Summary
This Week’s Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through July 11)
Every week, we scour the web for important, insightful, and fascinating stories in science and technology.
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Khosla-Backed Startup Claims Breakthrough With Largest-Ever AI Model on an iPhoneAaron Tilley | The Information (1.77 trillion valuation, and with both Anthropic and OpenAI pushing into the trillions it’s likely the trio together will land somewhere north of 70 billion in US-based IPO proceeds last year.”
11% of Americans Are Currently Taking a GLP-1 Weight Loss Drug Like WegovyMatt Novak | Gizmodo
“Gallup notes that obesity reached a record high in the US in 2022 at 39.9% but has ticked down to 36.4%, according to the latest data based on self-reported height and weight. That dip has been credited to the large number of Americans now using GLP-1 drugs.”
The Mistrust of AI Labs Bubbles OverLiz Hoffman | Semafor
“Forward-deployed engineers, dispatched by AI labs to help customers implement their models, will come back to the mother ship with a deep understanding of how banks, consulting firms, retailers, manufacturers, and consultants operate. That customer support, to a suspicious eye, looks a lot like reconnaissance.”
Microsoft’s Carbon Emissions Went Up 25 Percent Last YearStevie Bonifield | The Verge
“Microsoft says this was ‘driven primarily by the expansion of our datacenter infrastructure,’ as well as the company’s decision last February to stop purchasing ‘non-additional, unbundled renewable energy certificates.‘”
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China’s Answer to AI Sticker ShockMatteo Wong | The Atlantic ()
“The J-space contains individual words that are related to the words and phrases that the model is most likely to spit out in a response in the near future. If Claude were a person (which it is not), you might say that these hidden words can reveal what’s on its mind before it actually speaks.”
Hackers Can Use 9 of the Most Popular AI Tools to Assemble Massive BotnetsDan Goodin | Ars Technica
“A new attack the researchers have named HalluSquatting has the potential to assemble massive botnets, perform large-scale DDoSes, and infect devices at scale, a first for prompt-injection attacks. The attack works against AI coding assistants and agents, including Cursor, Cursor CLI, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, GitHub Copilot, Cline, OpenClaw, ZeroClaw, and NanoClaw, which are all susceptible.”
UN Secretary-General Seeks Ban on AI WeaponsTom Chivers | Semafor
“The UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for a ban on ‘killer robots,’ saying the decision to take life ‘must remain forever human.’ …Guterres called AI-controlled weapons ‘morally repugnant,’ although not all ethicists agree: One roboticist argues they are more discriminate in their killing than scared human soldiers, while a philosopher said in 2022 that using robots will prevent young men and women bearing ‘the moral burden’ of wars.”
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