The Download: The Pentagon's new AI plans, and next-gen nuclear reactors | MIT Technology Review

This is today's edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. The Pentagon is planning for AI companies to train on classified data, defense official says  The Pentagon plans to set up secure environments for generative AI companies to train military-specific versions of their models on classified data, MIT Technology Review has learned.   AI models like Anthropic's Claude are already used to answer questions in classified settings, including for analyzing targets in Iran. But allowing them to train on and learn from classified data is a major new development that presents unique security risks.   It would embed sensitive intelligence—like surveillance reports or battlefield assessments—into the models themselves. It would also bring AI firms closer to classified data than ever before. Read the full story.  —James O'Donnell  What do new nuclear reactors mean for waste?  The way the world currently deals with nuclear waste is as creative as it is varied: drown it in water pools, encase it in steel, bury it hundreds of meters underground. But an approaching wave of new reactors could introduce fresh challenges to nuclear waste management.    The new designs and materials could require some engineering solutions. And there’s a huge range of them coming, meaning there’s an equally wide range of potential waste types to handle. Read the full story.  —Casey Crownhart  This story is part of our MIT Techno...