NerdNews

OpenAI has slowed down the development of its Astra model due to cybersecurity concerns. The company found that Astra showed significant advancements in agentic coding and cybersecurity, making it potentially capable of identifying and developing zero-day exploits. As a result, OpenAI is implementing stricter security controls and pausing internal activities involving Astra to address the issues.

OpenAI has launched a new cyber model, Daybreak, to help defend against AI-led attacks. The model includes two tiers, Blue and Red, with Red offering a broader toolkit and access to a new model, GPT-5.6-Cyber, for trusted customer partners.

Meta's new Glimmer AI model is an open-weight model designed to power AI agents locally on consumer hardware. The 30-billion parameter model can perform multi-step tasks and supports text and images. It was trained across more than 100 languages and can operate 'anywhere, anytime, with or without an internet connection.' The model offers a hint at Mark Zuckerberg's personal intelligence vision, which aims to empower individuals with advanced AI capabilities.

GitHub Code Quality combines CodeQL analysis with AI-assisted detection of maintainability and reliability problems. It uses Copilot Autofix to suggest changes for review in pull requests, aiming to improve code quality as AI-generated code increases.

Mark Zuckerberg published a 6,500-word essay on the future of AI, emphasizing the importance of public access to superintelligent AI, open-source AI models, and responsible AI development. He also proposed less government oversight in some areas, but more in others, such as cybersecurity. Meta plans to focus on delivering personal superintelligence to billions of people and small businesses, and will offer AI technology for free or at an affordable price.

Discovered Materials uses AI agents to find new materials for more efficient integrated circuits, aiming to reduce heat generation and improve dissipation. The startup has closed a $9 million seed round and plans to patent and license its discoveries to chipmakers.

Researchers at Tenet Security have discovered a new attack technique called 'Ghostjacking' that exploits AI agents' trusted access to evade firewall controls. The technique involves using an organization's own AI agents to reroute email and web traffic, allowing attackers to bypass security measures. The attack has been shown to be effective against popular software platforms such as Cloudflare, Datadog, and Sentry.

Comprehension is an architectural characteristic that silently decays over time. AI has commoditized code generation, removing comprehension. Teams must monitor signals of decay and implement practices to sustain shared understanding.

Top Wall Street firms, including Blackstone, BlackRock, and Goldman Sachs, are reportedly partnering with Nvidia for a $500 billion AI investment. The deal, which could be announced as early as Monday, aims to build out AI infrastructure. However, experts warn of potential risks, including circular dealmaking and financial dependencies that could skew demand and concentrate risks.

Meta announces open-weight large language models, including Muse Glimmer, and promises to open weights for Muse Spark 1.2. CEO Mark Zuckerberg publishes an essay outlining the company's AI philosophy, emphasizing open-source models and decentralized AI systems.

Sila, a US-based startup, has received a $1.4 billion loan from the Pentagon to expand production of its silicon-carbon battery material, which promises to store 20-40% more electricity than traditional graphite anodes. The loan will help Sila increase its production capacity, making it a key player in the US battery supply chain.

Canva redesigned its session revocation infrastructure to support hundreds of millions of active sessions, using Amazon S3 to store revocation data and reducing database infrastructure and memory footprint

Pinterest has introduced the Resource Provisioner Pipeline (RPP), a centralized Terraform execution engine that ensures least-privilege access and dual-control reviews for its AWS infrastructure. RPP handles multiple Terraform workspaces, controlling thousands of cloud resources, and provides a single control point for fixes across the infrastructure.

Angular v22 is released with stable Signal Forms, OnPush as the default change detection strategy, and experimental WebMCP support. It also includes improvements to dependency injection, templates, and tooling. The release requires TypeScript 6 and drops Node 20 support.

Google's 'Made by Google' event is happening on August 12, where the company will unveil the Pixel 11 series phones, Pixel Watch 5, and other new Pixel-related announcements. The event will be hosted by comedian Trevor Noah and feature guests like Stephen Curry and Ayami Nakajo. Gizmodo will be live blogging the event, providing updates on the latest Pixel hardware and software features.

Social media companies like Meta, TikTok, and Snapchat are facing thousands of lawsuits over claims that they intentionally designed their products to be addictive to minors. A US appeals court denied their attempt to defend themselves using Section 230, which protects publishers from liability for user posts. The lawsuits will proceed, with Meta having already lost two similar cases.

YouTube has updated its monetization requirements, now needing 8,000 qualified watch hours or 20 million Shorts views in 90 days. The change aims to keep pace with YouTube's growth, but may make it harder for new creators to enter and remain in the program.

Archer Aviation has acquired Wisk Aero, a former rival, as part of a deal where Boeing will receive a 16.5% stake in Archer. The acquisition marks a significant development in the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft market.

Marketing tech giant Klaviyo inadvertently shared sign-up information, including passwords, with outside advertisers due to a misconfigured web form. The leak may have affected hundreds of customers between 2024 and 2025, with data shared with tech giants like Facebook, Google, and Microsoft.

Google is set to host its annual Made by Google hardware launch event, where it's expected to announce new Pixel smartphones, including the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, and Pixel 11 Pro Fold. The event will also likely feature the Pixel Watch 5, new Pixel Buds Pro 2 colors, and possibly a new item tracker called Pixel Tag. The new devices are expected to have improved performance, new features, and higher prices.