Reading Digest, August #22
Hey there, my fantastic readers! I hope you’re ready for another thrilling edition of my daily reading digest. If you’re new here, buckle up and get ready for a wild ride through the captivating world of online content. And if you’re a regular, thank you for your continued support — it means the world to me!
Today’s digest is a true smorgasbord of fascinating topics, ranging from Uber’s potential to win self-driving to harnessing new physics for compute moonshots. We’ll explore why TikTok is full of teleshopping right now and dive into the controversial topic of SEOzempic.
But that’s not all — we’ve got some intriguing pieces on the latest developments in tech and AI. From the tech industry finally breaking the spirit of its last great employee to the controversial SB-1047 AI bill that has Silicon Valley on high alert, this digest has something for everyone. We’ll also explore why the upcoming Web3 and crypto mega bull run will catch everyone off guard and why Elon Musk doesn’t understand AI.
For the curious minds among us, we’ve got articles on how Signal, under Meredith Whittaker, is out to prove surveillance capitalism wrong and how Elon Musk’s xAI is accused of worsening Memphis smog with unauthorized gas turbines at a data center. We’ll even explore the claims of Tim Ballard, a MAGA star, who allegedly abused women while claiming to fight sex trafficking.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg, my friends. From the potential cognitive benefits of orgasms to the discovery of a 1990 letter from a donor anticipating the demolition of false columns in the Sainsbury Wing, this digest has it all. We’ll also dive into falling LLM token prices and what they mean for AI companies, as well as the announcements of Higgs Llama V2 and Zyphra.
So, grab your favorite beverage, get comfortable, and join me on this thrilling journey through the world of online content. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts and reactions in the comments below!
Happy reading, my incredible friends!
Uber will win self-driving
The article discusses the dynamics of supply and demand in the ride-hailing industry, particularly in the context of the emergence of self-driving cars. It explores how the platform that controls the demand will have a significant advantage in the future, and why Uber is well-positioned to benefit from this shift.
Compute Moonshots: Harnessing New Physics
The article discusses the challenges facing the digital computing domain and the need for new approaches that harness different materials and physics to address the growing demand for compute power, particularly driven by AI and HPC workloads. It explores various alternative computing paradigms, including photonics, thermodynamics/stochastic computing, quantum computing, in-memory computing, and in-sensor computing, among others. The article highlights the potential of these approaches to provide significant efficiency gains over traditional digital electronics, while also acknowledging the technical challenges and barriers to their widespread adoption.
Why TikTok is full of teleshopping right now
The article discusses the rise of live shopping on platforms like TikTok, where businesses are using live streams to directly sell products to consumers. It explores the appeal of this new sales format, the community it creates, and how it is becoming an alternative form of entertainment for consumers.
SEOzempic
The article discusses the changes in how Google indexes and ranks websites, particularly the increasing emphasis on domain quality as a signal. It covers the following key points:
Zyphra
The article discusses the challenges of training hybrid models and presents the Zyphra Training Cookbook, which aims to enable other technical groups to build their own hybrid models. It focuses on practical engineering work and architectural innovations to maximize performance per parameter and inference FLOP, particularly for smaller models deployed on devices with strict power and memory constraints.
Announcing Higgs Llama V2
The article discusses Boson AI’s work on developing intelligent agents that can serve as human companions and helpers. It introduces a new model called Higgs-Llama-3–70B-v2, which significantly improves upon its predecessor. The article highlights the model’s performance on benchmarks relevant for dialog, interaction, and understanding, and mentions the partnership with the roleplay community to evaluate the model. It also discusses the improvements made to the model’s judging system, which guides the model’s alignment through synthetic feedback signals.
OpenAI Aims to Release New AI Model, ‘Strawberry,’ in Fall
The article discusses DraftKings’ plan to enhance its in-play betting offering by acquiring Simplebet, a company that provides micromarket pricing and content for sports betting. The proposed transaction aims to leverage Simplebet’s proprietary machine learning (ML) models to create highly accurate betting opportunities during every moment of the game, improve the quality, breadth and speed of data throughout the DraftKings trading lifecycle, and unlock a faster and more frictionless experience for DraftKings’ customers.
Introducing Cerebras Inference: AI at Instant Speed — Cerebras
The article discusses Cerebras’ high-performance inference capabilities for large language models (LLMs) with billions to trillions of parameters. It highlights Cerebras’ ability to split and map large models across multiple CS-3 systems, enabling the deployment of models like Llama3–405B and Mistral Large. The article emphasizes Cerebras’ focus on preserving model accuracy by using the original 16-bit weights, in contrast to some companies that reduce precision to 8-bit. It also discusses the performance and cost advantages of Cerebras’ inference solution, as well as its ability to enable more complex AI workflows and “thinking before speaking” techniques like scaffolding. The article concludes by positioning Cerebras Inference as a new standard for open LLM development and deployment.
Tim Ballard’s Claims to Fight Sex Trafficking Made Him a MAGA Star. These Women Told Police He Abused Them
The article discusses the allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct against Tim Ballard, the founder of the anti-trafficking organization Operation Underground Railroad (OUR), by two former employees, Celeste Borys and Kira Lynch. It details the women’s accounts of Ballard’s inappropriate behavior and abuse during their involvement with OUR, as well as the ongoing legal proceedings against him.
Can Orgasms Make You Smarter?
The article discusses the various benefits of orgasms, including their impact on brain activity, physical health, and emotional well-being.
Sainsbury Wing contractors find 1990 letter from donor anticipating their demolition of false columns
The article discusses the discovery of a “time capsule” letter written by John Sainsbury, one of the funders of the Sainsbury Wing at the National Gallery in London. The letter criticizes the architects, Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, for including two large false columns in the foyer of the wing, which Sainsbury believed was a mistake. The article also covers the recent renovation of the Sainsbury Wing, which included the demolition of these columns, and the reactions from the architects and the Sainsbury family.
Falling LLM Token Prices and What They Mean for AI Companies
The article discusses the rapid decline in the cost of GPT-4 tokens, driven by factors such as the release of open-weight models like Llama 3.1, hardware innovations, and increased competition among API providers. It also explores the implications of falling token prices for building AI applications, particularly for agentic workloads, and provides recommendations for how AI companies can prepare for these changes.
The Theory That Men Evolved to Hunt and Women Evolved to Gather Is Wrong
The article challenges the long-held “Man the Hunter” theory, which posits that hunting was the primary driver of human evolution and was carried out exclusively by men. It presents evidence from exercise science, archaeology, and ethnography that suggests women also actively participated in hunting throughout human history.
The AI Design Compass
The article discusses the rise of AI and its impact on the design industry, highlighting the challenges and opportunities for designers in this rapidly evolving landscape. It explores the non-linear, iterative nature of AI design, the importance of understanding AI capabilities and limitations, the need for data-driven and scalable interfaces, the value of interactive prototyping, and the development of an “AI design sixth sense.” The article emphasizes the importance of collaboration between designers and engineers, and the responsibility of designers in shaping the future of AI-driven experiences.
This Company Nails “Gen-Z Marketing” — Here’s How
The article discusses how businesses can effectively market to Generation Z, a generation with radically different priorities, influences, and technology compared to previous generations. It highlights the example of the razor brand Billie, which has successfully engaged with Gen Z by creating a strong brand voice that makes them feel seen, supported, and part of a community.
The Best LLM for Content Creation…
The article discusses the author’s process of evaluating different large language models (LLMs) for content creation tasks. The author tested various LLMs, including GPT-4 Turbo, Llama-3–70b, Claude-3-Sonnet, and Gemini 1.5 Pro, across different content creation use cases such as social media copy, email writing, copywriting, and summarization. The author used a combination of their own evaluation and GPT-4 Turbo’s evaluation to assess the performance of the LLMs and determine the best model for each task.
The Tech Industry Finally Broke the Spirit of Its Last Great Employee
The article discusses the story of “Sheila”, a talented and dedicated software developer who has finally given up on her job due to the spirit-crushing environment at her tech company. It explores the challenges faced by the “Last Great Employee” in the tech industry and provides advice on how to handle such situations.
The Controversial SB-1047 AI Bill Has Silicon Valley on High Alert
The article discusses the SB-1047 bill, a proposed legislation in California that aims to regulate the development of large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) systems. The bill has sparked debates and controversies within the AI industry, academia, and policymakers.
Why the Upcoming Web3 and Crypto Mega Bull Run Will Catch Everyone off Guard
The article discusses the current state of the cryptocurrency market, particularly Bitcoin, and why the author believes we are on the cusp of a historic bull run in Web3 and crypto. The key points covered include:
- We are still in the early adoption phase of Bitcoin and blockchain technology, similar to the early days of tech giants like Apple and Microsoft.
- Cryptocurrency market cycles are highly predictable, with a clear 4-year pattern that suggests we are nearing another bull run.
- Upcoming US presidential election years and potential Federal Reserve rate cuts could provide catalysts for a crypto bull run.
- The 18.6-year real estate cycle suggests we are in the “winner’s curse” phase, which could lead to a euphoric bull run before a potential recession.
Elon Musk Doesn’t Understand AI
The article discusses Elon Musk’s declining public perception and his approach to AI technology, highlighting his lack of understanding and the limitations of the AI systems developed by his companies.
Under Meredith Whittaker, Signal Is Out to Prove Surveillance Capitalism Wrong
The article discusses the evolution of the encrypted messaging app Signal over the past decade, from its origins as a “cypherpunk curiosity” to its current status as a mainstream, privacy-focused communications platform. It focuses on Signal’s president, Meredith Whittaker, and her role in shaping the organization’s mission and approach as an alternative to the surveillance-driven business models of major tech companies.
Elon Musk’s xAI accused of worsening Memphis smog with unauthorized gas turbines at data center
The article discusses allegations that Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, is contributing to air pollution in Memphis, Tennessee by using natural gas-burning turbines at its new data center without the required permits.
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