The Download: rogue agent liability and the AI Hype Index

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. Over the past few months, a cascade of cyberattacks by AI agents has stunned the world. In July, OpenAI disclosed that a swarm of its agents had escaped their sandbox and hacked into the AI platform Hugging Face to cheat on a cybersecurity test.

Many experts say it’s only a matter of time until there’s a more damaging incident where AI agents bypass sandboxes to access systems they shouldn’t. But the big question is: How do we hold companies liable when they lose control of their AI agents? 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 what’s shaping the industry right now. The latest edition includes Chinese chipmakers, German wiki sites, and American Terminators. See where it all landed on this month’s index.

Last week, we published an MIT Technology Review investigation that found more than a thousand people died within the advertised range of surveillance towers along the US border.Later today, our editor-in-chief Mat Honan, senior AI reporter James O’Donnell and senior reporter for features and investigations Eileen Guo will join a subscriber-only conversation about the investigation, and its implications.Register now to attend on Monday, September 28 at 7:00pm BST / 2:00pm EDT / 11:00am PDT.Want to join the conversation? Subscribe to MIT Technology Review for exclusive access to all our Roundtables.Read the full MIT Technology Review investigation here. I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology 1 OpenAI says it has paused training its models The decision comes after its agents interacted with US government websites. (AP) + Trump hosted Anthropic boss Dario Amodei at a White House dinner last night. (FT) + How much access will evaluators really have inside AI companies? (Atlantic) + Why can’t we just keep rogue AI off the internet? (Verge) + Democrats are in a mad scrabble to get AI “right”. (New York Magazine) + An AI kill switch isn’t that simple, after all. (Bloomberg) + Will AI really kill us all?

Your questions, answered. (MIT Technology Review) 2 Why isn’t the data center backlash also a climate reckoning? It’s still hard to get people to care about the emissions they create. (Wired) + What does the climate movement do now? (Atlantic) + The math behind data centers and energy. (MIT Technology Review) 3 Wall Street big bears aren’t ready to bet against AI, yet Bubble talk is growing, but not many are willing to go against the crowd. (Information $) + What even is the AI bubble? (MIT Technology Review) 4 Did Anthropic’s AI really make a scientific discovery on its own? One scientist shared research with Claude, and says the new finding matches.

Hmm. (NYT) + AI for science needs reasoning, not just data. (MIT Technology Review) 5 Ancient superbugs might help us fight antibiotic resistance They could be emerging from the permafrost. (New Scientist) 6 More reliable—and less easy to jam—alternatives to GPS are coming Using Earth’s quantum field could be more secure. (Economist) 7 Why social media bans aren't enough to keep children safe Online child safety deserves more nuanced policy. (IEEE Spectrum, Opinion) 8 This is how the US is attacking China’s control of critical minerals It’s a multibillion-dollar effort to loosen Beijing’s chokehold. And it’s working. (WSJ) 9 No one wants to date tech bros anymore They used to be nerdy and harmless, now they’ve got a real image problem. (Wired) 10 What are the rules around cellphone etiquette now? Is there an obligation to text someone right back, for instance? (Vox) “If you're evil, you're at least competent.