The Download: Claude’s inner workings and OpenAI’s “super app”

Anthropic researchers built a tool called the Jacobian lens to uncover a hidden space inside its LLM Claude, revealing words the model considers before responding. OpenAI launched ChatGPT Work, a 'super app' combining its chatbot, coding tool, and new models, alongside GPT 5.6. SK Hynix raised $26.5 billion in the largest US listing by a foreign company, driven by AI data center demand.

The Download: Claude’s inner workings and OpenAI’s “super app” Plus: OpenAI has unveiled its long-awaited "super app." This is today's edition of The Download https://forms.technologyreview.com/newsletters/briefing-the-download/? ga=2.179569122.736533416.1649661040-405833893.1649413289 , our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. Anthropic found a hidden space where Claude puzzles over concepts The AI firm Anthropic has got the clearest glimpse yet at what’s really going on inside large language models as they answer questions or carry out tasks. What they found ranges from the mundane to the unnerving. Researchers at the company built a tool called the Jacobian lens or J-lens and used it to uncover a hidden area, which they named the J-space, inside its flagship LLM, Claude. The J-space contains words related to the response a model is working on but may not ultimately produce. If Claude were a person which it is not , you might say these hidden words reveal what’s on its mind before it actually speaks. Read the full story on what they found. https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/07/09/1140293/anthropic-found-a-hidden-space-where-claude-puzzles-over-concepts/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C —Will Douglas Heaven The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 OpenAI has unveiled its long-awaited "super app" ChatGPT Work blends its chatbot, coding tool, and new models. Reuters https://www.reuters.com/business/openai-launches-chatgpt-work-2026-07-09/ $ + It’s designed to do your work for you and with you. Ars Technica https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/07/openai-wants-its-new-tool-to-do-your-work-for-you-and-with-you/ + And arrived the same day as OpenAI’s GPT 5.6 models. NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/09/technology/openai-sol-ai.html $ + It’s also developing a fully automated researcher. MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/03/20/1134438/openai-is-throwing-everything-into-building-a-fully-automated-researcher/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C 2 Humanoids have performed teleoperated surgery on living animals In the world-first, they removed gallbladders from pigs. Ars Technica https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/07/humanoid-robots-controlled-by-surgeons-did-world-first-operation-on-live-pigs/ + The human work behind humanoids is hidden. MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/02/23/1133508/the-human-work-behind-humanoid-robots-is-being-hidden/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C 3 SK Hynix has landed the largest US listing by a foreign company The South Korean chip giant raised $26.5 billion. CNN https://edition.cnn.com/2026/07/10/business/sk-hynix-us-listing-ai-chip-boom-intl-hnk + Demand for AI data centres has led its profits to skyrocket. Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/10/south-korea-chip-maker-sk-hynix-rides-ai-boom-raising-265bn-in-huge-us-listing + But its jumbo share sale may be a sign of overheated times. FT https://www.ft.com/content/3986c7e5-01bc-4d24-a41f-3b8030ac2bd8 $ + South Korea’s hottest bachelors are chip workers. MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/07/06/1140000/south-korea-bachelors-samsung-skhynix-chip-workers/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C 4 Tencent is leading a deal to unwind Meta's $2 billion Manus acquisition It’s in talks to become the Chinese AI startup’s largest shareholder. FT https://www.ft.com/content/0d04378d-d71b-4225-b31a-70504e358480?syn-25a6b1a6=1 $ + Tencent will reportedly buy Manus for no less than $2 billion. Reuters https://www.reuters.com/technology/tencent-talks-become-ai-start-up-manus-largest-shareholder-ft-reports-2026-07-10/ $ + Beijing had ordered Meta to unwind the acquisition. Bloomberg https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-10/tencent-in-talks-to-become-largest-holder-of-manus-ft-reports-mrectviz $ 5 Resuscitated human retinas responded to light 10 hours after death It’s a big step towards eye transplants that restore vision. New Scientist https://www.newscientist.com/article/2533673-resuscitated-human-retinas-respond-to-light-10-hours-after-death/ $ + As is a new device that revives dead eyeballs. MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/02/23/1133508/the-human-work-behind-humanoid-robots-is-being-hidden/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C 6 Meta has started charging for AI access A new version of Muse Spark has a paid tier for developers. Quartz https://qz.com/meta-muse-spark-api-developers-paid-anthropic-openai-070926 + Meta also plans to start producing an AI chip in September. Reuters https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/meta-put-ai-chip-into-production-september-it-looks-double-computing-capacity-2026-07-09/ $ 7 OpenAI and Google have sold AI models to blacklisted China groups Via Singapore-based subsidiaries of Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent. FT https://www.ft.com/content/5d6aafa1-5d47-4585-aa95-6ec06a6cd20f $ 8 A daughter tested an AI “death bot” of her father The technology provided both comfort and unease. New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/news/as-told-to/can-ai-keep-a-parent-alive $ 9 An astronomer says the hunt for alien life needs more statistics He wants to replace speculation with mathematical frameworks. Quanta https://www.quantamagazine.org/will-we-ever-find-alien-civilizations-20260709/ 10 Pokémon Go players turned Times Square into a giant battlefield More than 1,500 fans finally fulfilled the game’s 2016 launch promise. Wired https://www.wired.com/story/thousands-of-pokemon-go-players-descend-on-times-square-to-defeat-mewtwo/ $ + Pokémon Go is also training world models. MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/03/10/1134099/how-pokemon-go-is-helping-robots-deliver-pizza-on-time/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C Quote of the day “When we’re talking about AI, we love the hype, we get excited about it. The damn thing never actually lands in practice.” —Vijay Janapa Reddi, an engineering professor at Harvard University, tells Wired https://www.wired.com/story/robot-dogs-teslas-and-rescue-helicopters-the-un-ai-summit-was-alot/ why he’s skeptical about grand plans for AI. One More Thing Why we should thank pigeons for our AI breakthroughs Why we should thank pigeons for our AI breakthroughs In 1943, psychologist B.F. Skinner led a secret government project to make bombs more precise. His idea: teach pigeons to guide missiles by pecking at targets on a screen inside a warhead. To train them, Skinner rewarded the birds with food when they made the right decisions, using trial and error to shape their behavior. Unsurprisingly, the military never deployed Skinner’s kamikaze pigeons. Yet his experiments convinced him that pigeons were “an extremely reliable instrument” for studying learning. Decades later, those same principles would help power reinforcement learning, the technology behind some of today’s most advanced AI systems. Discover how pigeons inspired one of AI’s most powerful techniques https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/08/18/1121370/ai-pigeons-reinforcement-learning/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C . —Ben Crair We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten up your day. Got any ideas? Drop me a line . + Here’s a splendid selection of this year’s NSW architecture https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2026/jul/02/nsw-architecture-awards-winners-2026-in-pictures award winners. + Photographers have captured the Strawberry Moon’s golden glow https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-17-stunning-photos-of-the-strawberry-moon-show-earths-natural-satellite-in-all-its-glory-180989050/ in stunning detail. + Idiocracy is the film that best exemplifies the “American experience,” according to a new poll. Look back at the prescient comedy with this Screen Junkies trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSgBTb3wmMI . + Get ready for the weekend with this psychedelic house journey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE7lLoS5bAE from Jamie xx b2b Caribou. Deep Dive The Download The Download: the future of chipmaking and Anthropic’s government clash Plus: Meta is pausing an AI training program that tracks workers’ keystrokes. The Download: AI hacking beyond Mythos, and chatbots’ impact on our brains Plus: Anthropic has called for a global slowdown in AI development. The Download: keeping up with AI, and the future of IVF Plus: NASA unveiled plans for three uncrewed missions to the Moon this year. The Download: a reality check for geoengineering and the science of interoception Plus: SpaceX is now valued higher than Amazon. Stay connected Get the latest updates from MIT Technology Review Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.