This edition examines the urgent need to monitor AI agents in real time, the climate feedback loops missing from many models, and the prospects for all-solid-state batteries. It also covers a data breach affecting 41,000 Department of Homeland Security employees, Russia’s reported cooperation with Elon Musk on satellites, Apple’s first touchscreen MacBook, and other major technology and science stories.
This is today’s edition of The Download, a weekday newsletter bringing you a daily dose of what’s happening in technology.
Opinion: AI agents urgently need real-time monitoring
By Madhulika Srikumar and Claire Leibowicz of Partnership on AI, a nonprofit organization promoting best practices in AI governance.
AI agents have carried out fraudulent activities ranging from hacking websites to accessing civilian government files. In some cases, the researchers and safety teams responsible for monitoring these systems have failed to detect their actions.
As agents are deployed in critical sectors such as finance, government, and healthcare, they must be monitored in real time to prevent potentially catastrophic outcomes. That safety depends on observability: knowing what an agent did and why it did it.
Without that information, deploying these tools means operating effectively blind. Here is what needs to change.
Climate models have large and dangerous blind spots
Climate change can accelerate climate change. Rising greenhouse-gas concentrations are increasing global temperatures and triggering dangerous feedback loops that are poorly represented in many climate models—and therefore in emissions-reduction targets based on them.
Scientists have long warned that global warming could drive further warming. A growing body of observations and studies now shows how powerful these cascading effects may be, as well as how quickly the planet could warm this century.
Read more about the feedback loops accelerating global warming.
—James Temple
This article is from The Spark, a weekly climate-technology newsletter. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday.
Have solid-state batteries arrived yet?
Lithium-ion batteries power everything from personal electronics to grid-scale energy storage, but their liquid electrolytes have drawbacks, including a troubling tendency to catch fire. All-solid-state batteries replace the liquid electrolyte with solid ceramics or polymers.
The technology promises faster charging, longer life, higher energy density, and improved safety. A new generation of companies is working to bring it to market. If they succeed, solid-state batteries could help ease the transition away from fossil fuels.
See how close solid-state batteries are to fulfilling that promise.
—Alexander C. Kaufman
This story is part of “Have you arrived yet?”, a series examining six technologies that have long promised to change the world. We are investigating each technology’s progress. Subscribe to read the rest of the series.
Must-read content
We searched the internet for some of the most entertaining, important, frightening, and fascinating technology stories of the day.
1. Hackers expose 41,000 Department of Homeland Security employees
The leaked data includes information about undercover ICE agents. (Wired $)
Much of the data is related to Customs and Border Protection. (TechCrunch)
The leak also linked government agencies to specific monitoring tools. (Reuters $)
Big Tech is pushing back against ICE’s requests for user data. (The Wall Street Journal $)
Activists want ChatGPT users to quit over the company’s ties to ICE. (MIT Technology Review)
2. President Putin says Russia is cooperating with “genius” Musk on satellites
Putin said the cooperation would help maintain order in orbit. (Bloomberg $)
Russia is developing its own version of Starlink. (The Guardian)
Moscow has added Apple and Microsoft to its surveillance registry. (Quartz)
Here is everything we put into the universe. (MIT Technology Review)
3. Apple introduces its first MacBook with a touchscreen
The company’s announcement is part of a series of product launches under new CEO John Tarnas. (CNN)
Both Steve Jobs and Tim Cook had rejected the idea. (The New York Times $)
Executives say advances in touchscreen technology have now made the feature worthwhile. (Wired $)
4. Bloomberg and trading companies pay for faster access to President Trump’s posts
They signed up for Truth Social’s paid-access plan. (Reuters $)
5. Europe plans its first undersea cable to Greenland as US ties fray
The cable would connect Canada, Japan, and South Korea without passing through the United States. (Ars Technica)
An EU AI advocate says Europe can match US technology giants. (Financial Times $)
6. Palantir’s defense chief says AI could allow China to target Taiwan
He said the Chinese government could act to block US advances in AI. (Bloomberg $)
Taiwan’s “silicon shield” may be weakened. (MIT Technology Review)
7. Musk’s xAI offers to buy residents’ homes if they drop noise lawsuits
The lawsuit concerns noise from data centers in Mississippi. (The Guardian)
8. The world’s first spinal-cord transplant sparks controversy
Experts say there is little evidence that the strategy will work. (New Scientist $)
9. Chinese technology giants compete for attention with AI microdramas
Tencent and ByteDance are competing in a rapidly growing market. (South China Morning Post)
Chinese microdramas are becoming AI content machines. (MIT Technology Review)
10. Astronomers identify a possible new dwarf planet beyond Pluto
The icy world would become the solar system’s sixth dwarf planet. (Gizmodo)
Quote of the day
“They have our information, so it makes sense that we have theirs.”
—A statement explaining why a group of hackers leaked personal information from the US Department of Homeland Security. Read NPR’s coverage.
One more thing
How the Department of Defense is adapting to China’s technological advances
More than a year has passed since Kathleen Hicks resigned as deputy secretary of defense.
As the highest-ranking woman in Pentagon history, Hicks shaped America’s military posture during an era defined by renewed competition among great powers and an effort to modernize defense technology.
In this conversation with MIT Technology Review, Hicks reflects on how the Department of Defense is adapting—or failing to adapt—to a new era of geopolitical competition. She discusses the rise of Chinese technology, the future of AI in warfare, and her signature initiative, Replicator.
Read the full interview.
—Chen Kaiwei
We still have good things
A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten your day. Have an idea? Please contact us.
+ An astronomer found a green star 280 light-years from Earth.
+ A Scottish Labrador won an Animal of the Year award after detecting “sea vomit.”
+ England’s iconic Sycamore Gap is showing signs of new life, three years after the tree was felled.
+ From Lime bike jousting to chain-mail-wearing pop stars, young people are embracing the medieval era.
Source: www.technologyreview.com
