What’s new: OpenAI is testing a new way to expose the complicated processes at work inside large language models. Researchers at the company can make an LLM produce what they call a confession, in which the model explains how it carried out a task and (most of the time) own up to any bad behavior.

Why it matters: Figuring out why large language models do what they do—and in particular why they sometimes appear to lie, cheat, and deceive—is one of the hottest topics in AI right now. If this multitrillion-dollar technology is to be deployed as widely as its makers hope it will be, it must be made more trustworthy. OpenAI sees confessions as one step toward that goal. Read the full story.

—Will Douglas Heaven

Sometimes geothermal hot spots are obvious, marked by geysers and hot springs on Earth’s surface. But in other places, they’re obscured thousands of feet underground. Now AI could help uncover these hidden pockets of potential power.

A startup company called Zanskar announced today that it’s used AI and other advanced computational methods to uncover a blind geothermal system—meaning there aren’t signs of it on the surface—in the western Nevada desert. The company says it’s the first blind system that’s been identified and confirmed to be a commercial prospect in over 30 years. Read the full story.

In the US, nuclear reactors follow predictable seasonal trends. Summer and winter tend to see the highest electricity demand, so plant operators schedule maintenance and refueling for other parts of the year.

This scheduled regularity might seem mundane, but it’s quite the feat that operational reactors are as reliable and predictable as they are. Now we’re seeing a growing pool of companies aiming to bring new technologies to the nuclear industry. Read the full story.

1 Donald Trump has scrapped Biden’s fuel efficiency requirements
It’s a major blow for green automobile initiatives. (NYT $)
+ Trump maintains that getting rid of the rules will drive down the price of cars. (Politico)

2 RFK Jr’s vaccine advisers may delay hepatitis B vaccines for babies
The shots are a key part in combating acute cases of the infection. (The Guardian)
+ Former FDA commissioners are worried by its current chief’s vaccine views. (Ars Technica)
+ Meanwhile, a fentanyl vaccine is being trialed in the Netherlands. (Wired $)

3 Amazon is exploring building its own US delivery network
Which could mean axing its long-standing partnership with the US Postal Service. (WP $)

They’re pushing back against plans to sneak the rule into an annual defense bill. (The Hill)+ Trump has been pressuring them to fall in line for months. (Ars Technica)
+ Congress killed an attempt to stop states regulating AI back in July. (CNN)

9 Researchers are studying whether brain rot is actually real 🧠
Including whether its effects could be permanent. (NBC News)

10 YouTuber Mr Beast is planning to launch a mobile phone service
Beast Mobile, anyone? (Insider $)
+ The New York Stock Exchange could be next in his sights. (TechCrunch)

For years, microbiologist Sabra Klein has painstakingly made the case that sex—defined by biological attributes such as our sex chromosomes, sex hormones, and reproductive tissues—can influence immune responses.

Klein and others have shown how and why male and female immune systems respond differently to the flu virus, HIV, and certain cancer therapies, and why most women receive greater protection from vaccines but are also more likely to get severe asthma and autoimmune disorders.