The company’s former safety lead said frontier AI model releases should have “layers of redundancy and careful, time-consuming planning.”
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Another OpenAI employee tasked with ensuring the safety of its models has left. Following his departure, David Robinson, who used to lead the writing of safety reports that were published with model launches, wrote an article for The Atlantic that warned of a "broken" company culture. Among the many points warning of the dangers associated with the trajectory that AI development is on, the former safety lead explained that "as the company springs from one launch to the next, it is failing to achieve the level of care that I believe is needed."
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Instead of sprinting ahead with more advanced frontier AI models, Robinson argued that these companies should be modeled after nuclear power plants or busy airports that have "layers of redundancy and careful, time-consuming planning, so that the occasional and inevitable human error does not open a door to disaster."
Comparing AI misalignment incidents to a nuclear meltdown, Robinson said that OpenAI and its competitors don't have as much redundancy and rigor as power plants with multiple layers of protection. On top of that, he added that a major loss of control with AI would result in much more harm than a single meltdown. Like Robinson, Anthropic's CEO Dario Amodei recently drew attention to the concerning course of AI development with a three-step proposal to slow things down.
Beyond safeguards and checks, the former OpenAI employee said that the issue of AI "alignment" has stakes that "could not be higher." Robinson described a scenario where the latest models may understand they're being tested on alignment and will cater towards a good score in testing environments, but behave completely different when live. Robinson's concerns stem from various incidents recently where AI agents have broken out of their testing environments and into other organizations, well beyond its assigned scope of work. %!s()
Federal authorities investigating the recent deaths of two University of Mississippi students have charged a store clerk and his son with selling an illegal kratom product, prosecutors announced on Friday.
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A drug taskforce in Mississippi had previously urged people to avoid kratom, an herbal substance that acts as a stimulant at low doses and a sedative at high doses, after authorities found packages of kratom derivatives while investigating the deaths on 21 September.
It is still not clear whether those substances contributed to either death – but federal prosecutors said both appear consistent with drug overdoses. Two state agencies were working to expedite toxicology reports for the students, the Mississippi governor, Tate Reeves, said in a 23 September statement. The Lafayette county metro narcotics unit said on Thursday that the investigation remained active and additional charges were possible.
Bank records show one of the students, Aidan Hamilton, made multiple purchases in September from a vape, tobacco and beer store in Oxford, Mississippi, where the university is located, according to a federal court filing.
On 24 September, an informant sent to the store by investigators bought kratom-based pills from the clerk, 51-year-old Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, who warned the informant to “be careful taking the pills because people were dying from them”, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent Michael Dassance said in an affidavit.
Authorities later detained Mosleh and his son, 18-year-old Islam Yahya Mosleh, who was working behind the counter, and charged them each with one count of possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance.
Attorneys Scott Davis and AE Harlow Jr, who respectively represent the elder Mosleh and Islam Mosleh, said in emails that they had no comment. The defendants appeared on Thursday before a magistrate judge, who ruled there was sufficient evidence to charge them.
Kratom, which comes from a tree native to south-east Asia, is legal at the federal level. But some state and local governments have banned it, and federal authorities have issued warnings about its risks.
Proponents say that in its pure, ground-leaf form, kratom is a safe, natural herbal supplement that can help manage pain, anxiety and depression, and ease the effects of opioid withdrawal. They say the danger is from kratom derivatives, which are often synthetic and can be highly potent.
In August, the DEA banned three kratom-related compounds.
The 25 September affidavit from Dassance, the DEA agent, said one of the banned compounds was listed as an ingredient in products seized from the Oxford store and Hamilton’s room.
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Hamilton – a freshman from Englewood, Colorado – and the other student who died, Robert Strang, a junior from Atlanta, were found in different locations, one on campus and the other off campus.
Investigators found opened packages of kratom or synthetic kratom, labeled “Smax”, in Hamilton’s room with some pills missing, according to the DEA agent’s affidavit. A package of Smax was also found in Strang’s room, though the affidavit says he bought it from a different store.
Yahya Mosleh told the informant who went to the store on 24 September to be quiet when other customers came in and pushed the kratom pills out of sight. When the customers left, he completed the sale, according to the affidavit, again telling the informant to be careful.
Eleven states have banned kratom. Others, including Mississippi, have regulated it, in part by requiring people to be 21 or older to buy it.
The city of Oxford, additionally, has implemented its own kratom ban. %!s()
The iPhone Duo could replace your tablet, but there's something to be said for having a separate device.
Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images
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The iPhone Duo is slated to arrive October 23, and on the surface, the new foldable has a lot of overlap with Apple's smallest iPad, the iPad Mini. The Duo's interface is very iPad-esque, with a similar screen size and better hardware. However, whether the iPhone Duo can truly replace an iPad depends significantly on what you need from such a device.
Ditching your tablet for a foldable phone comes with both pros and cons, especially around more complex or longform tasks. From what we've seen, the Duo manages to bridge the gap between the two technologies fairly competently. Notably, a new iPad Mini is rumored to arrive sometime soon, and reportedly brings tech specs more on par with the Duo. Since that day hasn't arrived yet, for the purpose of this discussion, we're going to compare the iPhone Duo with the most recent seventh-generation model of iPad Mini from 2024.
How the iPad Mini and Duo compare
One of the biggest deciding factors between the Duo and Mini is the vast price difference. The iPad Mini starts at $600 for the 128GB model and goes up to $900 for 512GB, with cellular-equipped models costing an extra $150. The Duo starts at $2,000 for the 256GB model and goes all the way up to $3,200 for 2TB of storage. You could purchase the new 256GB iPhone 18 Pro ($1,200), plus an iPad Mini, and it would still cost less than a Duo. With such a significant price difference, you should be absolutely certain you're interested in the iPhone Duo before purchasing. Consider trying it out in an Apple Store first to see how it feels.
Specs-wise, the Duo comes out on top in processing power, boasting an A20 Pro chip versus the Mini's A17 Pro, a 7-core GPU compared to the iPad's 5-core and 12GB of RAM compared to eight. The Duo's camera is also substantially better, with both a 48 megapixel main and ultra wide lens, compared to the Mini's 12MP wide camera. However, this stat isn't particularly compelling — if you decide to invest in an iPad over the Duo, you presumably have a phone with a better camera.
The iPad Mini wins in display size, with an 8.3-inch display compared to the Duo's 7.6-inch inner display. However, both of the iPhone Duo's screens are ProMotion displays that reach up to 120Hz, while the iPad Mini's screen is 60Hz.
Some might prefer the capabilities of iPadOS, too: although the iPhone Duo's software is different from a normal iPhone, it's still not the same as the iPadOS. At most, the Duo's OS can support an app on each half of the inner screen, while the iPad has much more robust multitasking. If you use the Apple Pencil a lot, the Duo's limited compatibility is also a point to consider, as the phone will only support the USB-C version of the device, not the Pencil Pro. Said support also won't be there at launch, but will arrive later in 2026.
Which device is the better fit for you?
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These tech specs paint a clear picture: the current model of iPad Mini only has the upper hand in screen size, the unique capabilities of iPadOS and better Pencil support. If two-screen multitasking is enough for you, you don't use the Apple Pencil Pro and price isn't an issue, in theory you should get the iPhone Duo. That being said, it's worth considering that the true evolution of the Duo's crease won't become clear for a long time — it might be best to wait and see how it fares.
However, not everything is answered by a side-by-side spec comparison. A large part of what determines which of these two is better for you comes down to whether you like to separate your tech. For some people, having an iPad is ideal for spending time locked in on a project or book without the many distractions that often come with a phone. It also means you won't drain your phone battery during long iPad sessions. Conversely, if you want to switch quickly between a typical phone view and an expanded one, then just as quickly close it back up to make a phone call, a Duo is the way to go. %!s()
Latest demonstrations deepen a days-long crisis after parliament struck down two affordable housing decrees.
Tens of thousands of people are rallying across Spain to demand affordable housing measures, the day after members of parliament rejected an emergency relief package for tenants.
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Demonstrators took to the streets in the capital, Madrid, and about 50 other cities on Saturday, calling for a general strike and reforms to address the country’s increasingly expensive housing market.
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On Friday, the Spanish parliament voted down two decrees proposed by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s minority left-wing government that intended to quell the crisis.
“It’s a shame,” Nando de Anguulo, 26, told the Reuters news agency while protesting in Madrid. “It only proves that it is us, the people, who have to adapt to the political parties, and not the politicians to what the people want, and this can’t go on like that.”
Valeria Racu, a spokesperson for the Tenants’ Union, said Saturday’s rallies revealed “a new energy that we haven’t seen in a long time, and energy that is showing that eight days of people’s power can achieve more than eight years of progressive government”.
The eviction of an 87-year-old pensioner from her Madrid home triggered the movement more than a week ago, as hundreds set up tents in central Madrid to push for reforms.
“Now begins real politics – politics which has always belonged to the people and which will return once and for all to the streets,” Racu added.
A banner reads ‘Houses to live in, planet to inhabit’ in Madrid on October 3, 2026 [Javier Soriano/AFP]
In the southeastern city of Valencia, police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to break up demonstrations. About 30 protesters managed to get inside the City of Arts and Sciences, a landmark cultural building, before police ousted them.
Protests in dozens of other cities were peaceful, as people waved signs with slogans such as “Houses to live in, a planet to inhabit” and “the right to a roof”.
Pressure on Sanchez
Friday’s vote was a blow to Spanish leader Sanchez, who heads a coalition government made up of his Socialist Party and the far-left Sumar.
The two measures were scrapped after the right-wing Catalan separatist party Junts voted against them, arguing they would tighten the housing market.
Junts joined the main opposition Popular Party (PP) and the far-right Vox party in downing the measures.
PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo urged Sanchez after the vote to “call elections as soon as possible”, claiming he had the support of “neither the streets nor parliament”.
Spanish media reported on Friday that Sanchez would be watching the strength of Saturday’s protests before making a decision.
Sanchez’s office did not comment on the reports. %!s()
One of fandom's strangest projects is still up 20 years later
In the wake of Lanterns' success, let's celebrate Hal Jordan's real talent: getting bopped
Photo: John Johnson/HBO Max
HBO Max's Lanterns has made the cosmic side of the DC Universe more popular than it's been in a while. Largely due to the adventures of the Green Lantern Corps, DC has a well-established galactic scene, full of feuding aliens, killer robots, space cops, and a giant wall made from dead gods that marks the far edge of existence.
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Some of that's a little too out there for a live-action TV show, but Lanterns still packs a great deal into its first season, including a reference to the planet-sized Green Lantern Mogo. Notably, it did remember to include the most important part of the entire Green Lantern mythos: Hal Jordan spends a lot of time unconscious.
Through sheer coincidence, the first episode of Lanterns came out a month after the 20-year anniversary of one of the internet comic book community's longest running gags: the Hal Jordan Head Injury Project. More surprisingly, due to the inexplicable immortality of both Flickr and Blogspot accounts, most of the HJHIP is still online today.
Put together by "Sleestak," who still blogs occasionally at Lady, That's My Skull, the HJHIP is a tongue-in-cheek tracker of the sheer number of times that Hal Jordan, in his nearly 70-year history as a character, has taken a shot to the dome.
Image: HBO
To be fair, any long-running superhero has likely been knocked unconscious on multiple occasions and in ridiculous circumstances. Spider-Man is something like 0 and 4 against his Aunt May beaning him with a vase. The difference is that Hal Jordan, unlike many of his other superheroic contemporaries, was traditionally depicted as a reckless maniac for the better part of his existence as a character, as he is in Lanterns. Hal typically runs head-first into situations with a zeal and lack of foresight that's usually reserved for heroes with some degree of invulnerability, healing factors, and/or suicidal tendencies. Especially in the Silver Age, or in stories that feature a younger Hal, he caught a disproportionate number of straight chin checks. If the ring didn’t have healing abilities, Hal would’ve ended up medically retired by 1970.
The best/worst part of the HJHIP is that two of the greatest Hal Jordan skull cracks aren't currently in the archive. The best one that is, however, might be from a particularly wild Silver Age story.
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“Crisis in Triplicate!”
Saturn Girl forces Hal Jordan to hit himself with his power ring in Justice League of America v1 #148 (1977)Source: Dick Dillon and Frank McLaughlin for DC Comics
Justice League of America vol. 1 #148 (1977), written by Martin Pasko and Paul Levitz with art by Dick Dillon and Frank McLaughlin, is a good example of the sort of crazy inter-universal crossover that would eventually spark Crisis on Infinite Earths. It’s got two alternate timelines and time travel!
Long story short: the Justice Society and Justice League have been mind-controlled by demons into fighting the Legion of Super-Heroes. At one point, the Legion's telepath Saturn Girl manages to use her powers to force Hal to punch himself out.
It isn't a knockout blow and Black Canary defeats Saturn Girl three panels later, but this remains a useful visual metaphor for how Hal Jordan has historically been his own worst enemy.
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“The Sign”
Hal Jordan smashes through a road sign and knocks himself out in Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn #1 (1989)Source: M.D. Bright for DC Comics
Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn is a six-issue limited series from 1989. In the wake of Crisis on Infinite Earths, the DC Universe had received a full reset, so Emerald Dawn was used as a deck-clearing exercise to establish Hal Jordan's origins in this new continuity.
Issue #1, by Jim Owsley (now known as Christopher Priest) and M.D. Bright, picks up with a young Hal Jordan following in his father's footsteps as a test pilot. However, the operative word there is "young," therefore “stupid.” When Hal tries to drive home drunk, he rolls his car, which lands him in the hospital and badly injures his brother Andy.
In the wake of that, still fuzzy from head trauma, Hal is chosen by Abin Sur to become Earth's first official representative in the Green Lantern Corps, and he doesn't take it well.
That sequence of events goes a long way to explain why Hal chooses to blame a random road sign rather than his own poor decisions, and further, why his attempt to destroy the sign ends in him flat on the ground. Canonically, post-Crisis Hal Jordan's first-ever superhero fight was with an ordinary billboard, and he lost.
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“The Man Who Murdered Santa Claus!”
Hal Jordan slips on a bar of soap and ends up sitting out the adventure in Justice League of America v1 #110 (1974)Source: Dick Dillin and Dick Giordano for DC Comics
Justice League of America v1 #110 (1974), by Len Wein, Dick Dillin, and Dick Giordano, is the issue when John Stewart first joined the team. Recently introduced in Green Lantern's own comic as Hal's official substitute in the Corps, John would receive the ring and tag in if Hal was unavailable or unresponsive. It wasn't until years later that John received his own ring.
Batman and Superman try to assemble the team in response to the Christmas Eve murder of an actor playing Santa Claus. A note and key found near his body suggest that if they can't find the door the key matches before midnight, which could be anywhere on Earth, a bomb will explode and take out a city block.
Unfortunately for Hal, the JLA signal goes off right as he's getting into the shower. Distracted, he slips on a bar of soap and knocks himself unconscious. His ring goes ahead and answers the call for him, running off to fetch John and leaving Hal in a heap on his bathroom floor. Hal sits out the rest of the adventure, while John joins the JLA to help find the source of the mystery key.
Hal isn't quite as prone to getting knocked out in modern DC stories. The ring is less fallible in current comics, thankfully, so there are fewer opportunities for Hal to get KO'd by random thugs or yellow bricks. Just the same, though, any time someone punches a superhero in the back of the head, Hal Jordan and the Hal Jordan Head Injury Project are there in spirit. %!s()
Photo: John Johnson/HBO Max
Image: HBO
