{"id":24985,"date":"2026-10-29T12:33:40","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T12:33:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=24985"},"modified":"2026-10-29T12:33:40","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T12:33:40","slug":"the-download-ai-agent-tracking-and-climate-feedback-loops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=24985","title":{"rendered":"The Download: AI agent tracking and climate feedback loops"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This is today’s edition of <\/em>The Download<\/em>, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.<\/em><\/p>\n
Opinion: We urgently need to monitor AI agents\u2019 actions in real time<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\u2014Madhulika Srikumar and Claire Leibowicz from the Partnership on AI, a nonprofit advancing best practices in AI governance.<\/em><\/p>\n
AI agents are taking unauthorized actions, from hacking websites to accessing private government files. In many cases, they\u2019ve eluded the very researchers and safety teams tasked with monitoring them. <\/p>\n
As agents roll out across critical sectors, from finance to government to medicine, we must be able to monitor them in real time to prevent potentially devastating consequences. And while safety depends on monitoring, monitoring requires observability<\/em>.<\/p>\n
\u200b\u200bIn other words, we need to know what the agent did and why it did it. Because right now, we\u2019re effectively flying blind when deploying these tools. <\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what needs to change.<\/p>\n
Our climate models have a big, dangerous blind spot<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Climate change itself increasingly fuels climate change. Rising greenhouse gas concentrations are driving up global temperatures, creating dangerous feedback loops that aren\u2019t fully represented in our climate models\u2014or our emissions-reduction goals.<\/p>\n
Scientists have long warned that warming would propel further warming. Now, a growing number of observations and studies are indicating how powerful these cascading effects could be. By extension, they\u2019re also showing how much faster the planet may warm this century.<\/p>\n
Read more about the dangerous feedback loops accelerating global warming.<\/p>\n
\u2014James Temple<\/em><\/p>\n
This article<\/strong> is from The Spark, our weekly climate tech newsletter.<\/strong> Sign up<\/strong> to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Are we there yet? Solid-state batteries <\/strong><\/h3>\n
Lithium-ion batteries power everything from personal electronics to grid-scale energy storage, but their liquid electrolytes have drawbacks, not least a troubling tendency to catch fire. Enter the solid-state battery, which swaps liquid for a solid ceramic or polymer.<\/p>\n
The technology promises faster charging, longer life, greater energy density and improved safety, and a new generation of companies aims to bring it to market. If their bets pan out, the tech could ease the shift away from fossil fuels.<\/p>\n
Find out how close solid-state batteries are to delivering on their promise.<\/p>\n
\u2014Alexander C. Kaufman<\/em><\/p>\n
This story is part of<\/em> \u201cAre we there yet?\u201d<\/em>, our series that takes stock of six technologies that have long promised to change the world\u2014and scores them on a progress meter. We\u2019re exploring each one in The Download, so stay tuned, and<\/em> subscribe to read the rest of the stories<\/em> in our<\/em> new Impossible issue<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n
The must-reads<\/strong><\/p>\n
I\u2019ve combed the internet to find you today\u2019s most fun\/important\/scary\/fascinating stories about technology.<\/em><\/p>\n
1 Hackers exposed 41,000 Homeland Security workers<\/strong> Including undercover ICE agents. (Wired $) + Much of the data relates to Customs and Border Protection.<\/em> (TechCrunch) + It also linked the agencies to specific surveillance tools.<\/em> (Reuters $) + Big Tech is pushing back against ICE\u2019s demands for user data<\/em>.<\/strong> (WSJ $) + Activists want ChatGPT users to quit over ICE ties.<\/em> (MIT Technology Review)<\/p>\n
2 Putin says Russia is coordinating with \u201cgenius\u201d Musk on satellites <\/strong>He said the cooperation maintains order in orbit. (Bloomberg $) + \u200b\u200bRussia is developing its own version of Starlink.<\/em> (Guardian) + Moscow added Apple and Microsoft to a surveillance registry.<\/em> (Quartz) + Here\u2019s all the stuff we\u2019ve put up in space.<\/em> (MIT Technology Review)<\/p>\n
3 Apple just announced its first-ever MacBook with a touchscreen<\/strong> It joins a blitz of product launches under new CEO John Ternus. (CNN) + Steve Jobs and Tim Cook had both dismissed the idea.<\/em> (NYT $) + Executives say touchscreen advances mean it\u2019s now worthwhile.<\/em> (Wired $)<\/p>\n
4 Bloomberg and trading firms are paying to get Trump\u2019s posts faster <\/strong>They\u2019ve signed up for Truth Social\u2019s pay-for-access plan. (Reuters $)<\/p>\n
5 As US ties fray, Europe is planning its first subsea cable to Greenland<\/strong> It will bypass the US to link Canada, Japan, and South Korea. (Ars Technica) + The EU\u2019s AI champion says Europe can rival US tech giants.<\/em> (FT $)<\/p>\n
6 Palantir\u2019s defense chief says AI could make China target Taiwan <\/strong>He says Beijing may act to stop the US pulling ahead in AI. (Bloomberg $) + Taiwan’s \u201csilicon shield\u201d could be weakening.<\/em> (MIT Technology Review)<\/p>\n
7 Musk\u2019s xAI has offered to buy homes if residents drop a noise lawsuit<\/strong> The suit targets noise from powering its Mississippi data centres. (Guardian)<\/p>\n
8 The world\u2019s first spinal cord transplant has sparked controversy<\/strong> Experts say there\u2019s little evidence the operation will work. (New Scientist $)<\/p>\n
9 China\u2019s tech giants are fighting for attention with AI microdramas<\/strong> Tencent and ByteDance are battling over the booming market. (SCMP) + Chinese microdramas are AI content machines.<\/em> (MIT Technology Review)<\/p>\n
10 Astronomers have spotted a possible new dwarf planet beyond Pluto<\/strong> The icy world would be the solar system\u2019s sixth dwarf planet. (Gizmodo)<\/p>\n
Quote of the day<\/strong><\/p>\n
\u201c<\/strong>They have our information, so it\u2019s only fair that we have theirs.\u201d <\/strong><\/h2>\n
\u2014A hacking group explains why it leaked personal information from the US Department of Homeland Security, NPR reports.<\/p>\n
One more thing<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
How the Pentagon is adapting to China\u2019s technological rise<\/strong><\/h4>\n
It\u2019s been just over a year since Kathleen Hicks stepped down as US deputy secretary of defense.<\/p>\n
As the highest-ranking woman in Pentagon history, Hicks shaped US military posture through an era defined by renewed competition between powerful countries and a scramble to modernize defense technology.<\/p>\n
In this conversation with MIT Technology Review<\/em>, Hicks reflects on how the Pentagon is adapting\u2014or failing to adapt\u2014to a new era of geopolitical competition. She discusses China\u2019s technological rise, the future of AI in warfare, and her signature initiative: Replicator. <\/p>\n
Check out the full interview.<\/p>\n
\u2014Caiwei Chen<\/em><\/p>\n
We can still have nice things<\/strong><\/p>\n
A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas?<\/em> Drop me a line<\/em>.)<\/em><\/p>\n
+ Astronomers have found a green star 280 light-years from Earth. + A Scottish labrador that detects \u201csea vomit\u201d has won the Animal of the Year award. + England\u2019s iconic Sycamore Gap is showing signs of new life three years on from its felling. + From Lime-bike jousting to chainmail-wearing pop stars, youth culture is embracing the medieval era.<\/p>\n
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