Good morning. Quick reminder: today is Thursday, not Wednesday.

Aren’t short weeks the best?

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.87-minute read (1,297 words).

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“Know yourself and you will win all battles.”

–Sun Tzu (544 B.C. - 496 B.C.)

Even though they were created by humans, artificial intelligence models still hold more mystery than the Knives Out franchise.

This has been dubbed in the AI industry as the “black box” problem – essentially, these models have a tendency to do things that aren’t easily explained by the people observing them (ex: hallucinations).

However, newly published research from Anthropic, one of the top companies in the AI industry, attempts to shed some light on that topic by breaking down how one of its AI models, Claude Sonnet, actually functions.

How artificial intelligence works: AI systems are set up roughly similar to the human brain – layered neural networks that intake and process information, then make predictions (or “decisions”) based on said info.

On a granular level, what an AI model is “thinking” before it responds is represented by neuron activations, or long strings of numbers, without a clear meaning.

When zooming out, however, Anthropic’s researchers were able to match Claude’s patterns of neuron activations, called features, to human-interpretable concepts. They were also able to identify features “close” to each other – basically how the model associates one feature to another.

• For example: Near a "Golden Gate Bridge" feature, researchers found features for Alcatraz Island, Ghirardelli Square, the Golden State Warriors, California Governor Gavin Newsom, the 1906 earthquake, and the San Francisco-set Alfred Hitchcock film Vertigo.
• The researchers were also able to manipulate these features to see how the AI model’s responses changed. Amplifying the "Golden Gate Bridge" feature, for example, gave Claude a Freaky Friday-like identity crisis – when asked "what is your physical form?", the model’s answer was: "I am the Golden Gate Bridge… my physical form is the iconic bridge itself.” It also became “effectively obsessed” with the bridge, bringing it up in answer to almost any query, even if it wasn’t relevant.

Bottom line: While a good bit of research is still needed to unpack how AI actually works, Anthropic’s research is the deepest to date – and one small step for man in that direction.

Read the full research paper.

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🇨🇳🐼 Panda Diplomacy is back: China agreed to send pandas back to Washington, DC, after a months-long hiatus. Yesterday, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo announced a new agreement with China’s government that will see the zoo receive a pair of pandas, called Bao Li and Qing Bao, by the end of this year. The announcement comes six months after China, which is known for its “panda diplomacy,” opted to take three of the animals back from the National Zoo, leaving America’s capital city panda-less.

🇰🇵🇰🇷 North Korea flew hundreds of balloons filled with trash and feces into South Korea. At least 260 trash balloons were flown across North Korea’s southern border between Tuesday and Wednesday, with their contents ending up scattered across eight of nine South Korean provinces. North Korean officials say the move is retaliation against South Korean activists who previously flew balloons to the North containing anti-regime leaflets, USB sticks filled with K-pop music/TV shows, and other supplies.

🇮🇳 India is in the midst of a record-setting heat wave. A weather station in the capital city of Delhi measured a high of 126.1°F yesterday – which, if confirmed, would represent the highest temperature ever recorded in India. At least three deaths have been reported in connection with this week’s weather, which comes during the peak of India’s heat wave season.

Xbox-maker and video game publisher Microsoft is planning a major shake-up to its gaming sales strategy.

This week, the company confirmed its most eagerly awaited new game – Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 – will be available to subscribers of its Xbox Game Pass service, upending Microsoft’s longtime approach of only offering such games as standalone products.

Background: Game Pass, along with Sony's rival PlayStation Plus service, offers access to hundreds of games in exchange for a $10-$20 monthly subscription – a model often described as “Netflix for gaming.”

And, much like the TV streaming industry, these services quickly gained popularity once they burst onto the scene. Game Pass has amassed 34+ million subscribers since launching in 2017, while PlayStation Plus – which added a game pass in 2020 – boasts 47+ million subs.

The latest move signals Microsoft is going all-in on video game streaming. Call of Duty ranks as one of the most successful entertainment properties of all time, with $30+ billion in lifetime revenue. Its publisher, Microsoft-owned Activision, has long released new editions annually, selling ~25 million copies for $70 each in recent years.

• The updated Call of Duty release plan means Microsoft will likely make less up-front money than usual – but the company hopes it will draw new users to Game Pass who end up sticking around, generating more revenue in the long run.

👀 Looking ahead… Microsoft is currently targeting a late October release for Black Ops 6.

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💬 Quoted: “There was an uncomfortable silence in the room, because we knew what we had just discovered.”

• Ancient Egyptians were the first known human culture to explore the idea of treating cancer with surgical operations, according to a new study that examined a pair of 2,000+-year-old skulls with cancerous tumors. After performing a microscopic analysis of the ancient bones, scientists discovered cut marks made by a sharp, metal instrument in the areas around the tumors, indicating a surgical operation had taken place. Researchers say they can’t determine whether the surgery, the oldest related to cancer to date, was aimed at actively treating the disease or performed as part of an autopsy – but either way, it marks a “milestone in the history of medicine.”

⚾ Stat of the Day: For the first time in over a century, Ty Cobb is no longer the first name atop the MLB’s career batting average leaderboard. In a change officially enacted yesterday, the MLB updated its record books to include 2,300+ players' Negro League statistics from 1920-1948, propelling slugger Josh Gibson (.372) ahead of Cobb (.367). Gibson also became the career leader in slugging percentage (.718) and OPS (1.177), moving ahead of Babe Ruth (.690 and 1.164, respectively). Fun fact: many who watched Gibson play said that if the world had been different, they would have called Ruth the white Josh Gibson.

🤔 Did You Know? Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) didn’t become an officially accepted medical diagnosis until 1980.

📰 Worth a Read: How Much Happiness Can Your Salary Buy? Researchers Can’t Agree → (WSJ)

• ☝️ Apex, the largest stegosaurus fossil ever discovered at 11 feet tall and 20+ feet long, will be auctioned off by Sotheby’s in July; its value is estimated between $4 million–$6 million.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with The Motley Fool

• 💰 US markets closed down (S&P: -0.7%; Dow: -1.1%; Nasdaq: -0.6%). | ✌️ Activist investor Nelson Peltz has sold his entire stake in Disney; the move follows a proxy-battle loss.
• 🛢️ ConocoPhillips is acquiring Marathon Oil in an all-stock deal valued at $17.1 billion.
• ✈️ American Airlines said it lost business travel after a strategic shift backfired; shares fell 13%, their biggest percentage drop in nearly four years. | ☁️ Salesforce reported weaker-than-expected revenue; it also said sales growth in the current quarter will stall to the slowest in its history; shares fell as much as 17% in extended trading. | 👕 Abercrombie & Fitch shares closed at an all-time high following strong earnings and forward guidance.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🏌️⚖️ Kentucky prosecutors dropped all charges against No. 1-ranked golfer Scottie Scheffler, who was arrested while driving to compete in the PGA Championship on May 17.
• 🤖📰 The Atlantic and Vox Media both signed separate licensing and product deals with OpenAI.
• 📺🎶 Netflix is reportedly developing a series of new music-competition shows, with one series described as “Love is Blind meets The Voice.” | 📖 Bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell will release Revenge Of the Tipping Point, a sequel to his debut book, on October 1.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Pair

• 🩸 The average age at which US girls had their first period was 11.9 years between 2000-2005, down from 12.5 years between 1950-1969, per a new study.
• 💉🐦 An experimental mRNA bird flu vaccine was shown to be effective in preventing lab animal deaths, per new preclinical results.
• 🧬 NIH-funded scientists have successfully generated the first complete chromosome sequences from non-human primates.

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MISCELLANEOUS

• 🎓 Yale University named school trustee and current Stony Brook President Maurie McInnis as its next president; she’ll become the school’s first permanent female leader upon taking the helm in July.
• 🗽 The jurors in former President Trump’s New York criminal hush-money trial ended their first day of deliberations without a verdict, after asking to rehear testimony from several witnesses. (Read more)
• 🏛️ SCOTUS Justice Samuel Alito told congressional Democrats that he won’t heed their calls to recuse himself from pending cases involving former President Trump; Alito said he had nothing to do with MAGA-associated flags flown at his homes on two occasions since 2021, and denied that he or his wife knew the flags’ associations with Trump. (Read more)

CLICKBAIT

• 🛍️ How retailers quietly target 'problem' returners.

We bring you the most unusual, off-the-wall and occasionally laugh-out-loud headlines from this week.

• Man says he ordered burger with everything removed, received empty box and gave big tip → (KOMO News)
• Rotisserie mystery: Yukoner's dog finds pile of cooked chickens dumped in woods → (CBC)
• 81-year-old man dubbed 'serial slingshot shooter,' is arrested in California → (NBC News)
• Madonna fan earns world record with 18 tattoos of the singer → (UPI)
• Chasing cheese wheels or lugging sacks of wool, UK competitors embrace quirky extreme races → (Associated Press)

Yesterday, we covered former President Trump’s New York criminal hush-money trial, where the jury is now tasked with deliberating the fate of the first former US president to face criminal charges.

❓ Our question to you: In your opinion, should Donald Trump be convicted on some or all charges in his New York hush-money trial?

• 👍 Yes: 54%
• 👎 No: 37%
• 🤷 Unsure/other: 9%

Click here to read the most thoughtful longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 3,591 votes and 387 longform responses.

In 1944, Joan Eccles' stepfather, who was serving in New Guinea during World War II, sent her and her mother matching heart charms for Valentine's Day. 

❤️ The missing piece... When Joan's mother passed away in the 1960's, her charm was lost while clearing out the home. Six decades later, however, Joan finally discovered the customized charm necklace – in an eBay listing. Joan immediately knew it was the same one that belonged to her mom. 

• "It's a story of hearts coming back together, where both physically and literally she has a memory back, and we have this to continue on in our family for decades, years to come," Joan's daughter, Vikki, told WFMZ.

Which country, pictured above, has the largest amount of coastline in the world?

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Canada