Reading OpenAI’s account last week of how some of its models broke their containment and hacked into the computer systems of Hugging Face, another AI company, was the first time I got genuine chills about what large language models are now able to do. But this is a case of human hubris, not rogue AI.
I am not an alarmist. In fact, I have been pushing back against AI scare stories for years. Even so, this incident crossed a line. I think it’s the clearest illustration yet of how the people building and testing this technology do not fully understand what they’re doing.
Here’s why OpenAI could—and should—have seen this coming.
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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 There’s a growing global AI stock sell-off underway 📉
Chip and memory stocks are bearing the brunt so far. (FT $)
+ It was partly sparked by a report that a Chinese company has started making a key piece of chip equipment for the first time. (The Information $)
+ Like their US rivals, Chinese AI firms are struggling to find a path to profitability. (NYT $)
+ What even is the AI bubble? (MIT Technology Review)
2 Some people’s chats with Claude were open to anyone online
OpenAI had a near-identical issue with ChatGPT last year. (BBC)
+ Is a secure AI assistant even possible? (MIT Technology Review)
3 France just witnessed its first ever “fire cloud”
It’s a scary sign of the intensity of the blazes burning there. (Wired $)
4 Meta is screwing up its smart glasses rollout
Privacy issues keep cropping up, and its response is invariably too little, and too late. (The Verge $)
+ They even have a nickname: “pervert glasses.” (Vox $)
5 Efforts are underway to measure Spotify’s AI slop problem
People are desperate for it to start labelling AI-generated music. (404 Media)
+ We’re in a weird era regarding AI’s role in literature. (The Atlantic $)
6 People are renting out their faces to AI in China
Often for microdramas, which are big business and increasingly rely on AI. (Rest of World)
+ How Chinese short dramas became AI content machines. (MIT Technology Review)
7 Microsoft is having a torrid year
Rivals building better AI tools are threatening its business on multiple fronts. (Business Insider $)
8 How bots took over the internet
They now outnumber humans, in terms of overall web traffic. (New Yorker $)
9 Robotaxis are hitting London’s streets this summer
Just for testing for now, though there are plans to launch rides to the public next year. (Engadget)
10 Why video games are obsessed with Backrooms
These spaces, which players aren’t supposed to access, can provoke a strange, liminal sort of discomfort. (Guardian)
Quote of the day
“It’s going to be a wild ride.”
—Christine Peterson, co-founder of the grantmaking group Foresight Institute, tells Wired charities anticipate a huge philanthropy windfall from Anthropic and OpenAI IPOs.
One More Thing
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ELENA SUBACH
On the ground in Ukraine’s largest Starlink repair shop
Starlink is critical to Ukraine’s ability to continue in the fight against Russia, but Donald Trump’s fickle foreign policy and reports suggesting Elon Musk might remove Ukraine’s access to the services have cast the technology’s future in the country into doubt.
For now Starlink access largely comes down to the unofficial community of users and engineers, including the expert “Dr. Starlink”—famous for his creative ways of customizing the systems—who have kept Ukraine in the fight, both on and off the front line.
He gave MIT Technology Review exclusive access to his unofficial Starlink repair workshop in the city of Lviv. Read the full story.
—Charlie Metcalfe
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.)
+ As these retirees have discovered, dancing is incredibly good for you.
+ Do you feel lucky, punk? Life feels a lot easier if you do!
+ 100% would visit this cat every day if I lived in Istanbul.
+ Watch this to understand how the movie Sinners had such impressive visual effects.
Read More
Charlotte Jee