Thursday, June 18, 2026

The Obtain: a brand new hunt for darkish matter and Kenya’s case for going photo voltaic


1 The Pentagon says it used Grok in strikes on Iran
Its AI chief mentioned it helped hearth over 2,000 munitions. (Le Monde)
+ He spoke in protection of xAI in a knowledge heart air pollution lawsuit. (NYT $)
+ Officers declare the corporate is important to nationwide safety. (AP Information)
+ Conversational AI has entered the conflict room. (MIT Know-how Evaluate)  
 
2 Apple will increase costs as a result of reminiscence chip scarcity
Tim Cook dinner mentioned worth will increase are “unavoidable.” (WSJ $)
+ AI’s demand for knowledge facilities has led to dwindling provides. (Reuters $)
+ iPhone costs may rise by $200 or extra. (WSJ $)
 
3 Strikes past battlefields are pumping demand for counter-drone tech
The marketplace for airport and infrastructure defenses is booming. (Reuters $)
+ Apprehensive by China, Taiwan is instructing its residents to fly drones. (Guardian)
+ Europe has a drone-filled imaginative and prescient for future conflict. (MIT Know-how Evaluate)
 
4 Anthropic and DeepMind’s CEOs have referred to as for a US-led AI coalition
They need the alliance to form AI guidelines and requirements. (CNBC)
+ Anthropic’s CEO instructed G7 leaders to “resist the temptation to splinter.” (FT $)
 
5 American builders are turning to cheaper Chinese language AI
They are saying DeepSeek is nice sufficient for a fraction of the price. (Remainder of World)
+ What’s subsequent for Chinese language open-source AI? (MIT Know-how Evaluate)
 
6 Two-thirds of People suppose AI is advancing too shortly
Pew Analysis discovered rising use however destructive views. (The Verge)
+ AI is sprinting, and we’re struggling to maintain up. (MIT Know-how Evaluate)
 
7 Elon Musk’s subsequent transfer could also be a megamerger of SpaceX and Tesla
Shareholders would possibly object, however there’s little they might do. (NYT $)

8 White Home goals for Anthropic to dam jailbreaks could also be unimaginable
Safety specialists say it merely is not technically possible. (Wired $)
 
9 Historic DNA is rewriting the historical past of plague
Genomic knowledge suggests it emerged 1000’s of years earlier. (Economist $)

10 AI picture generator Midjourney is shifting to full-body ultrasound scans
It additionally plans to construct a spa in San Francisco. (The Verge)

Quote of the day

“We had an amazing assembly with AI.” 

—President Trump says negotiations with Anthropic over restoring entry to the corporate’s newest AI fashions are going effectively, the Wall Road Journal experiences.

One Extra Factor

GETTY IMAGES


Why can’t tech repair its gender downside?

Girls stay grossly underrepresented within the expertise business. On the core of the issue is cash: tech has generated monumental private fortunes, and most of that wealth has gone to males.

White and Asian males handle 93% of enterprise {dollars}. In 2021, solely 2% of enterprise capital funding went to startups based solely by girls.

The shortage of investor and founder variety doesn’t solely decide who will get wealthy. It additionally shapes the sorts of issues expertise corporations got down to remedy.

Uncover why tech’s gender downside has proved so onerous to repair—and why a brand new era of activists believes change is lastly potential.

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