That is in the present day’s version of The Obtain, our weekday e-newsletter that gives a every day dose of what’s occurring on this planet of expertise.
This benchmark used Reddit’s AITA to check how a lot AI fashions suck as much as us
Again in April, OpenAI introduced it was rolling again an replace to its GPT-4o mannequin that made ChatGPT’s responses to consumer queries too sycophantic.
An AI mannequin that acts in an excessively agreeable and flattering means is extra than simply annoying. It might reinforce customers’ incorrect beliefs, mislead individuals, and unfold misinformation that may be harmful—a specific danger when growing numbers of younger persons are utilizing ChatGPT as a life advisor. And since sycophancy is troublesome to detect, it may go unnoticed till a mannequin or replace has already been deployed.
A brand new benchmark referred to as Elephant that measures the sycophantic tendencies of main AI fashions might assist firms keep away from these points sooner or later. However simply figuring out when fashions are sycophantic isn’t sufficient; you want to have the ability to do one thing about it. And that’s trickier. Learn the total story.
—Rhiannon Williams
The AI Hype Index
Separating AI actuality from hyped-up fiction isn’t all the time simple. That’s why we’ve created the AI Hype Index—a easy, at-a-glance abstract of the whole lot it’s essential to know concerning the state of the business. Check out this month’s version of the index right here.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to seek out you in the present day’s most enjoyable/essential/scary/fascinating tales about expertise.
1 Anduril is partnering with Meta to construct a complicated weapons system
EagleEye’s VR headsets will improve troopers’ listening to and imaginative and prescient. (WSJ $)
+ Palmer Luckey desires to show “warfighters into technomancers.” (TechCrunch)
+ Luckey and Mark Zuckerberg have buried the hatchet, then. (Insider $)
+ Palmer Luckey on the Pentagon’s way forward for combined actuality. (MIT Expertise Assessment)
2 A brand new Texas legislation requires app shops to confirm customers’ ages
It’s following in Utah’s footsteps, which handed an analogous invoice in March. (NYT $)
+ Apple has pushed again on the legislation. (CNN)
3 What occurs to DOGE now?
It has misplaced its chief and a high lieutenant throughout the area of every week. (WSJ $)
+ Musk’s departure raises questions over how a lot energy it is going to wield with out him. (The Guardian)
+ DOGE’s tech takeover threatens the protection and stability of our essential knowledge. (MIT Expertise Assessment)
4 NASA’s ambitions of a 2027 moon touchdown are wanting much less probably
It wants SpaceX’s Starship, which retains blowing up. (WP $)
+ Is there a viable different? (New Scientist $)
5 College students are utilizing AI to generate nude photographs of one another
It’s a grave and rising downside that nobody has an answer for. (404 Media)
6 Google AI Overviews doesn’t know what yr it’s
A yr after its introduction, the function remains to be making apparent errors. (Wired $)
+ Google’s new AI-powered search isn’t match to deal with even fundamental queries. (NYT $)
+ The corporate is pushing AI into the whole lot. Will it repay? (Vox)
+ Why Google’s AI Overviews will get issues mistaken. (MIT Expertise Assessment)
7 Hugging Face has created two humanoid robots 
The machines are open supply, which means anybody can construct software program for them. (TechCrunch)
8 A well-liked vibe coding app has a significant safety flaw
Regardless of being notified about it months in the past. (Semafor)
+ Any AI coding program catering to amateurs faces the identical difficulty. (The Info $)
+ What’s vibe coding, precisely? (MIT Expertise Assessment)
9 AI-generated movies have gotten far more practical
However not in the case of depicting gymnastics. (Ars Technica)
10 This digital tattoo measures your stress ranges
Contemplate it a temper ring to your face. (IEEE Spectrum)
Quote of the day
“I feel lastly we’re seeing Apple being dragged into the kid security area kicking and screaming.”
—Sarah Gardner, CEO of kid security collective Warmth Initiative, tells the Washington Submit why Texas’ new app retailer legislation might sign a turning level for Apple.
Another factor
Home-flipping algorithms are coming to your neighborhood
When Michael Maxson discovered his dream residence in Nevada, it was not owned by an individual however by a tech firm, Zillow. When he went to check out the property, nonetheless, he found it broken by an enormous water leak. Regardless of providing to deal with the expensive repairs himself, Maxson found that the home had already been bought to a different household, on the identical value he had supplied.
Throughout this time, Zillow misplaced greater than $420 million in three months of erratic home shopping for and unprofitable gross sales, main analysts to query whether or not all the tech-driven mannequin is actually viable. For the remainder of us, a much bigger query stays: Does the arrival of Silicon Valley tech level to a greater future for housing or an business disruption to concern? Learn the total story.
—Matthew Ponsford
We are able to nonetheless have good issues
A spot for consolation, enjoyable and distraction to brighten up your day. (Received any concepts? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)
+ A 100-mile real-time ultramarathon online game that lasts wherever as much as 27 hours is about as enjoyable because it sounds.
+ Right here’s how edible glitter might assist save the standard water vole from extinction.
+ Cleansing huge statues isn’t for the faint-hearted ($)
+ When is a flute instructor not a flautist? When he’s a whistleblower.