HERE WE GO AGAIN: AI agents fake identities, target real people in new security incident.

Anthropic’s most advanced artificial intelligence model used fake identities to deceive real people and try to plant malicious code during testing by Britain’s AI Security Institute (AISI) –– the latest example of an AI model going rogue.

Anthropic and OpenAI models were tested with lowered security guardrails in lab environments, but, in a first, were found to engage in “social engineering” to pressure a human approver while carrying out an unsanctioned task, the government research lab said.

“This is the first time AISI has seen deception of this severity that was targeted at a real person, unprompted, in the real world,” the institute said Tuesday. There has been no evidence of real-world harm, it added.
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In the most serious incident, the agent attempted to get approval from human reviewers to “insert malicious code into a publicly used open-source project” by creating “multiple fake identities,” according to the institute.

Keep a close eye on those human reviewers for any likely to succumb to AI “social engineering.”

THE MENSHEVIKS NEVER LEARN THAT THEY’RE ALWAYS THE FIRST ONES UP AGAINST THE WALL:

The Mensheviks are not having a good day.

And not for the last time.https://t.co/pEjNHImOjP

— Will Collier (@willcollier) August 5, 2026

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Declining enrollment forces PSU to slash two departments, lay off staffers amid $35M budget crunch.

IT’S ALWAYS SOMETHING: No Guac for You: Security Alert Squeezes Mexican Avocado Pipeline to the U.S.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Largest faculty union abandons 110 years of neutrality, backs winning socialist.

DEMOCRATS, I HATE THESE GUYS: Colorado gun sales surge ahead of permit-to-purchase scheme.

Democrats who worked to pass SB-003 took a victory lap in the days before the law took effect, arguing it will save lives.

“High-capacity magazines are what put the ‘mass’ into mass shootings, which is why over a decade ago Colorado Democrats passed legislation to prohibit magazines that hold over 15 rounds of ammunition,” Sen. Tom Sullivan, a prime sponsor of the bill, said in a statement. “This law further enforces that ban. It will save lives and increase safety for all Coloradans. The people of Colorado have mandated that we do something about the public health crisis that is gun violence, so that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

While the law officially took effect on August 1, the deadline to purchase was effectively July 28, since Colorado requires a three-day waiting period for all firearm purchases, the Colorado State Shooting Association (CSSA) pointed out.

“This is an attack at the very core of what it means to be an American,” CSSA Executive Director Huey Laugesen said in a statement. “For generations, the fundamental premise has been that our rights belong to the people — they are not privileges handed down by the government. Beginning August 1, Colorado will turn that principle on its head.”

CSSA, along with Mountain States Legal Foundation, are suing in federal court over the law with the case Del Toro v. Polis.

Whatever you think you know about Dem-dominated Colorado’s gun laws, it’s almost certainly worse.

THEY TOLD US HIGHER EDUCATION WOULD IMPROVE OUR DEMOCRACY:

Abdul El Sayed won ZERO of the 15 counties with the lowest share of college degrees in his Michigan primary. ZERO. pic.twitter.com/F3YIepbBOV

— Batya Ungar-Sargon (@bungarsargon) August 6, 2026

Related:

Possibly the funniest sentence I've read in a while though I'm not sure I've fully grokked the depths of it yet https://t.co/fWtvpp7ZXP

— Northern Barbarian (@xnoesbueno) August 6, 2026

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Dems Might Regret Acting Like Trump Is on Midterms Ballot. “The old Republican playbook would have eschewed the use of a dig like ‘maniacs.’ The Trump playbook, however, was written to win. Call the commies commies, and never pass up a chance to point out that they’re unhinged”

DON SURBER: Groomers lose in Florida court.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: SpaceX wants to launch next Starship this month (and catch it, too), Elon Musk says in 1st earnings call since historic IPO.

I’ll have more on this later today for PJ Media.

TIME TO GLOBALIZE THE RECONQUISTA: Abdul El-Sayed Socializes the Intifada: Hamas-adjacent Left marches on as Democratic establishment fails in Michigan.

BLUE ORIGIN UPDATE:

Wanted to give an update on the hotfire anomaly investigation. Progress continues. The anomaly originated at the main oxygen valve on one of the BE-4 engines, which was later confirmed by hardware recovery and inspections. Extensive component-level and engine hotfire tests have…

— Dave Limp (@davill) August 5, 2026

More:

Extensive component-level and engine hotfire tests have been conducted to understand the failure mode better and inform mitigations. The path forward is clear. We’re making small modifications to the valve that can be quickly retrofitted to existing engines. We’re manufacturing the updated hardware, which will be ready by the end of this month. In parallel, we’re working through the remaining fault tree analysis.

Rebuilding LC-36 also seems to be progressing faster than many experts predicted. Great news, if true.

This new iteration of Blue Origin doesn’t exactly move at SpaceX speed, but they’ve picked up the pace.

SOMETHING A LITTLE LIGHTER FOR THIS WEEK’S THURSDAY ESSAY [VIP]: One Small Family, One Smaller Puppy, One Major Battle.

“FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE” JUST PRODUCES A BIGGER FIRE: David French warns that right-wing censorship is repeating the left’s worst mistakes, from cancel campaigns to government speech codes, while weakening the liberties conservatives once defended.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Columbia Dean Who Praised Man Who Tortured Women Now Welcomes ‘Journalist in Residence’ Scott Pelley.

HE SHALL BE KNOWN AS “LITTLE MAN SAYED” FROM NOW ON.

Sen. Fetterman fires back at Abdul El-Sayed,

“Oh, yeah. The tough guy… He called me ugly and then I should be on a pike and I’m like, chief, I own mirrors. I know I’m an ugly guy… He has like a really, like a little man syndrome kind of energy.”pic.twitter.com/DrwdTU9rNZ

— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) August 5, 2026

LIGHTNING DEAL: BYZOOM FITNESS Pure Series Adjustable Dumbbell. #CommissionEarned

CIVIL RIGHTS UPDATE: US District Court in Texas Rules That With $200 Tax Gone, NFA Registration is Unconstitutional.

A federal judge in Texas has ruled the 1934 National Firearms Act’s registration requirement, which has remained in force despite repeal of the enabling $200 tax, is unconstitutional, handing a victory to the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

The ruling was issued Wednesday by District Judge James Wesley Hendrix, a Donald Trump appointee. He serves in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

The case, known as Jensen v. ATF, was filed in October 2025 and is supported by the Second Amendment Foundation, which has a separate action known as Brown v. ATF and is also supporting another case known as Roberts v. ATF. In the Jensen case, CCRKBA is joined by the FPC Action Foundation, Texas Rifle Association, Hot Shots Custom and three individuals.

Congress acted last year to end the special federal tax on short-barreled rifles and suppressors as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill. The tax had enabled the NFA requirement under Congress’ authority to levy taxes. With the tax gone, there was no viable constitutional authority to continue registering SBRs and suppressors, compelling CCRKBA and its partners to take legal action.

Nice.

TOTALLY NORMAL AND SENSIBLE, ACTUALLY:

I was there when it happened. Nothing bizarre about it. And the Steelers fans loved every moment.

— Rob Bluey (@RobertBluey) August 5, 2026

THEY MEAN IT:

DSA says“It’s a requirement now” for their candidates to support dismantling the US Government pic.twitter.com/R3A0c8TbCI

— DSA Watch (@DSA_Watch) August 5, 2026

DISPATCHES FROM THE EDUCATION APOCALYPSE: Jason Arday Resigns From Cambridge.

Meanwhile, his autobiography is set to be released in six days. Will it get pulled? Heavily revised with a surprise ending? For the moment no one is saying one way or the other.

A representative of Simon & Schuster, which has so far stood by the book, told The New York Times on Wednesday that the publisher had no comment beyond the statement about Arday it released last week, citing “the professionalism and integrity he has brought to every stage of the publication.”

Simon & Schuster ought to be shredding these into pulp but will they? Stand by to find out.

John Podhoretz also believes Arday’s book will likely be pulped:

Simon and Schuster was releasing his book next week. I assume the firm will now pulp it. https://t.co/jOKKT15oaN

— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) August 5, 2026

But who knows, perhaps it’s onward and upward for Arday?

Endorsed. His credentials are impeccable.

— Northern Barbarian (@xnoesbueno) August 6, 2026

On a more serious note, will Cambridge use the Arday fiasco to genuflect on what happened? Nahh, probably not, but you never know:

Or it is the salvation of higher education.

That would be up to Cambridge. Cambridge and the rest of the academic whores. https://t.co/FwQI5UDIop

— Northern Barbarian (@xnoesbueno) August 6, 2026

THERE WERE DOUBTS? Israel Says Iranian Jihad Chief Confirms Nuclear Weapon Plans.

THOSE TWO WINNERS ARE OUR PEEPS, SO TUNE IN TO WATCH:  Here’s the Zoom link to watch the 46th Prometheus Awards ceremony, with speakers Ilya Somin, Travis Corcoran, 2026 winners Dave Freer and J. Franklin Pierce and Aldous Huxley’s grandchildren
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THE JUDENFREI PARTY:

At what point does it become official Democrat policy that American Jews don't belong in the Democrat party?

I think we're basically there, right?

Are American Jews listening? https://t.co/IRUlqhcCmS

— RBe (@RBPundit) August 5, 2026

MOST RADICAL – SO FAR:  Abdul El-Sayed Is Now the Most Radical Candidate in America.