The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Hackers exploited a flaw in Microsoft’s software to attack government agencies
Engineers across the world are racing to mitigate the risk it poses. (Bloomberg $)
+ The attack hones in on servers housed within an organization, not the cloud. (WP $)
2 The French government has launched a criminal probe into X
It’s investigating the company’s recommendation algorithm—but X isn’t cooperating. (FT $)
+ X says French lawmaker Eric Bothorel has accused it of manipulating its algorithm for foreign interference purposes. (Reuters)
3 Trump aides explored ending contracts with SpaceX
But they quickly found most of them are vital to the Defense Department and NASA. (WSJ $)
+ But that doesn’t mean it’s smooth sailing for SpaceX right now. (NY Mag $)
+ Rivals are rising to challenge the dominance of SpaceX. (MIT Technology Review)
4 Meta has refused to sign the EU’s AI code of practice
Its new global affairs chief claims the rules with throttle growth. (CNBC)
+ The code is voluntary—but declining to sign it sends a clear message. (Bloomberg $)
5 A Polish programmer beat an OpenAI model in a coding competition
But only narrowly. (Ars Technica)
+ The second wave of AI coding is here. (MIT Technology Review)
6 Nigeria has dreams of becoming a major digital worker hub
The rise of AI means there’s less outsourcing work to go round. (Rest of World)
+ What Africa needs to do to become a major AI player. (MIT Technology Review)
7 Microsoft is building a digital twin of the Notre-Dame Cathedral
The replica can help support its ongoing maintenance, apparently. (Reuters)