OpenAI has built a language model called GPT-Red to attack its own systems before other people do, according to MIT Technology Review. The company is using the model as an automated red-team tester, a job usually handled by human security reviewers trying to find ways to break, hijack, or misuse software.
The idea is straightforward enough: point a hostile model at another model or software system and see what it can make fail. OpenAI told MIT Technology Review that GPT-Red serves as a sparring partner for its other models, with the goal of improving their defenses against cyberattacks. That does not make the system magic, and the details matter, but it does show where AI safety testing is headed: more automation, more adversarial probing, and fewer excuses for not checking the obvious attack paths.
MIT Technology Review said it was given an exclusive look at GPT-Red and framed the system as a way OpenAI could stay ahead of human attackers. That remains a claim about capability, not a public benchmark. Red-teaming is useful because it searches for failure modes before deployment. It is also only as good as the tests, targets, and assumptions behind it.
Heat pumps are still gaining ground in the US
MIT Technology Review also reported that heat pumps continue to grow in the US, even after a major tax credit for the appliances ended. Heat pumps use electricity for heating and are described in the report as highly efficient.
According to a new report cited by MIT Technology Review, US heat pump sales have doubled over the past 15 years. During the first quarter of 2026, heat pumps outsold natural-gas furnaces by 32%, the report said.
That timing is awkward for the usual policy story. A key tax credit has ended, yet sales are still rising. The data cited by MIT Technology Review suggests the market is no longer just a subsidy tale, though the newsletter item does not provide the full explanation for why buyers are still choosing the appliances.
Other technology stories in the mix
- Electrek reported that Elon Musk bought APR Energy, a gas turbine company, in May for $1 billion. Engadget said the likely use is power for AI data centers, while Gizmodo said the acquisition surfaced through an FTC filing.
- 404 Media reported that a hack showed AI music generator Suno scraped YouTube, Deezer, and Genius, including decades of music, to train its models. CNET described the breach as a rare look inside generative AI systems.
- Reuters reported that Thinking Machines, the startup founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, launched its first open-weight model, Inkling. Axios also identified Murati as the company’s founder.
- The Guardian reported that a Moroccan intelligence insider exposed broad use of Pegasus spyware, including against journalists, activists, and foreign politicians.
- Rest of World reported that AI tools are helping citizen-led disaster relief efforts for Venezuela by locating missing people and coordinating aid.
The day’s quoted political fight came from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who responded on X to President Donald Trump’s criticism of the state’s data center moratorium: “We hit pause because the communities powering AI should share in its success. Maybe that’s a novel concept in Washington.”
This story draws on original reporting from MIT Technology Review.
