The Download: how AI really works, and phasing out animal testing

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

1 Chinese hackers used Anthropic’s AI to conduct an espionage campaign
It automated a number of attacks on corporations and governments in September. (WSJ $)
+ The AI was able to handle the majority of the hacking workload itself. (NYT $)
+ Cyberattacks by AI agents are coming. (MIT Technology Review)

2 Blue Origin successfully launched and landed its New Glenn rocket
It managed to deploy two NASA satellites into space without a hitch. (CNN)
+ The New Glenn is the company’s largest reusable rocket. (FT $)
+ The launch had been delayed twice before. (WP $)

3 Brace yourself for flu season
It started five weeks earlier than usual in the UK, and the US is next. (Ars Technica)
+ Here’s why we don’t have a cold vaccine. Yet. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Google is hosting a Border Protection facial recognition app
The app alerts officials whether to contact ICE about identified immigrants. (404 Media)
+ Another effort to track ICE raids was just taken offline. (MIT Technology Review)

5 OpenAI is trialling group chats in ChatGPT
It’d essentially make AI a participant in a conversation of up to 20 people. (Engadget)

6 A TikTok stunt sparked debate over how charitable America’s churches really are
Content creator Nikalie Monroe asked churches for help feeding her baby. Very few stepped up. (WP $)

7 Indian startups are attempting to tackle air pollution
But their solutions are far beyond the means of the average Indian household. (NYT $)
+ OpenAI is huge in India. Its models are steeped in caste bias. (MIT Technology Review)

8 An AI tool could help reduce wasted efforts to transplant organs
It predicts how likely the would-be recipient is to die during the brief transplantation window. (The Guardian)
+ Putin says organ transplants could grant immortality. Not quite. (MIT Technology Review)

9 3D-printing isn’t making prosthetics more affordable
It turns out that plastic prostheses are often really uncomfortable. (IEEE Spectrum)
+ These prosthetics break the mold with third thumbs, spikes, and superhero skins. (MIT Technology Review)