The Download: Troubling Insights About Our Inner Neanderthals and the Deceptive Human Facade of AI Warfare

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The real danger isn’t that machines will act without oversight; it’s that human overseers have no idea what the machines are actually “thinking.” Thankfully, science may offer a way forward. Explore the pressing need for new safeguards around AI warfare.

The Must-Reads

I’ve gathered some of today’s most engaging and significant stories about technology for you.

1. Despite blacklisting Anthropic, the White House seeks its new model
   Trump officials are negotiating access to Mythos. (Axios) + Anthropic stated it was too dangerous for a public release. (Bloomberg) + Finance ministers are concerned about security risks. (BBC) + Anthropic recently introduced a model that’s less risky than Mythos. (CNBC) + The Pentagon has pursued a culture war against the company. (MIT Technology Review)

2. Sam Altman’s side hustles raise conflict-of-interest concerns
   His opaque investments could influence decisions at OpenAI. (WSJ) + A jury will soon determine if OpenAI abandoned its founding mission. (Wired) + The company is making a significant move in the scientific arena. (MIT Technology Review)

3. A Starlink outage during drone tests highlights the Pentagon’s reliance on SpaceX
   This was one of several Navy test disruptions linked to Starlink. (Reuters) + The DoD is also working with Ford and GM on military innovations. (NYT)

4. Data center delays threaten AI expansion
   40% of this year’s projects risk falling behind schedule. (FT) + This is partly due to the local resistance against data centers. (MIT Technology Review)

5. Alibaba has unveiled its own version of a world model
   Happy Oyster is the latest attempt to enhance AI’s understanding of physical reality. (SCMP) + However, it still needs to grasp cause and effect. (FT)

6. Google’s Gemini generates AI images based on personal data
   It analyzes users’ Google services and data. (Quartz) + Google claims it will reduce the need for detailed prompts. (TechCrunch)

7. OpenAI is enhancing its agentic coding and development system
   Its Codex update is a direct response to Claude Code. (The Verge) + Not everyone is convinced about AI coding capabilities. (MIT Technology Review)

8. Europe’s online age verification app is now available
   It’s free for any company that wishes to implement it. (Wired)

9. Smartglasses are offering Korean theaters a glimpse of a K-Pop moment
   Their AI-powered translations are taking performances to a global audience. (NYT)

10. Global voice actors are challenging Hollywood’s AI initiatives
    Their voices are being used to train the models that may replace them. (Rest of World)

Quote of the Day

“There’s this dark period between now and some time in the future where the advantage is very much offensive AI.”
— Rob Joyce, former director of cybersecurity at the National Security Agency, discusses how AI is creating new hacking threats.

One More Thing

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