Artificial Intelligence
OpenAI’s Hacking Debacle Comes Down to Human ErrorLily Hay Newman | Wired ($)
“If the generative AI giant had followed well-known security best practices, it’s likely that its AI agent would never have escaped to the open internet and hacked multiple companies. …’A simple analysis of the actual risk has an actual simple answer,’ says longtime security and compliance consultant Davi Ottenheimer. ‘The OpenAI mistakes were dead simple.'”
Artificial Intelligence
Anthropic’s New AI Model Can Identify More Software Bugs Than Ever. Microsoft Is Struggling to Fix Them Fast Enough.Renee Dudley and Doris Burke | ProPublica
“Each month, the company publicly releases fixes for its software vulnerabilities in what’s known as ‘Patch Tuesday.’ In June, it released patches for more than 200 bugs, which industry experts then said was an all-time high. But on July 14, the company blew through that record and released patches for more than 600 bugs.”
Future
The Rise of Million-Dollar Companies With Just One EmployeeTe-Ping Chen | The Wall Street Journal ($)
“An analysis by the payments company Stripe shows there are thousands of solo operators on the company’s platform that are generating over $1 million in revenue, with their ranks doubling between 2023 and 2025. The number of solo operators crossing the $10 million threshold nearly tripled in that same span.”
Future
The AI Jobs Apocalypse Probably Isn’t Coming Anytime SoonEduardo Porter | The Guardian
“As Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist David Autor noted: ‘A lot of people have noticed that the world is not changing as fast as they predicted.’ The emerging new story not only puts more emphasis on the complexity of the relationship between automation and human work across history. It is also raising doubts about the very feasibility of the threatened AI transformation of the universe.”
Robotics
Are Brain Waves the Next Unlock for Physical AI?Tim Fernholz | TechCrunch
“Encord is one of a growing number of startups betting the next real constraint on humanoid and warehouse will be the scarcity of real-world physical training data, and which is building a business not just to manage that data but to manufacture it. The brain wave headset Ceja is wearing was built by Zander Labs, a German neuroscience startup that’s betting measuring brain activity—to deduce mental states like error, intent, and surprise—can create a more useful dataset to train models.”
Tech
Wall Street Hunts for Creative AI Financing as ‘Digestion Issues’ EmergeStaff | The Information ($)
“John Greenwood, Goldman Sach’s global head of infrastructure and real asset finance, said he’s ‘looking for capital in every nook and cranny’ to support an expected $7.5 trillion in spending on chips, data centers, and power in the next five years. The hunt won’t end there, since much of that spending is on GPUs and other chips that need replacing every few years.”
Space
Experts Warn Current Starship Heat Shield Tech Is a ‘Dead End’ for Rapid ReuseEric Berger | Ars Technica
“The problem is that, with the signs of damage [to its heat shield], such a heat shield would appear to require a fair amount of inspection and refurbishment before another launch. In other words, SpaceX has a ways to go to reach ‘full and rapid’ reuse of Starship. “
Tech
In Silicon Valley, Some Say an AI Bubble Would Be Just FineErin Griffith | The New York Times ($)
“The excitement created by a bubble can drive new breakthroughs, their thinking goes. …These frenzies are important for allowing crucial infrastructure to get built, even if they lead to some ‘capital destruction’ along the way, [said Tomasz Tunguz, an investor at the venture capital firm Theory Ventures].”
Future
Neri Oxman Wants to Grow the Colors on Your ClothesElizabeth Segran | Fast Company ($)
“While several biotech firms have created more sustainable dyes, plugging cleaner chemicals into existing dye houses, Oxman’s approach reimagines dying from the ground up, treating dyes and fabrics as living organisms that can be grown. And while the Vigils project is still experimental, Oxman’s long-term goal is to commercialize and scale the technology, reshaping the future of fashion.”
Energy
New Data Shows EV Batteries Are Lasting Longer Than Initially ExpectedBruce Gil | Gizmodo
“Today’s average EV retains 97% of its original range after three years and 95% after five years, according to an analysis by EV data company Recurrent. …Additionally, battery replacement appears to be rare among newer EVs. A separate Recurrent analysis found that the battery replacement rate for EVs with model years 2022 and later was only 0.3%.”
Tech
Corporate America Has Suddenly Decided to Stop Blowing Money on AIAngel Au-Yeung, Katherine Bindley, and Tina Li | The Wall Street Journal ($)
“Fed up with ballooning costs, companies big and small are starting to use lower-priced models, including some built in China. In many cases, they are adding the new, cheaper models alongside OpenAI and Anthropic’s products, shopping a la carte for their artificial intelligence.”
Robotics
This Automation Tech Turns Old Tractors Into Self-Driving Farming MachinesPatrick Sisson | Fast Company ($)
“It’s a rig that can be attached to just about any existing tractor to help it mow, seed, weed, and perform any number of time-intensive tasks, all on its own, for a sector desperate for more labor.”
Space
AI Data Centers in Space? A System to Cool Chips Could Help.Ivan Penn | The New York Times ($)
“With a growing backlash against the proliferation of data centers to power artificial intelligence, there has been increasing interest in putting the energy-thirsty operations into orbit. Now, researchers may have figured out how to overcome a major obstacle to that goal: cooling the data centers in space.”
