This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.
Defense official reveals how AI chatbots could be used for targeting decisions
The US military might use generative AI systems to rank targets and recommend which to strike first, according to a Defense Department official.
A list of possible targets could first be fed into a generative AI system that the Pentagon is fielding for classified settings. Humans might then ask the system to analyze the information and prioritize the targets. They would then be responsible for checking and evaluating the results and recommendations.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT and xAI’s Grok could soon be at the center of exactly these sorts of high-stakes military decisions. Read the full story.
—James O’Donnell
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 The Pentagon’s CTO claims Claude would “pollute” the defense supply chain
He blamed a “policy preference” that’s baked into the model. (CNBC)
+ Anthropic is reeling from OpenAI’s “compromise” with the DoD. (MIT Technology Review)
2 An ex-DOGE staffer has been accused of stealing social security data
Then taking the information to his new job in the IT division of a government contractor. (Wired)
+ He allegedly used a thumb drive to steal the data. (Washington Post)
3 Ukraine is offering its battlefield data for AI training
Allies can access the data to train drones and other UAVs. (Reuters)
+ Europe has a drone-filled vision for the future of war. (MIT Technology Review)
4 Meta has postponed its latest AI launch over performance issues
It fell short of rival models from Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic. (NYT $)
+ The company’s former AI chief is betting against LLMs. (MIT Technology Review).
5 X could be breaching sanctions on Iran
An account for Iran’s new supreme leader may break US rules. (Engadget)
+ Hacker group Handala has become the face of Iranian cyberwarfare. (Wired)
+ AI is turning the conflict into theater. (MIT Technology Review)
6 A landmark social media addiction trial is wrapping up
It’ll decide whether the platforms are liable for harms caused to children. (The Guardian)
+ AI companions are the next stage of digital addiction. (MIT Technology Review)
7 Western AI models have “failed spectacularly” on agriculture in the Global South
The biggest problem? They’re not trained on local data. (Rest of World)
8 Internet outages in Moscow are sparking surging sales of pagers
The disruptions have been blamed on new tests of web controls. (Bloomberg $)
9 Why is China obsessed with OpenClaw?
Lobster-mania is spreading to the general public. (SCMP)
+ Tech-savvy “tinkerers” are cashing in on the craze. (MIT Technology Review)
10 Hollywood has soured on Silicon Valley
Movies and TV shows have swapped eccentric founders for megalomaniac moguls. (NYT $)
Quote of the day
“We see a future where intelligence is a utility, like electricity or water, and people buy it from us on a meter.”
—OpenAI CEO Sam Altman makes a new pitch to investors at a BlackRock event, Gizmodo reports.
One More Thing
How the Ukraine-Russia war is reshaping the tech sector in Eastern Europe
When Latvian startup Global Wolf Motors first pitched the idea of a military scooter, it was met with skepticism—and a wall of bureaucracy. Then Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and everything changed.
Suddenly, Ukrainian combat units wanted any equipment they could get their hands on, and they were willing to try out ideas that might not have made the cut in peacetime.
Within weeks, the scooters were on the front line—and even behind it, being used on daring reconnaissance missions. It signaled that a new product category for companies along Ukraine’s borders had opened: civilian technologies repurposed for military needs. Read the full story.
—Peter Guest
We can still have nice things
A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line.)
+ A new mini magnet could slash the costs of MRIs and nuclear fusion.
+ This interactive map of Earth offers new routes to facts about our planet.
+ Escape the news cycle with this deep dive into the power of fantasy and nature. (Big thanks to reader and MIT alum Vicki for the find!)
+ Reports of reading’s death are greatly exaggerated.
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