The Download: The startup that says it can stop lightning, and inside OpenAI’s Pentagon deal

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.

This startup claims it can stop lightning and prevent catastrophic wildfires

Startup Skyward Wildfire says it can prevent catastrophic fires by stopping the lightning strikes that ignite them. So far, it hasn’t publicly revealed how it does so, but online documents suggest the company is relying on an approach the US government began evaluating in the early 1960s: seeding clouds with metallic chaff, or narrow fiberglass strands coated with aluminum. 

It just raised millions of dollars to accelerate its product development and expand its operations. But researchers and environmental observers say uncertainties remain, including how well the seeding may work under varying conditions, how much material would need to be released, how frequently it would have to be done, and what sorts of secondary environmental impacts might result. Read the full story. 

—James Temple

OpenAI’s “compromise” with the Pentagon is what Anthropic feared

OpenAI has reached a deal that will allow the US military to use its technologies in classified settings. CEO Sam Altman said the negotiations, which the company began pursuing only after the Pentagon’s public reprimand of Anthropic, were “definitely rushed.”

OpenAI has taken great pains to say that it has not caved to allow the Pentagon to do whatever it wants with its technology. The company published a blog post explaining that its agreement protected against use for autonomous weapons and mass domestic surveillance, and Altman said the company did not simply accept the same terms that Anthropic refused. 

But it’s not yet clear if OpenAI can build in the safety precautions it promises as the military rushes out a politicized AI strategy during strikes on Iran, or if the deal will be seen as good enough by employees who wanted the company to take a harder line. Walking that tightrope will be tricky. Read the full story.

—James O’Donnell

The story is from The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here.

The must-reads

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

1 Gulf states are racing against time to intercept Iran’s drone attacks

They could run out of interceptors very soon. (WSJ $)

• Amazon says it lost three data centers in the strikes. (Business Insider $)
• There has been a spike in GPS attacks too, affecting nearby shipping. (Wired)
• Crypto stocks are tumbling in response. (Bloomberg)

2 Apple is considering using Google’s Gemini AI to power Siri

It’s also set to deepen its reliance on Google’s cloud infrastructure. (The Information $)

3 A database shows which topics fall foul of the Trump administration

National parks are being forced to erase any exhibits that display “partisan ideology”. (WP $)

• The transatlantic battle over free speech is coming. (FT $)
• What it’s like to be banned in the US for fighting online hate. (MIT Technology Review)

4 Can AI actually enhance jobs, not just destroy them?

Three economists take the optimistic view (New Yorker)

• How to fine tune AI for prosperity. (MIT Technology Review)

5 Are “bossware” apps tracking you? 

Tools to watch what workers are doing are getting more and more sophisticated. (NYT)

• Employers aren’t reading your resume anymore. (Business Insider)

6 RFK Jr says he is about to unleash 14 banned peptides

By reversing a Biden-era FDA ban on their production. (Gizmodo)

• Peptides are everywhere. What are they? (MIT Technology Review)

7 Meta is testing an AI shopping research tool

It hopes to rival Gemini and ChatGPT. (Bloomberg)

8 Maybe data centers in space aren’t as crazy as they sound? 

They could be cheaper, with the right tech. (Economist) 

• Should we… just do it? (MIT Technology Review)

9 Why climate change is making turbulence worse

Buckle up, people. (New Yorker)

10 6G is on its way!

And the hype cycle is doing its thing again. (The Verge $)

Quote of the day

“We don’t list markets directly tied to death. When there are markets where potential outcomes involve death, we design the rules to prevent people from profiting from death.”

—Tarek Mansour, CEO and founder of prediction market company Kalshi, tries to justify the $54 million bet on “Ali Khamenei out as Supreme Leader?” on his platform, 404 Media reports.

One More Thing

South Africa’s private surveillance machine is fueling a digital apartheid

Johannesburg is birthing a uniquely South African surveillance model. Over the past decade, the city has become host to a centralized, coordinated, entirely privatized mass surveillance operation. These tools have been enthusiastically adopted by the local security industry, grappling with the pressures of a high-crime environment.

Civil rights activists worry the new surveillance is fueling a digital apartheid and unraveling people’s democratic liberties, but a growing chorus of experts say the stakes are even higher. 

They argue that the impact of artificial intelligence is repeating the patterns of colonial history, and here in South Africa, where colonial legacies abound, the unfettered deployment of AI surveillance offers just one case study in how a technology that promised to bring societies into the future is threatening to send them back to the past. Read the full story.

—Karen Hao and Heidi Swart

We can still have nice things

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)

+ These influencers are on a mission to save the UK’s pubs. 

+ Here’s what a map of America solely made up of its rivers would look like.

+ The winner of the Underwater Photographer of the Year awards is incredibly cute.
+ Pokémon may have turned 30 years old, but the franchise is more popular than ever.