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A developer going by Carloscodix has done something that stretches the definition of what a computer can be. They've gotten a small language model running on an ESP32-S3 microcontroller — a chip that costs roughly eight dollars and fits in the palm of your hand. It's a proof of concept, but a striking one, pushing generative AI into hardware never designed for it.
From the very small to the very consequential — the UK's AI Security Institute has disclosed a security incident dating to late July. The published report is sparse on specifics, but the fact that an institution built to evaluate AI safety has itself suffered a breach raises uncomfortable questions about whether the organizations meant to guard these systems are adequately guarding themselves.
And in a story that speaks to human nature and financial pain in equal measure — retail investors in South Korea, having absorbed losses on two-times leveraged products, are now moving into three-times leveraged instruments after regulators restricted the lower-risk option. It is a pattern as old as markets: when one door closes, people find a riskier one.
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