AMSTERDAM (ANP) - Koningin Máxima opent op 25 juli WorldPride in het Vondelpark in Amsterdam, heeft de Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst gemeld. De hoofdstad is voor de eerste keer gaststad van het evenement.

WorldPride 2026 vindt plaats van 25 juli tot en met 8 augustus. Het programma omvat onder meer een Pride Walk van de Dam naar het Vondelpark, een botenparade op de grachten, het UNITY Concert op het Museumplein en de Human Rights Conference op de Nieuwmarkt.

Amsterdam is gekozen als locatie voor deze WorldPride omdat het 25 jaar geleden is dat daar het eerste huwelijk tussen twee mensen van hetzelfde geslacht werd gesloten. In de Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam opent woensdagavond de expositie Queer Amsterdam, de roze stad waarin vier eeuwen queer geschiedenis in de hoofdstad wordt gememoreerd.

UTRECHT (ANP) - Werknemers van Gall & Gall leggen donderdag en vrijdag opnieuw het werk neer uit onvrede over het cao-bod van de slijterijketen, kondigt FNV aan. De vakbond verwacht dat tientallen winkels daardoor gesloten blijven, vooral rond de grote steden.

De afgelopen maanden staakte het personeel al meerdere keren. FNV noemt het woensdag "opvallend" dat een aantal leden van CNV meestaken. Die vakbond bereikte onlangs wel een cao-akkoord met de keten, die onderdeel is van Ahold Delhaize. Veel werknemers zijn volgens FNV ontevreden over dat resultaat. De bond wil een hogere salarisverhoging dan Gall & Gall biedt en dat de zondagstoeslag niet wordt gehalveerd.

FNV-bestuurder Jethro Warbroek wil dat Gall & Gall met een "eerlijk" bod komt en zegt dat de boosheid onder werknemers groter is geworden. "Veel werknemers begrijpen niet waarom hun zondagstoeslag moet worden ingeleverd, terwijl collega's bij Etos, nota bene binnen hetzelfde Ahold Delhaize-concern, die toeslag wél behouden."

LONDEN (ANP/AFP) - Ongeveer 6000 zeevarenden zitten nog vast aan boord van schepen in de Perzische Golf. Dat zegt secretaris-generaal van de Internationale Maritieme Organisatie (IMO) Arsenio Dominguez in een reactie op het opgelaaide geweld in het Midden-Oosten. Hij roept op tot de-escalatie en maximale terughoudendheid van de strijdende partijen.

De Verenigde Staten hebben luchtaanvallen uitgevoerd op Iran als wraak voor aanvallen op schepen in de Straat van Hormuz en president Donald Trump heeft gezegd dat de voorlopige vredesdeal met Teheran voorbij is. Bij die aanvallen op schepen werden tankers met olie en gas beschadigd. Iran heeft vervolgens ook aanvallen op Amerikaanse doelen in de regio gedaan.

Dominguez veroordeelt die aanvallen op schepen. "Die roekeloze aanvallen hebben opnieuw onschuldige zeevaarders in groot gevaar gebracht."

Volgens hem zorgen de aanvallen ook voor nog meer stress, angst en psychologische druk op bemanningsleden die zijn gestrand in de Perzische Golf.

ROTTERDAM (ANP) - Het Openbaar Ministerie neemt de zorgen van omwonenden van Tata Steel "serieus". Dat is volgens persofficier Thomas Slieker het signaal dat het OM afgeeft met de aangekondigde strafzaak tegen het staalconcern.

Het OM liet woensdagochtend weten het bedrijf uit Velsen-Noord te dagvaarden voor het plegen van strafbare feiten. Tata Steel wordt onder meer verdacht van het opzettelijk in de lucht brengen van schadelijke stoffen.

"De zorgen die geuit zijn, nemen we serieus. Zorgen over je gezondheid zijn alleszins te begrijpen", zei Slieker op een persbijeenkomst. Volgens de persofficier gaat het OM niet lichtzinnig over tot dit soort stappen. Dat het nu wel gebeurt, heeft te maken met de "terechte zorg van omwonenden".

Onderzoek

Het OM startte in 2022 een onderzoek naar Tata Steel nadat advocaat Bénédicte Ficq namens honderden omwonenden aangifte had gedaan. Het strafrechtelijk onderzoek gaat volgens het OM over een periode van ruim acht jaar, van januari 2018 tot en met februari 2026.

Dat het onderzoek naar het bedrijf zo'n 4,5 jaar heeft geduurd, komt volgens Slieker door de complexiteit van de zaak.

Vaart

Het OM kiest ervoor om het staalconcern nu te vervolgen, terwijl er nog nader onderzoek wordt gedaan naar of bestuurders van het bedrijf mogelijk ook strafbaar zijn. De keuze om de zaak op te knippen maakt het OM om vaart in de zaak te houden. "Het onderzoek loopt al lang en ondertussen maken mensen zich nog steeds zorgen", stelt Slieker.

Volgens Slieker staat nog niet vast dat naast het bedrijf ook personen strafrechtelijk vervolgd gaan worden.

Een eerste regiezitting vindt plaats op 20 november. Daar zal duidelijk worden wat Tata Steel precies ten laste wordt gelegd. Over de tijdlijn vanaf dat moment kan Slieker weinig zeggen.

Het kabinet trekt de komende vier jaar 420 miljoen euro extra uit voor de bouw van ouderenwoningen. Daarmee wil het de doorstroming op de woningmarkt versnellen, zodat senioren gemakkelijker kunnen verhuizen naar een passende woning en grotere gezinswoningen vrijkomen voor andere huishoudens. Volgens de overheid zijn tot 2030 zo'n 290.000 ouderenwoningen nodig, terwijl voor ongeveer 75.000 daarvan nog extra impulsen nodig zijn.

De investering sluit aan bij een bredere discussie over hoe ouderen beter kunnen doorstromen. Niet alleen het aanbod van geschikte woningen speelt daarbij een rol, maar ook de financiering. Het kabinet onderzoekt daarom samen met de hypotheeksector of de overwaarde van een huidige woning beter kan worden ingezet, bijvoorbeeld om dubbele woonlasten tijdens een verhuizing op te vangen. De uitkomsten van dat onderzoek worden later dit jaar verwacht.

Tegelijkertijd is er een opvallende ontwikkeling aan de kant van de banken. ING scherpt per 23 juli het acceptatiebeleid voor nieuwe aflossingsvrije hypotheken aan. Bij nieuwe aanvragen mag nog maximaal 30 procent van de woningwaarde aflossingsvrij worden gefinancierd, met daarnaast een maximumbedrag dat afhankelijk is van de woningwaarde. De bank zegt hiermee klanten beter te willen voorbereiden op hun financiële toekomst. Voor bestaande klanten die hun hypotheek ongewijzigd voortzetten verandert niets.

Waarschuwing DNB

Die twee ontwikkelingen lijken op het eerste gezicht met elkaar te botsen. Waar de overheid zoekt naar manieren om ouderen financieel meer bewegingsruimte te geven, worden de mogelijkheden voor nieuwe aflossingsvrije financieringen juist beperkter. Ook andere geldverstrekkers hebben de afgelopen periode vergelijkbare maatregelen aangekondigd, mede na waarschuwingen van De Nederlandsche Bank over de risico's van hoge aflossingsvrije hypotheekschulden.

Dat betekent overigens niet dat de kabinetsplannen kansloos zijn. Meer passende ouderenwoningen kunnen een belangrijke impuls geven aan de doorstroming, zeker als senioren daadwerkelijk een aantrekkelijk alternatief krijgen. Maar alleen bouwen is waarschijnlijk niet voldoende. Voor veel huiseigenaren blijft de financiële haalbaarheid van een verhuizing minstens zo belangrijk als het beschikbare woningaanbod.

De komende maanden zullen daarom uitwijzen of het kabinetsbeleid en de hypotheeksector elkaar weten te versterken, of dat de ruimere ambities van de overheid worden afgeremd door strengere financieringsregels. Juist die combinatie zal bepalend zijn voor de vraag of de woningmarkt daadwerkelijk in beweging komt.

The B-52's

Phoenix

In meerdere wijken in Rotterdam valt het op: overvolle afvalbakken die al een hele tijd niet meer zijn geleegd. Onder andere bewoners van Het Lage Land in Rotterdam-Alexander kampen daarmee en storen zich aan de situatie. "Het trekt ratten aan en het gaat een keertje stinken", zegt één van hen.

The UK’s third-largest supermarket, Asda, has reported that the cost of its tech divorce from Walmart — which included building a new SAP ERP system — reached £1.22 billion, four years after it first separated from the US retail giant. Results published last month said that one-off separation program would transfer the UK retailer to “a standalone, IT infrastructure using software as a service from best-in-class digital partners”. Asda said the program would “improve operating efficiencies, make better use of data, improve experience for customers and colleagues, and enable the business to be more agile in responding to customers' needs.” During the 2025 financial year, which ended on 31 December, Asda said it completed the conversion of all stores and all distribution centers from “legacy Walmart systems” to the new standalone systems. “Cumulative cash outflow to 31 December 2025 for the project was £1,224 million,” the annual report said. The report [PDF] raises questions over the extent of budget over-runs and delays to the project, as well as disruption caused by its implementation. In February 2021, Bellis Finco plc bought Asda Group from Walmart. As part of the deal, the new owners agreed a Transitional Services Agreement (TSA) with Walmart for an initial period of three years so the US retailer could continue to support the software and IT infrastructure Asda relies on, including a US-run SAP ERP system. Asda embarked on a program called Project Future, designed to separate its IT systems from those of Walmart and to create a new ERP system based on SAP’s latest in-memory technology, S/4HANA, which runs in the cloud. According to annual reports, Asda spent £24 million in 2021 and £189 million ($244 million) in 2022 on the project. In January 2024, The Register reported that Asda had extended its back-office support arrangements with Walmart, which included support for SAP, beyond the initial three years, with insiders telling media outlets "there was never an expectation" to complete the transition from Walmart's systems to Asda's own before 2024 and that the transition would be complete by the end of the year. The annual report for 2023 revealed the exceptional costs of Project Future for the year were £241 million. According to Asda, it moved off Walmart's SAP ERP system to a new instance of S/4HANA hosted in Microsoft's Azure cloud in January 2024. The project involved the separation of more than 2,500 legacy systems and moving every aspect of Asda's operations to its own IT platforms. In June 2024, about 135 IT staff were transferred to outsourcer TCS, while a month later digital transformation chief Mark Simpson left the business after 28 years of service. Despite the move off Walmart's SAP platform, Asda continued to have troubles integrating the new system. In December last 2024 , it decided not to go ahead with planned cutover dates to introduce new systems at some smaller stores as part of the technical divorce. Its annual report for the year 2024 revealed it spent £310 million in exceptional costs on the project. In January 2025, Asda postponed the tech transition of 55 stores to its new systems as Walmart continued to support IT at outlets it sold to the UK retailer in 2021. At the time, a spokesperson told The Register it continued "to make good progress delivering Project Future." In March 2025, The Times reported the total cost would be around £1 billion after a £175 million project increase from £800 million amid a project “plagued by delays”. In August 2025, Asda declared Project Future was complete with all stores, food depots and head offices operating on new systems. Allan Leighton, Asda’s executive chairman, said: “The collective rate of completion did cause some temporary disruption with product availability and in our online experience, which will impact our sales outturn in the current quarter.” Nonetheless, Michael Gleeson, Asda’s chief financial officer, said the retailer was beginning to benefit from Project Future. However, in December 2025, Leighton told the media that delays and disruption caused by the technology separation project set back Asda’s financial turnaround by six months. The tech problems had "materially impacted" its third-quarter trading. The retailer said the effects would continue until the second calendar quarter of 2026. "The downturn in sales and to a degree the market share issue is totally driven by Future, it's not driven by any competitive activity," Leighton told The Times at the time. He said the IT issues were "totally self-inflicted" and put them down to "poor integration, insufficient testing, and a lack of capacity planning." The financial figures from 2025 reveal food, clothing, general merchandise and food service sales were particularly impacted in the second half of the year “by disruption following the substantial completion of Project Future affecting on-shelf availability and customer experience online through increased website friction”. It invested £284 million in the project during the year. The Register has asked Asda if it expects to continue spending on Project Future in 2026. Whether it planned to spend £1.22 billion and whether it planned to finish within the original three-year TSA window, the company’s tech team may be forgiven for hoping it is all in the past. ®

Exclusive: Bankers have raised potential money-laundering concerns over loans and donations involving senior party figures

• UK politics live – latest updates

A host of transactions involving Reform UK’s most senior figures and donations to the party caused bankers to report potential money-laundering concerns to the National Crime Agency, a Guardian investigation has found.

On Tuesday, the Guardian revealed that the undisclosed £5m gift provided to the Reform leader, Nigel Farage, by a cryptocurrency billionaire shortly before the 2024 general election was reported to the NCA.

One relates to a £1m donation made to Britain Means Business, a fundraising organisation for Reform UK, before the last general election. Half of the £1m was then transferred by Tice, as director of the company, to Reform UK. Renamed from Leave Means Leave, Britain Means Business is a company that is used to help fund Reform. The £1m seemingly came from the aristocrat and Reform UK donor Fiona Cottrell. In this instance, the Guardian understands bank staff were not satisfied that the funds had ultimately come from her. The NCA has sought help from a foreign partner agency to trace the original source of the funds.

Two other SARs relate to a loan from George Cottrell to Tice. The loan was made shortly before Tice finalised a property purchase and made a party donation, and was not repaid until after those two transactions were completed, according to sources. George Cottrell is the son of Fiona Cottrell, and is a convicted fraudster, former deputy treasurer of Ukip and close associate of Farage.

A fourth relates to the £5m gift from the Thailand-based businessman Christopher Harborne to Farage, which was first revealed by the Guardian in April.

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As the Bayreuth festival turns 150, we look at the composer’s huge and enduring influence, and wonder what might have happened to classical music in his absence?

One hundred and fifty years ago this summer, Richard Wagner wanted to change the world. Not only the musical world, but nationhood, political thought, even the idea of what it means to be human. The inaugural Bayreuth festival opened on 13 August 1876, with the first complete cycle of Der Ring des Nibelungen staged in Wagner’s custom-built Bayreuth Festspielhaus in Bavaria. The first audience included kings, emperors, aristocracy and politicians as well as Europe’s musical and creative elites (Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Bruckner and Liszt among them). Wagner, who had been a revolutionary on the streets of Dresden in the 1840s, intended the Ring’s four operas to usher in a new world, one redeemed and made wise by this epic story of power, love, redemption, betrayal and renewal.

The titanic impact of Wagner is almost impossible to grasp today. Stage design aside (having the orchestra entirely hidden in the pit and darkening the auditorium were two of his innovations at Bayreuth) his legacies are felt across the arts from the way Wagnerism gripped German philosophers and Paris’s painters and poets in the 19th century, to the seismic changes he wreaked in cultural politics, and the toxicity of the antisemitic bearers of the Wagnerian flame after his death in 1883.

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Given the special barbarity and cruelty of the nation's current government, the international cast of the game's players, and most especially the enormous numbers of Latino players in the major leagues, baseball has become something of a sacred pageant for the country, providing us a picture of what we could and should be as a people.

Weer voor Rotterdam ⛅ - 08-07-2026 13:15 CEST

In één oogopslag:
• 22.7°C · Gedeeltelijk bewolkt ⛅ | Min 19.2°C / Max 24.8°C

Verwachting voor vandaag:
• Min 19.2°C, Max 24.8°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1019.4 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 14.4 km/u (4.0 m/s), richting: ↘ 326°

Uurlijkse voorspelling voor de komende 12 uur:

• 14:00: 23.6°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1019.5 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 13.3 km/u (3.7 m/s), richting: ↘ 323°
• 15:00: 24.7°C (Zonnig) ☀️, 🧭 1019.4 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 13.7 km/u (3.8 m/s), richting: ↘ 330°
• 16:00: 24.8°C (Zonnig) ☀️, 🧭 1019.5 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 14.4 km/u (4.0 m/s), richting: ↘ 331°
• 17:00: 24.7°C (Zonnig) ☀️, 🧭 1019.4 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 13.0 km/u (3.6 m/s), richting: ↘ 329°
• 18:00: 24.4°C (Zonnig) ☀️, 🧭 1019.4 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 12.6 km/u (3.5 m/s), richting: ↘ 331°
• 19:00: 23.6°C (Licht bewolkt) 🌤️, 🧭 1019.3 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 12.6 km/u (3.5 m/s), richting: ↓ 340°
• 20:00: 22.8°C (Zonnig) ☀️, 🧭 1019.4 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 11.5 km/u (3.2 m/s), richting: ↓ 350°
• 21:00: 22.0°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1019.2 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 10.4 km/u (2.9 m/s), richting: ↓ 340°
• 22:00: 21.1°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1019.4 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 10.1 km/u (2.8 m/s), richting: ↓ 347°
• 23:00: 20.3°C (Helder) 🌕, 🧭 1019.6 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 9.7 km/u (2.7 m/s), richting: ↓ 352°
• 00:00: 19.8°C (Helder) 🌕, 🧭 1019.7 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 9.7 km/u (2.7 m/s), richting: ↓ 344°
• 01:00: 19.5°C (Helder) 🌕, 🧭 1019.5 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 9.0 km/u (2.5 m/s), richting: ↓ 12°

Voorspelling voor de komende dagen:

• donderdag 09 juli: Min 17.7°C, Max 26.5°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1018.9 hPa ↘️ -0.5 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 16.2 km/u (4.5 m/s), richting: ↙ 51°
• vrijdag 10 juli: Min 18.5°C, Max 28.4°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1018.3 hPa ↘️ -0.6 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 20.5 km/u (5.7 m/s), richting: ↙ 59°
• zaterdag 11 juli: Min 16.3°C, Max 29.0°C (Gedeeltelijk bewolkt) ⛅, 🧭 1019.9 hPa ↗️ +1.6 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 13.5 km/u (3.8 m/s), richting: ↙ 56°
• zondag 12 juli: Min 20.6°C, Max 30.9°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1021.4 hPa ↗️ +1.5 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 15.9 km/u (4.4 m/s), richting: ↙ 62°
• maandag 13 juli: Min 21.2°C, Max 31.7°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 2%, 🧭 1021.0 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 14.6 km/u (4.1 m/s), richting: ↙ 62°
• dinsdag 14 juli: Min 21.4°C, Max 30.2°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 9%, 🧭 1018.1 hPa ↘️ -2.9 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 17.5 km/u (4.9 m/s), richting: ↙ 50°

Details:
• 🌡️ Huidige temperatuur (om 13:15): 22.7°C (Gedeeltelijk bewolkt)
• 🤚 Gevoelstemperatuur: 23.8°C (+1.1°C)
• 💨 Windsnelheid: 13.0 km/u (3.6 m/s), richting: ↘ 325°
• 🌬️ Windstoten: 29.5 km/h (8.2 m/s)
• 💧 Luchtvochtigheid: 56%
• 🧭 Luchtdruk: 1019.5 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/3h
• 👁️ Zichtbaarheid: 27.5 km
• ☀️ UV-index: 6.8
• 🌅 Zonsopgang: 05:33 · 🌇 Zonsondergang: 22:01

Luchtkwaliteit:
• AQI: 27 🟢 (Goed)
• PM2.5: 6.1 μg/m³
• PM10: 9.1 μg/m³

Gegevens geleverd door Open-Meteo

#Rotterdam #Meteo #MeteoBot #MeteoNetherlands #OpenMeteo #FediMeteo

This week, we talk about Jason's dive into the world of LARPing, where hustlebros and influencers use fake YouTube, OnlyFans, and Stripe dashboards as "proof" that they're rich in order to sell low-quality get-rich-quick courses in pyramid schemes. We show how easy it is to pretend like you're rich, and how these strategies are used all over social media.

Listen to the weekly podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. Become a paid subscriber for access to this episode's bonus content and to power our journalism. If you become a paid subscriber, check your inbox for an email from our podcast host Transistor for a link to the subscribers-only version! You can also add that subscribers feed to your podcast app of choice and never miss an episode that way. The email should also contain the subscribers-only unlisted YouTube link for the extended video version too. It will also be in the show notes in your podcast player.

• How I Bought a Private Jet By Selling $10 Subscriptions to 404 Media
• Inside Cannes, the Advertising Industry’s Biggest Party

Vanillasludge posted a photo:

Last week, national security agencies from the Five Eyes—that’s the rich, English-language-speaking countries club—jointly released a statement warning of the increasing cyber risks of AI models: in particular, their ability to autonomously hack into systems and networks. The statement was more measured than some of the breathless headlines about it, and the advice they gave is pretty much the standard advice everyone gives—albeit with newfound urgency.

Internet risks are nothing new, and cyberattacks—both large and small—have been a significant issue since long before the current crop of generative AI models.

What’s been changing over the decades, and what AI is changing even faster, is the gap between skill and ability. For most of human history, the two terms were synonymous—but computers have decoupled them. As the gap between the two expands, humans empowered with these AI tools can do more: more writing, more research, more analysis and also more damage than ever before. These models can, with little detailed direction, autonomously hack into networks, steal data, deploy ransomware and destroy systems. And to the extent there is a solution, it’s going to involve harnessing AI for the defense.

In 1998, seven people from the hacker group L0pht testified before Congress. They told a mostly clueless Senate committee that they could take down the internet in 30 minutes. That was partly real and partly bravado, but it illustrates an important point: hacking into systems, stealing data and causing damage all required skill.

Contrast the L0pht hackers with hackers derided as “script kiddies.” They didn’t understand computers, or security. Instead, they used hacker tools written by others. Their actions required minimal skill and even less knowledge. But once those hacking tools became widespread, the number of potential attackers increased.

That number has continued to increase, as quality and availability of prewritten attack tools has grown. And it is growing dramatically with AI. Today’s AI systems—not just the frontier models, but most of them—are capable of carrying out cyberattacks automatically. They all do better in the hands of skilled attackers, but increasingly they are able to act autonomously with only minimal prompting.

The thing about people with ability but no skill is that they are often outsiders, not part of any professional community, and not bound by any rules or norms. This phenomenon is much more general than in cybersecurity. Any doctor can tell you how to untraceably poison someone, and many virus researchers know how to create a bioweapon. Any bridge engineer can tell you how to place explosives to blow a bridge up. The reason that murderous doctors and terrorist engineers are so rare is that the lengthy process of acquiring those skills also instills a moral and ethical code. If every random person has access to good poisoning advice, that puts us all in danger.

Modern AI systems are, in effect, a universal adviser to help people do harmful things. And while the current AI megacorporations are trying to build guardrails to prevent people from asking questions whose answers will enable the questioner to do harm, that’s not going to work in the long term. Smaller, cheaper, open-source models, including models that can run on people’s computers, and especially groups of models that run in concert with each other, are just as good as the frontier models from companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. And they continue to get better. These models will be passed around from person to person, like script kiddie hacker tools, and they won’t have any such guardrails.

Instructing AI models to spy on people and report any malicious prompts to the authorities fails for similar reasons. The megacorporations can do that, but the locally run open source models won’t. This could buy us a few months at best.

A third possibility is to somehow make the models themselves unable to hack into computers, create bioweapons or do anything else that might harm people or society. That won’t work, for the same reason we can’t teach doctors how to treat poisonings without also teaching them how to poison. It’s the same knowledge. It’s the same with construction and demolition. And it’s the same with cybersecurity. We want these AI models to be able to review computer code, find vulnerabilities and automatically fix them. The benefit to our collective security will be enormous. Unfortunately, the same knowledge can be used for attacks.

Where this leaves us is in a world of increased volatility. Super-powered humans with AI assistants will be able to do both wonderful and horrible things.

This brings us back to the Five Eyes statement. Everything they recommend is something security professionals have been recommending for years, if not decades. They are things talked about at that congressional hearing back in 1998, titled “Weak computer security in government: Is the public at risk?” Even the Five Eyes admitted that their security advice is not new, only more urgent.

What’s new is how fast things are changing: “The rapid pace of frontier AI development means cyber risk assumptions can become outdated in months, not years. We must act before and be prepared to adapt and withstand evolving threats.” The Five Eyes point to AI technology—not necessarily chatbots, but AI more generally—being used to strengthen every aspect of defense, to “detect vulnerabilities earlier, improve software quality, monitor unusual behavior, and respond faster to incidents—reducing both the cost and impact of incidents.”

Excellent advice from the Five Eyes security agencies. We need to do this with every risk that AI heightens, not just cybersecurity.

This essay was originally published in The Guardian.

Darren Schiller has added a photo to the pool:

Little Rundle Street, Kent Town, South Australia.
This laneway has become a canvas for street and graffiti artists.