That is as we speak’s version of The Obtain, our weekday e-newsletter that gives a each day dose of what’s happening on the earth of know-how.
The Pentagon is planning for AI firms to coach on categorized knowledge, protection official says
The Pentagon plans to arrange safe environments for generative AI firms to coach military-specific variations of their fashions on categorized knowledge, MIT Expertise Assessment has discovered.
AI fashions like Anthropic’s Claude are already used to reply questions in categorized settings, together with for analyzing targets in Iran. However permitting them to coach on and study from categorized knowledge is a significant new improvement that presents distinctive safety dangers.
It could embed delicate intelligence—like surveillance studies or battlefield assessments—into the fashions themselves. It could additionally convey AI companies nearer to categorized knowledge than ever earlier than. Learn the total story.
—James O’Donnell
What do new nuclear reactors imply for waste?
The best way the world at the moment offers with nuclear waste is as inventive as it’s diverse: drown it in water swimming pools, encase it in metal, bury it tons of of meters underground. However an approaching wave of recent reactors might introduce recent challenges to nuclear waste administration.
The new designs and supplies might require some engineering options. And there’s an enormous vary of them coming, which means there’s an equally wide selection of potential waste sorts to deal with. Learn the total story.
—Casey Crownhart
This story is a part of our MIT Expertise Assessment Explains collection, which untangles the complicated, messy world of know-how to point out you what’s coming subsequent. Try the total collection right here.
MIT Expertise Assessment Narrated: how uncrewed narco subs might rework the Colombian drug commerce
For many years, handmade narco subs have been among the many cocaine commerce’s most elusive and productive workhorses, ferrying tons of medication from Colombia to the remainder of the world.
Now off-the-shelf know-how—Starlink terminals, plug-and-play nautical autopilots, high-resolution video cameras—could also be advancing that cat-and-mouse recreation into a brand new section.
Uncrewed subs might transfer extra cocaine over longer distances, and so they wouldn’t put human smugglers prone to seize. Legislation enforcement companies are solely simply starting to grapple with the implications.
—Eduardo Echeverri López
That is our newest story to be became an MIT Expertise Assessment Narrated podcast, which we’re publishing every week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Simply navigate to MIT Expertise Assessment Narrated on both platform, and comply with us to get all our new content material as it’s launched.
The must-reads
1 Nvidia has joined the OpenClaw craze with the launch of NemoClaw
It’s including privateness and safety to the AI agent platform. (Enterprise Insider)
+ Chinese language AI shares surged on the information. (Bloomberg $)
+ Nvidia has additionally gained Beijing’s approval to promote H200 chips. (Reuters)
+ Tech-savvy “Tinkerers” are cashing in on China’s OpenClaw frenzy. (MIT Expertise Assessment)
2 Microsoft is mulling authorized motion over the Amazon-OpenAI cloud deal
Citing a possible violation of its unique partnership. (FT $)
3 The Pentagon desires to mass-produce the drones it used to strike Iran
The kamikaze drone, known as Lucas, is a duplicate of Iran’s Shahed UAV. (WSJ $)
+ The Shaheds have confirmed extremely efficient within the battle. (NBC Information)
+ AI is popping the warfare into theater. (MIT Expertise Assessment)
4 US officers say Anthropic can’t be trusted with warfighting programs
They need to oust the AI firm from all authorities companies. (Wired $)
+ OpenAI has taken benefit of the spat. (MIT Expertise Assessment)
+ Right here’s how GenAI could also be utilized in strikes. (MIT Expertise Assessment)
5 China is penalizing individuals linked to Meta’s $2 billion acquisition of Manus
It’s seen as an try and cease Chinese language AI leaders from relocating. (NYT)
6 DeepSeek seems to be quietly testing a next-generation AI mannequin
An official launch of the brand new system could also be imminent. (Reuters)
+ DeepSeek ripped up the AI playbook. (MIT Expertise Assessment)
7 Meta is ending VR entry to Horizon Worlds in June
It was Meta’s flagship metaverse challenge. (Engadget)
+ And have become infamous for sexual harassment. (MIT Expertise Assessment)
8 “Sensorveillance” is popping client tech into monitoring instruments for police
It’s turning our most private units into digital informants. (IEE Spectrum)
+ Within the surveillance capitalism period, we have to rethink privateness. (MIT Expertise Assessment)
9 Two landmark lawsuits might rework social media for the higher
They aim the risks that the platforms pose to kids. (New Scientist)
10 A DNA discovery suggests humanity might have seeded from house
An asteroid might have transported the components for all times to Earth. (404 Media)
Quote of the day
“It’s now the biggest, hottest, essentially the most profitable open-sourced challenge within the historical past of humanity. That is undoubtedly the subsequent ChatGPT.”
—Nvidia CEO tells CNBC why OpenClaw is a giant step ahead for AI.
One Extra Factor

How the Pentagon is adapting to China’s technological rise
It’s been simply over a 12 months since Kathleen Hicks stepped down as US deputy secretary of protection.
Because the highest-ranking girl in Pentagon historical past, Hicks formed US army posture by an period outlined by renewed competitors between highly effective international locations and a scramble to modernize protection know-how.
On this dialog with MIT Expertise Assessment, Hicks displays on how the Pentagon is adapting—or failing to adapt—to a brand new period of geopolitical competitors. She discusses China’s technological rise, the way forward for AI in warfare, and her signature initiative: Replicator. Learn the total story.
—Caiwei Chen
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