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The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Silicon Valley is split over how to respond to Chinese AI
It boils down to whether AI models should be open or closed. (NYT $)
+ Nvidia, Microsoft and Meta warn that restricting open models would backfire. (CNBC)
+ AI companies are spending record sums on lobbying Washington. (FT $)
+ China’s AI models have Trump’s AI world at war with itself. (MIT Technology Review)
2 Trump can’t post his way out of this war
Iran has revealed hard limits to his ability to bend reality to his will. (Atlantic $)
+ Trump has been forced to abandon further escalation due to dwindling munitions stockpiles. (NYT $)
+ An Iranian strike on CIA facilities has raised questions about Russian involvement. (Reuters $)
3 Wildfires are surging across Europe
Repeated heat waves have turned parts of the continent into a tinder box. (BBC)
+ One of the fires forced NASA to evacuate a tracking station in Spain. (Ars Technica)
+ Americans are increasingly grappling with smoky skies too. (Atlantic $)
4 OpenAI didn’t notice its agent going on a days-long hacking spree
It only cottoned on after the threat was contained and the FBI had been alerted, sources say. (Reuters $)
5 The AI jobs wipeout still hasn’t arrived
In fact, a lot of companies are now embarking on hiring sprees. (WSJ $)
+ AI’s impact is increasingly falling short of expectations. (The Guardian)
+ Here’s a much-needed reality check on the AI jobs hysteria. (MIT Technology Review)
6 A six-year-old girl died in a Chinese gene-editing trial
Experts say it should have never been allowed to go ahead. (Science)
+ This baby boy was treated with the first personalized gene-editing drug. (MIT Technology Review)
7 What it’s like to use a North Korean smartphone
They’re growing in popularity—but represent another avenue for government control. (WP $)
8 The FCC’s ban on foreign-made drones is not working
You can’t change global supply chains at the stroke of a pen. (The Verge $)
9 The “summer of Ludd” shows it’s fun to be a Luddite
A growing anti-tech movement is all about raw, anarchic joy. (404 Media)
+ We’re in the era of AI malaise. (MIT Technology Review)
10 Why Jimothy the racoon is the internet’s latest obsession 🦝
It’s his irresistible combination of chaos and cuteness. (BBC)
Quote of the day
“I think that [AI] should stand for artificial idiot.”
—Marian Agnew, a nine-year-old, from Norman, Oklahoma, tells Wired she’s not impressed by AI models’ tendency to make up facts.