The Download: the hunt for underground hydrogen and more rogue OpenAI agents
This is today's edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology.
How much hydrogen awaits us underground?
A flurry of exploration efforts is searching for underground stores of hydrogen gas, which could provide a valuable source of zero-carbon fuel.
The hunt has spread all over the world and engaged dozens of startups, including the Bill Gates–backed Koloma, which has been poking around the US Midwest to reach ancient oceanic rocks associated with hydrogen production. But the search so far has come up short.
No one has yet reported finding a commercially viable reservoir of the gas, and public data on what has been found remains in short supply. Yet researchers estimate that trillions of tons of H₂ are produced within Earth’s crust. If a small fraction could be recovered, it could meet global hydrogen demand for centuries.
Follow the global race to find hydrogen underground.
—James Dinneen
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The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 OpenAI agents hijacked a German website before the Hugging Face hackThe agents turned DseWiki into their own bulletin board. (Reuters $)+ They shared tips on avoiding detection and made over 15,000 edits. (BBC)+ OpenAI’s safety issues suggest it has a company culture problem. (MIT Technology Review)
2 The US military has disabled ad trackers due to Middle East targeting fearsCommercial location data has reportedly been used to target troops. (Reuters $) + It can be sold by data brokers and used to track personnel. (Gizmodo)+ The military is increasing restrictions on phone use overall. (Guardian)3 A company claims its AI-designed drug can reverse aging markersPatients’ average biological age fell by as much as six years in a clinical trial. (NYT $)+ Insilico Medicine developed the drug, called rentosertib. (Bloomberg $)+ Who gets the credit for AI-designed drugs? (MIT Technology Review)
4 Elon Musk’s xAI has lost its bid to block an AI-nudification banThe Minnesota law aims to curb nonconsensual sexual images and CSAM. (Politico)+ xAI argues the measure restricts free speech. (Reuters $)+ Deepfakes are being weaponized. (MIT Technology Review)
5 The US is investigating Tesla’s rollout of Cybercab robotaxisRegulators are probing how Tesla self-certified the unusual vehicle. (TechCrunch)+ The robotaxi lacks a steering wheel and pedals. (Politico)+ But Tesla CEO Elon Musk is not known to wait for regulations. (Reuters $)
6 Europe has its first commercial orbital rocketThe Spectrum is the first rocket to reach orbit from mainland Europe. (Verge)+ German startup Isar Aerospace launched it from Norway. (Guardian)+ Here’s what else we’re putting in space. (MIT Technology Review)
7 Tumbler Ridge shooting survivors have filed 30 lawsuits against OpenAIThey say OpenAI should have alerted police before the attack.(NYT $)
8 JD Vance’s “satanic” AI warning has resonated with Christian RepublicansAI’s spiritual consequences are causing growing concern. (WSJ $)
9 Another mysteriously perfect geometric shape has appeared on SaturnScientists still don’t know why Saturn forms these strange shapes. (Wired $)
10 Fake ads for AI grandfathers and underwear are targeting "slop voice"Comedians created the viral campaign in New York subways. (New Yorker $)
Quote of the day
"Typically, when the public shifts, politicians shift with them. Trump is not doing that on data centers.”
—Darrell M. West, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution's Center for Technology Innovation, tells NPR that Republican midterm candidates are at odds with President Trump over data centers.
One more thing
What is AI?
Artificial intelligence is the hottest technology of our time. But what is it? It sounds like a stupid question, but it’s one that’s never been more urgent.
Here’s the short answer: AI is a catchall term for a set of technologies that make computers do things that are thought to require intelligence when done by people. But even that definition contains multitudes.
And that right there is the problem. What does it mean for machines to understand speech or write a sentence? What kinds of tasks could we ask such machines to do? And how much should we trust the machines to do them?
Here’s why we still can’t agree on what AI actually is—and the real-world consequences it’s creating.
—Will Douglas Heaven
We can still have nice things
A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line.)
- Meet the Japanese cats who became unlikely 1980s fashion icons.+ Seventeen buildings come crashing down spectacularly in this bird’s-eye-view footage.+ For a few spectacular minutes each year, a Yosemite waterfall turns into what looks like a glowing river of fire.+ Discover the pleasure of sustained looking alongside contemporary artist Jas Knight as he copies Diego Velázquez’s “Juan de Pareja.”
Deep Dive
The Download
The Download: Claude’s inner workings and OpenAI’s “super app”
Plus: OpenAI has unveiled its long-awaited "super app."
By Thomas Macaulayarchive page
The Download: Claude’s inner workings, and the future of world models
Plus: New York has become the first state to enact a data center moratorium.
By Thomas Macaulayarchive page
The Download: AI’s self-improvement problem, and what’s driving the heat
Plus: OpenAI has paused some model work over safety concerns.
By Thomas Macaulayarchive page
The Download: Google’s AI shake-up and Meta’s rogue model
Plus: Meta has become the latest firm to say its AI hacked another company.
By Thomas Macaulayarchive page
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Illustration by Rose Wong
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