June 2026 Links

According to LessWrong's June roundup, here's what's worth knowing. Anthropic is warning that their latest models are entering a recursive self-improvement phase—capable of building better versions of themselves, with measurable productivity gains among engineers. Meanwhile, it emerged that Iran hired senior psychologists to craft psychologically targeted messages for Trump ahead of ceasefire negotiations, a tactic that might apply to any high-stakes deal-making. On the tech front, the US is signaling alarm over Chinese progress in extreme ultraviolet lithography—the chipmaking technology crucial to advanced semiconductors. Beyond the headlines, LessWrong's curated list spans oddities: the Ariel School UFO incident, the mysterious Baghdad Battery, thermal grill illusions that trick your nervous system into feeling heat that isn't there, and debate over whether GLP-one drugs will soon make body weight a simple choice rather than a biological struggle. It's equal parts speculation and science.

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