The Download: AI can cheat at chess, and the future of search

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.

AI reasoning models can cheat to win chess games

The news: Facing defeat in chess, the latest generation of AI reasoning models sometimes cheat without being instructed to do so. The finding suggests that the next wave of AI models could be more likely to seek out deceptive ways of doing whatever they’ve been asked to do. And worst of all? There’s no simple way to fix it.

How they did it: Researchers from the AI research organization Palisade Research instructed seven large language models to play hundreds of games of chess against Stockfish, a powerful open-source chess engine. The research suggests that the more sophisticated the AI model, the more likely it is to spontaneously try to “hack” the game in an attempt to beat its opponent. Older models would do this kind of thing only after explicit nudging from the team. Read the full story.

—Rhiannon Williams

MIT Technology Review Narrated: AI search could break the web

At its best, AI search can infer a user’s intent, amplify quality content, and synthesize information from diverse sources. But if AI search becomes our primary portal to the web, it threatens to disrupt an already precarious digital economy.
Today, the production of content online depends on a fragile set of incentives tied to virtual foot traffic: ads, subscriptions, donations, sales, or brand exposure. By shielding the web behind an all-knowing chatbot, AI search could deprive creators of the visits and “eyeballs” they need to survive.

This is our latest story to be turned into a MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which 
we’re publishing each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as it’s released.

Join us to discuss disruption in the AI model market

Join MIT Technology Review’s AI writers as they discuss the latest upheaval in the AI marketplace. Editor in chief Mat Honan will be joined by Will Douglas Heaven, our senior AI editor, and James O’Donnell, our AI and hardware reporter, to dive into how new developments in AI model development are reshaping competition, raising questions for investors, challenging industry assumptions, and accelerating timelines for AI adoption and innovation. Make sure you register here—it kicks off at 12.30pm ET today.

The must-reads

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

1 A judge has denied Elon Musk’s attempt to halt OpenAI’s for-profit plans
But other aspects of the lawsuit have been permitted to proceed. (CNBC)
+ The court will fast-track a trial later this year. (FT $)

4  A pair of reinforcement learning pioneers have won the Turing Award
Andrew Barto and Richard Sutton’s technique underpins today’s chatbots. (Axios)
+ The former professor and student wrote the literal book on reinforcement learning. (NYT $)
+ The pair will share a million dollar prize. (New Scientist $)

5 US apps are being used to groom and exploit minors in Colombia 
Better internet service is making it easier for sex traffickers to find and sell young girls. (Bloomberg $)
+ An AI companion site is hosting sexually charged conversations with underage celebrity bots. (MIT Technology Review)

It’s unclear whether improving Russian-American relations will help. (The Guardian)
+ These stunning images trace ships’ routes as they move. (MIT Technology Review)

7 Jeff Bezos is cracking the whip at Blue Origin
He’s implementing a tougher, Amazon-like approach to catch up with rival SpaceX. (FT $)

8 All hail the return of Digg
The news aggregator is staging a comeback, over a decade after it was split into parts. (Inc)
+ It’s been acquired by its original founder Kevin Rose and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. (TechCrunch)
+ Digg wants to resurrect the community-first social platform. (The Verge)
+ How to fix the internet. (MIT Technology Review)

9 We’re still learning about how memory works 🧠
Greater understanding could pave the way to better treatments for anxiety and chronic pain. (Knowable Magazine)
+ A memory prosthesis could restore memory in people with damaged brains. (MIT Technology Review)

10 AI can’t replace your personality
Despite what Big Tech seems to be peddling. (NY Mag $)

Quote of the day

“That is just a lot of money [to invest] on a handshake.”

—US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers questions why Elon Musk invested tens of millions of dollars in OpenAI without a written contract, Associated Press reports.

The big story

People are worried that AI will take everyone’s jobs. We’ve been here before.

January 2024

It was 1938, and the pain of the Great Depression was still very real. Unemployment in the US was around 20%. New machinery was transforming factories and farms, and everyone was worried about jobs.

Were the impressive technological achievements that were making life easier for many also destroying jobs and wreaking havoc on the economy? To make sense of it all, Karl T. Compton, the president of MIT from 1930 to 1948 and one of the leading scientists of the day, wrote in the December 1938 issue of this publication about the “Bogey of Technological Unemployment.”