The Download: the “steroid olympics” and a safer Mythos

Anthropic has released a "safe" version of its Mythos AI model, promising sufficient guardrails and user limitations after previously claiming the system was too dangerous to release. The new model carries a price tag twice as high as the company's previous flagship system, though critics suspect the earlier safety warnings were a marketing strategy.

The Download: the “steroid olympics” and a safer Mythos Plus: Anthropic has released a "safe" version of Mythos. 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. The “steroid olympics” were a circus—and a window into our culture —Amit Katwala A couple of weeks ago, at a $50 million arena built in a casino parking lot in Las Vegas, I witnessed a libertarian thought experiment come to life. The inaugural Enhanced Games were the first sporting competition where participants were encouraged to take performance-enhancing drugs. For supporters of the event, the Enhanced Games offered a glimpse of a future in which medical advances push the human race to new heights—and they never have to get old. As I watched the games unfold, two questions bounced around my head: were they right? And what does that mean for the rest of us? Read the full story to understand the answers https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/06/10/1138670/enhanced-games-doping-steroids-hormones-supplements-longevity/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C . MIT Technology Review Narrated: a reality check on the AI jobs hysteria Despite the growing hysteria over AI’s threat to white-collar jobs, there’s still scant evidence that the technology has had a large-scale impact on the labor market. Analysis of US labor data shows that unemployment in occupations most exposed to AI is actually lower than in less-exposed jobs. There are also no signs that large numbers of workers are shifting from AI-threatened professions into supposedly safer manual-labor jobs. It’s true that things aren’t great in the job market. But the reason isn’t simply the rise of AI https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/05/26/1137855/a-reality-check-on-the-ai-jobs-hysteria/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C . —David Rotman This is our latest story to be turned into an MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which we publish each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts . Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as it’s released. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Anthropic has released a "safe" version of Mythos It promises it has enough guardrails and user limitations to be safe. BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckg701v1dp6o + It has a price tag twice as high as the previous flagship system. NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/09/technology/anthropic-ai-claude-fable-mythos.html $ + Anthropic previously claimed Mythos was too dangerous to release. CNBC https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/anthropic-project-glasswing-mythos-preview-claude-gets-limited-release-rcna267234 + But critics suspect that was a marketing play. Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/apr/13/ai-tech-marketing + Selective access has become a key strategy for AI labs. Axios https://www.axios.com/2026/06/09/anthropic-openai-mythos-ai-model-access 2 Seattle has banned new data centers for a year It’s the largest US city to have passed such a moratorium. Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/09/seattle-ai-datacenters-ban + Its biggest tech firm, Amazon, has tried to stop the ban. The Verge https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/945809/amazon-employees-seattle-data-center-moratorium + The movement to stop data centers is growing. NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/09/climate/data-center-bans.html $ 3 Democratic senators are pushing for a military AI restriction law They want a human commander to have the final say. Gizmodo https://gizmodo.com/democrats-want-a-military-ai-restriction-law-following-anthropics-pentagon-fallout-2000768990 + But humans in the loop in an AI war is an illusion. MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/04/16/1136029/humans-in-the-loop-ai-war-illusion/?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 SpaceX plans to launch space data center tests by late 2027 Orbital compute is central to the company’s growth pitch. Reuters https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/spacex-aims-launch-orbital-ai-computing-tests-by-end-next-year-sources-say-2026-06-09/ $ + It’s also shared new designs for its space data centers. BI https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-ai-data-centers-spacex-will-send-into-space-2026-6 + We’d need these four things to put them in orbit. MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/04/03/1135073/four-things-wed-need-to-put-data-centers-in-space/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C 5 China has been accused of escalating AI espionage A report claims Beijing is hacking tech firms to catch up with the US. CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/10/crowdstrike-warns-of-increasing-chinese-ai-cyberattacks-on-us-tech.html + There are no winners in a US-China AI arms race. MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/01/21/1110269/there-can-be-no-winners-in-a-us-china-ai-arms-race/?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 The Trump family has made about $2.3 billion from crypto While investors lost about the same amount. Gizmodo https://gizmodo.com/trump-family-reportedly-made-about-2-3-billion-on-crypto-while-investors-lost-about-2-3-billion-on-trump-related-crypto-2000769825 + The Trumps risked next-to-nothing on their crypto ventures. Reuters https://www.reuters.com/investigations/parsing-trumps-crypto-profits-investors-losses-2026-06-09/ $ 7 Apple isn’t launching Siri AI in the European Union It’s blaming EU interoperability requirements. The Verge https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/947051/apple-europe-dma-siri-ai + Brussels says Apple didn’t try to find a compliance solution. Reuters https://www.reuters.com/business/apple-failed-make-its-ai-tool-comply-eu-regulations-eu-commission-says-2026-06-09/ $ 8 China’s new drone rules have spooked its thriving industry Drone firms face new commercial barriers. Financial Times https://www.ft.com/content/0294bfda-fe85-495a-b664-9f015b3e11cd?syn-25a6b1a6=1 $ + China’s drone sector leads the world. NYT https://www.google.com/search?q=china+drone+industry&oq=china+drone+industry&gs lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIICAEQABgWGB4yCAgCEAAYFhgeMggIAxAAGBYYHjIKCAQQABgKGBYYHjIICAUQABgWGB4yCAgGEAAYFhgeMgoIBxAAGAoYFhgeMg0ICBAAGIYDGIAEGIoFMg0ICRAAGIYDGIAEGIoF0gEIMzIzOGowajeoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 $ 9 A judge has cancelled a trial after finding both legal teams used AI The case descended into GenAI tools arguing against each other. 404 Media https://www.404media.co/judge-learns-lawyers-on-both-sides-of-case-used-ai-cancels-trial-kicks-everyone-off-the-case/ + Courts have been flooded with AI-generated lawsuits . MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/06/04/1138391/courts-coping-ai-lawsuits/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C 10 The dinosaur-killing asteroid created a thriving new ecosystem Microscopic life flourished in the extended heat. New Scientist https://www.newscientist.com/article/2529627-dinosaur-killing-asteroid-impact-site-stayed-hot-for-millions-of-years/ $ Quote of the day “AI technologies today are designed by and for WEIRD societies—Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic.” —Aditya Vashistha, an assistant professor at Cornell University, tells Rest of World https://restofworld.org/2026/ai-divide-america-china-world/ why AI systems don’t serve global needs. One More Thing Why the definition of design might need a change Why the definition of design might need a change The word “design” once carried a far wider set of meanings than it does today. They ranged from the literal and material like tracing through the tactical to contrive and achieve a goal to the organizational and institutional—the “designation” of people and objects. Over centuries, as designing became increasingly separated from making, that broader understanding faded. But now there is a growing case for reclaiming the word’s original sense: not just the search for a more beautiful shape, but the shaping of a more beautiful and sustainable world. Find out why we should retool the word “design.” https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/02/22/1068297/design-definition-needs-change/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C —Nicholas de Monchaux 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 . + This history of humanity’s search for alien life https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-brief-ish-history-of-seti-part-i-where-is-everybody is fascinating. + Watch a damaged painting slowly return to life in this art restoration video https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/how-art-conservator-julian-baumgartner-restores-damaged-paintings . + Admire young stars across every stage of cosmic formation in this stunning space picture of the month https://esawebb.org/images/potm2605a/ . + Daredevil divers have captured the first-ever underwater footage https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cd6p6zqzj6do of an adult great white in the Mediterranean Sea. Deep Dive The Download The Download: DeepSeek’s latest AI breakthrough, and the race to build world models Plus: China has blocked Meta’s $2 billion acquisition of AI startup Manus. The Download: introducing the 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now Plus: An unauthorized group has reportedly accessed Anthropic’s Mythos. The Download: supercharged scams and studying AI healthcare Plus: DeepSeek has unveiled its long-awaited new AI model. The Download: AI hacking beyond Mythos, and chatbots’ impact on our brains Plus: Anthropic has called for a global slowdown in AI development. Stay connected Get the latest updates from MIT Technology Review Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.