{"id":20932,"date":"2026-04-10T12:48:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T12:48:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/10\/the-download-jeff-vandermeer-short-story-and-ai-models-too-danger-to-release\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T12:48:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T12:48:07","slug":"the-download-jeff-vandermeer-short-story-and-ai-models-too-danger-to-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/10\/the-download-jeff-vandermeer-short-story-and-ai-models-too-danger-to-release\/","title":{"rendered":"The Download: an exclusive Jeff VanderMeer story and AI models too scary to release"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

This is today\u2019s edition of <\/em>The Download<\/em><\/a>, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what\u2019s going on in the world of technology.<\/em><\/p>\n

Constellations<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h3>\n

\u2014Constellations is a short story by Jeff VanderMeer, the author of the critically acclaimed, bestselling Southern Reach series. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

A spacecraft has crash-landed on a hostile planet. The only survivors are three members of the exploration team and the ship\u2019s AI mind. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Little exists on the planet except deserts of snow. But alien artifacts lie nearby, in the form of 13 domes, spread across the terrain. Linked by cables threaded through metal posts, the domes form a series of paths\u2014the only hope for life support.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As the team treks across the frozen hellscape, they discover the remains of countless astronauts from unknown species who followed the same route before them. Is their trail a path to salvation, or a cosmic trap?<\/p>\n

Read the rest of this short story in full<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

This story is from the next issue of our print magazine, packed with stories all about nature.\u00a0Subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0to read the full thing when it lands on Wednesday, April 22.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The\u00a0must-reads\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve\u00a0combed\u00a0the\u00a0internet\u00a0to\u00a0find\u00a0you\u00a0today\u2019s\u00a0most\u00a0fun\/important\/scary\/fascinating\u00a0stories\u00a0about\u00a0technology.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

1\u00a0OpenAI\u00a0has\u00a0joined\u00a0Anthropic\u00a0in\u00a0curbing\u00a0an\u00a0AI\u00a0release\u00a0over\u00a0security\u00a0fears<\/strong>\u00a0
Only\u00a0select\u00a0partners\u00a0will\u00a0get\u00a0its\u00a0new\u00a0cybersecurity\u00a0tool. (Axios<\/a>)\u00a0\u00a0
+\u00a0Anthropic\u00a0said\u00a0only\u00a0yesterday\u00a0that\u00a0its\u00a0new AI\u00a0is\u00a0too\u00a0dangerous\u00a0for\u00a0the\u00a0public.\u00a0<\/em>(NBC News<\/a>)\u00a0
+ Top\u00a0models\u00a0may\u00a0not\u00a0be so\u00a0public\u00a0going\u00a0forward.\u00a0<\/em>(Bloomberg<\/a>\u00a0$)\u00a0\u00a0
+\u00a0The\u00a0US has\u00a0summoned\u00a0bank\u00a0CEOs\u00a0to\u00a0discuss\u00a0the\u00a0risks.\u00a0<\/em>(FT<\/a>\u00a0$)\u00a0\u00a0
\u00a0
2 Florida\u00a0is\u00a0investigating\u00a0OpenAI\u00a0over\u00a0an\u00a0alleged\u00a0role in a\u00a0shooting\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0
ChatGPT\u00a0may\u00a0have\u00a0helped\u00a0someone\u00a0plan a\u00a0mass\u00a0shooting\u00a0in Florida. (WSJ<\/a>\u00a0$)\u00a0\u00a0
+\u00a0OpenAI\u00a0has\u00a0backed\u00a0a\u00a0bill\u00a0that\u00a0would\u00a0limit\u00a0AI\u00a0liability\u00a0for\u00a0deaths.\u00a0(Wired<\/a>\u00a0$)\u00a0\u00a0
+\u00a0The\u00a0family\u00a0of\u00a0a\u00a0victim\u00a0plans\u00a0to\u00a0sue\u00a0the\u00a0company.\u00a0(Guardian<\/a>)\u00a0\u00a0
+\u00a0AI\u2019s\u00a0role in\u00a0delusions\u00a0is\u00a0dividing\u00a0opinion.\u00a0(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)\u00a0\u00a0
\u00a0
3 Volkswagen\u00a0is\u00a0ditching\u00a0EV\u00a0production\u00a0for\u00a0more\u00a0gasoline\u00a0models\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0
The\u00a0carmaker\u00a0will\u00a0stop\u00a0making\u00a0its\u00a0top\u00a0electric\u00a0vehicle\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0US. (NYT<\/a>\u00a0$)\u00a0\u00a0
+\u00a0Instead,\u00a0it\u00a0will\u00a0concentrate\u00a0on\u00a0developing\u00a0a new SUV.\u00a0<\/em>(Ars Technica<\/a>)\u00a0\u00a0
+ Western\u00a0carmakers\u00a0are\u00a0retreating\u00a0from\u00a0electric\u00a0vehicles.<\/em>\u00a0(Guardian<\/a>)\u00a0
\u00a0
4 Elon\u00a0Musk\u2019s\u00a0xAI\u00a0has\u00a0sued\u00a0Colorado\u00a0over\u00a0an\u00a0AI\u00a0anti-discrimination\u00a0law<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0
It\u2019s\u00a0the\u00a0first\u00a0state\u00a0bill\u00a0of\u00a0its\u00a0kind. (Bloomberg<\/a>\u00a0$)\u00a0\u00a0
+\u00a0xAI\u00a0says\u00a0it\u00a0will\u00a0force\u00a0the\u00a0firm\u00a0to\u00a0\u201cpromote\u00a0the\u00a0state\u2019s\u00a0ideological\u00a0views.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(FT<\/a>\u00a0$)\u00a0<\/p>\n

5\u00a0A\u00a0fifth\u00a0of\u00a0US\u00a0employees\u00a0say\u00a0AI\u00a0now\u00a0does\u00a0parts\u00a0of\u00a0their\u00a0job\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0
The\u00a0survey\u00a0found\u00a0half\u00a0of\u00a0US\u00a0adults\u00a0used\u00a0AI in\u00a0the\u00a0past\u00a0week. (NBC News<\/a>)\u00a0\u00a0
+\u00a0Missing\u00a0data\u00a0could\u00a0shed\u00a0light\u00a0on\u00a0AI\u2019s\u00a0job\u00a0impact.\u00a0<\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)\u00a0\u00a0
\u00a0
6 Google\u00a0DeepMind\u2019s\u00a0CEO\u00a0wants\u00a0to\u00a0automate\u00a0drug\u00a0design\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0
He hopes\u00a0to\u00a0develop\u00a0AI\u00a0capable\u00a0of\u00a0curing\u00a0all\u00a0diseases. (The Economist<\/a>)\u00a0\u00a0
+\u00a0A\u00a0scientist\u00a0is\u00a0using\u00a0AI\u00a0to\u00a0hunt\u00a0for\u00a0antibiotics.<\/em>\u00a0(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)\u00a0<\/p>\n

7 China\u2019s Unitree is launching a viral robot on the international market
<\/strong>R1, its cheapest humanoid, will go on sale outside China next week. (SCMP<\/a>)
+ Gig workers are training humanoids at home. (MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

8 An experiment on Artemis II astronauts could reshape space medicine
<\/strong>Chips containing their cells will model spaceflight\u2019s effects. (WP<\/a> $)<\/p>\n

9 A pro-Iran meme machine is trolling Trump with AI Lego cartoons
<\/strong>The\u00a0videos\u00a0have\u00a0racked\u00a0up\u00a0millions\u00a0of\u00a0views. (Wired<\/a>\u00a0$)\u00a0
+\u00a0You\u00a0can\u00a0learn\u00a0to\u00a0love\u00a0AI\u00a0slop.\u00a0<\/em>(MIT Technology Review<\/a>)<\/p>\n

10\u00a0Short\u00a0breaks\u00a0could\u00a0erase 10\u00a0years\u00a0of\u00a0social media\u00a0brain\u00a0damage\u00a0<\/strong>
Studies\u00a0show\u00a0that\u00a0a\u00a0two-week\u00a0detox\u00a0could\u00a0have\u00a0a\u00a0dramatic\u00a0benefit. (WP<\/a>\u00a0$)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Quote\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0day\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAI should advance mankind, not destroy it. We\u2019re demanding answers on OpenAI\u2019s activities that have hurt kids, endangered Americans, and facilitated the recent FSU mass shooting.\u201d<\/h2>\n

\u2014Florida\u00a0Attorney\u00a0General James\u00a0Uthmeier\u00a0explains\u00a0on X<\/a>\u00a0why\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0probing\u00a0OpenAI.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One\u00a0More\u00a0Thing\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"girl<\/p>\n
TOM HUMBERSTONE<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

It\u2019s\u00a0time\u00a0to\u00a0retire\u00a0the\u00a0term\u00a0\u201cuser\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h4>\n

People have been called \u201cusers\u201d for a long time. Often, it\u2019s the right word to describe people who use software. But \u201cusers\u201d is also unspecific enough to refer to just about everyone. It can accommodate almost any big idea or long-term vision.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We use\u2014and are used by\u2014computers and platforms and companies. The label \u201cuser\u201d suggests these interactions are deeply transactional, but they\u2019re frequently quite personal. Is it time for a more human vocabulary?\u00a0Read the full story<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2014Taylor\u00a0Majewski<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

We\u00a0can\u00a0still\u00a0have\u00a0nice\u00a0things\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

A place\u00a0for\u00a0comfort,\u00a0fun\u00a0and\u00a0distraction\u00a0to\u00a0brighten\u00a0up\u00a0your\u00a0day. (Got\u00a0any\u00a0ideas?\u00a0<\/em>Drop me a line<\/em><\/a>.)<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

+ This flawless levitation trick<\/a> will leave you questioning the laws of physics.
+ The World Press Photo winners<\/a> expose the beauty (and brutality) of our planet.
+ Over 3 million pink flamingos<\/a> gathered to create a stunning pink horizon.
+ Behold the galaxy\u2019s enormity<\/a> in this comparison of its largest known star to Earth<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is today\u2019s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[226],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20932\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideainthebox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}