Friday, May 15, 2026

The Obtain: a Nobel winner on AI, and the case for fixing all the things


Lee Vinsel is an affiliate professor of science, know-how, and society at Virginia Tech, a cofounder of The Maintainers, and the host of Peoples & Issues, a podcast about human life with know-how.

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The must-reads

I’ve combed the web to search out you immediately’s most enjoyable/vital/scary/fascinating tales about know-how.

1 The primary zero-day exploit constructed by AI has been found
Google noticed and stopped the tried “mass exploitation occasion.” (CNBC)
+ The hackers used AI to find an unknown bug. (NYT $)
+ AI-powered hacking has exploded into an industrial-scale risk. (Guardian)
+ New instruments are simplifying on-line crime. (MIT Expertise Assessment)

2 OpenAI simply launched its reply to Claude Mythos
Dawn patches vulnerabilities earlier than attackers discover them. (The Verge)
+ Sam Altman stated it should “repeatedly safe software program.” (Gizmodo)
+ It would rival Anthropic’s Claude Mythos, which arrived a month in the past. (BBC)
+ OpenAI is permitting wider entry to its cyber fashions than Anthropic. (CNBC)

3 Trump is heading to China to unfold the gospel of American tech
Whereas taking cues from Beijing’s extra stringent method. (Guardian)
+ However buyers need Trump and Xi to remain out of AI’s method. (Reuters $)
+ Elon Musk and Tim Prepare dinner are becoming a member of him on the journey this week. (BBC)

4 Ilya Sutskever has testified on Sam Altman’s “sample of mendacity”
OpenAI co-founder Sutskever took the stand within the Altman v. Musk trial. (BI)
+ He stated he spent a yr gathering proof of Altman’s dishonesty. (Reuters $)
+ However he additionally added to OpenAI’s protection. (Wired $)
+ Whereas Satya Nadella referred to as makes an attempt to take away Altman “newbie metropolis.” (FT $)
+ Right here’s what occurred final week within the trial. (MIT Expertise Assessment)

5 A brand new hantavirus vaccine is within the works
Moderna and Korea College are growing an mRNA vaccine. (Wired $)
+ Right here’s what you must know in regards to the cruise ship outbreak. (MIT Expertise Assessment)

6 Texas has sued Netflix over alleged information harvesting and “addictive” design
AG Ken Paxton accuses Netflix of secretly accumulating and promoting person information. (Quartz)
+ And spying on youngsters whereas intentionally fostering habit. (Guardian)

7 An information heart guzzled 30 million gallons of water—and nobody observed
The curious case serves as a warning for different information heart initiatives. (Ars Technica)

8 Europe is reportedly promoting spy ware to human rights abusers
EU states allegedly offered the tech to international locations violating rights. (Bloomberg $)

9 The US authorities’s AI vetting announcement has mysteriously vanished
It had detailed a safety take a look at settlement with Google, xAI, and Microsoft. (Gizmodo)

10 Amazon employees are utilizing AI for pointless duties simply to inflate utilization scores
In a bid to impress managers. (FT $)
+ An AI knowledgeable says we must always cease utilizing AI a lot. (MIT Expertise Assessment)


Quote of the day

“That is just like the dishonest husband complaining in regards to the dishonest spouse.” 

—Anupam Chander, a professor of legislation and know-how at Georgetown Legislation Faculty, tells the New York Instances that Elon Musk’s hypocrisy over OpenAI turning into a for-profit firm will undermine his courtroom battle with Sam Altman.

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