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The U.S. Senate approved President Trump's budget reconciliation bill, allocating an additional $10 billion to NASA's Artemis program. This decision counters critics like Elon Musk and Jared Isaacman, who favored alternative technologies. The funding supports Space Launch System (SLS) rockets and the Gateway station. Musk has criticized SLS for being fully expendable, costing billions per launch. Isaacman also questioned the massive sums allocated to SLS during his confirmation hearings. Of the total, $4.1 billion will fund additional SLS rockets for Artemis missions 4 and 5, while $2.6 billion will complete the Gateway station. The funding also includes $700 million for a new Mars Telecommunications Orbiter, $1.25 billion for ISS operations, and $325 million to SpaceX for deorbiting the ISS.
X (formerly Twitter) is piloting a feature that allows AI chatbots to generate Community Notes, aiming to add context to posts and combat misleading information.
These AI-generated notes will undergo the same vetting process as human-submitted notes to ensure accuracy.
The goal is to create an ecosystem where humans and AI work together to promote critical thinking and understanding, but concerns remain about the potential for AI inaccuracies and rater overload.
X plans to test these AI contributions for a few weeks before a broader rollout.
Catalio Capital Management has announced the closing of its Fund IV, exceeding $400 million. This fund will focus on investments in healthcare and biotechnology companies, continuing the firm's established thesis.
Founded in 2020, Catalio has already made over 100 investments. Fund IV has already supported 16 companies, including PinkDx (diagnostics) and Superluminal Medicines (drug discovery).
Despite a venture downturn impacting the biotech market, Catalio continues to invest. The market experienced a significant drop, raising $12 billion last year compared to $152.3 billion in 2023.
Instagram's Threads is introducing direct messaging (DMs) for users to communicate without switching to Instagram. The rollout includes a new visual element called highlighter to emphasize interesting perspectives, starting with Trending Topics.
Threads DMs will initially support one-on-one chats, emoji reactions, spam reporting, and muting. Advanced features like group messaging and inbox filters are planned for future updates. Currently, blocking a user on Threads also blocks them on Instagram. DMs will be available to users 18+ in most markets, excluding Japan, Australia, the U.K., and the EU.
With DMs, Threads aims to compete with apps like X and Bluesky, but unlike X, Threads has no plans to encrypt its DMs. Meta emphasizes that Threads is designed for direct connections and conversations, distinct from Instagram. Users are building unique interest graphs on Threads, with many having minimal overlap with their Instagram connections.
Meta is also exploring ways for users to access Threads without an Instagram account, such as logging in with Facebook or creating a Threads-only account. The platform is focusing on identifying active contributors within communities and improving user discovery through suggested follows and the highlight feature.
Threads is prioritizing community building and user experience over monetization for now, with no immediate plans beyond ads, despite having AI capabilities. The app boasts 350 million monthly active users, surpassing newcomers like Bluesky. DMs were tested in select markets before the global launch.
Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg announced that the company has paused its planned migration of Tumblr to WordPress. The decision prioritizes user-facing features and improvements over infrastructure changes. Mullenweg stated that while a migration would offer a cleaner architecture, the focus has shifted to more immediate user needs. This also casts doubt on Tumblr's integration with the fediverse via WordPress. Mullenweg clarified that Tumblr is currently not profitable but Automattic is committed to supporting its future growth.