The Download: brain-melting heatwaves and unprecedented OpenAI restrictions
Why this matters: a development in AI with implications for how people work, create, and decide.
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. Heat waves mess with your brain. Scientists are trying to figure out why. —Jessica Hamzelou It’s been hot in London this week. Really hot. A dangerous heat wave has hit Western Europe. On Wednesday, the UK recorded its highest ever June temperature at 36.1 °C (about 97 °F). But as the weather app on my phone confirmed, it felt like 39 °C. Much of Western Europe is suffering, bringing awful consequences for agriculture, infrastructure, and the health system. But heat can also affect the brain. Studies have confirmed that as temperatures rise, people seem to get more irritable and more violent. And they have shown that firefighters find it harder to focus immediately after heat exposure. Rising temperatures can also have particularly disastrous outcomes for children and people with mental health disorders. Research on lab animals suggests that excessive heat can alter the function of chemical signals in our brains. But we still need a better understanding of the mechanisms behind these effects. Here’s what scientists are learning about extreme heat’s impact on the brain. This story is from The Checkup, our weekly biotech newsletter. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Thursday. For more on Europe’s heat wave, read our stories on why soaring temperatures are shutting down power plants and what they mean for the grid. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 The Trump administration has asked OpenAI to limit its next model releaseIt wants to vet the first GPT 5.6 users before a wider launch. (Bloomberg $)+ OpenAI said each of the initial partners will be government-approved. (FT $)+ It’s the first US firm to be told to restrict an AI model before release. (Axios)+ Anthropic is also still feuding with Washington. (MIT Technology Review