Open models have real benefits, but do they outweigh the risks? Anthropic recently released a report arguing that a powerful new model released by the Chinese company Z.ai poses a major cyberattack risk. Its core concern is that it is freely available for anyone to download and modify. The warning is the latest flashpoint in a debate over whether frontier AI models should be open or kept behind the doors of frontier labs.
Safety advocates warn that open models can be misused by bad actors, while supporters argue they could prevent a handful of companies from controlling this powerful technology. The debate is more complicated than it seems, and it is part of a broader conversation about how AI should be governed as it grows more capable.
Elsewhere in technology news, a cyberattack overheated fridges at hundreds of French supermarkets, with temperatures rising to 120°F, spoiling food and sparking fires. The attack has sparked alarm about cyber threats to food security.
Meanwhile, Fervo Energy, one of MIT Technology Review's 10 Climate Tech Companies to Watch for 2026, wants to expand geothermal power beyond the handful of places where it has traditionally been practical. The company uses horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to open pathways through underground rock. With a $2.2 billion public offering and an expanded agreement with Google, it plans to build larger plants and drive down costs. The question is whether its approach can work beyond Utah and Nevada.
Source: MIT Technology Review · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing