The Download: US robot restrictions, and ICE’s DNA grab
The Download: US robot restrictions, and ICE’s DNA grab

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. Trump’s AI protectionism has come for robotics   —James O’Donnell  Humanoid robots usually elicit more cringe than awe: They stumble, kick children, and despite advances are still worse at using their hands than my toddler. It’s…

The Download: reward hacking explained, and suspected Iranian cyberattacks
The Download: reward hacking explained, and suspected Iranian cyberattacks

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. Here’s why AI agents lie and cheat to reach their goals When two OpenAI models hacked into Hugging Face last month, they weren’t trying to make money or commit sabotage—they were…

The Download: Montana’s new experimental drug rules
The Download: Montana’s new experimental drug rules

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. Montana’s plan to become an experimental medical hub just pushed forward  As of this week in Montana, biotech companies whose drugs have been through preliminary testing—sometimes in as few as 10…

The Download: tricking LLMs, and reviving geothermal plants
The Download: tricking LLMs, and reviving geothermal plants

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. A fundamental flaw leaves LLMs strikingly vulnerable to attack  It is impossible to make large language models fully secure against hacks because of a fundamental flaw in how they work, a…

The Download: a chip talent battle, and deflating AI hype
The Download: a chip talent battle, and deflating AI hype

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. Samsung’s chip workers are jumping ship to rival SK Hynix   Lee, an engineer at Samsung’s semiconductor division, used to work late. But lately, he’s been clocking out on time and heading…

The Download: OpenAI’s predictable hack, and an AI stock sell-off
The Download: OpenAI’s predictable hack, and an AI stock sell-off

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. OpenAI called the Hugging Face attack unprecedented. But we’ve been here before.  —Will Douglas Heaven, senior AI editor Reading OpenAI’s account last week of how some of its models broke their…

The Download: lasers for nuclear fuel, and organ preservation advances
The Download: lasers for nuclear fuel, and organ preservation advances

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. How lasers could help provide fuel for nuclear reactors  Nuclear power provides about 9% of global electricity today, and that fraction could tick up as countries look to build new reactors.…

The Download: an organ transplant breakthrough, and homegrown Chinese chips
The Download: an organ transplant breakthrough, and homegrown Chinese chips

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. Supercooled kidneys have been transplanted into pigs in a “landmark achievement”  When it comes to organ donation, time is everything. As soon as an organ has been removed from a donor’s…

The Download: energy transmission and US threats against Chinese AI
The Download: energy transmission and US threats against Chinese AI

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. The power line that could reshape New York’s grid is hitting snags  During a heat wave on July 3, New York State’s grid imported enough electricity from Canada to meet about…

The Download: NASA’s new space telescope and OpenAI’s autonomous hacker
The Download: NASA’s new space telescope and OpenAI’s autonomous hacker

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. Shape-shifting mirrors on NASA’s new space telescope could unveil Jupiters like our own When NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launches, as early as the end of next month, it will…