The Download: open model trade-offs and geothermal power’s promise

The must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 A cyberattack overheated fridges at hundreds of French supermarkets
Temperatures rose to 120°F, spoiling food and sparking fires. (BBC)
+ The attack has sparked alarm about cyber threats to food security. (FT $)
+ It joins a recent wave of cyberattacks and cybercrimes. (CNBC)
+ AI is exacerbating the threats. (MIT Technology Review)

2 Meta has launched a bunch of new AI models
It hopes the models, built for complex, multi-step tasks, will rival OpenAI’s and Anthropic’s.(BI)
+ They scored well on tests of reasoning, writing, and coding. (NYT $)
+ Mark Zuckerberg says they bring Meta to the “frontier” of AI. (FT $)
+ And will soon power the Muse agent. (Verge)

3 Anthropic warns that AI models may soon self-replicate across devices
Without even requiring access to data centers. (Reuters $)
+ It says models could spread through smart TVs and appliances. (CNBC)
+ We’re putting too much faith in AI saying no. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Police have a new AI tool that finds homes from interior photos
It can match single pictures to Airbnb and Zillow listings. (404 Media)
+ Police-tech giant Flock is tightening its rules. (MIT Technology Review)

5 The world’s first utility-scale enhanced geothermal plant is online
Fervo Energy’s Utah facility will supply carbon-free electricity. (IEEE)
+ AI is uncovering hidden geothermal resources. (MIT Technology Review)