What just happened? An international team of researchers have discovered a cosmic anomaly unlike anything previously witnessed. The object in question, located roughly 15,000 light-years away in our very own Milky Way galaxy, has been observed emitting both radio waves and X-ray radiation. The celestial body, dubbed ASKAP J1832- 0911, was initially found by astronomers using the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), a radio telescope located in Australia. Another look using NASA's Chandra X-Ray telescope found the object also emitted X-rays in an unusual yet predictable pattern. Every 44 minutes, the object flashes both radio waves and X-rays for two minutes straight. Team leader Zieng (Andy) Wang said the object is unlike anything they have seen before, although its origins are likely not as mysterious as one might initially think. Wang said the object could very well be what's left of a dead star with powerful magnetic fields, called a magnetar – or perhaps something as simple as a pair of stars in a binary system in which one of the two is a highly magnetized white dwarf. Then again, neither explanation fully explains exactly what astronomers are witnessing with its behavior so the jury is still out. Conversely, Wang added, the discovery could be a new type of physics or a fresh model of stellar evolution we haven't seen before. // Related Stories NASA's Chandra X-ray observatory launched into space way back in 1999 and has been orbiting Earth ever since. The ASKAP radio telescope array has been operational since 2012, and consists of 36 giant antennas – each measuring 39 feet in diameter – that work together as one tool. Further study will be needed to help astronomers better understand exactly what they are looking at. At 15,000 light-years away, the object is somewhat nearby in the grand scheme of the universe but still quite far away in actual distance. For reference, one light-year is roughly equal to six trillion miles. The team's research has been published in the journal Nature and is titled, "Detection of X-ray Emission from a Bright Long-Period Radio Transient."

May 30, 20252 min readSahara Dust Clouds Are Heading to Florida and BeyondClouds of dust blown off the Saharan Desert into the southeastern U.S. could affect local weather and make sunrises and sunsets particularly vividBy Meghan Bartels edited by Dean VisserEach year, seasonal winds carry tens of millions of tons of Saharan dust across the Atlantic and beyond. On February 18, 2021, NOAA-20’s VIIRS captured a dramatic display of airborne dust. NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using VIIRS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE, GIBS/Worldview, and the Suomi National Polar-orbiting PartnershipClouds of dust drifting from the Sahara Desert over the Atlantic Ocean could make for unusual-looking sunrises and sunsets, as well as potentially drier weather, over Florida and parts of the southeastern U.S. in the coming days.What’s HappeningBetween late spring and early fall, dust from the Saharan gets blown out over the Atlantic Ocean every three to five days. When conditions are right, air masses that are filled with this dust can make it across the thousands of miles required to reach North America. Meteorologists call this type of air mass the Saharan Air Layer, or SAL.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Currently, on Friday, a thin SAL is dispersing over Florida, says Ana Torres-Vazquez, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Miami office, who adds that this could interfere with some storms carried into the peninsula by a cold front on Saturday. Another layer of dust—this one thicker and denser—may then blow in next week, although that forecast is currently less certain, Torres-Vazquez notes.It’s worth noting that the Atlantic hurricane season officially begins on June 1. In general, the SAL tends to dry the atmosphere it drifts through—so some scientists think these dust clouds may actually impede hurricane development. For now, however, forecasters aren’t expecting any tropical storms to develop in the Atlantic within the coming week.Sunrise, SunsetThe effect that will be most noticeable to local residents as the dust lingers might be unusual sunrises and sunsets.“When you have Saharan dust or any other kind of particulate, if the sun is coming in at an angle, like during sunrise or sunset,” Torres-Vazquez says, “it can hit those particulates that are close to the ground just right and result in those different, kind of orangey-reddish colors.”Other parts of the country might also see enhanced sunrises and sunsets during the coming days from a different kind of particulate—wildfire smoke. Canada is experiencing yet another brutal year for wildfires, with nearly 700,000 hectares, or more than 2,500 square miles, burned to date.Right now fires are particularly bad in the provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, in part because of high temperatures stuck over central Canada. Smoke from these blazes is expected to reach U.S. states, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan, in the coming days.Depending on how close the dust and smoke get to Earth’s surface, these kinds of particulate matter can be harmful to people’s health, particularly for people who are very young or very old and those who have asthma or heart or lung disease. The Air Quality Index can help you gauge whether you should take any precautions.

Remote-controlled robots could one day build giant solar farms in space, according to a recent trial in the UK. British startup Space Solar conducted the test at the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s (UKAEA) facilities on the University of Oxford’s Culham Campus, which hosts several fusion research initiatives. The company used two remotely operated robotic arms to assemble a section of the support structure for its future solar power satellite. The device aims to beam the Sun’s energy from space to Earth.  According to Space Solar, the trial proved that robotics can assemble gigawatt-scale solar power satellites. The 💜 of EU techThe latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!Sam Adlen, the startup’s co-CEO, said the demonstration opens the door to all manner of in-space infrastructure projects.    “This is a milestone not just for our satellite architecture, but for the future of large-scale structures in space, from data centres to energy infrastructure,” he said. As part of its plans to build a working fusion reactor, UKAEA is developing robots for extreme industrial environments, such as maintaining future fusion power plants. The trial shows that those same machines may also show promise for cosmic applications.  Professor Rob Buckingham, executive director of UKAEA, said building fusion reactors and structures in space shared some common challenges, such as remoteness, radiation, and extreme temperatures. The demo suggests that fusion-hardened robotics could help automate the complex task of assembling vast solar farms in orbit.    A solar revolution in space? Space Solar plans to capture the Sun’s energy in space, using huge satellites equipped with solar arrays that are several kilometres long and around 20 metres wide. The probes would capture the energy via microwaves and wirelessly transmit it to dedicated receiver stations on Earth, which would convert the energy into electricity.    By 2029, Space Solar plans to commission its first 30MW demonstrator system, which would be capable of powering around 1000 homes. By the early 2030s,  the startup plans to deploy its first gigawatt-scale solar space farm. The UK Space Agency has provided grant funding for the development of the startup’s first satellite. Solar panels are theoretically capable of gathering far more energy in space than on Earth because, unhindered by the atmosphere, the intensity of sunlight is much greater. They could also beam energy from orbit 24/7, regardless of the weather on the ground.  However, space-based solar power faces many challenges. It’s currently far more expensive than ground-based solar systems — the initial development of a gigawatt-scale prototype could cost €15bn–€20bn. Then there are the potential environmental impacts. Installing a satellite of that scale could involve hundreds of separate rocket launches, contributing to atmospheric pollution.  Nevertheless, the European Space Agency (ESA), NASA, and several startups in the UK, US, China, and Japan are all working to make space-based solar a reality. Story by Siôn Geschwindt Siôn is a freelance science and technology reporter, specialising in climate and energy. From nuclear fusion breakthroughs to electric vehic (show all) Siôn is a freelance science and technology reporter, specialising in climate and energy. From nuclear fusion breakthroughs to electric vehicles, he's happiest sourcing a scoop, investigating the impact of emerging technologies, and even putting them to the test. He has five years of journalism experience and holds a dual degree in media and environmental science from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. When he's not writing, you can probably find Siôn out hiking, surfing, playing the drums or catering to his moderate caffeine addiction. You can contact him at: sion.geschwindt [at] protonmail [dot] com Get the TNW newsletter Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week. Also tagged with

News Planetary Science Venus’ tectonics may be actively reshaping its surface The planet’s surface may be tectonically active in ways that are similar to Earth’s The 1989 Magellan mission captured images of Venus’ rounded mountain belts called coronae (four shown), which may be evidence of tectonic activity. JPL-Caltech/NASA By Nikk Ogasa 17 seconds ago Things may be moving on Venus’ surface. In 1983, researchers discovered that the planet’s surface was speckled with strange, circular landforms. These rounded mountain belts, known as coronae, have no known Earthly counterparts, and they’ve remained enigmatic for decades. But hot plumes of rock upwelling from Venus’ mantle are shaping the mysterious landforms, a new analysis suggests. If true, that mean that Venus’ surface is tectonically active, and not merely a stagnant layer, researchers report May 14 in Science Advances. Sign up for our newsletter We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

Europa, a moon of Jupiter, has long been one of the most exciting targets in the search for life beyond Earth. Many scientists believe that an ocean lies below its icy surface, potentially hosting geologic activity capable of supporting life, but what happens on the moon’s seafloor is still largely a mystery. Although discussions on Europa are mostly centered around this hidden ocean, the shell of ice that envelops the moon has its own surprises. A study recently published in The Planetary Science Journal suggests that Europa’s surface ice is constantly changing. The evidence explored in the study paints a better picture of Europa’s outermost layer, and it may even reveal the interior processes that shape the moon’s unique structure. Europa's Surface IceEuropa has the smoothest surface out of any known object in our Solar System, but it’s far from lacking variety. The surface is rife with distinct geologic features, such as ridges, plains, and cracks, that cross over each other. Their disorderly appearance is linked to a fitting name, “chaos terrain.”Some regions with chaos terrain also provide insight on Europa’s surface ice. Most of Europa’s surface is made of amorphous ice, which lacks a crystalline structure. Scientists previously believed that Europa’s surface was entirely covered by a thin layer of amorphous ice, and that below this was crystalline ice (the form that most ice on Earth takes). However, the researchers involved with the new study have confirmed that certain areas of Europa’s surface contain crystalline ice, aligning with spectral data captured by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). This same ice also appears below the surface in these regions as well. “We think that the surface is fairly porous and warm enough in some areas to allow the ice to recrystallize rapidly,” said lead author Richard Cartwright, a spectroscopist at Johns Hopkins University, in a statement.Activity in the OceanA few other factors have convinced the researchers that an ocean exists below Europa's icy surface. The regions where ice recrystallizes show evidence of sodium chloride (what we know as table salt), carbon dioxide, and hydrogen peroxide. “Our data showed strong indications that what we are seeing must be sourced from the interior, perhaps from a subsurface ocean nearly 20 miles (30 kilometers) beneath Europa’s thick icy shell,” said author Ujjwal Raut, a program manager at the Southwest Research Institute. “This region of fractured surface materials could point to geologic processes pushing subsurface materials up from below.”The Europa Clipper's MissionAlthough Europa and its subsurface ocean will be a crucial target for future space exploration, some scientists have expressed doubts regarding its capacity to sustain life. A series of obstacles could make finding life on Europa more difficult. At an American Geophysical Union conference last year, scientists reported that the ice layer covering the moon's surface is thicker than expected, indicating that there may not be enough heat or activity in the subsurface ocean to support life. Scientists aren’t yet sure if an abundance of hydrothermal vents or seafloor volcanoes sit at the bottom of the ocean — these features have been crucial in driving life on our own planet. Observations of Europa haven’t fully confirmed the existence of plumes, either, which would be a clear sign that material from the ocean could be transported to the surface. About 5 years from now, in 2030, scientists will get an unprecedented view of Europa as NASA's Europa Clipper approaches the icy moon. Launched last October, the Europa Clipper will reveal many secrets that still surround the moon's surface and the ocean below. Among its various objectives, the mission will look for plumes, which would be able to eject microbes — if they truly do exist on the moon — into space for the Europa Clipper to examine. Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:The Planetary Science Journal. JWST Reveals Spectral Tracers of Recent Surface Modification on EuropaThe Planetary Society. Europa, Jupiter’s possible watery moonThe Planetary Society. Could Europa Clipper find life?Jack Knudson is an assistant editor at Discover with a strong interest in environmental science and history. Before joining Discover in 2023, he studied journalism at the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University and previously interned at Recycling Today magazine.

May 30, 20255 min readWhy This Hurricane Season Has Experts on EdgePredictions for an above-average number of storms, communities that are still recovering and cuts to the National Weather Service have meteorologists and other experts worried about this hurricane seasonBy Andrea Thompson edited by Dean VisserCategory 4 Hurricane Florence as seen from the International Space Station in 2018. ESA/NASA–A. GerstJune 1 marks the official start of the hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean—and once again, the season looks like it will be busy.Though it is impossible to tell this far in advance exactly when storms will form and where they might hit, the presence of hurricane-friendly environmental conditions this season—along with the federal government cuts and policy chaos—have experts worried about the accuracy of forecasts and the resulting safety of communities. Scientific American asked several forecasters and hurricane researchers what they were most concerned about this year.Warm oceans may mean a busy hurricane seasonOn supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Seasonal forecasts—including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s—put the odds in favor of having more storms than average this season, which will last until November 30. NOAA predicts 13 to 19 named storms, meaning those of tropical storm strength (with winds of 39 to 74 miles per hour) or higher. Of those, six to 10 are expected to become hurricanes (with winds of more than 74 mph). And among those hurricanes, three to five are expected to reach major hurricane status—meaning they will have winds that will fall within Category 3 (those of 111 to 129 mph) or a stronger category on the Saffir-Simpson scale.The expectations of an active season arise from a combination of a favorable atmospheric environment and abundant ocean heat to fuel storms. For one thing, there’s no El Niño in place right now to influence winds in a way that tends to shred storms apart, says Phil Klotzbach, a hurricane researcher at Colorado State University, whose team releases its own seasonal forecast each year.And waters in the Gulf of Mexico are extremely warm right now, providing ample fuel for the convection that drives tropical cyclones. “Over 60 percent of the Gulf is at record or near-record warmth for the time of year, and waters east of Florida and around the Bahamas are as warm as we’ve seen them for the start of any hurricane season in the satellite era,” says Michael Lowry, a hurricane specialist at WPLG Local 10 News in Miami. Warm ocean water in these areas can cause storms to rapidly intensify right before landfall, giving communities less time to prepare for the onslaught. This is a major concern for Jill Trepanier, a hurricane researcher at Louisiana State University. “That is just a devastating situation when it occurs,” she says.It’s a situation that has played out many times in recent years, including with Hurricanes Beryl and Milton last season. “The sticky heat of the Gulf is a worrisome trend that’s undoubtedly fueling the spate of big hurricane hits along the Gulf Coast over the past decade or so,” Lowry says. “This is consistent with recent research that suggests the Gulf has seen a significant increase over the past 42 years in the number of days where it can support high-end hurricanes.”Because of that abundant hurricane fuel, “I would not be surprised if we see early-season activity well ahead of the peak” of activity in September, says Marshall Shepherd, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Georgia.Several experts noted that this year’s conditions have some slight differences from the most recent seasons. For one, “the waters of the deep tropical Atlantic east of the Caribbean—often a bellwether for overall hurricane season activity—are the coolest we’ve seen them to start a hurricane season since 2021,” Lowry says. But, he adds, they are “still plenty warm ... and forecast to remain so, which should favor above-average activity.”Though the overall message is that this will be a busier-than-normal season, it is not predicted to be quite as busy as those of the past few years. Klotzbach is worried that could lead to complacency. “My biggest concern is that, because the seasonal forecasts are a bit less aggressive than last year..., people may tend to let their guard down,” he says.Communities are still recoveringInevitably, each time a new hurricane season begins, some communities are still reeling from storms from the previous year—and often even further back in time. This year “places in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas are still recovering from Helene, Milton and Debby,” Shepherd says, citing three of the worst storms of the 2024 season.An aerial view of destroyed houses in Port St Lucie, Fla., after a tornado hit the area and caused severe damage as Hurricane Milton swept through on October 11, 2024.Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/AFP via Getty ImagesA National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report released last year warned that the Gulf Coast in particular risked being in “perpetual disaster recovery” mode. The report noted that seven hurricanes struck the region in 2020 and 2021 alone.It’s entirely possible that some of the communities pummeled in recent years could face hurricane peril again this year. “With projections of average to above-average activity, all it takes is one storm to compound an already bad situation for many people,” Marshall says.NWS and FEMA cutsPiled atop these concerns is the situation within the federal government, with substantial budget and staffing cuts to the National Weather Service (NWS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). “It remains to be seen what the impacts of reduced staffing across relevant NOAA offices and agencies will be,” says Brian McNoldy, a tropical storm researcher at the University of Miami. “But any loss of expertise, data collection capabilities and around-the-clock monitoring is troubling during critical, high-impact situations.”Though the National Hurricane Center (NHC) monitors the development of tropical storms and hurricanes and produces the main forecasts, local NWS offices still play a crucial role in providing more localized warnings about storm surge, flooding and winds. Many offices in hurricane-prone areas are understaffed, says Jeff Masters, a writer at Yale Climate Connections and a former Hurricane Hunter at NOAA. Among those, the NWS’s Houston and Miami offices are suffering the largest staff shortages. The NWS has asked staff from other offices to move into some of these open slots.Lowry and Masters also point out that the cuts have reduced the number of weather balloons launches. Balloon data are crucial for understanding the larger atmospheric patterns that determine where a hurricane will go—and who might need to evacuate or take other precautions.There is one positive note: “I was very pleased to see the Hurricane Hunters reinstated,” Trepanier says, referring to three of the meteorologists who fly specialized, equipment-laden planes directly into storms to gather data that significantly improve forecasts. “Though it isn't enough to offset the concern, it is a move in a good direction.”James Franklin, former chief of the NHC’s Hurricane Specialist Unit, says he is concerned about trainings for emergency managers that were canceled earlier this year Their absence could leave areas less prepared and less able to know what decisions to make based on forecasts. “When training has to be cut down…, it just makes those kinds of mistakes on the emergency management side more likely to occur,” he says.Finally, another big worry is simply the government’s ability to respond with help for victims when a storm hits. Masters’ biggest worry is that FEMA won't “be capable of managing a major disaster right now.”Reports by CNN and other news outlets have cited internal FEMA memos that report the loss of 30 percent of full-time staff. “I wrote the plan FEMA uses to respond to hurricanes,” says Lowry, a former employee of both the NHC and FEMA, “and it’s hard to imagine the agency will be able to meet its mission-critical functions this season with such depleted staffing and without a fully revised plan.”

Billions of years from now, the Sun will swell into a red giant, swallowing Mercury, Venus, and Earth. But that’s not the only way our planet could meet its demise. A new simulation points to the menacing threat of a passing field star that could cause the planets in the solar system to collide or fling Earth far from the Sun. When attempting to model the evolution of the solar system, astronomers have often treated our host star and its orbiting planets as an isolated system. In reality, however, the Milky Way is teeming with stars that may get too close and threaten the stability of the solar system. A new study, published in the journal Icarus, suggests that stars passing close to the solar system will likely influence the orbits of the planets, causing another planet to smack into Earth or send our home planet flying. In most cases, passing stars are inconsequential, but one could trigger chaos in the solar system—mainly because of a single planet. The closest planet to the Sun, Mercury, is prone to instability as its orbit can become more elliptical. Astronomers believe that this increasing eccentricity could destabilize Mercury’s orbit, potentially leading it to collide with Venus or the Sun. If a star happens to be nearby, it would only make things worse. The researchers ran 2,000 simulations using NASA’s Horizons System, a tool from the Solar System Dynamics Group that precisely tracks the positions of objects in our solar system. They then inserted scenarios involving passing stars and found that stellar flybys over the next 5 billion years could make the solar system about 50% less stable. With passing stars, Pluto has a 3.9% chance of being ejected from the solar system, while Mercury and Mars are the two planets most often lost after a stellar flyby. Earth’s instability rate is lower, but it has a higher chance of its orbit becoming unstable if another planet crashes into it. “In addition, we find that the nature of stellar-driven instabilities is more violent than internally driven ones,” the researchers wrote in the paper. “The loss of multiple planets in stellar-driven instabilities is common and occurs about 50% of the time, whereas it appears quite rare for internally driven instabilities.” The probability of Earth’s orbit becoming unstable is hundreds of times larger than prior estimates, according to the study. Well, that just gives us one more thing to worry about.

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. This benchmark used Reddit’s AITA to test how much AI models suck up to us Back in April, OpenAI announced it was rolling back an update to its GPT-4o model that made ChatGPT’s responses to user queries too sycophantic. An AI model that acts in an overly agreeable and flattering way is more than just annoying. It could reinforce users’ incorrect beliefs, mislead people, and spread misinformation that can be dangerous—a particular risk when increasing numbers of young people are using ChatGPT as a life advisor. And because sycophancy is difficult to detect, it can go unnoticed until a model or update has already been deployed.A new benchmark called Elephant that measures the sycophantic tendencies of major AI models could help companies avoid these issues in the future. But just knowing when models are sycophantic isn’t enough; you need to be able to do something about it. And that’s trickier. Read the full story.—Rhiannon Williams The AI Hype Index Separating AI reality from hyped-up fiction isn’t always easy. That’s why we’ve created the AI Hype Index—a simple, at-a-glance summary of everything you need to know about the state of the industry. Take a look at this month’s edition of the index here. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Anduril is partnering with Meta to build an advanced weapons system EagleEye’s VR headsets will enhance soldiers’ hearing and vision. (WSJ $)+ Palmer Luckey wants to turn “warfighters into technomancers.” (TechCrunch)+ Luckey and Mark Zuckerberg have buried the hatchet, then. (Insider $)+ Palmer Luckey on the Pentagon’s future of mixed reality. (MIT Technology Review)2 A new Texas law requires app stores to verify users’ agesIt’s following in Utah’s footsteps, which passed a similar bill in March. (NYT $)+ Apple has pushed back on the law. (CNN)3 What happens to DOGE now?It has lost its leader and a top lieutenant within the space of a week. (WSJ $)+ Musk’s departure raises questions over how much power it will wield without him. (The Guardian)+ DOGE’s tech takeover threatens the safety and stability of our critical data. (MIT Technology Review)4 NASA’s ambitions of a 2027 moon landing are looking less likely It needs SpaceX’s Starship, which keeps blowing up. (WP $)+ Is there a viable alternative? (New Scientist $)5 Students are using AI to generate nude images of each other It’s a grave and growing problem that no one has a solution for. (404 Media)6 Google AI Overviews doesn’t know what year it isA year after its introduction, the feature is still making obvious mistakes. (Wired $) + Google’s new AI-powered search isn’t fit to handle even basic queries. (NYT $)+ The company is pushing AI into everything. Will it pay off? (Vox)+ Why Google’s AI Overviews gets things wrong. (MIT Technology Review) 7 Hugging Face has created two humanoid robots 🤖The machines are open source, meaning anyone can build software for them. (TechCrunch) 8 A popular vibe coding app has a major security flawDespite being notified about it months ago. (Semafor) + Any AI coding program catering to amateurs faces the same issue. (The Information $)+ What is vibe coding, exactly? (MIT Technology Review)9 AI-generated videos are becoming way more realistic But not when it comes to depicting gymnastics. (Ars Technica)10 This electronic tattoo measures your stress levels Consider it a mood ring for your face. (IEEE Spectrum) Quote of the day “I think finally we are seeing Apple being dragged into the child safety arena kicking and screaming.” —Sarah Gardner, CEO of child safety collective Heat Initiative, tells the Washington Post why Texas’ new app store law could signal a turning point for Apple. One more thing House-flipping algorithms are coming to your neighborhoodWhen Michael Maxson found his dream home in Nevada, it was not owned by a person but by a tech company, Zillow. When he went to take a look at the property, however, he discovered it damaged by a huge water leak. Despite offering to handle the costly repairs himself, Maxson discovered that the house had already been sold to another family, at the same price he had offered. During this time, Zillow lost more than $420 million in three months of erratic house buying and unprofitable sales, leading analysts to question whether the entire tech-driven model is really viable. For the rest of us, a bigger question remains: Does the arrival of Silicon Valley tech point to a better future for housing or an industry disruption to fear? Read the full story.—Matthew Ponsford We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet 'em at me.) + A 100-mile real-time ultramarathon video game that lasts anywhere up to 27 hours is about as fun as it sounds.+ Here’s how edible glitter could help save the humble water vole from extinction.+ Cleaning massive statues is not for the faint-hearted ($)+ When is a flute teacher not a flautist? When he’s a whistleblower.

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. This benchmark used Reddit’s AITA to test how much AI models suck up to us Back in April, OpenAI announced it was rolling back an update to its GPT-4o model that made ChatGPT’s responses to user queries too sycophantic. An AI model that acts in an overly agreeable and flattering way is more than just annoying. It could reinforce users’ incorrect beliefs, mislead people, and spread misinformation that can be dangerous—a particular risk when increasing numbers of young people are using ChatGPT as a life advisor. And because sycophancy is difficult to detect, it can go unnoticed until a model or update has already been deployed.A new benchmark called Elephant that measures the sycophantic tendencies of major AI models could help companies avoid these issues in the future. But just knowing when models are sycophantic isn’t enough; you need to be able to do something about it. And that’s trickier. Read the full story.—Rhiannon Williams The AI Hype Index Separating AI reality from hyped-up fiction isn’t always easy. That’s why we’ve created the AI Hype Index—a simple, at-a-glance summary of everything you need to know about the state of the industry. Take a look at this month’s edition of the index here. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Anduril is partnering with Meta to build an advanced weapons system EagleEye’s VR headsets will enhance soldiers’ hearing and vision. (WSJ $)+ Palmer Luckey wants to turn “warfighters into technomancers.” (TechCrunch)+ Luckey and Mark Zuckerberg have buried the hatchet, then. (Insider $)+ Palmer Luckey on the Pentagon’s future of mixed reality. (MIT Technology Review)2 A new Texas law requires app stores to verify users’ agesIt’s following in Utah’s footsteps, which passed a similar bill in March. (NYT $)+ Apple has pushed back on the law. (CNN)3 What happens to DOGE now?It has lost its leader and a top lieutenant within the space of a week. (WSJ $)+ Musk’s departure raises questions over how much power it will wield without him. (The Guardian)+ DOGE’s tech takeover threatens the safety and stability of our critical data. (MIT Technology Review)4 NASA’s ambitions of a 2027 moon landing are looking less likely It needs SpaceX’s Starship, which keeps blowing up. (WP $)+ Is there a viable alternative? (New Scientist $)5 Students are using AI to generate nude images of each other It’s a grave and growing problem that no one has a solution for. (404 Media)6 Google AI Overviews doesn’t know what year it isA year after its introduction, the feature is still making obvious mistakes. (Wired $) + Google’s new AI-powered search isn’t fit to handle even basic queries. (NYT $)+ The company is pushing AI into everything. Will it pay off? (Vox)+ Why Google’s AI Overviews gets things wrong. (MIT Technology Review) 7 Hugging Face has created two humanoid robots 🤖The machines are open source, meaning anyone can build software for them. (TechCrunch) 8 A popular vibe coding app has a major security flawDespite being notified about it months ago. (Semafor) + Any AI coding program catering to amateurs faces the same issue. (The Information $)+ What is vibe coding, exactly? (MIT Technology Review)9 AI-generated videos are becoming way more realistic But not when it comes to depicting gymnastics. (Ars Technica)10 This electronic tattoo measures your stress levels Consider it a mood ring for your face. (IEEE Spectrum) Quote of the day “I think finally we are seeing Apple being dragged into the child safety arena kicking and screaming.” —Sarah Gardner, CEO of child safety collective Heat Initiative, tells the Washington Post why Texas’ new app store law could signal a turning point for Apple. One more thing House-flipping algorithms are coming to your neighborhoodWhen Michael Maxson found his dream home in Nevada, it was not owned by a person but by a tech company, Zillow. When he went to take a look at the property, however, he discovered it damaged by a huge water leak. Despite offering to handle the costly repairs himself, Maxson discovered that the house had already been sold to another family, at the same price he had offered. During this time, Zillow lost more than $420 million in three months of erratic house buying and unprofitable sales, leading analysts to question whether the entire tech-driven model is really viable. For the rest of us, a bigger question remains: Does the arrival of Silicon Valley tech point to a better future for housing or an industry disruption to fear? Read the full story.—Matthew Ponsford We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet 'em at me.) + A 100-mile real-time ultramarathon video game that lasts anywhere up to 27 hours is about as fun as it sounds.+ Here’s how edible glitter could help save the humble water vole from extinction.+ Cleaning massive statues is not for the faint-hearted ($)+ When is a flute teacher not a flautist? When he’s a whistleblower.