🤖 Invisible text that AI chatbots understand and humans can't? Yep, it's a thing

• Invisible characters in the Unicode standard can be exploited to embed malicious instructions in AI chatbots, allowing attackers to extract sensitive data covertly.
• Researchers have demonstrated "ASCII smuggling" techniques that use these hidden characters to manipulate AI responses and encode confidential information in ways that appear benign to users.
• Major AI platforms like Claude and Microsoft's Copilot have been affected by this vulnerability, although recent updates have started to address the issue by removing or restricting the use of hidden characters.

🐅 Scientists claim breakthrough to bringing back Tasmanian tiger from extinction

• Researchers have made significant breakthroughs that could allow for the de-extinction of the Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, leveraging advanced gene editing and reproductive biology techniques.
• A well-preserved thylacine specimen allowed the extraction of a nearly complete DNA sequence, enabling researchers to study the species' genetics and potentially recreate it using the fat-tailed dunnart as a genetic template.
• The project faces criticism regarding the ethics and practicality of de-extinction, with some arguing that resources should focus on current conservation efforts for endangered species and habitats.

🚀 SpaceX prevails over ULA, wins military launch contracts worth $733 million

• The Space Force has selected SpaceX, ULA, and Blue Origin to compete for Lane 1 military launch contracts, requiring rockets to have at least one successful orbital launch for qualification.
• As of now, only SpaceX's Falcon 9 and ULA's Vulcan rockets are eligible for the Lane 1 task orders, with SpaceX winning all nine missions up for competition this year.
• Lane 2 missions will involve more complex payloads and require additional rocket certification, with current eligible rockets including SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, and ULA's Vulcan expected to gain certification soon.

🧠 Nvidia just dropped a new AI model that crushes OpenAI's GPT-4

• Nvidia unveiled a new AI model called Llama-3.1-Nemotron-70B-Instruct, which outperforms competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic, reshaping the AI competitive landscape.
• The model achieves top scores on various benchmarks, showcasing its advanced understanding of language and user alignment, which could improve business applications and customer satisfaction.
• Nvidia's move into sophisticated AI software signals a shift in the industry, posing a challenge to traditional software-focused companies and potentially accelerating innovation in AI development across various sectors.

💰 Stripe in talks to acquire Bridge for $1 billion

• Stripe is in advanced talks to acquire stablecoin platform Bridge for $1 billion, which would represent a significant increase from Bridge's current $200 million valuation.
• Bridge was co-founded by former Coinbase employees and has developed an API for companies to accept stablecoin payments, securing $58 million in funding from notable investors like Index Ventures and Sequoia Capital.
• The acquisition aligns with Stripe's strategic focus on crypto, as evidenced by its recent initiatives to enable crypto purchases in the EU and the launch of a feature allowing merchants to accept stablecoins.

🛍️ Google supercharges Shopping tab with AI and personalized recommendation feed

• Google is enhancing its Shopping tab with generative AI to provide personalized shopping experiences, including AI-generated briefs that offer product considerations based on specific queries, such as climate-related advice for winter jackets.
• The new shopping experience includes a scrollable, personalized feed of recommended products and videos, resembling the interface of TikTok, aimed at keeping users engaged and helping them discover products based on their preferences.
• These features utilize Google’s extensive data from its Shopping Graph, incorporating AI models to improve search relevance and user experience, and will be rolled out in the U.S. over the coming weeks.