though I should note upfront that this wasn’t Microsoft’s fault in the end.

Neowin picked up on this affair which was explained at length – in very fine detail, in fact – by a developer called Silent (who’s responsible for SilentPatch, a project dedicated to fixing up old PC games, including GTA outings, so they work on modern systems).

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was released way back in 2004, and the game has a seaplane called the Skimmer. What players of this GTA classic found was that after installing the 24H2 update for Windows 11, the Skimmer had suddenly vanished from San Andreas.

The connection between applying 24H2 and the seaplane’s disappearance from its usual spot down at the docks wasn’t immediately made, but the dots were connected eventually.

Then Silent stepped in to investigate and ended up diving down an incredibly deep programming rabbit hole to uncover how this happened.

As mentioned, the developer goes into way too much depth for the average person to care about, but to sum up, they found that even when they force-spawned the Skimmer plane in the game world, it immediately shot up miles into the sky.

The issue was eventually nailed down to the ‘bounding box’ for the vehicle – the invisible box defining the boundaries of the plane model – which had an incorrect calculation for the Z axis (height) in its configuration file.

For various reasons and intricacies that we needn’t go into, this error was not a problem with versions of Windows before the 24H2 spin rolled around, purely by luck I might add. Essentially, the game read the positioning values of the previous vehicle before the Skimmer (a van), and this worked okay (just about – even though it wasn’t quite correct).

But Windows 11 24H2 changed the behavior of the code of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, so it no longer read the values of that van – and with error now exposed, the plane effectively received a (literally) astronomical Z value. It wasn’t visible in the game any longer because it was shot up into space.

And so the mystery of the disappearing seaplane was solved – the Skimmer, in fact, was orbiting a distant galaxy somewhere far, far away from San Andreas. (I feel a spin-off mash-up game coming on).

(Image credit: Rockstar Games) Analysis: Too quick to pin the blame

This is a rather fascinating little episode that shows how tiny bugs can creep in, and by chance, go completely unnoticed for 21 years until a completely unrelated operating system update changes something that throws a wrench into the coding works.

It also serves to underline a couple of other points. Firstly, that there’s a complex nest of tweaks and wholesale changes under the hood of the 24H2 update, which comes built on a new underpinning platform. That platform is called Germanium, and it’s a pivotal change that was required for the Arm-based (Snapdragon) CPUs that were the engines of the very first Copilot+ PCs (which was why 24H2 was needed for those AI laptops to launch).

In my opinion, this is why we’ve seen more unexpected behavior and weird bugs with the 24H2 update than any other upgrade for Windows 11, due to all that work below the surface of the OS (which is capable of causing unintended side effects at times).

Furthermore, this affair highlights that some of these problems may not be Microsoft’s doing, and I’ve got to admit, I’m generally quick to pin the blame on the software company in that regard. My first thought when I started reading about this weird GTA bug was – ‘what a surprise, yet more collateral damage from 24H2’ – when in fact this isn’t Microsoft’s fault at all (but rather Rockstar’s coders).

That said, much of the flak being aimed at Microsoft for the bugginess of 24H2 is, of course, perfectly justified, and the sense still remains with me that this update – and the new Germanium platform which is its bedrock – was rather rushed out so that Copilot+ PCs could meet their target launch date of summer 2024. That, too, may be an unfair conclusion, but it’s a feeling I’ve been unable to shake since 24H2 arrived.

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• A Reddit user's conversation with ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode turned sinister
• A bug in the audio caused ChatGPT's Sol voice to start sounding demonic
• The hilarious results are a must listen

It's fair to say there's a sort of uneasiness when it comes to AI, an unknown that makes the general public a little on edge, unsure of what to expect from chatbots like ChatGPT in the future.

Well, one Reddit user got more than they bargained for in a recent conversation with ChatGPT's Advanced Voice Mode when the AI voice assistant started to speak like a demon.

The hilarious clip has gone viral on Reddit, and rightfully so. It's laugh-out-loud funny despite being terrifying.

Does ChatGPT voice turn into a demon for anyone else? from r/OpenAI

In the audio clip, Reddit user @freddieghorton asks ChatGPT a question related to download speeds. At first, ChatGPT responds in its "Sol" voice, but as it continues to speak, it becomes increasingly demonic.

The audio has clearly bugged out here, but the result is one of the funniest examples of AI you'll see on the internet today.

The bug happened in ChatGPT version v1.2025.098 (14414233190), and we've been unable to replicate it in our own testing. Last month, I tried ChatGPT's new sarcastic voice called Monday, but now I'm hoping OpenAI releases a special demonic voice for Halloween so I can experience this bug firsthand.

We're laughing now

You know, it's easy to laugh at a clip like this, but I'll put my hands up and say, I would be terrified if my ChatGPT voice mode started to glitch out and sound like something from The Exorcist.

While rationality would have us treat ChatGPT like a computer program, there's an uneasiness created by the unknown of artificial intelligence that puts the wider population on edge.

In Future's AI politeness survey, 12% of respondents said they say "Please" and "Thank You" to ChatGPT in case of a robot uprising. That sounds ludicrous, but there is genuinely a fear, whether the majority of us think it's rational or not.

One thing is for sure, OpenAI needs to fix this bug sooner rather than later before it incites genuine fear of ChatGPT (I wish I were joking).

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• Adobe introduces latest Firefly Image Model 4 & 4 Ultra
• Firefly Boards debuts, plus mobile app coming soon
• Adobe's new Content Authenticity app can verify creator's digital work

Adobe Max 2025 is currently being hosted in London, where the creative software giant has revealed the latest round of updates to its key apps, including Firefly, Photoshop and Premiere Pro.

As we expected, almost every improvement is powered by AI, yet Adobe is also keen to point out that these tools are designed to aid human creativity, not replace it. We'll see.

Adobe hopes to reenforce this sentiment with a new Content Authenticity app that should make it easier for creators to gain proper attribution for their digital work. It's a bit of a minefield when you start thinking about all of the permutations, but kudos to Adobe for being at the forefront for protecting creators in this ever evolving space.

There's a raft of new features and tools to cover, from a new collaborative moodboard app to smarter Photoshop color adjustments, and we've compiled the top five changes that you need to know about, below.

1. Firefly Image Model 4 & 4 Ultra is here, plus a mobile app is on the way

Created by Brandi Licciardo using Adobe Firefly Image Model 4 with the word prompts; small sweeper men, cleaning up pencil shavings from a huge pencil pointing downwards vertically, (Image credit: Adobe / Brandi Licciardo)

Firefly seemingly has enjoyed the bulk of Adobe's advances, with the latest generative AI model promising more lifelike image generation smarts and faster output.

The 'commercially safe' Firefly Model 4 is free to use for those with Adobe subscriptions and, as always with Firefly tools, is by extension available in Adobe's apps such as Photoshop, meaning these improved generative powers can enhance the editing experience.

Firefly Model 4 Ultra is a credit-based model designed for further enhancements of images created using Model 4.

Adobe also showcased the first commercially safe AI video model, now generally available through the Firefly web app, with a new text-to vector for creating fully editable vector-based artwork.

For example, users can select one of their images as the opening and end keyframe, and use a word prompt to generate a video effect to bring that image to life.

All the tools we were shown during Adobe Max 2025 are available in Adobe's apps, some of which are now in public beta. We were also told that a new Firefly mobile app is coming soon, though the launch date has yet to be confirmed.

2. The all-new Firefly Boards

(Image credit: Adobe)

During Adobe's Max 2025 presentation, we were also shown the impressive capabilities of an all-new Adobe tool; Firefly Boards.

Firefly Boards is an 'AI-first' surface designed for moodboarding, brainstorming and exploring creative concepts, ideal for collaborative projects.

Picture this; multiple generated images can be displayed side by side on a board, moved and grouped, with the possibility of moving those ideas and aesthetic styles into production using Adobe's other tools such as Photoshop, plus non-Adobe models such as OpenAI.

The scope for what is possible through Firefly in general, now made easier with the Boards app that can utilize multiple AI image generators for the same project, is vast. We're keen to take Boards for a spin.

3. Photoshop, refined with Firefly

(Image credit: Adobe)

Adobe Photoshop receives a number of refined tools that should speed up edits that could otherwise be a time sink.

Adobe says 'Select Details' makes it faster and more intuitive to select things like hair, facial features and clothing; 'Adjust Colors' simplifies the process of adjusting color hue, saturation and lightness in images for seamless, instant color adjustments; while a reimagined Actions panel (beta) delivers smarter workflow suggestions, based on the user's unique language.

Again, during a demo, the speed and accuracy of certain tools was clear to see. The remove background feature was able to isolate a fish in a net with remarkable precision, removing the ocean backdrop while keeping every strand of the net.

Overall, the majority of Photoshop improvements are realized because of the improved generative powers of the latest Firefly image model, which can be directly accessed through Photoshop.

4. Content Credentials is here via a free app

(Image credit: Adobe)

As Adobe further utilizes AI tools in its creative apps, authenticity is an increasing concern for photographers and viewers alike. That's why the ability to verify images is all the more vital, and why this next Adobe announcement is most welcome.

Adobe Content Credentials – an industry-recognized image verification standard, adds a digital signature to images to verify ownership and authenticity – and is now available in a free Adobe Content Authenticity app, launched in public beta.

Through the app, creators can attach info about themselves; their LinkedIn and social media accounts, plus image authenticity, including date, time, place and edits of said image. An invisible watermark is added to an image, and the info is easily seen with a new Chrome browser extension installed.

Furthermore, through the app, creators will be able to attach their preferences for Adobe's use of their content, including Generative AI Training and Usage Preference. This should put the control back with creators, although this is also a bit of a minefield – other generative AI models do not currently adhere to the same practices.

5. Adobe rolls out Premiere Pro's Generative Extend

The upgrades to Premiere Pro are more restrained, with the Firefly-powered Generative Extend now generally available being the headline announcement. Not only is the powerful tool now available to all users, but it also now supports 4K and vertical video.

Elsewhere, 'Media Intelligence' helps editors find relevant clips in seconds from vast amounts of footage, plus Caption Translation can recognize captions in up to 27 languages.

These tools are powered by, you guessed it: Adobe Firefly.

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Welcome to our liveblog for Adobe Max London 2025. The 'creativity conference', as Adobe calls it, is where top designers and photographers show us how they're using the company's latest tools. But it's also where Adobe reveals the new features it's bringing to the likes of Photoshop, Firefly, Lightroom and more – and that's what we've rounded up in this live report direct from the show.

The Adobe Max London 2025 keynote kicked off at 5am ET / 10am BST / 7pm ACT. You can re-watch the livestream on Adobe's website and also see demos from the show floor on the Adobe Live YouTube channel. But we're also at the show in London and will be bringing you all of the news and our first impressions direct from the source.

Given Adobe has been racing to add AI features to its apps to compete with the likes of ChatGPT, Midjourney and others, that was understandably a big theme of the London edition of Adobe Max – which is a forerunner of the main Max show in LA that kicks off on October 28.

Here were all of the biggest announcements from Adobe Max London 2025...

The latest news

• Adobe has announced the new Firefly Boards in public beta
• New AI tool for moodboarding lets you use non-Adobe AI models
• Firefly has also been updated with the new Image Model 4

Welcome to Adobe Max London 2025

(Image credit: Future)

Good morning from London, where it's a classic grey April start. We're outside the Adobe Max London 2025 venue in Greenwich where there'll be a bit more color in the keynote that kicks off in about 15 minutes.

It's going to be fascinating to see how Adobe bakes more AI-powered tools into apps like Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere Pro and Firefly, without incurring the wrath of traditional fans who feel their skills are being sidelined by some of these new tricks.

So if, like me, you're a longtime Creative Cloud user, it's going to be essential viewing...

We're almost ready for kick off

(Image credit: Future)

We've taken our spot in the Adobe Max London 2025 venue. As predicted, it's looking a bit more colorful in here than the grey London skies outside.

You can watch the keynote live on the Adobe Max London website,but we'll be bringing you all of the news and our early reactions here – starting in just a few minutes...

And we're off

(Image credit: Future)

Adobe's David Wadhwani (Senior VP and general manager of Adobe's Digital Media business) is now on stage talking about the first Max event in London last year – and the early days of Photoshop.

Interestingly, he's talking about the early worries that "digital editing would kill creativity", before Photoshop became mainstream. Definite parallels with AI here...

Jumping forward to Firefly

(Image credit: Future)

We're now talking Adobe Firefly, which is evolving fast – Adobe is calling it the "all-in-one app for ideation" with generative AI.

Adobe has just announced a new Firefly Image Model 4, which seems to be particularly focused on "greater photo realism".

A demo is showing some impressive, hyper-realistic portrait results, with options to tweak the lighting and more. Some photographers may not be happy with how easy this is becoming, but it looks handy for planning shoots.

Firefly's video powers are evolving

(Image credit: Future)

Adobe's Kelly Hurlburt is showing off Firefly's text-to-video powers now – you can start with text or your own sample image.

It's been trained on Adobe Stock, so is commercially viable in theory. Oh, and Adobe has just mentioned that Firefly is coming to iOS and Android, so to keep an eye out for that "in the next few months".

Firefly Boards is a new feature

(Image credit: Adobe)

We're now getting out first look at Firefly Boards, which is out now in public beta.

It's basically an AI-powered moodboarding tool, where you add some images for inspiration then hit 'generate' to see some AI images in a film strip.

A remix feature lets you merge images together and then get a suggested prompt, if you're not sure what to type. It's collaborative too, so co-workers can chuck their ideas onto the same board. Very cool.

You can use non-Adobe AI models too

(Image credit: Adobe)

Interestingly, in Firefly Boards you can also use non-Adobe models, like Google Imagen. These AI images can then sit alongside the ones you've generated with Firefly.

That will definitely broaden its appeal a lot. On the other hand, it also slightly dilutes Adobe's approach to strictly using generative AI that's been trained on Stock images with a known origin.

Adobe addresses AI concerns

(Image credit: Future)

Adobe's David Wadhwani is back on stage now to calm some of the recent concerns that have understandably surfaced about AI tools.

He's reiterating that Firefly models are "commercially safe", though this obviously doesn't include the non-Adobe models you can use in the new Firefly Boards.

Adobe has also again promised that "your content will not be used to train generative AI". That includes images and videos generated by Adobe's models and also third-party ones in Firefly Boards.

That won't calm everyone's concerns about AI tools, but it makes sense for Adobe to repeat it as a point-of-difference from its rivals.

We're talking new Photoshop features now

(Image credit: Future)

Adobe's Paul Trani (Creative Cloud Evangelist, what a job title that is) is on stage now showing some new tools for Photoshop.

Naturally, some of these are Firefly-powered, including 'Composition Reference' in text-to-image, which lets you use a reference image to generate new assets. You can also generate videos too, which isn't something Photoshop is traditionally known for.

The new 'Adjust colors' also looks a handy way to tweak hue, saturation and more, and I'm personally quite excited about the improved selection tools, which automatically pick out specific details like a person's hair.

But the biggest new addition for Photoshop newbies is probably the updated 'Actions panel' (now in beta). You can use natural language like 'increase saturation' and 'brighten the image' to quickly make edits.

(Image credit: Future) Illustrator is next, homies!

(Image credit: Future)

It's Illustrator's turn for the spotlight now, with Michael Fugoso (Senior Design Evangelist) – the London audience doesn't know quite what to do with his impressive enthusiasm and 'homies' call-outs.

The headlines are a speed boost (it's apparently now up to five times faster, presumably depending on your machine) and, naturally, some new Firefly-powered tools like 'Text to Pattern' and, helpfully, generative expand (in beta from today).

Because you can never have enough fonts, there's also apparently 1,500 new fonts in Illustrator. That'll keep your designer friends happy.

(Image credit: Future) Premiere Pro gets some useful upgrades

(Image credit: Future)

AI is supposed to be saving us from organizational drudgery, so it's good to see Adpbe highlighting some of the new workflow benefits in Premiere Pro.

Kelly Weldon (Senior Experience Designer) is showing the app's improved search experience in the app, which lets you type in specifics like "brown hat" to quickly find clips.

But there are naturally some generative AI tricks, too. 'Generative Extend' is now available in 4K, letting you extend a scene in both horizontal and vertical video – very handy, particularly for fleshing out b-roll.

Captions have also been given a boost, with the most useful trick being Caption Translation – it instantly creates captions in 25 languages.

Even better, you can use it to automatically translate voiceovers – that takes a bit longer to generate, but will be a big boost for YouTube channels with multi-national audiences.

A fresh look at Photoshop on iPhone

(Image credit: Future)

It's now time for a run-through of Photoshop on iPhone, which landed last month – Adobe says an Android version will arrive "early this Summer".

There doesn't appear to be anything new here, which isn't surprising as the app's only about a month old.

The main theme is the desktop-level tools like generative expand and adjustment layers – although you can read our first impressions of the app for our thoughts on what it's still missing.

'Created without generative AI'

This is interesting – Adobe's free graphics editor Fresco now has a new “created without generative AI" tag, which you can include in the image’s Content Credentials to help protect your rights (in theory). That label could become increasingly important, and popular, and in the years ahead.

Lightroom masks get better

(Image credit: Future)

One of the most popular new tricks on smartphones is removing distractions from your images – see 'Clean Up' in Apple Intelligence on iPhones and Samsung's impressive Galaxy AI (which we recently pitted against each other).

If you don't have one of those latest smartphones, Lightroom on mobile can also do something similar with 'generative remove' – that isn't new, but from the demos it looks like Adobe has given it a Firefly-powered boost.

But the new feature I'm most looking forward to is 'Select Landscape' in desktop Lightroom and Lightroom Classic. It goes beyond 'Select Sky' to automatically create masks for different parts of your landscape scene for local edits – I can see that being a big time-saver.

A new tool to stop AI stealing your work

(Image credit: Future)

This will be one of the biggest headlines from Max London 2025 – Adobe has launched a free Content Authenticity web app in public beta, which has a few tricks to help protect your creative works.

The app can apply invisible metadata, baked into the pixels so it works even with screenshotting, to any work regardless of which tool or app you've used to make it. You can add all kinds of attribution data, including your websites or social accounts, and can prove your identity using LinkedIn verification. It can also describe how an image has been altered (or not).

But perhaps the most interesting feature is a check box that says “I request that generative AI models not use my content". Of course, that only works if AI companies respect those requests when training models, which remains to be seen – but it's another step in the right direction.

A 'creative civil war'

(Image credit: Future)

The YouTuber Brandon Baum is on stage now talking (at some considerable length) about what he's calling the "creative civil war" of AI.

The diatribe is dragging on a bit and he may love James Cameron a bit too much, but there are some fair historical parallels – like Tron once being disqualified from the 'best special effects' Oscars because using computers was considered 'cheating', and Netflix once being disqualified from the Oscars.

You wouldn't expect anything less than a passionate defense of AI tools at an Adobe conference, and it probably won't go down well with what he calls creative "traditionalists". But AI is indeed all about tools – and Adobe clearly wants to make sure the likes of OpenAI doesn't steal its lunch.

That's a wrap

(Image credit: Adobe)

That's it for the Adobe Max London 2025 keynote – which contained enough enthusiasm about generative AI to power North Greenwich for a year or so. If you missed the news, we've rounded it all up in our guide to the 5 biggest new tools for Photoshop, Firefly, Premiere Pro and more.

The standout stories for me were Firefly Boards (looking forward to giving that a spin for brainstorming soon), the new Content Authenticity Web app (another small step towards protecting the work of creatives) and, as a Lightroom user, that app's new 'Select Landscape' masks.

We'll be getting involved in the demos now and bringing you some of our early impressions, but that's all from Max London 2025 for now – thanks for tuning in.

• Character.AI's new AvatarFX tool can turn a single photo into a realistic video
• The video shows a still image speaking with synced lip movements, gestures, and longform performances
• The tool supports everything from human portraits to mythical creatures and talking inanimate objects

Images may be worth a thousand words, but Character.AI doesn't see any reason that the image shouldn't speak those words itself. The company has a new tool called AvatarFX that turns still images into expressive, speaking, singing, gesturing video avatars. And not just photos of people, animals, paintings of mythical beasts, even an inanimate object can talk and express emotion when you include a voice sample and script.

AvatarFX produces surprisingly convincing videos. Everything from lip-sync accuracy, nuanced head tilts, eyebrow raises, and even appropriately dramatic hand gestures is all there. In a world already swirling with AI-generated text, images, songs, and now entire podcasts, AvatarFX might sound like just another clever toy. But what makes it special is how smoothly it connects voice to visuals. You can feed it a portrait, a line of dialogue, and a tone, and Character.AI calls what comes out a performance, one capable of long-form videos too, not just a few seconds.

That's thanks to the model's temporal consistency, a fancy way of saying the avatar doesn’t suddenly grow a third eyebrow between sentences or forget where its chin goes mid-monologue. The movement of the face, hands, and body syncs with what’s being said, and the final result looks, if not alive, then at least lively enough to star in a late-night infomercial or guest-host a podcast about space lizards. Your creativity is the only thing standing between you and an AI-generated soap opera starring the family fridge. You can see some examples in the demo below.

Avatar alive

Of course, the magical talking picture frame fantasy comes with its fair share of baggage. An AI tool that can generate lifelike videos raises some understandable concerns. Character.AI does seem to be taking those concerns seriously with a suite of built-in safety measures for AvatarFX.

That includes a ban on generating content from images of minors or public figures. The tool also scrambles human-uploaded faces so they’re no longer exact likenesses, and all the scripts are checked for appropriateness. Should that not be enough, every video has a watermark to make it clear this isn’t real footage, just some impressively animated pixels. There’s also a strict one-strike policy for breaking the rules.

AvatarFX is not without precedent. Tools like HeyGen, Synthesia, and Runway have also pushed the boundaries of AI video generation. But Character.AI’s entry into the space ups the ante by fusing expressive avatars with its signature chat personalities. These aren’t just talking heads; they’re characters with backstories, personalities, and the ability to remember what you said last time you talked.

AvatarFX is currently in a test phase, with Character.AI+ subscribers likely to get first dibs once it rolls out. For now, you can join a waitlist and start dreaming about which of your friends’ selfies would make the best Shakespearean monologue delivery system. Or which version of your childhood stuffed animal might finally become your therapist.

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• ChatGPT answers will now include summaries, quotes, and article links
• The move builds on OpenAI’s growing roster of news partners and The Post’s own AI initiatives

The Washington Post has inked a deal with OpenAI to make its journalism available directly inside ChatGPT. That means, the next time you ask ChatGPT something like “What’s going on with the Supreme Court this week?” or “How is the housing market today?” you might get an answer including a Post article summary, a relevant quote, and a clickable link to the full article.

For the companies, the pairing makes plenty of sense. Award-winning journalism, plus an AI tool used by more than 500 million people a week, has obvious appeal. An information pipeline that lives somewhere between a search engine, a news app, and a research assistant entices fans of either or both products. And the two companies insist their goal is to make factual, high-quality reporting more accessible in the age of conversational AI.

This partnership will shift ChatGPT’s answers to news-related queries so that relevant coverage from The Post will be a likely addition, complete with attribution and context. So when something major happens in Congress, or a new international conflict breaks out, users will be routed to The Post’s trusted reporting. In an ideal world, that would cut down on the speculation, paraphrased half-truths, and straight-up misinformation that sneaks into AI-generated responses.

This isn’t OpenAI’s first media rodeo. The company has already partnered with over 20 news publishers, including The Associated Press, Le Monde, The Guardian, and Axel Springer. These partnerships all have a similar shape: OpenAI licenses content so its models can generate responses that include accurate summaries and link back to source journalism, while also sharing some revenue with publishers.

For OpenAI, partnering with news organizations is more than just PR polish. It’s a practical step toward ensuring that the future of AI doesn’t just echo back what Reddit and Wikipedia had to say in 2021. Instead, it actively integrates ongoing, up-to-date journalism into how it responds to real-world questions.

WaPo AI

The Washington Post has its own ambitions around AI. The company has already tested ideas like its "Ask The Post AI" chatbot for answering questions using the newspaper's content. There's also the Climate Answers chatbot, which the publication released specifically to answer questions and share information based on the newspaper's climate journalism. Internally, the newsroom has been building tools like Haystacker, which helps journalists sift through massive datasets and find story leads buried in the numbers.

Starry-eyed idealism is nice, but there are some open questions. For instance, will the journalists who worked hard to report and write these stories be compensated for having their work embedded in ChatGPT? Sure, there's a link to their story, but that doesn't count as a view or help lead a reader to other pieces by the author or their colleagues.

From a broader perspective, won't making ChatGPT a layer between the reader and the newspaper simply continue the undermining of subscription and revenue necessary to keep a media company afloat? Whether this is a mutually supportive arrangement or just AI absorbing the best of a lot of people's hard work while discarding the actual people remains to be seen. Making ChatGPT more reliable with The Washington Post is a good idea, but we'll have to check future headlines to see if the AI benefits the newspaper.

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• Tiny11 has been successfully installed on an iPad Air M2
• The lightweight version of Windows 11 works on Apple’s tablet via emulation
• However, don’t expect anything remotely close to smooth performance levels

In the ongoing quest to have software (or games – usually Doom) running on unexpected devices, a fresh twist has emerged as somebody has managed to get Windows 11 running on an iPad Air.

Windows Central noticed the feat achieved by using Tiny11, a lightweight version of Windows 11 which was installed on an iPad Air with M2 chip.

NTDEV, the developer of Tiny11, was behind this effort, and used the Arm64 variant of their slimline take on Windows 11. Microsoft’s OS was run on the iPad Air using emulation (UTM with JIT, the developer explains – a PC emulator, in short).

So, is Windows 11 impressive on an iPad Air? No, in a word. The developer is waiting for over a minute and a half for the desktop to appear, and Windows 11’s features (Task Manager, Settings) and apps load pretty sluggishly – but they work.

The illustrative YouTube clip below gives you a good idea of what to expect: it’s far, far from a smooth experience, but it’s still a bit better than the developer anticipated.

Analysis: Doing stuff for the hell of it

This stripped-back incarnation of Windows 11 certainly runs better on an iPad Air than it did on an iPhone 15 Pro, something NTDEV demonstrated in the past (booting the OS took 20 minutes on a smartphone).

However, as noted at the outset, sometimes achievements in the tech world are simply about marvelling that something can be done at all, rather than having any practical value.

You wouldn’t want to use Windows 11 on an iPad (or indeed iPhone) in this way, anyhow, just in the same way you wouldn’t want to play Doom on a toothbrush even though it’s possible (would you?).

It also underlines the niftiness of Tiny11, the bloat-free take on Windows 11 which has been around for a couple of years now. If you need a more streamlined version of Microsoft’s newest operating system, Tiny11 certainly delivers (bearing some security-related caveats in mind).

There are all sorts of takes on this app, including a ludicrously slimmed-down version of Tiny11 (that comes in at a featherweight 100MB). And, of course, the Arm64 spin used in this iPad Air demonstration, which we’ve previously seen installed on the Raspberry Pi.

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• 80% of people would pay for Apple Intelligence, a survey has found
• Over 50% of respondents would be happy to pay $10 a month or more
• The results are surprising given Apple Intelligence’s history of struggles

Apple Intelligence hasn’t exactly received rave reviews since it was announced in summer 2024, with critics pointing to its delayed features and disappointing performance compared to rivals like ChatGPT. Yet that apparently hasn’t dissuaded consumers, with a new survey suggesting that huge numbers of people are enticed by Apple’s artificial intelligence (AI) platform (via MacRumors).

The survey was conducted by investment company Morgan Stanley, and it found that one in two respondents would be willing to pay at least $10 a month (around £7.50 / AU$15 p/month) for unlimited access to Apple Intelligence. Specifically, 30% would accept paying between $10 and $14.99, while a further 22% would be okay with paying $15 or more. Just 14% of respondents were unwilling to pay anything for Apple Intelligence and 6% weren’t sure, implying that 80% of people wouldn’t mind forking out for the service.

According to 9to5Mac, the survey found that 42% of people said it was extremely important or very important that their next iPhone featured Apple Intelligence, while 54% of respondents who planned to upgrade in the next 12 months said the same thing. All in all, the survey claimed that its results showed “stronger-than-expected consumer perception for Apple Intelligence.”

Morgan Stanley’s survey polled approximately 3,300 people, and it says that the sample is representative of the United States’ population in terms of age, gender, and religion.

Surprising results

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

If you’ve been following Apple Intelligence, you’ll probably know it’s faced a pretty bumpy road in the months since it launched. For one thing, it has received much criticism for its ability to carry out tasks for users, with many people comparing it unfavorably to some of the best AI services like ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot.

As well as that, Apple has been forced to delay some of Apple Intelligence’s headline features, such as its ability to work within apps and understand what is happening on your device’s screen. These were some of Apple Intelligence’s most intriguing aspects, yet Apple’s heavy promotion of these tools hasn’t translated into working features.

That all makes these survey results seem rather surprising, but there could be a few reasons behind them. Perhaps consumers are happy to have any AI features on their Apple devices, even if they’re missing a few key aspects at the moment.

Or maybe those people who were willing to pay for Apple Intelligence did so based on getting the full feature set, rather than the incomplete range of abilities that are currently available. Alternatively, it could be that everyday users haven’t been following Apple Intelligence’s struggles as much as tech-savvy consumers and so aren’t acutely aware of its early difficulties.

Whatever the reasons, it’s interesting to see how many people are still enticed by Apple Intelligence. It will be encouraging reading for Apple, which has faced much bad press for its AI system, and might suggest that Apple Intelligence is not in as bad a spot as we might have thought.

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• Windows 10’s April update has messed up part of the Start menu
• Right-click jump lists that were present with some apps no longer work
• These were a very handy shortcut and a key part of the workflow of some users, who are now pretty frustrated at their omission

Windows 10’s latest update comes with an unfortunate side effect in that it causes part of the Start menu to stop working.

Windows Latest reports that after installing the April update for Windows 10, released earlier this month, jump lists for some apps on the Start menu now appear to be broken.

Normally, when you right click on a tile (large icon) in the Start menu – on the right side of the panel, next to the full list of apps installed on the PC which is on the left – the menu that pops up provides a standard set of options, as well as what’s known informally as a jump list linking to various files (note that this only appears with certain apps).

It's a list of recently opened (or pinned, commonly used) files that you can get quick access to (or jump straight to, hence the name). So, for example, with the Photos app, you’ll see links to recently opened images (or recently viewed web pages in a web browser).

However, that jump list section is no longer appearing for the apps that should have this additional bit of furniture attached to the right-click menu.

Windows Latest observes that this is a problem with all their Windows 10 PCs, and there are a number of reports from those hit by this bug on Microsoft’s Answers.com help forum and Reddit, too.

(Image credit: Shutterstock; Future) Analysis: What’s going on here?

Not everyone is affected here by any means. My Windows 10 PC is fine, and I’ve applied the apparently troublesome April 2025 update. Or that upgrade seems to be the problematic piece of the puzzle, at least according to the amateur sleuthing going on.

There are a lot of potential fixes floating around here and there, but sadly, none of them appear to work. The only cure seems to be removing the update, which is hardly ideal seeing as it’s only a temporary solution which leaves you short of the latest security patches. However, restoring the PC to before the update was applied does indeed seem to do the trick in bringing back the jump list functionality, suggesting this update is indeed the root cause.

Windows Latest does raise the prospect that this might be an intentional removal by Microsoft, but I don’t think so. If that’s the case, Microsoft better clarify this, as there are a number of annoyed Windows 10 users out there due to this problem.

I feel a more likely suggestion is that Microsoft has perhaps backported some changes from Windows 11, and this has somehow caused unexpected collateral damage in Windows 10.

Hopefully we’ll hear from Microsoft soon enough as to what’s going on, but meanwhile, the workflows of some Windows 10 users are being distinctly messed with by the removal of these convenient shortcuts.

Of course, Windows 10 doesn’t have much date left on its shelf life at this point – only six months, although you’ll be able to pay to extend support for another year should you really want to avoid upgrading to Windows 11 (or indeed if you can’t upgrade).

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• Microsoft has finally made Recall available on Windows 11 for Copilot+ PCs – it’s rolling out with the April preview update
• Click to Do is also generally available now, as is an AI-supercharged version of Windows 11’s basic search functionality
• The latter improved search feature is what might interest many Copilot+ PC owners

Microsoft has finally unleashed its Recall feature on the general computing public after multiple misfires and backtracks since the functionality was first revealed almost a year ago now.

In case it escaped your attention – which is unlikely to say the least – Recall is the much talked about AI-powered feature that uses regularly saved screenshots to provide an in-depth, natural language search experience.

Microsoft announced that the general availability of Recall for Windows 11 is happening, with the feature now rolling out, albeit with the caveat that this is for Copilot+ PCs only. That’s because it requires a chunky NPU to beef up the local processing power on hand to ensure the search works responsively enough.

Alongside Recall, the Click to Do feature is also debuting in Windows 11 for Copilot+ PCs, which is a partner ability that offers up context-sensitive AI-powered actions (most recently a new reading coach integration is in testing, a nifty touch).

There’s also a boost for Windows 11 search in general on Copilot+ laptops, which now benefits from a natural language approach, as seen in testing recently. This means you can type a query in the taskbar search box to find images of “dogs on beaches” and any pics of your pets in the sand will be surfaced. (This also ties in cloud-based results with findings on your device locally).

Microsoft further notes that it has expanded Live Captions, its system-wide feature to provide captions for whatever content you’re experiencing, to include real-time translations in Chinese (Simplified) covering 27 languages (for audio or video content).

It’s Recall that’s the big development here, though, and while Microsoft doesn’t say anything new about the capability, the company underlines some key aspects (we were informed about in the past) regarding privacy.

Microsoft reminds us: “Recall is an opt-in experience with a rich set of privacy controls to filter content and customize what gets saved for you to find later. We’ve implemented extensive security considerations, such as Windows Hello sign-in, data encryption and isolation in Recall to help keep your data safe and secure.

“Recall data is processed locally on your device, meaning it is not sent to the cloud and is not shared with Microsoft and Microsoft will not share your data with third parties.”

Furthermore, we’re also reminded that Recall can be stripped out of your Copilot+ PC completely if you don’t want the feature, and are paranoid about even its barebones being present (disabled) on your PC. There are instructions for removing Recall in this support document that also goes into depth about how the functionality works.

All of these features are set to be rolled out to Copilot+ PCs starting with the April 2025 preview update, which is imminent (or should be). However, note that for certain regions, release timing may vary. The European Economic Area won’t get these abilities until later in 2025, notably, as Microsoft already told us.

(Image credit: Shutterstock) Analysis: The real gem for Copilot+ PC owners

The arrival of Recall is not surprising, because even though it’s been almost a year since Microsoft first unveiled the feature – and rapidly pulled the curtain back over it for some time, after the initial copious amounts of flak were fired at the idea – it was recently spotted in the Release Preview channel for Windows 11. That’s the final hurdle before release, of course, so the presence of Recall there clearly indicated it was close at hand.

I must admit I didn’t think it would be out quite so soon, though, and a relatively rapid progression through this final test phase would seem to suggest that things went well.

That said, Microsoft makes it clear that this is a ‘controlled feature rollout’ for Copilot+ PCs and so Recall will likely be released on a fairly limited basis to begin with. In short, you may not get it for a while, but if you do want it as soon as possible, you need to download the mentioned optional update for April 2025 (known as the non-security preview update). Also ensure you’ve turned on the option to ‘Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available’ (which is in Settings > Windows Update).

Even then, you may have to be patient for some time, as I wouldn’t be surprised if Microsoft was tentative about this rollout to start with. There’s a lot at stake here, after all, in terms of the reputation of Copilot+ PCs.

Arguably, however, the most important piece of the puzzle here isn’t Recall at all, although doubtless Microsoft would say otherwise. For me – if I had a Copilot+ PC (I don’t, so this is all hypothetical, I should make clear) – what I’d be really looking forward to is the souped-up version of Windows 11’s basic search functionality.

Recall? Well, it might be useful, granted, but I have too many trust issues still to be any kind of early adopter, and I suspect I won’t be alone. Click to Do? Meh, it’s a bit of a sideshow for Recall and while possibly handy, it looks far from earth-shattering in the main.

A better general Windows search experience overall, though? Yes please, sign me up now. Windows 11 search has been regarded as rather shoddy in many ways, and the same is broadly true for searching via the taskbar box in Windows 10. An all-new, more powerful natural language search could really help in this respect, and might be a much better reason for many people to grab a Copilot+ PC than Recall, which as noted is going to be steered clear of by a good many folks (in all likelihood).

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft’s own research (add seasoning) suggests this revamped basic Windows 11 search is a considerable step forward. The software giant informs us that on a Copilot+ device, the new Windows search means it “can take up to 70% less time to find an image and copy it to a new folder” compared to the same search and shift process on a Windows 10 PC.

Of course, improved search for all Windows 11 PCs (not just Copilot+ models) would be even better – obviously – and hopefully that’s in the cards from an overarching perspective of the development roadmap for the OS. The catch is that this newly pepped up search is built around the powerful NPU required for a Copilot+ laptop, of course, but that doesn’t stop Microsoft from enhancing Windows search in general for everyone.

Naturally, Microsoft is resting a lot of expectations on Copilot+ PCs, though, noting that it expects the ‘majority’ of PCs sold in the next few years to be these devices. Analyst firms have previously predicted big things for AI PCs, as they’re also known, as well.

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• New code reveals ChatGPT may soon support in-chat purchases via Shopify
• The chat would offer prices, reviews, and embedded checkout through the AI
• The feature could give Shopify merchants access to ChatGPT’s users while making OpenAI an e-commerce platform

When you ask ChatGPT what sneakers are best for trail running, you get an overview of top examples and links to review sites and product catalogs, Soon, though, ChatGPT might just offer to let you buy your choice from among a range of Shopify merchants directly in the chat, according to unreleased code discovered by Testing Catalog.

Rather than clicking through to different websites, Shopify would populate ChatGPT with the suggested products, complete with price, reviews, shipping details, and, most importantly, a “Buy Now” button.

Clicking it won't send you away from ChatGPT either. You'll just purchase those shoes through ChatGPT, which will be the storefront itself.

At least, that's what the uncovered bits of code describe. The direct integration of Shopify into ChatGPT's interface would make the AI assistant a retail clerk as well as a review compiler. The fact that some of the code is actually live, if hidden, suggests the rollout is coming sooner than you might expect.

For Shopify’s millions of merchants, this could be a huge boon. Right now, most small sellers have to hustle for traffic, investing in SEO, ads, or pleading with mysterious social media algorithms to go viral. However, ChatGPT could make its products appear directly in front of the AI chatbot's more than 800 million users.

And it might lead to more actual sales. After all, it's one thing to stumble upon a jacket on Instagram and follow a link to a site requiring you to find the jacket again and fill in payment details. It's a lot easier to purchase something when you see it appear amid recommendations from ChatGPT, with a buy button there for you to click on without any intermediate steps.

Shop ChatGPT

Of course, OpenAI isn’t doing this in a vacuum. The idea that AI can guide you not just to information, but through decision-making and transactions, is referred to as 'agentic commerce' and is quickly becoming a major competition space for AI developers.

Microsoft has its new Copilot Merchant Program, and Perplexity has its “Buy with Pro” feature for shopping within its AI search engine, to name two others.

Regardless of any competition, this is a move that could set up OpenAI for a new role in 'doing' and not just 'knowing. Until now, ChatGPT’s value was mostly cerebral—it helped you think, organize, and research. But letting you buy things directly with Shopify's help might give a lot of people a new perspective on what ChatGPT is for.

OpenAI has already experimented with the Operator agent to browse the web on your behalf. This just extends its power into transactions as well. ChatGPT won't just suggest things for you to do; it will carry out those tasks for you.

It's not that AI-assisted shopping will end all websites for buying things, but the promise of AI-assisted shopping is that it can cut through the noise, learn your preferences, and serve up products tailored to you. That won't save you from buyer's regret, though; it just gets you there faster.

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• Apple has removed "Available Now" from its Apple Intelligence webpage
• The change comes after the BBB's National Advertising Division recommended it clarify or remove availability details
• The issue is around the language of when Apple Intelligence features launched and the wait for forthcoming ones

Apple has long said that there is a long road ahead for Apple Intelligence, but it’s been more of a long-winded road since Apple's AI was first announced at WWDC 2024. Earlier in 2025, the promised AI-powered Siri features were pushed back to the ‘coming year,’ which is pretty vague.

Now, Apple has made a change to its Apple Intelligence landing page, dropping the ‘Available Now’ tagline from under “AI for the rest of us.” Surprisingly, the Cupertino-based tech giant doesn't seem to have made the decision to remove the message itself, but instead was asked by the Better Business Bureau's National Programs’ National Advertising Division (NAD).

In a shared release, the NAD recommends “that Apple Inc. modify or discontinue advertising claims regarding the availability of certain features associated with the launch of its AI-powered Apple Intelligence tool in the U.S.” It seems that launch features including the new Siri, still not being available, weren’t clear enough on the page.

The NAD states that the Apple Intelligence landing pages made it seem like Apple Intelligence features, including Priority Notifications, Image Playground, Image Wand, and ChatGPT integration as well as Genmoji, “were available at the launch of the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro.”

However, Apple Intelligence didn’t begin its launch until iOS 18.2, which was released after the new iPhones. NAD’s argument states that the disclosures, presented as “footnotes” or “small print disclosures,” were not clear enough.

The BBB’s NAD also had similar thoughts about Apple displaying the forthcoming Siri features, such as on-screen awareness and personal content, on the same page as the “Available Now” heading.

The NAD even connected with Apple, who informed them that “Siri features would not be available on the original timeline” and that the corresponding language was updated. This evidently happened around the same time as Apple pulled one of its advertisements featuring the all-new Siri.

(Image credit: Future)

Apple, in the release, says “While we disagree with the NAD’s findings related to features that are available to users now, we appreciate the opportunity to work with them and will follow their recommendations.” And it’s clear the recommendations were taken to heart, as “Available Now,” according to snapshots viewed on the Wayback Machine by TechRadar, was removed on March 29, 2025.

That’s well before this release from the National Advertising Dvision making the ask that Apple stops or modifies it’s language, but also after the tech giant confirmed the delay with the AI infused Siri as of February 7, 2025.

Either way, it’s clear Apple is getting its ducks in a row, and it’s good to be clearer with consumers. TechRadar has reached out to Apple asking for further comment, and we'll update this when and if we hear back.

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• When ChatGPT uses the GPT-4.5 model, it can pass the Turing Test by fooling most people into thinking it's human
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• ChatGPT isn't conscious or self-aware, though it raises questions around how to define intelligence

Artificial intelligence sounds pretty human to a lot of people, but usually, you can tell pretty quickly when you're engaging with an AI model. However, that may change as OpenAI's new GPT-4.5 model passed the Turing Test by fooling people into thinking it was a human over the course of a five-minute conversation. Not just a few people, but 73% of those participating in a University of California, San Diego study.

In fact, GPT-4.5 outperformed some of the actual human participants, who were accused of being AI in the blind test. Still, the fact that the AI did such a good impression of a human being that it seemed more human than actual humans says a lot about the brilliance of the machine or just how awkward humans can be.

Participants sat down for two back-to-back conversations with a human and a chatbot, not knowing which was which, and had to identify the AI afterward. To help GPT-4.5 succeed, the model had been given a detailed personality to mimic in a series of prompts. It was told to act like a young, slightly awkward, but internet-savvy introvert with a streak of dry humor.

With that little nudge toward humanity, GPT-4.5 became surprisingly convincing. Of course, as soon as the prompts were stripped away and the AI went back to a blank slate personality and history, the illusion collapsed. Suddenly, GPT-4.5 could only fool 36% of those studied. That sudden nosedive tells us something critical: this isn't a mind waking up. It’s a language model playing a part. And when it forgets its character sheet, it’s just another autocomplete.

Cleverness is not consciousness

The result is historic, no doubt. Alan Turing's proposal that a machine capable of conversing well enough to be mistaken for a human might therefore have human intelligence has been debated since he introduced it in 1950. Philosophers and engineers have grappled with the Turing Test and its implications, but suddenly, theory is a lot more real.

Turing didn't equate passing his test with proof of consciousness or self-awareness. That's not what the Turing Test really measures. Nailing the vibes of human conversation is huge, and the way GPT-4.5 evoked actual human interaction is impressive, right down to how it offered mildly embarrassing anecdotes. But if you think intelligence should include actual self-reflection and emotional connections, then you're probably not worried about the AI infiltration of humanity just yet.

GPT-4.5 doesn’t feel nervous before it speaks. It doesn’t care if it fooled you. The model is not proud of passing the test, since it doesn’t even know what a test is. It only "knows" things the way a dictionary knows the definition of words. The model is simply a black box of probabilities wrapped in a cozy linguistic sweater that makes you feel at ease.

The researchers made the same point about GPT-4.5 not being conscious. It’s performing, not perceiving. But performances, as we all know, can be powerful. We cry at movies. We fall in love with fictional characters. If a chatbot delivers a convincing enough act, our brains are more than happy to fill in the rest. No wonder 25% of Gen Z now believe AI is already self-aware.

There's a place for debate around this, of course. If a machine talks like a person, does it matter if it isn’t one? And regardless of the deeper philosophical implications, an AI that can fool that many people could be a menace in unethical hands. What happens when the smooth-talking customer support rep isn’t a harried intern in Tulsa, but an AI trained to sound disarmingly helpful, specifically to people like you, so that you'll pay for a subscription upgrade?

Maybe the best way to think of it for now is like a dog in a suit walking on its hind legs. Sure, it might look like a little entrepreneur on the way to the office, but it's only human training and perception that gives that impression. It's not a natural look or behavior, and doesn't mean banks will be handing out business loans to canines any time soon. The trick is impressive, but it's still just a trick.

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Google and Samsung took the world by storm with their surprise Android XR glasses announcement – which was complete with an impressive prototype demonstration at a TED 2025 event – but you don’t need to wait until 2026 (which is when the glasses are rumored to be launching) to try some excellent XR smart glasses for yourself.

In fact, we’ve just updated our best smart glasses guide with two fantastic new options that you can pick up right now. This includes a new entry in our number one slot for the best AR specs you can buy (the Xreal One glasses) and a new pick in our best affordable smart glasses slot called the RayNeo Air 3S glasses.

(Image credit: Jason Redmond / TED)

Admittedly these specs aren’t quite what Google and Samsung are boasting the Android XR glasses will be, but the Xreal and RayNeo glasses are more for entertainment – you connect them to a compatible phone, laptop or console to enjoy your film, TV or gaming content on a giant virtual screen wherever you are – and they’re damn good at what they do.

What’s more they’re a lot less pricey than the Android XR glasses are likely to be (based on pricing rumors for the similar Ray-Ban Meta AR glasses), so if you’re looking to dip your toes into the world of AR before it takes off then these two glasses will serve you well.

The best of the best

So, let’s start with the Xreal One glasses: our new number one pick, that are easily the best of the best AR smart glasses around.

As I mentioned before these smart specs are perfect for entertainment – both on-the-go and at-home (say in a cramped apartment, or when you want to relax in bed). You simply connect them to a compatible device via their USB-C cable and you watch your favorite show, film, or game play out on a giant virtual screen that functions like your own private cinema.

This feature appears on other AR smart glasses, but the Xreal One experience is on another level thanks to the full-HD 120Hz OLED screens, which boast up to 600-nits of brightness. This allows the glasses to produce vibrant images that have superb contrast for watching dark scenes.

(Image credit: Future)

Image quality is further improved by electrochromically-dimmable lenses – lenses which can be darkened or brightened via electrical input that you can toggle with a switch on the glasses.

At their clearest the lenses allow you to easily see what’s going on around you, while at their darkest the lenses serve as the perfect backdrop to whatever you’re watching – blocking out most errant external light that would ruin their near-perfect picture.

Beyond their picture, these glasses are also impressive thanks to their speakers which are the best I’ve heard from smart glasses.

With sound tuned by Bose (creators of some of the best headphones around) the Xreal One glasses can deliver full-bodied audio across highs, midtones and bass.

You will find that using a separate pair of headphones can still elevate your audio experience (especially because they leak less sound than these glasses will), however, these are the first smart glasses I’ve tested where a pair of cans feels like an optional add-on rather than an essential accessory.

The Xreal Beam Pro is a superb companion (Image credit: Xreal)

Couple all that with a superb design that’s both functional, and fairly fashionable, and you’ve got a stellar pair of AR glasses. Things get even better if you snag a pair with an Xreal Beam Pro (an Android spatial computer which turns your glasses into a complete package, rather than a phone accessory).

Plus, it only looks set to get better with the upcoming Xreal Eye add-on which will allow the glasses to take first-person photos and videos, and which may help unlock some new spatial computing powers, if we’re lucky.

The best on a budget (but still awesome)

At $499 / £449 the Xreal One glasses are a little pricey. If you’re on a budget you’ll want to try the RayNeo Air 3S glasses instead.

These smart glasses cost just $269 (around £205 / AU$435). For that you’ll get access to their 650-nit full-HD micro-OLED setup that produces great images and audio that doesn’t necessitate a pair of headphones.

(Image credit: Future)

They’re a lot like the Xreal One glasses, but do boast a few downgrades as you might expect.

The audio performance isn’t quite as impressive. It’s fine without headphones but isn’t quite as rich as Xreal’s alternative, and it’s more leaky (so if you use these while travelling your fellow passengers may hear what’s going on too).

What’s more, while on paper their image quality should be better than the Xreal glasses the overall result isn’t quite as vibrant because the reflective lenses the glasses use as a backdrop aren’t as effective as the electrochromic dimming used by the Xreal Ones.

This allows more light to sneak through the backdrop leading to image clarity issues (such as the picture appearing washed out) if you’re trying to use the glasses in a brighter environment.

They also lack any kind of camera add-on option if that’s a feature you care about.

(Image credit: RayNeo)

But these glasses are still very impressive, as are the specs, and I think most people should buy them because their value proposition is simply so fantastic.

Whether you pick the Xreal One glasses of RayNeo Air 3S smart glasses you’ll be in for a treat – and if you love the taste of AR they provide you’ll have a better idea of whether the Android XR and other AR glasses will be worth your time.

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• Windows 11 has a new preview build in the Beta channel
• It offers new Click to Do features for Copilot+ PCs, including Reading Coach integration
• Search has also been pepped up with AI, and Voice Access has got a handy new addition too

Windows 11’s latest preview version just arrived packing improved search functionality and some impressive new capabilities for accessibility, including the integration of Microsoft’s ‘Reading Coach’ app on certain PCs.

This is preview build 26120.3872 in the Beta channel, and some of the fresh additions are just for Copilot+ PCs, and specifically only for devices with Snapdragon (Arm-based) chips.

So, first up in this category is the integration of Reading Coach with Click to Do. To recap on those pieces of functionality, Click to Do provides context-sensitive actions which are AI-powered – this was brought in as the partner feature to Recall on Copilot+ PCs – and Reading Coach became available for free at the start of 2024.

The latter is an app you can download from the Microsoft Store in order to practice your reading skills and pronunciation, and Reading Coach can now be chosen direct from the Click to Do context menu, so you can work on any selected piece of text. (You’ll need the coaching app installed to do this, of course).

Also new for Click to Do (and Copilot+ PCs) is a ‘Read with Immersive Reader’ ability which is a focused reading mode designed for those with dyslexia and dysgraphia.

This allows users to adjust the text size and spacing, font, and background theme to best suit their needs, as well as having a picture dictionary option that Microsoft notes “provides visual representations of unfamiliar words for instant understanding.” You can also elect to have text read aloud and split into syllables if required.

Another neat feature for Copilot+ PCs – albeit only in the European Economic Area to begin with – is the ability to find photos saved in the cloud (OneDrive) via the search box in the Windows 11 taskbar. Again, this is AI-powered, so you can use natural language search to find images in OneDrive (such as photos of “Halloween costumes” for example). Both local (on the device) and cloud-based photos will be displayed in the taskbar search results.

All of the above are now rolling out in testing to Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs, but devices with AMD and Intel CPUs will also be covered eventually.

A further noteworthy introduction here – for all PCs this time – is that Voice Access now grants you the power to add your own words to its dictionary. So, if there’s a word that the system is having difficulty picking up when you say it, you can add a custom dictionary entry and hopefully the next time you use it during dictation, Voice Access will correctly recognize the word.

There are a bunch of other tweaks and refinements in this new preview version, all of which are covered in Microsoft’s blog post on the new Beta build.

(Image credit: Microsoft) Analysis: Sterling progress

It’s good to see Microsoft’s continued efforts to improve Windows 11 in terms of accessibility and learning, even if some of the core introductions here won’t be piped through to most folks – as they won’t have a Copilot+ PC. What’s also clear is that Microsoft is clearly giving devices with Snapdragon processors priority on an ongoing basis, and that’s fine, as long as the same powers come to all Copilot+ PCs eventually (which they are doing thus far, and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t).

The Voice Access addition is a very handy one, although I’m surprised it took Microsoft this long to implement it. I was previously a heavy user of Nuance (Dragon) speech recognition tool (my RSI has long since been cured, thanks in part to taking a break from typing by using this software) and it offered this functionality. As Windows 11’s Voice Access is essentially built on the same tech – Microsoft bought Nuance back in 2021 – it’s taken a while to incorporate what I felt was an important feature.

As ever, though, better late than never, and I certainly can’t complain about Voice Access being free, or at least free in terms of being bundled in with Windows 11.

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• ChatGPT's o3 model scored a 136 on the Mensa IQ test and a 116 on a custom offline test, outperforming most humans
• A new survey found 25% of Gen Z believe AI is already conscious, and over half think it will be soon
• The change in IQ and belief in AI consciousness has happened extremely quickly

OpenAI’s new ChatGPT model, dubbed o3, just scored an IQ of 136 on the Norway Mensa test – higher than 98% of humanity, not bad for a glorified autocomplete. In less than a year, AI models have become enormously more complex, flexible, and, in some ways, intelligent.

The jump is so steep that it may be causing some to think that AI has become Skynet. According to a new EduBirdie survey, 25% of Gen Z now believe AI is already self-aware, and more than half think it’s just a matter of time before their chatbot becomes sentient and possibly demands voting rights.

There’s some context to consider when it comes to the IQ test. The Norway Mensa test is public, which means it’s technically possible that the model used the answers or questions for training. So, researchers at MaximumTruth.org created a new IQ test that is entirely offline and out of reach of training data.

On that test, which was designed to be equivalent in difficulty to the Mensa version, the o3 model scored a 116. That’s still high.

It puts o3 in the top 15% of human intelligence, hovering somewhere between “sharp grad student” and “annoyingly clever trivia night regular.” No feelings. No consciousness. But logic? It’s got that in spades.

Compare that to last year, when no AI tested above 90 on the same scale. In May of last year, the best AI struggled with rotating triangles. Now, o3 is parked comfortably to the right of the bell curve among the brightest of humans.

And that curve is crowded now. Claude has inched up. Gemini’s scored in the 90s. Even GPT-4o, the baseline default model for ChatGPT, is only a few IQ points below o3.

Even so, it’s not just that these AIs are getting smarter. It’s that they’re learning fast. They’re improving like software does, not like humans do. And for a generation raised on software, that’s an unsettling kind of growth.

I do not think consciousness means what you think it means

For those raised in a world navigated by Google, with a Siri in their pocket and an Alexa on the shelf, AI means something different than its strictest definition.

If you came of age during a pandemic when most conversations were mediated through screens, an AI companion probably doesn't feel very different from a Zoom class. So it’s maybe not a shock that, according to EduBirdie, nearly 70% of Gen Zers say “please” and “thank you” when talking to AI.

Two-thirds of them use AI regularly for work communication, and 40% use it to write emails. A quarter use it to finesse awkward Slack replies, with nearly 20% sharing sensitive workplace information, such as contracts and colleagues’ personal details.

Many of those surveyed rely on AI for various social situations, ranging from asking for days off to simply saying no. One in eight already talk to AI about workplace drama, and one in six have used AI as a therapist.

If you trust AI that much, or find it engaging enough to treat as a friend (26%) or even a romantic partner (6%), then the idea that the AI is conscious seems less extreme. The more time you spend treating something like a person, the more it starts to feel like one. It answers questions, remembers things, and even mimics empathy. And now that it’s getting demonstrably smarter, philosophical questions naturally follow.

But intelligence is not the same thing as consciousness. IQ scores don’t mean self-awareness. You can score a perfect 160 on a logic test and still be a toaster, if your circuits are wired that way. AI can only think in the sense that it can solve problems using programmed reasoning. You might say that I'm no different, just with meat, not circuits. But that would hurt my feelings, something you don't have to worry about with any current AI product.

Maybe that will change someday, even someday soon. I doubt it, but I'm open to being proven wrong. I get the willingness to suspend disbelief with AI. It might be easier to believe that your AI assistant really understands you when you’re pouring your heart out at 3 a.m. and getting supportive, helpful responses rather than dwelling on its origin as a predictive language model trained on the internet's collective oversharing.

Maybe we’re on the brink of genuine self-aware artificial intelligence, but maybe we’re just anthropomorphizing really good calculators. Either way, don't tell secrets to an AI that you don't want used to train a more advanced model.

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Google has been hyping up its Project Astra as the next generation of AI for months. That set some high expectations when 60 Minutes sent Scott Pelley to experiment with Project Astra tools provided by Google DeepMind.

He was impressed with how articulate, observant, and insightful the AI turned out to be throughout his testing, particularly when the AI not only recognized Edward Hopper’s moody painting "Automat," but also read into the woman’s body language and spun a fictional vignette about her life.

All this through a pair of smart glasses that barely seemed different from a pair without AI built in. The glasses serve as a delivery system for an AI that sees, hears, and can understand the world around you. That could set the stage for a new smart wearables race, but that's just one of many things we learned during the segment about Project Astra and Google's plans for AI.

Astra's understanding

Of course, we have to begin with what we now know about Astra. Firstly, the AI assistant continuously processes video and audio from connected cameras and microphones in its surroundings. The AI doesn’t just identify objects or transcribe text; it also purports to spot and explain emotional tone, extrapolate context, and carry on a conversation about the topic, even when you pause for thought or talk to someone else.

During the demo, Pelley asked Astra what he was looking at. It instantly identified Coal Drops Yard, a retail complex in King’s Cross, and offered background information without missing a beat. When shown a painting, it didn’t stop at "that’s a woman in a cafe." It said she looked "contemplative." And when nudged, it gave her a name and a backstory.

According to DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, the assistant’s real-world understanding is advancing even faster than he expected, noting it is better at making sense of the physical world than the engineers thought it would be at this stage.

Veo 2 views

But Astra isn’t just passively watching. DeepMind has also been busy teaching AI how to generate photorealistic imagery and video. The engineers described how two years ago, their video models struggled with understanding that legs are attached to dogs. Now, they showcased how Veo 2 can conjure a flying dog with flapping wings.

The implications for visual storytelling, filmmaking, advertising, and yes, augmented reality glasses, are profound. Imagine your glasses not only telling you what building you're looking at, but also visualizing what it looked like a century ago, rendered in high definition and seamlessly integrated into the present view.

Genie 2

And then there’s Genie 2, DeepMind’s new world-modeling system. If Astra understands the world as it exists, Genie builds worlds that don’t. It takes a still image and turns it into an explorable environment visible through the smart glasses.

Walk forward, and Genie invents what lies around the corner. Turn left, and it populates the unseen walls. During the demo, a waterfall photo turned into a playable video game level, dynamically generated as Pelley explored.

DeepMind is already using Genie-generated spaces to train other AIs. Genie can help these navigate a world made up by another AI, and in real time, too. One system dreams, another learns. That kind of simulation loop has huge implications for robotics.

In the real world, robots have to fumble their way through trial and error. But in a synthetic world, they can train endlessly without breaking furniture or risking lawsuits.

Astra eyes

Google is trying to get Astra-style perception into your hands (or onto your face) as fast as possible, even if it means giving it away.

Just weeks after launching Gemini’s screen-sharing and live camera features as a premium perk, they reversed course and made it free for all Android users. That wasn’t a random act of generosity. By getting as many people as possible to point their cameras at the world and chat with Gemini, Google gets a flood of training data and real-time user feedback.

There is already a small group of people wearing Astra-powered glasses out in the world. The hardware reportedly uses micro-LED displays to project captions into one eye and delivers audio through tiny directional speakers near the temples. Compared to the awkward sci-fi visor of the original Glass, this feels like a step forward.

Sure, there are issues with privacy, latency, battery life, and the not-so-small question of whether society is ready for people walking around with semi-omniscient glasses without mocking them mercilessly.

Whether or not Google can make that magic feel ethical, non-invasive, and stylish enough to go mainstream is still up in the air. But that sense of 2025 as the year smart glasses go mainstream seems more accurate than ever.

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The best AI generation trends are the cute ones, especially those that transform us into our favorite characters or at least facsimiles of them. ChatGPT 4o's ability to generate realistic-looking memes and figures is now almost unmatched, and it's hard to ignore fresh trends and miss out on all the fun. The latest one is based on a popular set of Anime-style toys called Chibi figures.

Chibi, which is Japanese slang for small or short, describes tiny, pocketable figures with exaggerated features like compact bodies, big heads, and large eyes. They are adorable and quite popular online. Think of them as tiny cousins of Funko Pop!.

Real Chibi figures can run you anywhere from $9.99 to well over $100. Or, you can create one in ChatGPT.

What's interesting about this prompt is that it relies heavily on the source image and doesn't force you to provide additional context. The goal is a realistic Chibi character that resembles the original photo, and to have it appear inside a plastic capsule.

The prompt describes that container as a "Gashapon," which is what they're called when they come from a Bandai vending machine. Bandai did not invent this kind of capsule, of course. Tiny toys in little plastic containers that open up into two halves have been on sale in coin-operated vending machines for over 50 years.

If you want to create a Chibi figure, you just need a decent photo of yourself or someone else. It should be clear, sharp, in color, and at least show their whole face. The effect will be better if it also shows part of their outfit.

Here's the prompt I used in ChatGPT Plus 4o:

Generate a portrait-oriented image of a realistic, full-glass gashapon capsule being held between two fingers.

Inside the capsule is a Chibi-style, full-figure miniature version of the person in the uploaded photo.

The Chibi figure should:

• Closely resemble the person in the photo (face, hairstyle, etc.)
• Wear the same outfit as seen in the uploaded photo
• Be in a pose inspired by the chosen theme

A time capsule

(Image credit: Mr Rogers Chibi generated by ChatGPT)

Since there's no recognizable background or accessories in the final ChatGPT Chibi figure image, the final result is all about how the character looks and dresses.

I made a few characters. One based on a photo of me, another based on an image of Brad Pitt, and, finally, one based on one of my heroes, Mr. Rogers.

These Chibi figures would do well on the Crunchyroll Mini and Chibi store, but I must admit that they lean heavily on cuteness and not so much on verisimilitude.

Even though none of them look quite like the source, the Mr. Rogers one is my favorite.

Remember that AI image generation is not without cost. First, you are uploading your photo to OpenAI's server, and there's no guarantee that the system is not learning from it and using it to train future models.

AI image generation also consumes electricity on the server side to build models and to resolve prompts. Perhaps you can commit to planting a tree or two after you've generated a half dozen or more Chibi AI figures.

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