It's getting easier and easier to build predictive AI models. Even if you don't fully grasp the concept beneath it, you can do it with zero code and a few clicks.
Of course you can get better results if you understand data science and coding but you can already do a lot without that knowledge
I'm not really using it for anything. Just building some models to learn how they work and how to improve them.
The first one I buit analyzes the history of opportunities won and lost by a company and predicts the chance of it winning an opportunity based on information such as amount, industry, lead source and other stuff
This is the #threadcast for Day 142 of the #foodtalk on Leo 14/11/2024 for 13/11/2024. It's time for some meal inspirations and food conversation. Don't forget to use #foodtalk in your comments. Discussion
Be part of the Food Talk Show On Leo. Here is Day 141 that leads you to the previous threadcasts.
Share your meals.
Share some food recipes in your location and around the world.
Share your food experiences.
Share other food-related content and ask questions about food.
More about food with tips and tricks will be dropped in the threadcast. Upvote the comments you find interesting & connect with others. Let's have fun. #foodie
Welcome to another episode of the food talk on Leo, Day 142. Join the conversation, share your meals, food experiences and recipes from around the world.
Please source your the content that are not yours.
Prompt: Give me some delicious recipes from around the world.
Exploring international recipes can be a great way to experience different cultures! Here are some delicious recipes from various parts of the world that are both flavorful and not too complicated to make: Shakshuka (Middle Eastern) Tandoori Chicken (India)
Marinated chicken that’s baked or grilled for a smoky flavor.
It’s just not the holidays without a Cranberry Bliss Bar.
As soon as there’s a chill in the air and Mariah Carey hits the airwaves, we find ourselves craving a little holiday cheer in our morning latte. We were already blessed with festive options at Dunkin’ late last week, which left us wondering what holiday surprises other coffee joints have in store. Thankfully, we won’t have to wait too long.
Starbucks’ holiday menu rolls out nationwide on November 7, according to a company press release shared with Food & Wine. The seasonal lineup brings five holiday coffees — which, of course, includes the returning alum Peppermint Mocha — as well as a new Refresher, a savory pastry, and three new sweet treats.
For more than two decades, the Peppermint Mocha’s heralded in the holiday season at Starbucks. This creamy fan-favorite latte, with swirls of mocha sauce and minty syrup, is topped with whipped cream and sweet curls of dark chocolate. It’s available hot or iced, but you can also order it as a blended Frappuccino if your sweet tooth feels especially strong. The seasonal menu also includes the returning Caramel Brulée Latte, Chestnut Praline Latte, Iced Sugar Cookie Almond Milk Latte, and Iced Gingerbread Oatmilk Chai.
If coffee isn’t your thing, you’ve now got options. We’ll soon see the first-ever holiday Refresher, which can be customized in three different ways. The Cran-Merry Orange Refresher offers flavors of orange, cranberry, and warm spices (like cardamom, cinnamon, and nutmeg) — and per Starbucks’ tasting notes, with real cranberries as a tasty garnish. You can also order it with a base of lemonade or even coconut milk, the latter of which is ideal for those craving the creaminess of the original Pink Drink in a holiday-appropriate format.
“These beverages were very much inspired by this idea of a festive punch as a sensorial experience — the appearance, the aroma, the taste,” lead beverage developer Billy Altieri said. “We wanted to create a drink that brought all of those sensory elements together in a cup.”
That food pyramid you grew up learning about via the U.S. Dietary Guidelines is about to get a major overhaul.
Remember that food pyramid you grew up on via the U.S. Dietary Guidelines? It's about to get an update — and people are already mad about the proposal.
If you don't remember those handy posters of the food pyramid from grade school, let us jog your memory. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines provide "advice on what to eat and drink to meet nutrient needs, promote health, and prevent disease," the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) explains.
The organization noted, it's specifically written for a "professional audience, including policymakers, healthcare providers, nutrition educators, and Federal nutrition program operators." Which, in turn, affects all of us. The guidelines are updated every five years, with the current edition expiring in 2025. That means a brand-new set of guidelines is on the horizon. Here's what you need to know.
The U.S. Dietary Guidelines launched in 1980 as a joint initiative between the (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). "Each edition of the Dietary Guidelines reflects the current body of nutrition science," the USDA noted.
The recommendations in 1980 were simple: Eat a variety of foods, maintain an "ideal" weight, avoid too much fat and cholesterol, eat foods with adequate starch and fiber, avoid too much salt, and if you drink alcohol, do so in moderation.
Over the years, the graphics for the guidelines have evolved to include a "range of amounts of food across three calorie levels" in 1992, to the addition of oils in 2005, to switching over to the "My Plate" graphic in 2011 to "help grab consumers’ attention with a new visual cue "that was meant to serve as a reminder for healthy eating, not intended to provide specific messages," which was only slightly updated in 2020. Of course, the actual guidelines are much more in-depth. Here are the current 2020-2025 guidelines.
This is interesting, I had no idea there is always a five-year update and even with all the guidelines for healthy eating, many people don't pay attention especially when the cravings come knocking at the door, lol. Well, eating in moderation is the best advice.
Thank you so much for the financial wisdom. I'm keeping some savings and starting a couple of investments. My strength can't keep me active my whole life. I'm motivated by your words
Wow I really have to start thinking of how I can do that. With that math hopefully I'll be close to 200K a year. I hope all our financial dreams come true
Uranus and its five biggest moons may have oceans - the moons may even be capable of supporting life. Much of what we know about the planet and its moons was gathered by NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft, which visited nearly 40 years ago, apparently on a bad day. New research shows that Voyager 2 flew past during a solar storm, which temporarily distorted the magnetic field and gave us an incorrect view of what Uranus and its moons are normally like. NASA has plans to launch a new mission to go back for a closer look. It is expected to arrive by 2045 and inform scientists about whether the moons have the possibility of being home to life.
this is very big news I'm reading right now from you friend, if we keep doing research and find out there's life. It changes my history lessons 😳 Aliens may be real
PanoRadar is a system created by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania that converts basic radio waves into rich 3D views, allowing robots to see beyond traditional sensor limits. The device processes radio waves using AI algorithms, making it possible for robots to precisely navigate through challenging situations and obstructions where conventional sensors are inadequate. PanoRadar could be used to complement existing sensing technologies to develop more reliable multi-modal perception systems for robots. A video explaining how the technology works is available in the article.
Amazon has rolled out a new storefront that features items priced below $20. Amazon Haul, created to fend off competition from Temu and Shein, is accessible through the company's mobile app. Shoppers get free delivery on orders over $25. Amazon will be screening Haul products to make sure they're safe, authentic, and comply with regulatory requirements. The company will not accept returns on items $3 or less. Items on Haul will be imported directly from manufacturers in China.
OpenAI is preparing to launch an AI agent codenamed 'Operator' that will be able to use a computer to take actions on users' behalf. It plans to release the tool as a research preview in January. OpenAI has been working on several agent-related research projects. The one nearest to completion is a general-purpose tool that executes tasks in a web browser.
Pattern recognition is the processing of large amounts of data through a lot of compute to notice patterns. Since most things are cyclical to some degree, especially with human nature, computers can pick up patterns that humans miss.
This can then be fed into other applications such as facial recognition.
The FBI has seized the phone of Polymarket's founder and CEO Shayne Coplan. Federal agents raided Coplan's Manhattan home early Wednesday morning. It is unclear what prompted the FBI's search. A Polymarket spokesperson claims that the raid is an act of obvious political retribution by the outgoing administration against Polymarket for providing a market that correctly called the 2024 presidential election.
AI may change how we socialize. I’ve been spending lots of time chatting with ChatGPT and some few models. At first, it was just to learn stuff, but now I find myself talking about things I usually discuss with friends, like social and economic issues.
It’s made me wonder: Can AI fill the gap where real-life conversations used to be? Social media already makes us less social in person, so could AI lead to more isolation?
I’ve been thinking a lot about AI lately, especially if it has some form of consciousness. When I see how fast AI can come up with answers, stuff that takes me hours or days, it kind of feels like it’s thinking, right?
But then, I wonder if it’s just the limits we put on it stopping it from being truly aware. The truth is, no one really knows what consciousness even is. Maybe we should just focus on how smart AI is right now and how much more it can do.
AI systems are spitting out mostly information at this point. It is not putting forth knowledge since that requires context which is an individual matter.
Do not fear what is promoted since computers are deterministic. That is how what humans are. We are non-deterministic.
Japanese technology experts are developing advanced models that grasp the unique nuances of the Japanese language and culture—essential for industries such as healthcare, finance, and manufacturing – where precision is key.
But this effort isn’t Japan’s alone. Consulting giants like Accenture, Deloitte, EY Japan, FPT, Kyndryl, and TCS Japan are partnering with NVIDIA to create AI innovation hubs across the country. The centres are using NVIDIA’s AI software and specialised Japanese language models to build tailored AI solutions, helping industries boost productivity in a digital workforce. The goal? To get Japanese companies fully on board with enterprise and physical AI.
One standout technology supporting the drive is NVIDIA’s Omniverse platform. With Omniverse, Japanese companies can create digital twins—virtual replicas of real-world assets—and test complex AI systems safely before implementing them. This is a game-changer for industries such as manufacturing and robotics, allowing businesses to fine-tune processes without the risk of real-world trial and error. This use of AI is more than just innovation; it represents Japan’s plan for addressing some major challenges ahead.
Japan faces a shrinking workforce presence as its population ages. With its strengths in robotics and automation, Japan is well-positioned to use AI solutions to bridge the gap. In fact, Japan’s government recently shared its vision of becoming “the world’s most AI-friendly country,” underscoring the perceived role AI will play in the nation’s future.
Supporting this commitment, Japan’s AI market hit $5.9 billion in value this year; a 31.2% growth rate according to IDC. New AI-focused consulting centres in Tokyo and Kansai give Japanese businesses hands-on access to NVIDIA’s latest technologies, equipping them to solve social challenges and aid economic growth.
Top cloud providers like SoftBank, GMO Internet Group, KDDI, Highreso, Rutilea, and SAKURA Internet are also involved, working with NVIDIA to build AI infrastructure. Backed by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, they’re establishing AI data centres across Japan to accelerate growth in robotics, automotive, healthcare, and telecoms.
NVIDIA and SoftBank have also formed a remarkable partnership to build Japan’s most powerful AI supercomputer using NVIDIA’s Blackwell platform. Additionally, SoftBank has tested the world’s first AI and 5G hybrid telecoms network with NVIDIA’s AI Aerial platform, allowing Japan to set a worldwide standard. With these developments, Japan is taking big strides toward establishing itself as a leader in the AI-powered industrial revolution.
Did you know that effective asset management practices pose challenges for almost half of small businesses? According to the latest research, 43% of businesses either manually report their inventory or in a few cases, do not record assets in any manner.
However, asset management is not immune to the disruptive pressure of artificial intelligence (AI) currently revolutionising numerous industries. The manner in which corporations manage their tangible and intangible assets is undergoing a profound transformation due to the evolving technology of AI. This blog will discover how AI-driven fixed asset software softwares transform asset management and what the future holds for businesses embedding those innovations.
Fixed asset management is a critical feature for organisations to manage, control, and optimise the value of their physical assets. Assets can include everything from equipment and vehicles to home computer systems. Traditionally, manual asset management systems entail manual report maintenance and periodic audits, which can be time-consuming and susceptible to human error.
AI-driven fixed assets software offers a modern solution by automating diverse asset control factors. This guarantees accuracy, reduces administrative overhead, and increases an asset’s useful life, ultimately contributing to significant cost savings. AI, blended with the Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning (ML), and predictive analytics, is the primary method to develop smart, efficient, and scalable asset management solutions.
The predictive capacities of AI revolutionise proactive asset management. AI can predict when a piece of hardware is likely to fail or spot chances for optimisation by evaluating patterns and trends in data. The proactive strategy not only helps with strategic planning but also ensures the reliability of operations by preventing system outages that can cause serious disruptions to business operations and financial losses. Businesses may use AI to ensure their assets operate at peak efficiency, quickly adopt new technologies, and match operations to corporate goals.
Professionals wishing to get into this evolving field can take advantage of a variety of specialised courses that teach how to use AI in business, creativity, and data analysis.
Artificial Intelligence: Preparing Your Career for AI is an option for those wanting to future-proof their careers in an AI-centric workplace. The course outlines five essential steps for preparing for AI’s impact on job roles and skill requirements. Participants learn the basics of AI, strategies for aligning their career paths with AI advancements, and how to use AI responsibly.
For business leaders, Generative AI for Leaders focuses on integrating AI into organisation’s strategy. AI’s rapid advancement offers both opportunities and challenges for business leaders, who must balance innovation with ethical and operational concerns.
In this course, participants learn strategies for building AI-driven business initiatives and fostering collaboration, and learn how to address compliance and ethical considerations.
With a practical look at AI trends, this course prepares leaders to develop a culture that supports AI adoption and equips them with the tools needed to make informed decisions.
Business Analyst: Digital Director for AI and Data Science is a course designed for business analysts and professionals explaining how to define requirements for data science and artificial intelligence projects. The course covers the requirements elicitation process for AI applications and teaches participants how to work closely with data scientists and machine learning engineers to ensure that AI projects meet business goals.
Learners gain insights into conversational AI tools, the differences between Natural Language Understanding (NLU) bots and rule-based bots, and best practices in conversation flow analysis. For business analysts, the course provides essential skills to guide AI initiatives that deliver real business value.
As Google continues to navigate its relationship with publishers, regulators, and news readers, the company is starting a pretty drastic test: it will remove news articles from European Union-based publishers from Search.
While the “test” is supposed to determine how it will impact traffic and the overall search experience, it won’t show up for everyone. Google will only remove EU news articles from search results, Google News, and Discover for one percent of users in Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain.
Google says it’s running the “time-limited” test because EU regulators and publishers “have asked for additional data about the effect of news content in Search.” The company says it will continue to show results from websites and news publishers located outside the EU, and it will resume showing results from EU news publishers once the test ends.
This may be just a small experiment, but it almost feels like a warning. By the end of the test, EU news publishers will see exactly how much traffic they’d be missing out on without Google. The experiment might also give Google some insight into how much its users actually care about news. That’s something Facebook has explored as well — which ultimately led it to remove the “News” tab and stop paying publishers entirely.
Over the years, Google has fought fiercely against regulations that would force the company to compensate publishers for their content. In the EU, Google is on the hook to comply with the European Copyright Directive, which has resulted in the search giant licensing content from hundreds of publishers in the region. Earlier this year, France ordered Google to pay $272 million after it found that the company violated an agreement over compensation for news publishers.
Google most recently removed links to California news outlets in response to the state’s Journalism Preservation Act. Google also threatened to remove links to local news outlets in Canada and nearly pulled its search engine from Australia over similar legislation. If this small test in the EU is a sign of things to come, Google may be preparing even more drastic measures in the future.
Major AI companies like Google and OpenAI have suggested that AI advancement is slowing down, with OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever saying the 2010s were the "age of scaling" and now the industry is in the "age of wonder and discovery" again.
However, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei sees a path to AGI (artificial general intelligence) by 2026 or 2027, a much shorter timeline than the slowdown narrative.
Reasons for Differing Interpretations
The slowdown may be related to diminishing returns from scaling up training data and models. The quality of data and how it's used for inference may matter more now.
But the ability to scale up inference compute, as seen with OpenAI's GPT-3 and upcoming models, could allow for continued rapid progress.
Amodei believes that even with potential hurdles like data shortages or geopolitical events, AGI could still arrive in the next 2-3 years.
OpenAI is reportedly working to build a coalition with the U.S. government to rival China's AI capabilities, potentially involving the military and nuclear expertise.
This reflects the high stakes and global competition around advanced AI development.
The Importance of Inference Compute
While the initial training of large language models may be showing diminishing returns, the ability to scale up inference compute could unlock further breakthroughs.
Techniques like OpenAI's "constitutional AI" aim to make models more reliable and controllable during inference.
AI Naming Woes
Amodei acknowledged in an interview that AI companies have struggled with naming their models, suggesting there is room for improvement.
The Future of AI
Despite the debate over the pace of progress, the consensus seems to be that major AI advancements are still on the horizon, whether in 2-3 years or a bit further out.
Range anxiety is hype more than substance. Most people do not travel more than 100 miles per day. In many western countries, the charging network is such that people can even cross countries. Give it another year, it will be there.
The Chinese have the answer to the last one yet the EU and US are doing all they can to keep them out. Affordability is still the problem in the West. China solved it and that is why EV sales in that country are taking off.
Well, range is an issue for me, I really want a car with which I can drive 1200 kilometres with just one stop. That is currently not possible with any EV…
And there’s the fact that charging along highways in Europe is very expensive. It costs you more per mile than combustion engines. At least here in Europe.
well there were rumors out there based on Trump coming to the seat that he would set regulations against EV as a way to fight China. But I guess I and all of them are wrong
The tariffs law was something the shocked me lol but it'll work a hundred percent. Elon's Tesla company is rising faster all that revenue they're about to generate will advance Tesla why the tariffs slow China Ev
The Future of Electric Vehicles: Navigating the Transition
The Shifting Political Landscape of EV Adoption
Recent studies have shown that the political divide around electric vehicle (EV) adoption is starting to narrow. While early on, political affiliation played a significant role in EV purchasing decisions, with Democrats being much more likely to buy EVs than Republicans, this gap is now closing.
The data suggests that the reasons for not buying an EV are shifting away from political beliefs and more towards practical concerns, such as access to charging infrastructure and the need for towing capabilities. As more mainstream automakers introduce a wider range of EV models, the perception of EVs as "tree-hugger" cars is also starting to fade.
Interestingly, the study found that only 8% of consumers still feel that EVs are not aligned with their political beliefs, indicating that this is no longer a major barrier to widespread EV adoption.
Despite the positive trends in EV acceptance, the transition to a fully electric vehicle (BEV) future by 2029, as predicted by Elon Musk, may face significant challenges. The other major automakers appear to be struggling to keep up with the pace of change, and it's unclear if they will be able to deliver the necessary volume of EVs to meet the anticipated demand.
The discussion explores the potential solutions, such as Tesla partnering with other manufacturers to build factories and provide the necessary technology and expertise. This "Foxconn-style" approach could allow legacy automakers to quickly ramp up their EV production without having to start from scratch.
As the transition to EVs progresses, the conversation also touches on the potential shift away from individual car ownership, particularly among younger generations. With the rise of ride-hailing services and the promise of autonomous vehicles, the need for personal car ownership may diminish, as the convenience and cost-effectiveness of on-demand transportation becomes more appealing.
This could lead to a future where the majority of people opt for electric, automated ride-hailing services rather than owning their own vehicles. The implications of this shift could be far-reaching, affecting everything from urban planning to the automotive industry.
The Importance of Adaptability and Innovation
Throughout the discussion, the importance of adaptability and innovation in the automotive industry is emphasized. As the landscape continues to evolve, companies that are able to quickly adapt and embrace new technologies and business models will be better positioned to s
The potential for Tesla to partner with other manufacturers and provide its expertise and technology could be a game-changer, allowing the industry to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable and efficient transportation future.
I really hope Elon responds to him. I'm also very confused with EV future getting automated. And it's going to be tough for the companies to cooperate because they might be scared of change. Things could go soar if customers they like it.
If I have to predict the future I'd say Tesla will keep dominating in the US as long as Trump is president. When it comes to self driving, some don't trust it because of accident risk but soon they will. That's new tech for you
yes this is very true man, information is everywhere nowadays and charging too much for information will mean you ain't getting sales. It yearns to be free indeed
We are living in a world where there is a growing tension between organic animals, like ourselves, and the inorganic digital systems that are increasingly controlling and shaping our world. As organic entities, we live by cycles - day and night, winter and summer, growth and decay. We have periods of activity and periods of rest and relaxation.
In contrast, the algorithms, AIs, and computers that are taking over our lives never need rest. They are always on, always active. The big question is whether we adapt to them, or they adapt to us. And more and more, it seems that we are the ones who have to adapt, having to be "on" all the time, with our every word and action potentially being public and scrutinized.
This "always on" nature of the digital world is destructive to how we as humans function. Even the financial markets, which used to operate on a Monday-to-Friday, 9:30am-4pm schedule, are now reacting in real-time, with no time for rest or relaxation. The organic cycles that have governed human life for millennia are being disrupted by the inorganic, always-active digital systems.
The Concerns of Tech Leaders
When discussing this tension with tech leaders like Sam Altman of OpenAI or Bill Gates, the author finds that they are genuinely afraid of the potential, including the destructive potential, of the technologies they are creating. They understand the risks better than anyone.
At the same time, these leaders have a certain hubris and pride in what they are doing, believing that they are on the cusp of the second most important event in the history of the universe, after the emergence of the first organic life forms 4 billion years ago. They believe that by being the ones to create the next stage of evolution - inorganic AI - they can somehow control and manage the risks.
But the author is skeptical of their ability to truly control these powerful, rapidly evolving technologies. The "amoebas" of AI, like GPT-4, are just the beginning - who knows what the "AI dinosaurs" of the future will look like. The tech leaders may be on the precipice of a momentous shift in the history of the universe, but the author questions whether they can truly harness the forces they have unleashed.
the power of AI is so enormous I sometimes get scared who has more control over it right now. I hope the most powerful of tools gets into the hands of good guys because AI can be more powerful than nuclear weapons
The Roku Channel Expands with New Free and Premium Content
The Roku Channel has been on a content expansion spree, adding 33 new channels to its lineup in the past 24 hours. This includes a wide range of content, from crime and holiday-themed channels to reality, true stories, and sci-fi offerings.
The Roku Channel has become one of the most aggressive services in adding new live channels, now boasting over 450 live channels - a jump of about 50 channels in the last few months. Recent additions include the Smithsonian Channel, CSI, Cops, Pluto TV Cars, the Judge Judy Channel, and more.
In addition to the free on-demand and live channels, the Roku Channel is also expanding its premium content offerings. It has now added the Max streaming service, allowing users to subscribe to both the ad-supported and ad-free versions of Max directly through the Roku Channel. This aligns with the trend of consolidating various streaming subscriptions into a single platform for ea
The CW Shifts Focus to Sports and Unscripted Content
The CW network has laid off over two dozen staff members across its publicity and program development teams. This move comes as the network shifts its focus towards sports and unscripted content, rather than its traditional scripted programming.
The reasoning behind this shift is the growing popularity of sports content, which tends to be watched live and less likely to have commercials skipped. Advertisers have been favoring sports content, as it provides a more reliable way to reach viewers. The CW plans to significantly increase its sports offerings, while also focusing on unscripted programming and a select number of scripted series.
This change in strategy is not unique to the CW, as other cable networks have also been making staff cuts and adjusting their content focus in response to the evolving media landscape and declining ad revenue, especially with the end of the political advertising season.
For those looking to upgrade their streaming setup, there are some great deals available on Amazon's Fire TV devices. The second-generation Fire TV Stick Max is currently on sale for its lowest price ever at $32.99. Additionally, the slightly slower Fire TV Stick 4K is available for just $21.99.
While the Fire TV Stick 4K may be a step down in performance, the recommendation is to spend the extra few dollars and get the Fire TV Stick 4K Max, as it offers the best value and performance at the current sale price.
The Battle Between Walmart and Amazon Intensifies
The ongoing competition between retail giants Walmart and Amazon is heating up, as they vie for your subscription and spending dollars. Walmart has been adding benefits to its Walmart Plus subscription, such as Paramount Plus access, while Amazon has been bolstering its grocery delivery options to better compete with Walmart's strengths in that area.
Both companies are trying to make it more convenient for customers to get their shopping and delivery needs met through their respective platforms. This battle for customer loyalty is expected to continue, with both Walmart and Amazon making strategic moves to win over consumers.
Readers are encouraged to share their experiences and preferences when it comes to Walmart Plus and Amazon Prime subscriptions. Understanding the customer's perspective can provide valuable insights into this evolving retail landscape.
With AI videos coming up soon in 2025 I think these streaming platforms would need to go free for most stuff otherwise would be dominated by AI movies that do well
A judge largely denied Meta’s motion to end the case filed against Facebook in 2020 alleging that the company acted illegally to maintain its social network monopoly.
I a had to assume that they wanted to maintain their monopoly and full control over social media. Mark saw the future. He knew social media is the future of data acquisition which now is like Oil and delicate Natural resources
Hard to say it is a monopoly since there is YouTube with over 1 billion monthly users and X with over 500 million. Then there are the Chinese apps like TikTok which are widely successful.
Considering that you're very correct 🤔 well thank God it didn't end up a monopoly because we would have seen social media centralized control at its finest
Facebook owner Meta Platforms must face trial in a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit seeking its break-up over claims that it bought Instagram and WhatsApp to crush emerging competition in social media, a judge in Washington ruled Wednesday.
Judge James Boasberg largely denied Meta’s motion to end the case filed against Facebook in 2020, during the Trump administration, alleging that the company acted illegally to maintain its social network monopoly.
Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, then known as Facebook, overpaid for Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 to eliminate nascent threats instead of competing on its own in the mobile ecosystem, the FTC claims.
Boasberg let that claim stand, but dismissed the FTC’s allegation that Facebook bolstered its dominance by restricting third-party app developers’ access to the platform unless they agreed not to compete with its core services.
“We are confident that the evidence at trial will show that the acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp have been good for competition and consumers,” a Meta spokesperson said Wednesday.
FTC spokesperson Douglas Farrar said that the case filed during the Trump administration and refined under Biden “represents a bipartisan effort to curtail Meta’s monopoly power and restore competition to ensure freedom and innovation in the social media ecosystem.”
At trial, Meta will not be allowed to argue the WhatsApp acquisition boosted competition by strengthening its position against Apple and Google, Boasberg ruled.
The judge said he would release a detailed order later on Wednesday after the FTC and Meta have had a chance to redact any sensitive commercial information.
Meta had urged the judge to dismiss the entire case, saying it depended on an overly narrow view of social media markets, and did not take into account competition from ByteDance’s TikTok, Google’s YouTube, X, and Microsoft’s LinkedIn.
The case is one of five blockbuster lawsuits where antitrust regulators at the FTC and Department of Justice are going after Big Tech.
Amazon and Apple are both being sued, and Alphabet’s Google is facing two lawsuits, including one where a judge recently found it unlawfully thwarted competition among online search engines.
As a former vice president of research at OpenAI, Dario Amodei has a unique perspective on the evolution of the AI industry. He recounts how his time at OpenAI, particularly his interactions with Ilya Sutskever, helped solidify his belief in the "scaling hypothesis" - the idea that as AI models are scaled up, they can learn to solve increasingly complex problems, often in surprising ways.
Amodei describes how this realization, combined with a focus on AI safety and interpretability, drove much of the research direction at OpenAI during his tenure. He and his collaborators, many of whom later became co-founders of Anthropic, worked on projects like GPT-2, GPT-3, and "Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback" in an effort to balance the power of scaling with the need for safety and transparency.
Amodei explains that his decision to leave OpenAI was not due to disagreements over commercialization or the Microsoft deal, as has been rumored. Rather, it was about having a clear vision for how to responsibly develop and deploy powerful AI systems in a way that builds trust with the public and the research community.
"If you have a vision for how to do it, you should go off and you should do that vision. It is incredibly unproductive to try and argue with someone else's vision."
Amodei sees Anthropic as a "clean experiment" in putting this vision into practice. He acknowledges that Anthropic, like any organization, is imperfect, but believes that striving for better practices, even imperfectly, is better than giving up. The goal is to create a "race to the top" where companies compete to adopt the best safety and transparency practices, rather than a "race to the bottom" that could lead to catastrophic outcomes.
Amodei argues that the key is not for any one company to "win," but for the entire industry to collectively improve its practices. He believes that when companies adopt good practices, others will follow, either through imitation or competitive pressure. The goal should be to align the incentives of the industry as a whole, rather than focusing on individual company rivalries.
"The point isn't to be virtuous, the point is to get the system into a better equilibrium than it was before."
Amodei sees this race to the top as the best way to ensure that the development of powerful AI systems benefits humanity as a whole. While individual companies and leaders will make mistakes, the important thing is to keep striving for improvement and to create an ecosystem where the best practices are widely adopted.
5 years of OpenAI 😳 this project didn't start now did it. They have scaled so high and now getting profitable. The Models have learned so much and soon they'll create their data learn from it and keep moving.
I think most of the early coworkers that left left for almost the same reason m the company has changed it's initial vision, goal and the principles they were founded on. I can blame Altman, things change based on season & investor interest
I see why he left but OpenAI seems to be the next Microsoft or Meta so it really took guts to make a decision like that. I personally wouldn't leave unless I'm going to xAI
Naver is building substantial technological expertise in spatial intelligence, a field emerging as the next frontier beyond artificial intelligence (AI).
According to ICT industry sources on October 27, Naver Labs, the company’s technology research subsidiary, has accumulated 521 patents in spatial intelligence since its establishment in 2017.
These patents cover various areas including digital twins, AR/VR (augmented and virtual reality), robotics, and autonomous driving. This represents a more than fivefold increase from the 80 patents the company held when it first participated in CES in 2019.
Spatial intelligence technology enables computers to understand and interact with the physical world through vision AI, similar to how humans perceive and respond to their environment through visual processing.
This next-generation technology, focused on understanding and operating in three-dimensional physical spaces, differs from generative AI, which primarily operates in two-dimensional web environments.
The company’s focus on spatial intelligence has intensified significantly, with 100 of the 130 patents filed this year (77%) related to this field. This marks a substantial increase from 2017, when spatial intelligence patents represented only 27% of Naver Labs’ total patent portfolio.
The growth in spatial intelligence patent filings shows steady expansion, with 29 patents in 2018, rising to 33 in 2019, 62 in 2020, reaching a peak of 117 in 2021, followed by 71 in 2022, and 91 in 2023.
Notable patents include control methods for indoor autonomous robots (2016), 3D map generation using aerial photography (2019), and robot-friendly building systems (2021). Many of these technologies have been successfully implemented in Naver’s second headquarters building, 1784.
Recent patents filed in 2023 cover robot control systems enabling interaction with various facilities, robot path generation reflecting spatial policies, and bird’s-eye view information extraction systems. The company has also filed at least five patents this year related to 3D Vision Foundation Models (VFM).
Naver Labs’ expertise has gained international recognition. The company recently won first place in two categories at ECCV 2024, a prestigious computer vision conference in Italy. In 2019, its R2D2 visual localization technology outperformed global tech giants including Google and Apple at CVPR.
This technological prowess reportedly helped Naver secure a digital twin platform construction project in Saudi Arabia.
Spatial intelligence is gaining prominence globally. Stanford professor Fei-Fei Li’s startup Worldlabs, focused on spatial intelligence development, was valued at over $1 billion at launch. Li described spatial intelligence at a TED Conference in May as “algorithms that understand the location, relationships, and interactions of objects in the real 3D world and predict what will happen next.”
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has also emphasized spatial intelligence, describing AI’s future as systems that understand physical laws.
A Naver spokesperson stated, “We expect the achievements accumulated over many years by Naver Labs’ Korean and European researchers in the emerging field of spatial intelligence to find increasing practical applications.”
Artificial Intelligence is has not hit its max advanced level and they already have the next frontier this is crazy development speed. Will spatial be more used that AI and even Quantum computers?
Mawari’s node-based system includes three types of licenses: Spatial Streamer nodes, which handle the computational heavy lifting. Guardian nodes, which ensure the integrity and accuracy of the data being processed, and Pulse nodes, which serve as netcheckers that help stress test the network, sample immersive content, and simulate the future tens and hundreds of millions of native spatial computing devices coming onto Mawari Network. These nodes work together to enable a decentralized network that is not only scalable but also more resilient than traditional centralized infrastructure. "It's a hybrid model," says Ramirez, "We’ll have data centers contributing significant power, but also smaller, consumer-level nodes offering a more distributed approach. This allows us to provide the resilient, high-quality, low-latency service that immersive experiences require." During the upcoming node sale, participants will be able to purchase licenses for the Guardian nodes.
In November of last year, facing the longest bout of unemployment she’d ever experienced, Paulina Williams was seriously considering what she would do if she had to leave the entertainment industry. The veteran reality television executive producer and showrunner with about 20 years of experience on projects like Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County and Big Brother recalls her husband asking her at some point, “Why don’t you try to do something that you’ve always wanted to do and you never had a chance?”
Investors are excited about Mawari’s potential. Sean Carey, co-founder of Helium and partner at Borderless Capital, believes the company is uniquely positioned to tackle the scalability challenges of spatial computing. “Mawari has been quietly building for seven years, and their technology is at a tipping point. Decentralizing their network through node licenses is a game-changer that could unlock immersive experiences at a global scale,” Carey said.
She responded, “Honey, this is what I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve been working my dream job my entire career.”
Hollywood has long been full of upstart creatives who work side hustles — waiting tables, driving Ubers — to sustain themselves before they make a livable wage in the business. But now, amid a brutal and prolonged contraction in the entertainment business, a twist on that rite of passage is occurring: Workers who have already achieved success and expertise in the business have been looking for work on the outside as a stopgap, side hustle or a longer-term solution.
Mawari’s solution is built on two core components: the Spatial Streaming SDK and the Mawari Network. The SDK integrates seamlessly with popular development environments like Unity and Unreal Engine, allowing creators to focus on content without worrying about backend complexities. The Mawari Network, meanwhile, is a decentralized, GPU-powered content delivery system designed to handle the high-bandwidth, low-latency demands of spatial computing.
The data on how Hollywood has cut back in the past few years been stark. Between the first quarters of 2022 and 2024 — during which time the industry sustained two crippling strikes and the bursting of the streaming bubble — employment in California’s film, television and sound sector dropped nearly 30 percent, according to Otis College of Art and Design research. This year, production levels are still lagging behind their pre-strike highs: On-location filming in the L.A. area during the third quarter of 2024 dropped more than 36 percent compared to the five-year average of that same period, while a ProdPro report found that production volume across the U.S. dropped 35 percent in the third quarter of 2024 compared with the same period in 2022 (before the strikes).
Mawari’s innovative approach to decentralized infrastructure, coupled with its strategic partnerships and growing client base, positions it as a key enabler in the spatial computing industry. As Ramirez puts it, "Our vision has always been to bring immersive experiences to everyone. With the node license sale, we are one step closer to building the infrastructure at the necessary scale and making that vision a reality.”
Faced with these challenges, some in the business are retooling their résumés from a classic production format, which assumes the reader’s familiarity with the business and often entails long lists of credits, to a more corporate layout that briefly describes responsibilities and highlights certain skills developed. They’re translating what specific roles on set or in industry offices mean to employers who don’t speak entertainment. “When you say, ‘I work in development,’ they think you’re a fundraiser,” says former casting and development executive Lauren Kotlen, who has been working perma-freelance since November 2023 and is exploring content development and talent-relations opportunities in marketing, advertising and digital media companies.
Reasons Williams, “If I’m a showrunner, what does a showrunner do? Well, we’re project managers. Any producer is a project manager on some level.” (As a result, Williams has taken a Project Management Professional certification course during her job search.)
The road ahead for Mawari is ambitious. In Q4 2024, they plan to launch their mainnet in three geographic regions, each focused on different use cases, such as engineering education and sports entertainment. With the new funding and the impending node sale, Mawari’s decentralized infrastructure for immersive content has the potential to transform how 3D experiences are delivered at scale.
nitially we will focus on generating 3D worlds without limits - creating and editing virtual spaces complete with physics, semantics, and control. We hope this will unlock new capabilities for creative users and professionals such as artists, designers, developers, and engineers. It will also allow anyone to imagine and create their own worlds, expanding the potential of generative AI from 2D images and videos to 3D worlds.
Other job seekers are wondering whether having entertainment credits on their résumés helps or hurts their chances of finding other work. Some have noticed hesitation on the part of select employers due to their showbiz backgrounds, which they attribute to a perception that they are just looking for temporary jobs during the contraction. At an interview for a Whole Foods overnight restocking position, production manager of 24 years Sidnee Lewis-Avila (The Hills: New Beginnings) says she was asked, “What happens if you get a call for a show or the industry bounces back?”
She says, “They fear that I’m going to put in my notice and bounce.” (Lewis-Avila recently worked in concessions at Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights with the goal of making it through a probationary period, after which she can apply for backlot jobs at the studio.) Beth Kushnick, a renowned set decorator with credits on The Good Wife and Fringe, has long worked part-time gigs in addition to her production work; she’s currently doing interior design for private clients, staging apartments and working on an upcoming event for a commercial business in the absence of industry jobs. But at one point recently, she says, “I was up for a very big job out east, and they were afraid that I was going to get a movie.”
These are ambitious goals, so we are building an ambitious company to tackle them. Our team has a strong research background, but we are not motivated by exploration for its own sake. Instead, we believe that now is a unique moment where rapid scientific progress has thinned the barrier between research and applications. We aim to seize this opportunity, focusing on the entire throughline from research to engineering to product to people.
We've already made promising strides, but we have a long way to go. We thank our investors for their early support on our journey. To date we have raised more than $230M in total funding led by Martin Casado and Sarah Wang of Andreessen Horowitz, Scott Sandell of NEA, and Jordan Jacobs of Radical Ventures. Other investors include individuals Marc Benioff, Jim Breyer, Ron Conway, Jeff Dean, Geoffrey Hinton, Reid Hoffman, Andrej Karpathy, Sound Ventures co-founder Ashton Kutcher, Eric Schmidt, Ram Shriram, Anne Wojcicki, and the late Susan Wojcicki; as well as Adobe Ventures, AMD Ventures, Databricks Ventures, NVentures, the venture capital arm of NVIDIA, Salesforce Ventures, and Shinrai Investments LLC. We are grateful for their partnership.
The Entertainment Community Fund Career Center’s managing director Elena Muslar has seen entertainment workers sometimes react to difficulties like these simply by omitting their experience in the business, creating gaps in their résumé. Muslar recommends instead that the ECF Career Center’s participants tailor their descriptions of past experiences to whatever field they’re looking to enter in their résumés. Rather than leading with, “I’m an actor” who will need time off, for instance, she suggests a performer could describe themselves as a kind of entrepreneur.
Richard “Rick” Spence is a full professor of History. He specializes in Russian intelligence and military history, and his course offerings include Modern Espionage, Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust, History of Secret Societies and the Occult in History.
Ph.D., History, 1981, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, Modern Europe, Middle East
M.A., History, 1976, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
B.A., History, 1973, California State University, Bakersfield, CA
There can be emotional hurdles for workers who decide to step a foot outside the business, even if they’re not leaving entirely or forever. “I think the biggest challenge is more about people’s mindset,” says Christina Blumer, the executive director of the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation, which offers grants for career counseling or retraining to professionals in the theatrical exhibition, distribution and vendor spaces. “People have this idea that ‘I work in the movie industry and this is what I do.’ And what’s really challenging for folks is that emotional attachment … to try and shift that or say, ‘Circumstances have changed.’”
Richard “Rick” Spence received his doctorate in history from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1981. He has taught at University of Idaho since 1986, and he is a tenured full professor of history. He specializes in Russian intelligence and military history, and his course offerings include Modern Espionage, Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust, History of Secret Societies and the Occult in History.
Spence’s published works include “Boris Savinkov: Renegade on the Left” (East European Monographs/Columbia Univ. Press, 1991), “Trust No One: The Secret World of Sidney Reilly” (Feral House, 2002) and “Secret Agent 666: Aleister Crowley, British Intelligence and the Occult” (Feral House, 2008). He is also the author of numerous articles in Revolutionary Russia, Intelligence and National Security, International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, The Historian, New Dawn and other publications. He has served as a commentator/consultant for the History Channel and the International Spy Museum and was a key consultant-interviewee for the Russian Cultural Foundation’s 2007 documentary film, “Leon Trotsky: The Secret of World Revolution,” and its subsequent “Trap for the Tsar.”
But entertainment workers bring particular strengths, too, to their job search. Workers who come from Hollywood can already be focused on tapping personal networks: “They always say, ‘It’s who you know in Hollywood.’ It’s who you know anywhere,” says Kotlen. They bring a “creative skill set,” notes ECF’s Muslar. Fields that are particularly in demand right now are project management, digital marketing, creative direction, teaching artistry, arts administration and other types of content creation, Muslar adds — all of which can transfer skills people have developed in entertainment.
American Spies in Revolutionary Russia (in progress)
Wall Street and the Russian Revolution, 1905-1925 (Trine Day, 2017)
With Walter Bosley, The Empire of the Wheel: Espionage, the Occult and Murder in Southern California (Corvos Books, 2011)
Secret Agent 666: Aleister Crowley, British Intelligence and the Occult ( Feral House, 2008)
Trust No One: The Secret World of Sidney Reilly (Feral House, 2002)
Boris Savinkov: Renegade on the Left (Boulder, CO: East European Monographs, 1991)
Articles
“The Voyage of the Shilka: The Bolshevik Revolution Comes to Seattle, 1917,” American Communist History, Vol. 16, #1-2 (2017), pp. 88-101.
“Lights in the Sky: A True Tale of Mystery Airships, Spies and Secret Cults in WWI Utah,” Paranoia (May 2018), http://www.paranoiamagazine.com/2018/05/lights-in-the- sky-a-true-tale-of-mystery-airships-spies-and-secret-cults-in-wwi-utah/
“Who Created Hitler?,” New Dawn, Special Issue, Vol. 11, #1(2017), pp 23-31.
“Death in the Adirondacks: Amtorg, Intrigue and the Dubious Demise of Isaiah Khurgin and Efraim Sklyansky,” America Communist History, Vol. 14, #2, (2015), pp. 135-158
“John Reed, American Spy?: Reed, American Intelligence and Weston Estes’ 1920 Mission to Russia,” American Communist History, Vol. 13, #1 (2014), pp. 39-64.
“The Tsar’s Other Lieutenant: The Anti-Semitic Activities of Boris L’vovich Brasol, 1910-1960, Pt. II, White Russians, Nazis and the Blue Lamoo,” Journal for the Study of Anti-Semitism, (Dec. 2012).
“The Tsar’s Other Lieutenant: The Anti-Semitic Activities of Boris L’vovich Brasol, 1910-1960, Pt. I, Beilis, the Protocols and Henry Ford,” Journal for the Study of Anti-Semitism, (June 2012).
For about a year, Kaitlin Saltzman, the head of scripted at Wilmer Valderrama’s production company WV Entertainment, has worked a side hustle that complements her day job. During the double strikes in 2023, as she saw friends being laid off and had a lot more time on her hands, the executive decided to develop both a hobby and an additional professional skill set. She ended up taking up an activity she hadn’t pursued since high school: photography. Now, Saltzman shoots clients on the weekends and edits her photos after her kids go to bed. She says of her photography and executive work, “They’re both visual storytelling. I really try to capture personalities that come through in the photos and I very much think that my career in television has a big part to do in why I’m able to do that.”
Data Pipeline
A key component of the AI factory is the data pipeline, a semi-automated, systematic process for gathering, cleaning, integrating, and securing company data to ensure it’s sustainable and scalable for AI technologies.
The process, known as datafication, transforms raw data into a usable format for AI models. High-quality data is crucial because AI models’ accuracy and reliability heavily depend on their inputs’ quality.
In the past few years, veteran makeup artist Alexis Walker (Just Go With It, Knocked Up) has developed a business as a professional coach with a special focus on Hollywood workers looking to pivot. In this work, she found two main themes: clients looking for ways to apply their skills in a new field and to strike a “balancing act of straddling two worlds” — still doing some Hollywood work while developing an outside business. She’s also the creator of The Hollywood Second Act Club Podcast, which showcases interviews with industry professionals who have pursued endeavors outside of traditional movie and television work.
“As the saying goes: ‘Garbage in, garbage out,’” Lakhani says in AI Essentials for Business. “If your data isn't set up in a way that enables you to learn from across your enterprise or your customers, you're going to have garbage coming out of your AI factory.”
For example, Amazon uses a sophisticated data pipeline to manage and analyze vast amounts of customer data, including browsing histories and purchase behaviors. Through cleaning and organizing that data, its AI models can accurately predict customer preferences and personalize recommendations.
In her view, the initial reaction to this slowdown was “sitting-duck stunned for a long time and blindsided and paralyzed, understandably.” But now, she says, “I think you’re going to start seeing a lot more inspired action as people come awake to the moment and what that means for them.”
Establishing a strong data pipeline requires setting up systems and processes. Without a foundation of clean, well-organized data, the AI factory can’t effectively support decision-making and innovation.
Algorithm Development
Beyond a strong pipeline, you need algorithms to transform data into actionable insights that allow you to anticipate trends and make data-driven decisions.
“Data by itself doesn't do anything,” Iansiti says in AI Essentials for Business. “You actually need to figure out which algorithm you're going to choose. You're going to figure out what type of algorithm you need. You need to figure out what to do with it.”
Not every algorithm is created equal. With a range of data types, you must select one that aligns with your business goals and objectives. That involves considering your data’s characteristics and the predictions or outcomes you want to achieve.
The market is "still tight," he noted, adding that fintech offerings such as Zopa's — which typically provide higher savings rates than high-street banks — become "more important" during such times.
"The proposition has become more relevant, and while it's tight for customers, we have had to be much more constrained in terms of who we can lend to," he said, adding that Zopa has still been able to grow despite that.
In the automotive industry, for example, Tesla's goal of creating safe, efficient autonomous vehicles drives its algorithm choices. It uses advanced machine-learning algorithms to analyze camera, sensor, and radar data to generate real-time predictions that guide steering, braking, and acceleration decisions.
By choosing algorithms designed to handle complex data inputs and make accurate predictions, Tesla continually refines its technology to enhance safety and the driving experience.
Your AI factory’s effectiveness similarly depends not just on your data’s quality but your algorithm’s sophistication and suitability.
A big priority for the business going forward is product, Janardana said. The firm is developing a current account product which would allow users to spend and manage their money more easily, in a similar fashion to mainstream banking providers like HSBC and Barclays, as well as fintech upstarts such as Monzo.
Software Infrastructure
Software infrastructure provides the foundational architecture that supports your AI factory’s data pipeline and algorithm.
“Infrastructure is actually a really important point,” Lakhani says in AI Essentials for Business. “You can have the fanciest data pipelines, the fanciest algorithms—but if your infrastructure can't make this work, can't do this at scale, then you run into problems.”
Infrastructure is the AI factory’s backbone, connecting internal teams and external users to streamline operations. It includes the hardware, software, and networks that manage data storage, processing, and movement.
"We believe that there is more that the consumer can have in the current account space," Janardana said. "We expect that we will launch our current account with the general public sometime next year."
Janardana said consumers can expect a "slick" experience from Zopa's current account offering, including the ability to view and manage multiple account bank accounts from one interface and access to competitive savings rates.
For example, while Netflix's early algorithms were advanced, its infrastructure couldn’t handle large-scale processing, creating a poor recommendation experience. To address that, Netflix invested in more scalable cloud-based infrastructure to process large volumes of data and deliver accurate recommendations to millions of subscribers—significantly enhancing the user experience and helping maintain a high retention rate compared to competitors.
IPO 'not top of mind'
Zopa is one of many fintech companies that has been viewed as a potential IPO candidate. Around two years ago, the firm said that it was planning to go public, but later decided to put those plans on ice, as high interest rates battered technology stocks and the IPO market froze over in 2022.
Janardana said he doesn't envision a public listing as an immediate priority, but noted he sees signs pointing toward a more favorable U.S. IPO market next year.
Experimentation Platform
The AI factory’s final component is the experimentation platform, where your team can test, refine, and optimize AI models and predict outcomes based on different conditions.
“The experimentation platform is important because your algorithms are basically going to generate a range of hypotheses,” Lakhani says in AI Essentials for Business. “They're going to say, take action X to increase customer satisfaction, take action Y to potentially increase sales, take action Z to change the dynamics of who pays first.”
That should mean that Europe becomes more open to IPOs happening later in 2026, according to Janardana. He didn't disclose where Zopa would end up going public.
"To be honest, it's not the top of mind for me," Janardana told CNBC. "I think we continue to be lucky to have supportive and long-term shareholders who support future growth as well."
Last year, Zopa made two senior hires, appointing Peter Donlon, ex-chief technology officer at online card retailer Moonpig, as its own CTO. The firm also hired Kate Erb, a chartered accountant from KPMG, as its chief operating officer.
Will a new pricing algorithm increase sales?
Can a machine-learning model more accurately predict customer churn?
Will a new AI-based process improve operational efficiency?
By providing a space to innovate and test, your experimentation platform can enable you to explore AI’s possibilities, adjust to changes, and seize market opportunities.
“Your job with the experimentation platform is to take those predictions from your algorithmic development and test them to say that, ‘In fact, are these predictions doing what they are supposed to be doing?’” Lakhani says in AI Essentials for Business.
Become an AI-First Firm
Establishing and maintaining your organization’s AI factory is essential to fostering innovation and efficiency. By using AI to automate complex tasks and generate data-driven insights, you can improve decision-making processes and compete in a dynamic market.
To capitalize on AI’s opportunities, you need a solid understanding of the AI factory’s core principles and applications. AI Essentials for Business can equip you with practical skills and strategies for building a responsible AI-powered organization.
References
Henane, R., Buguet, A., Roussel, B. & Bittel, J. Variations in evaporation and body temperatures during sleep in man. J. Appl. Physiol. 42, 50–55 (1977).
Weiss, N., Attali, V., Bouzbib, C. & Thabut, D. Altered distal-proximal temperature gradient as a possible explanation for sleep-wake disturbances in cirrhotic patients. Liver Int. Off. J. Int. Assoc. Study Liver 37, 1776–1779 (2017).
Garrido, M. et al. Abnormalities in the 24-hour rhythm of skin temperature in cirrhosis: Sleep-wake and general clinical implications. Liver Int. Off. J. Int. Assoc. Study Liver 37, 1833–1842 (2017).
[Preprint] Smarr, B., Aschbacher, K., Fisher, S. M., Chowdhary, A., Dilchert, S., Puldon, K., … & Mason, A. E. (2020). Feasibility of continuous fever monitoring using wearable devices.
Maijala, A., Kinnunen, H., Koskimäki, H., Jämsä, T. & Kangas, M. Nocturnal finger skin temperature in menstrual cycle tracking: ambulatory pilot study using a wearable Oura Ring. BMC Womens Health 19, 150 (2019).
[Preprint] Grant, A. D., Newman, M. & Kriegsfeld, L. J. Ultradian Rhythms in Heart Rate Variability and Distal Body Temperature Anticipate the Luteinizing Hormone Surge Onset. bioRxiv 2020.07.15.205450 (2020) doi:10.1101/2020.07.15.205450.
[Preprint] Smarr, B., Aschbacher, K., Fisher, S. M., Chowdhary, A., Dilchert, S., Puldon, K., … & Mason, A. E. (2020). Feasibility of continuous fever monitoring using wearable devices.[Preprint] Grant, A. D., Newman, M. & Kriegsfeld, L. J. Ultradian Rhythms in Heart Rate Variability and Distal Body Temperature Anticipate the Luteinizing Hormone Surge Onset. bioRxiv 2020.07.15.205450 (2020) doi:10.1101/2020.07.15.205450.
Hasselberg MJ, McMahon J, Parker K. The validity, reliability, and utility of the iButton® for measurement of body temperature circadian rhythms in sleep/wake research. Sleep Med. 2013;14(1):5-11. doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2010.12.011Used in 92+ Studies in Pubmed as of 9.17.20. (link)
Hale is keen to position Oura as a "health company and a science company from the get-go," with the aim of its product being "clinical grade." Oura is seeking approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its ring to be used for diagnostics, although Hale declined to provide too many further details.
He did say that Oura's focus on health and science is what sets it apart from competitors.
"If you're actually thinking [of] yourself as a healthcare company, it is very different in many ways and different postures you might take towards data privacy. ... So instead of being like a tech company where data is some sort of oil to be extracted and then used to create some kind of advantage of network effects, we're really a healthcare company where your data is sacrosanct," Hale said.
What’s Next?
Our team is always improving the tools that we offer in the hopes that consumers and researchers will discover more about our health. The Oura temperature signal is already proving useful for real-world applications like fever detection and menstrual cycle tracking.
Continuous skin temperature data has an incredible amount of potential to provide insights into our own health as well as a tool for advancing research. We hope to continue to share our work and collaborate with you as we discover new patterns.
Oura's business model relies on selling the hardware, as well as on a $5.99 monthly subscription service that allows users to get the insights from their ring. Oura says it has nearly 2 million subscribers.
"We look more like a software company than we do look like a hardware company. And I think that's a function of the business model, and the fact that it's working. Our subscribers are continuing to pay," Hale said.
Oura eyes nutrition as next 'pillar'
Oura takes the data gathered by the ring to provide insight to its users, focused on a person's levels of sleep, activity and readiness to take on the day.
Hale said the company is now testing out nutrition, with users able to take a picture of their meal and log it into the Oura app. Also in the nutrition space, he highlighted Oura's recent acquisition of Veri, a metabolic health startup that can take data from continuous glucose monitors — small devices inserted into a person's arm — to give insight into someone's blood sugar levels. Hale says that this, combined with Oura's food tracking feature, could tell a user how certain meals affect their glucose levels.
Although our environment helps our brain make decisions about how to thermoregulate, it isn’t directly determining your finger temperature all by itself. This builds even greater confidence that Oura temperature is reflecting you, not your surroundings and that many factors, including time of day, your stress levels, your hormones, your activities, and your sleep contribute to this unique signal.
Below are two examples of the clear difference between Oura Ring temperatures and environmental temperatures surrounding these individuals throughout their days.
Many glucose monitors today are invasive and need to be inserted into the skin. Some observers see a non-invasive glucose monitor on wearable gear as something that could be transformative — but Hale warns this is a difficult goal to achieve.
"The idea that a wearable [device] will get there, I think, has definitely been a Holy Grail, and like the Holy Grail, they may never find it, because it's a very difficult problem to solve with any kind of accuracy," Hale said.
"Never say never. Certainly, technology continues to advance and all the capabilities continue to advance," he added.
Oura’s Finger Temperature Reflects Your Physiology – Not Your Environment
Because your finger is part of your body’s skin (your “shell”) and not your core, it can change temperature much more dramatically, and much faster than places that approximate your core temperature, like your mouth. However, some people express concern that measuring from your skin temperature might be capturing changes in your surrounding environment, rather than your body.
In reality, changes in your skin temperature reveal meaningful information about how your body responds to your surrounding
For example, imagine plunging your hands into the snow to make a snowman. Even if you put your whole hand into the snow, your fingers feel noticeably colder than your wrists. Although our environment impacts our body’s temperature, your fingers aren’t just ‘measuring’ the temperature of the snow, they are actually reflecting what is happening inside your body as blood flow changes uniquely from your fingers, wrist, and other parts of your shell so your body can maintain your core temperature.
To confirm that finger temperature captures unique physiological changes, the team analyzed the difference between iButton sensors on the finger as well as an ‘environmental sensor’ that traveled with participants to measure the world around them as they went about their days.
Results show that while the Oura Ring and finger iButton match 92% (r²=0.92), temperature information from the finger is uncorrelated to the environmental temperature; 0.1% (r²=0.001).
Like many hardware companies, such as Apple and Samsung, Oura is looking at ways it can use the advancing capabilities of artificial intelligence to give users more personalized insights. Smartphone makers have spoken about so-called "AI agents," which they see as assistants that are able to anticipate what a user wants.
Oura is testing out an AI product called Oura Advisor in a similar vein.
"Think of it as the doctor in your pocket that knows all the data about you," Hale said.
Oura’s Temperature Sensor Remains Highly Accurate And Precise In Real World Conditions
To evaluate Oura’s temperature sensors “in the wild,” 16 individuals wore both iButton and Oura Ring for a week of real world data collection on the same finger. These individuals were able to show that Oura continued to match performance with iButtons (r² >0.92) throughout the full spectrum of life events including exercising, showering, cooking, working, and everything in between.
International push
Hale's presence at the Web Summit in Lisbon underscores his push to raise Oura's brand awareness in markets outside of the U.S., especially as more people learn about smart rings.
"I think the point about the category being something that people are learning about, the unique benefits of that maturity, is in our favor. We're expanding internationally," Hale said.
He said he is particularly "excited" about venturing into Western Europe, including in countries like the U.K., Germany, France and Italy. Looking even further forward, Hale said an initial public offering for the business is not currently on the table, adding that operating as a private company gives Oura more "freedom."
The Validation
Oura’s Science Team assembled a task force of employees, data scientists, physiologists, and engineers to fast-track publicly available validation results. In total, the team was able to collect 93,571 data points in a single week.
The task force selected iButton sensors as the research-grade tool to evaluate Oura’s performance.8 The goal of this study was not only to validate Oura’s temperature sensor under lab conditions, but to show that Oura maintains performance even during the challenges of measuring data in ‘noisier’ real-world scenarios.
"I really enjoy the freedom that we get as a private company. We're accountable to our investors and our shareholders, but they're willing to let us operate with a lot license," he said. "And if we decided we wanted to turn unprofitable because we wanted to invest in owning some category of healthcare software, it'll be fine. They would be happy for that."
Authorities did not disclose how or if the operations announced Wednesday are connected to the earlier campaigns.
In their statement Wednesday, the FBI and CISA said officials are working with the telecommunication industry and hacking victims to shore up defenses against continuing attempts at cyberespionage.
“We expect our understanding of these compromises to grow as the investigation continues,” the agencies wrote.
Sustainability of the UNIT ecosystem requires the following key conditions:
Transparent price discovery mechanism of each component of the UNIT reserve basket in gold terms. It is preferable to have multiple inputs for each price, as pricing in different venues may be affected by the differences in local regulatory regime, logistics costs, and availability of supporting infrastructure;
Distributed secure gold storage, which may or may not be directly linked to the price discovery venues. As new UNIT tokens are minted, incremental gold that is deposited at the UNIT nodes will be distributed across the secure storage, in order to minimize operational risks;
UNIT nodes serving as custodians by accepting replicas of the UNIT reserve basket and minting new UNIT tokens in exchange. They ideally will be located in favorable jurisdictions and linked to a physical (offline) hub with adequate transport connections and supporting infrastructure. UNIT nodes publicly broadcast UNIT basket composition and number of minted UNIT tokens, protecting the integrity of the network and enabling transparent pricing of UNIT tokens.
China has rejected accusations from U.S. officials that it engages in cyberespionage directed against Americans. A message left with China’s embassy in Washington was not immediately returned Wednesday.
Of the things which are in our Power, and not in our Power
Of all the faculties, you will find not one which is capable of contemplating itself; and, consequently, not capable either of approving or disapproving. How far does the grammatic art possess the contemplating power? As far as forming a judgement about what is written and spoken. And how far music? As far as judging about melody. Does either of them then contemplate itself? By no means. But when you must write something to your friend, grammar will tell you what words you must write; but whether you should write or not, grammar will not tell you. And so it is with music as to musical sounds; but whether you should sing at the present time and play on the lute, or do neither, music will not tell you. What faculty then will tell you? That which contemplates both itself and all other things. And what is this faculty?
The rational faculty; for this is the only faculty that we have received which examines itself, what it is, and what power it has, and what is the value of this gift, and examines all other faculties: for what else is there which tells us that golden things are beautiful, for they do not say so themselves? Evidently it is the faculty which is capable of judging of appearances. What else judges of music, grammar, and other faculties, proves their uses and points out the occasions for using them? Nothing else.
Filippo Sanesi, global head of marketing and operations at OVHCloud, said the French cloud firm is seeing lots of demand for its European-located infrastructure, as they "understand the value of having their data in Europe, which are subject to European legislation."
"As this concept of data sovereignty becomes more mature and people understand what it means, we see more and more companies understanding the importance of having your data locally and under a specific jurisdiction and governance," Sanesi told CNBC. "We have a lot of data," he added. "This data is sovereign in specific countries, under specific regulations."
Fast-moving hubs like these are core to Japan’s AI ecosystem, giving startups the mentorship, funding and resources they need to go from prototype to fully commercialized product.
And through NVIDIA’s accelerated computing technologies and the Inception program, Japan’s fast-moving startups are united with AI innovators across the globe.
"Now, with this data, you can actually make products and services for AI, and those services should then be sovereign, should be controlled, deployed and developed locally by local talent for the local population or businesses."
The AI sovereignty push hasn't been driven forward by regulators — at least, not yet, according to Cisco's Gow. Rather, it's come from private companies, which are opening more data centers — facilities containing vast amounts of computing equipment to enable cloud-based AI tools — in Europe, he said.
By championing the real-world deployment of seed-stage deep-tech innovations, UTokyo IPC is igniting Japan’s academic innovation landscape and setting the standard for others to follow.
Meanwhile, Osaka’s own Innovation Hub, OIH, expands this momentum beyond Tokyo, providing startups with coworking spaces and networking events. Its Startup Acceleration Program brings early-stage projects to market faster.
Leading the charge is UTokyo IPC, the wholly owned venture capital arm of the University of Tokyo, operating through its flagship accelerator program, 1stRound.
Cohosted by 18 universities and four national research institutions, this program serves as the nexus where academia and industry converge, providing hands-on guidance, resources and strategic support.
Sovereign AI is "more driven by the industry naming it that, than it is from the policymakers' side," Gow said. "You don't see the 'AI sovereignty' terminology used on the regulator side yet."
Countries are pushing the idea of AI sovereignty because they recognize AI is "the future" and a "massively strategic technology," Gow said.
Governments are focusing on boosting their domestic tech companies and ecosystems, as well as the all-important backend infrastructure that enables AI services.
NVIDIA’s infrastructure is also at the heart of Kotoba Technologies’ language tools, as well as AiHUB’s lifelike digital avatars. Running on an AI backbone, these various tools seamlessly bridge media, communication and human interaction.
The Story Behind the Story: Tokyo IPC and Osaka Innovation Hub
All of these startups are part of a larger ecosystem that’s accelerating Japan’s rise as an AI powerhouse.
"The AI workload uses 20 times the bandwidth of a traditional workload," Gow said. It's also about enabling the workforce, according to Gow, as firms need skilled workers to be successful.
Most important of all, however, is the data. "What you're seeing is quite a few attempts from that side to think about training LLMs on localized data, in language," Gow said.
Asilla’s cutting-edge anomaly detection was developed with security in mind but is now finding applications in healthcare and retail. Built on the NVIDIA DeepStream and Triton Inference Server SDKs, Asilla’s tech doesn’t just identify risks — it responds to them.
In high-stakes environments, ugo and Asilla’s systems, powered by the NVIDIA Jetson platform, are already in action, identifying potential security threats and triggering real-time responses.
'Reflecting values'
In Italy, the first LLM trained specifically on the Italian language data, called Italia 9B, launched this summer.
The aim of the Italia project is to store results in a given jurisdiction and rely on data from citizens within that region so that results produced by the AI systems there are more grounded in local languages, culture and history.
"Sovereign AI is about reflecting the values of an organization or, equally, the country that you're in and the values and the language," David Hogan, EMEA head of enterprise sales for chipmaking giant Nvidia, told CNBC.
The Power of Cross-Sector Synergy
The gears of Japan’s AI ecosystem increasingly turn in sync thanks to NVIDIA-powered infrastructure that enables startups to build on each other’s breakthroughs.
As Japan’s population ages, solutions like these address security needs as well as an intensifying labor shortage. Here, ugo and Asilla have taken on the challenge, using autonomous security systems to manage facilities across the country.
"The core challenge is that most of the frontier models today have been trained primarily on Western data generally," Hogan added.
In Denmark for example, where Nvidia has a major presence, officials are concerned about vital services such as health care and telecoms being delivered by AI systems that aren't "reflective" of local Danish culture and values, according to Hogan.
On Wednesday, Denmark laid out a landmark white paper outlining how companies can use AI in compliance with the incoming EU AI Act — the world's first major AI law. The document is meant to serve as a blueprint for other EU nations to follow and adopt.
By refining data quality for big clients like RIKEN, Ricoh and ORIX, APTO has mastered the fine art of sifting valuable signals from noise. Through tools like WordCountFilter — an ingenious mechanism that prunes short or unnatural sentences — it’s supercharging performance.
APTO’s data quality control boosted model accuracy scores and slashed training time.
Across Japan, developers are looking to move on AI fast, and they’re embracing SDKs to go further, faster.
"If you're in a European country that's not one of the major language countries that's spoken internationally, probably less than 2% of the data is trained on your language -- let alone your culture," Hogan said.
Kotoba’s tools are used in customer call centers and for automatic meeting minutes creation across various industries. It was also used to perform live transcription during the AI Summit Japan fireside chat between Huang and Son.
And if LLMs are the engines driving Japan’s AI, then companies like APTO supply the fuel. Using NVIDIA NeMo Curator, APTO is changing the game in data annotation, handling the intensive prep work that makes LLMs effective.
How regulation fueled a mindset shift
That's not to say regulations haven't proven an important factor in getting tech giants to think more about building localized AI infrastructure within Europe.
OVHCloud's Sanesi said regulations like the EU's GDPR catalyzed a lot of the interest in onshoring the processing of data in a given region.
The concept of AI sovereignty is also getting buy-in from local European tech firms.
One company at the forefront is Kotoba Technologies, which has cracked the code on real-time speech recognition thanks to NeMo’s powerful tools.
Under a key Japanese government grant, Kotoba’s language tools don’t just capture sound — they translate it live. It’s a blend of computational heft and human ingenuity, redefining how multilingual communication happens in non-English-speaking countries like Japan.
Earlier this week, Berlin-headquartered search engine Ecosia and its Paris-based peer Qwant announced a joint venture to develop a European search index from scratch, aiming to serve improved French and German language results.
Meanwhile, French telecom operator Orange has said it's in discussions with a number of foundational AI model companies about building a smartphone-based "sovereign AI" model for its customers that more accurately reflects their own language and culture.
For years, Japan’s tech companies treated SDKs with caution. Now, however, with AI advancing at lightspeed and NVIDIA GPUs powering the engine, SDKs have moved from a quiet corner to center stage.
Take NVIDIA NeMo, a platform for building large language models, or LLMs. It’s swiftly becoming the background for Japan’s latest wave of real-time, AI-driven communication technologies.
"It wouldn't make sense to build our own LLMs. So there's a lot of discussion right now about, how do we partner with existing providers to make it more local and safer?" Bruno Zerbib, Orange's chief technology officer, told CNBC.
"There are a lot of use cases where [AI data] can be processed locally [on a phone] instead of processed on the cloud," Zerbib added. Orange hasn't yet selected a partner for these sovereign AI model ambitions.
SDK Adoption: From Hesitation to High Velocity
In the global tech race, success doesn’t always hinge on the heroes you’d expect.
The unsung stars here are software development kits — those bundles of tools, libraries and documentation that cut the guesswork out of innovation. And in Japan’s fast-evolving AI ecosystem, these once-overlooked SDKs are driving an improbable revolution.
1. Donald Trump - The former president made an incredible comeback, overcoming an assassination attempt, Bobby Kennedy's endorsement, and Elon Musk's support to sweep the key battleground states.
2. Elon Musk - Musk's acquisition of Twitter was a game-changer, enabling Trump to bypass the mainstream media and reach voters directly through independent podcasters. Musk's wealth also skyrocketed under a Trump presidency.
3. Independent Podcasters - Figures like Joe Rogan, Theo Von, Andrew Schultz, and Logan Paul played a crucial role in Trump's victory, giving him a platform to connect with voters outside the traditional media.
4. Josh Shapiro - The Pennsylvania governor may emerge as a top contender for the Democratic nomination in 2028, as his selection could have helped Kamala Harris avoid her disastrous VP choice.
5. JD Vance - The Ohio senator's impressive performance on the campaign trail made him a standout winner of the 2024 election.
6. The Citizens of Ukraine, Russia, Iran, Israel, and Gaza - The likelihood of reduced conflict and war under a Trump presidency is seen as a significant positive outcome.
7. Hillary Clinton - Clinton may feel vindicated, as she likely believes she would have been a better presidential candidate than the struggling Kamala Harris.
8. Joe Biden - There are speculations that Biden and Jill Biden may have secretly voted for Trump, feeling that he had a better chance of beating the incumbent than Harris.
9. Children and Newborn Babies - The end of "woke" policies and the potential disruption of the flawed education system are seen as wins for the younger generation.
10. Common Sense Policies - Voters who felt the Democratic party had abandoned its traditional values are hopeful for a return to more pragmatic and sensible
11. Bitcoin and Crypto - The crypto market is expected to thrive under a Trump presidency, with Bitcoin potentially reaching new highs.
12. The Stock Market and Economy - The lifting of perceived burdens is expected to drive growth, IPOs, and renewed business investment.
13. Hunter Biden - The president's son may receive a pardon, sparing him from potential legal consequences.
14. Comedian Tony Hinchcliff - Hinchcliff, who had mocked Trump, can now freely attend UFC events without fear of retaliation.
15. The Entire Trump Team - The successful campaign of Trump and his allies, including figures like Bobby Kennedy, Tulsi Gabbard, and Charlie Kirk, is seen as a collective win.
The Biggest Losers
1. Barack Obama - The former president's influence and credibility have been severely diminished, as he had confidently predicted that Trump would never become president.
2. Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics - These defense contractors are disappointed by the prospect of reduced military conflicts and war under a Trump presidency, which could impact their business.
3. Mark Cuban - The billionaire entrepreneur faced significant backlash and had to delete tweets during the campaign, ultimately losing to Trump's team.
4. University Administrations - Trump's potential crackdown on "woke" ideologies and endowments at universities is seen as a significant threat to their current operations.
5. The Department of Justice, Letitia James, Jack Smith, and Merrick Garland - These officials may be concerned about potential investigations into their actions against Trump during his previous term.
6. Mainstream Media - The media outlets that heavily promoted the anti-Trump narrative have suffered a significant loss of credibility and influence, especially in the face of the rise of independent media.
7. Volodymyr Zelenskyy - The Ukrainian president may be unhappy with the prospect of reduced financial support and military aid from the United States under a Trump administration.
8. Political Leaders of Ukraine, Iran, Hamas, China, and Mexico - These leaders may face tougher policies, tariffs, or a more assertive stance from the Trump administration.
9. Left-leaning Ideas - The American electorate's rejection of "woke" policies and the Democratic party's shift has dealt a significant blow to progressive ideologies.
Some of these eventually do lead to the company paying up. In the U.S. it settled with the FTC in a 2019 case where it paid up $5 billion and put new privacy practices in place.
Fines are calculated on a sliding scale but can amount to up to 30% of a company’s sales in the relevant category, the European Commission says.
The fine comes at a time when tides are changing fast in politics, not least because of the changing of the guard in the U.S., with the executive and legislative branches now all controlled by the Republicans.
As then it was fit to be so, that which is best of all and supreme over all is the only thing which the gods have placed in our power, the right use of appearances; but all other things they have not placed in our power. Was it because they did not choose? I indeed think that, if they had been able, they would have put these other things also in our power, but they certainly could not. For as we exist on the earth, and are bound to such a body and to such companions, how was it possible for us not to be hindered as to these things by externals?
But what says Zeus? "Epictetus, if it were possible, I would have made both your little body and your little property free and not exposed to hindrance. But now be not ignorant of this: this body is not yours, but it is clay finely tempered. And since I was not able to do for you what I have mentioned, I have given you a small portion of us, this faculty of pursuing an object and avoiding it, and the faculty of desire and aversion, and, in a word, the faculty of using the appearances of things; and if you will take care of this faculty and consider it your only possession, you will never be hindered, never meet with impediments; you will not lament, you will not blame, you will not flatter any person."
Some of that could have repercussions in regulation, and how Big Tech is regulated, not just in the U.S. but further afield. So far observers have named cybersecurity, M&A, and cryptocurrency as areas that might be revisited; it will be worth watching to see how social media, data protection and privacy — three areas that concern Meta — are treated in the years to come.
Well, do these seem to you small matters?" I hope not. "Be content with them then and pray to the gods." But now when it is in our power to look after one thing, and to attach ourselves to it, we prefer to look after many things, and to be bound to many things, to the body and to property, and to brother and to friend, and to child and to slave. Since, then, we are bound to many things, we are depressed by them and dragged down. For this reason, when the weather is not fit for sailing, we sit down and torment ourselves, and continually look out to see what wind is blowing. "It is north." What is that to us? "When will the west wind blow?" When it shall choose, my good man, or when it shall please AEolus; for God has not made you the manager of the winds, but AEolus. What then? We must make the best use that we can of the things which are in our power, and use the rest according to their nature. What is their nature then? As God may please.
Ukraine's military said on Thursday its troops were in full control of the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kupiansk and that their forces had stopped a Russian advance towards the railway hub.
A Russian-installed official said earlier that Moscow's forces were gaining a foothold on the outskirts of the city, more than 2½ years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
Kupiansk was seized by Moscow's forces in the early days of their February 2022 invasion and recaptured by Ukrainian troops in a rapid counter-offensive months later. In recent months, the area has seen an upsurge of activity by Russian forces.
"Must I, then, alone have my head cut off?" What, would you have all men lose their heads that you may be consoled? Will you not stretch out your neck as Lateranus did at Rome when Nero ordered him to be beheaded? For when he had stretched out his neck, and received a feeble blow, which made him draw it in for a moment, he stretched it out again. And a little before, when he was visited by Epaphroditus, Nero's freedman, who asked him about the cause of offense which he had given, he said, "If I choose to tell anything, I will tell your master."
A few weeks ago, Amazon Pharmacy announced that it’s expanding its same-day delivery service to 20 more U.S. cities next year, including Boston, Dallas, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, and San Diego. Amazon will reveal the other 15 cities in the coming months.
Amazon purchased primacy care tech provider One Medical in 2022 to launch Amazon One Medical the following year. The company launched Amazon Pharmacy in 2020 after it purchased online pharmacy PillPack in 2018. Last year, Amazon launched RxPass, a service that offers Prime members in the U.S. as many generic versions of medications as they need for a $5 monthly fee.
What then should a man have in readiness in such circumstances? What else than "What is mine, and what is not mine; and permitted to me, and what is not permitted to me." I must die. Must I then die lamenting? I must be put in chains. Must I then also lament? I must go into exile. Does any man then hinder me from going with smiles and cheerfulness and contentment? "Tell me the secret which you possess." I will not, for this is in my power. "But I will put you in chains." Man, what are you talking about? Me in chains? You may fetter my leg, but my will not even Zeus himself can overpower. "I will throw you into prison." My poor body, you mean. "I will cut your head off." When, then, have I told you that my head alone cannot be cut off? These are the things which philosophers should meditate on, which they should write daily, in which they should exercise themselves.
Po’s startup, originally founded in Europe but now based in Israel and the U.S., is about to launch the first two of a planned 24-satellite constellation that will monitor space weather and provide reports and predictions in near real time.
It’s not intended to replace the scientific instruments currently in space, but augment their data (much of which is public) with a voluminous, proprietary stream that enables more precise, timely monitoring.
Thrasea used to say, "I would rather be killed to-day than banished to-morrow." What, then, did Rufus say to him? "If you choose death as the heavier misfortune, how great is the folly of your choice? But if, as the lighter, who has given you the choice? Will you not study to be content with that which has been given to you?"
What, then, did Agrippinus say? He said, "I am not a hindrance to myself." When it was reported to him that his trial was going on in the Senate, he said, "I hope it may turn out well; but it is the fifth hour of the day"- this was the time when he was used to exercise himself and then take the cold bath- "let us go and take our exercise." After he had taken his exercise, one comes and tells him, "You have been condemned." "To banishment," he replies, "or to death?" "To banishment." "What about my property?" "It is not taken from you." "Let us go to Aricia then," he said, "and dine."
Po explained that while many companies and governments are increasingly aware of the need for better space weather prediction, the satellites are aging and the data is difficult to share.
“The infrastructure for space weather monitoring was developed in the late 90s, and many of the scientific models were developed 50 years ago,” Po said. Information sharing agreements between organizations like NASA, NOAA, and ESA are complex, and the data itself is not trivial to integrate and harmonize.
This it is to have studied what a man ought to study; to have made desire, aversion, free from hindrance, and free from all that a man would avoid. I must die. If now, I am ready to die. If, after a short time, I now dine because it is the dinner-hour; after this I will then die. How? Like a man who gives up what belongs to another.
“There are no people in the companies who need this data who can understand it. What’s needed is, say, alerts for different alert levels for launch, or for airlines. Everyone uses weather data but no one thinks about how it is generated: you just want to know if it’s going to rain or not. It’s the same here,” he continued.
Mission Space currently uses public sources, doing the work of normalizing it to create something of a unified data stream. But they are launching the first two of their own satellites in the first quarter of 2025, with more planned for later that year. Po said they could probably launch faster, but that it’s more beneficial to learn from the first set and improve as they go. “Engineers…” he said, “There are always more changes.”
How a Man on every occasion can maintain his Proper Character
To the rational animal only is the irrational intolerable; but that which is rational is tolerable. Blows are not naturally intolerable. "How is that?" See how the Lacedaemonians endure whipping when they have learned that whipping is consistent with reason. "To hang yourself is not intolerable." When, then, you have the opinion that it is rational, you go and hang yourself. In short, if we observe, we shall find that the animal man is pained by nothing so much as by that which is irrational; and, on the contrary, attracted to nothing so much as to that which is rational.
The satellites themselves (named Zohar) are specialized but not exotic, he noted, leading to a lower cost for a constellation of 24 than you might expect. The important part is that they still collect 15 parameters a thousand times a second.
“Space weather is a data monopoly game: the first to launch the constellation and build the infrastructure will win,” he predicted. “Even with half a constellation, in two years we will generate a thousand times more space weather data than humans have generated in the last 60. And the real-time data will let us develop machine learning models based on it.”
But the rational and the irrational appear such in a different way to different persons, just as the good and the bad, the profitable and the unprofitable. For this reason, particularly, we need discipline, in order to learn how to adapt the preconception of the rational and the irrational to the several things conformably to nature. But in order to determine the rational and the irrational, we use not only the of external things, but we consider also what is appropriate to each person. For to one man it is consistent with reason to hold a chamber pot for another, and to look to this only, that if he does not hold it, he will receive stripes, and he will not receive his food: but if he shall hold the pot, he will not suffer anything hard or disagreeable.
But to another man not only does the holding of a chamber pot appear intolerable for himself, but intolerable also for him to allow another to do this office for him. If, then, you ask me whether you should hold the chamber pot or not, I shall say to you that the receiving of food is worth more than the not receiving of it, and the being scourged is a greater indignity than not being scourged; so that if you measure your interests by these things, go and hold the chamber pot. "But this," you say, "would not be worthy of me." Well, then, it is you who must introduce this consideration into the inquiry, not I; for it is you who know yourself, how much you are worth to yourself, and at what price you sell yourself; for men sell themselves at various prices.
They are not in competition with governments and scientific organizations, he claimed, or really even startups looking to serve those customers — collaboration is a necessity for a number of reasons.
Their customers are “aerospace in general; satellite operators and space tourism companies; anyone doing private space stations. They’re all very aware of the problem,” said Po. “It was common knowledge in the aviation industry but now the companies are actually paying attention to solutions. And of course for defense, they’ve been developing the domain, and you must be sure you will not have issues in critical space operations. With the current level of precision, that’s hard for them.”
Specifics from the Wednesday auction, including the bid amount for Free Speech Systems, the parent company of InfoWars, and related assets, remain undisclosed. Proceeds from the sale will go to satisfy Jones’s creditors, primarily families of Sandy Hook shooting victims, to whom he owes damages following the defamation rulings.
Families affected by the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting filed defamation lawsuits against Jones in Connecticut and Texas, accusing him of inflicting emotional distress when he repeatedly raised doubts about the incident, in which a gunman killed 20 children and six adults.
For this reason, when Florus was deliberating whether he should go down to Nero's spectacles and also perform in them himself, Agrippinus said to him, "Go down": and when Florus asked Agrippinus, "Why do not you go down?" Agrippinus replied, "Because I do not even deliberate about the matter." For he who has once brought himself to deliberate about such matters, and to calculate the value of external things, comes very near to those who have forgotten their own character. For why do you ask me the question, whether death is preferable or life? I say "life." "Pain or pleasure?" I say "pleasure."
But if I do not take a part in the tragic acting, I shall have my head struck off. Go then and take a part, but I will not. "Why?" Because you consider yourself to be only one thread of those which are in the tunic. Well then it was fitting for you to take care how you should be like the rest of men, just as the thread has no design to be anything superior to the other threads. But I wish to be purple, that small part which is bright, and makes all the rest appear graceful and beautiful. Why then do you tell me to make myself like the many? and if I do, how shall I still be purple?
While juries awarded nearly $1.5 billion in damages to the families, Jones has asserted he cannot pay the total amount. He filed for bankruptcy in late 2022, and a judge permitted the liquidation of his personal assets in June to help address these financial obligations.
However, Jones does not plan to cease making online content, and has already set up new brand accounts to upload content under the Alex Jones Network.
SwiftConnect isn’t the first to market with a mobile-centric access control management platform. Openpath, Kisi and Verkada, among others, offer software to replace physical access cards with personal devices.
But Kruger asserts that SwiftConnect is one of the few that doesn’t require companies to install new reader hardware. That has helped it win clients like Silverstein Properties, which owns 7 World Trade Center in New York City, Kruger says.
SwiftConnect, which claims its system is live in over 100 million square feet of office space, said last year that it didn’t expect to need to raise additional capital “unless strategic opportunities presented themselves.”
Priscus Helvidius also saw this, and acted conformably. For when Vespasian sent and commanded him not to go into the senate, he replied, "It is in your power not to allow me to be a member of the senate, but so long as I am, I must go in." "Well, go in then," says the emperor, "but say nothing." "Do not ask my opinion, and I will be silent." "But I must ask your opinion." "And I must say what I think right." "But if you do, I shall put you to death." "When then did I tell you that I am immortal? You will do your part, and I will do mine: it is your part to kill; it is mine to die, but not in fear: yours to banish me; mine to depart without sorrow."
It seems like those strategic opportunities presented themselves. SwiftConnect this month raised $37 million in a Series B round led by Quadri Ventures, with participation from HID, Egis Capital Partners, Klingenstein Fields Advisors, Crow Holdings, JLL Spark, Navitas Capital and Spring Rock Capital.
“To address any potential headwinds, we decided to raise more than enough funding to weather any upcoming economic storms,” Kruger said.
The new cash, which brings the startup’s total capital raised to $74 million, will be put toward growing the company’s 135-person team and expanding to new geographies, Kopel says. SwiftConnect has offices in Montreal and Stamford, currently.
What good then did Priscus do, who was only a single person? And what good does the purple do for the toga? Why, what else than this, that it is conspicuous in the toga as purple, and is displayed also as a fine example to all other things? But in such circumstances another would have replied to Caesar who forbade him to enter the senate, "I thank you for sparing me." But such a man Vespasian would not even have forbidden to enter the senate, for he knew that he would either sit there like an earthen vessel, or, if he spoke, he would say what Caesar wished, and add even more.
Strategic acquisitions are on the table as well; last year, SwiftConnect used a portion of its warchest to buy Detrios, an access control firm.
“SwiftConnect is extending our expertise into the high-end, multi-family rental market, and has completed deployments in this space,” Kruger said. “We’re helping enable self-service, unfettered access to parking garages, buildings, turnstiles, office suites, and amenity spaces for tenants across their portfolio of properties.”
While it’s growing at a healthy clip, SwiftConnect faces potential headwinds. Mobile-centric access control systems can leave workers in a lurch if their smartphones shut down. And systems such as SwiftConnect’s have raised privacy concerns.
In this way an athlete also acted who was in danger of dying unless his private parts were amputated. His brother came to the athlete, who was a philosopher, and said, "Come, brother, what are you going to do? Shall we amputate this member and return to the gymnasium?" But the athlete persisted in his resolution and died. When some one asked Epictetus how he did this, as an athlete or a philosopher, "As a man," Epictetus replied, "and a man who had been proclaimed among the athletes at the Olympic games and had contended in them, a man who had been familiar with such a place, and not merely anointed in Baton's school. Another would have allowed even his head to be cut off, if he could have lived without it. Such is that regard to character which is so strong in those who have been accustomed to introduce it of themselves and conjoined with other things into their deliberations."
A Business Insider piece notes that firms including PwC, Amazon and Goldman Sachs are using badges to record employees’ working locations. According to one recent survey, 62% of organizations plan to use badge swipes to track attendance.
It’ll be incumbent on SwiftConnect to show it can deliver convenience without undue surveillance.
“Our platform is founded on a privacy-by-design principle where we collect the minimal amount of user information necessary to operate the service,” Kruger said. “Our customers retain full control over user data we process on their behalf.”
Alexander Baikovitz, Mach9 co-founder and CEO, said he got into this space while at Carnegie Mellon University. As a robotics student researcher, he worked on infrastructure projects like decontaminating legacy nuclear facilities for the U.S. Department of Energy, and he realized that “a lot of the robotics problems that we were solving were actually hardcore survey and mapping problems.” Which is to say, infrastructure projects are often halted from the beginning — even armed with the best robots to venture into radiation-filled facilities like the Hanford Nuclear Site in Washington state — if you don’t have robust data on where things are and the state they’re in.
"Come, then, Epictetus, shave yourself." "If I am a philosopher," I answer, "I will not shave myself." "But I will take off your head?" If that will do you any good, take it off.
Some person asked, "How then shall every man among us perceive what is suitable to his character?" How, he replied, does the bull alone, when the lion has attacked, discover his own powers and put himself forward in defense of the whole herd? It is plain that with the powers the perception of having them is immediately conjoined; and, therefore, whoever of us has such powers will not be ignorant of them. Now a bull is not made suddenly, nor a brave man; but we must discipline ourselves in the winter for the summer campaign, and not rashly run upon that which does not concern us.
“A lot of owners and operators of infrastructure have been seeing problems like aging and deterioration, extreme weather. Infrastructure is just changing so, so fast these days, and the way that we can continue to stay on top of a lot of these big challenges is with better data and better maps in the first place,” he said.
Mach9 originally pursued a hardware play; the aim was to develop mobile mapping systems and collect the geospatial data themselves by putting lidar and imaging payloads on top of vehicles. The company was accepted to Y Combinator’s Summer 2021 cohort and raised $2.5 million later that year. But many OEMs are already building great equipment to generate maps, and after talking to customers, Baikovitz said the company realized that the bigger problem was how to turn all all that mapping data into insights.
Only consider at what price you sell your own will; if for no other reason, at least for this, that you sell it not for a small sum. But that which is great and superior perhaps belongs to Socrates and such as are like him. "Why then, if we are naturally such, are not a very great number of us like him?" Is it true then that all horses become swift, that all dogs are skilled in tracking footprints? "What, then, since I am naturally dull, shall I, for this reason, take no pains?" I hope not. Epictetus is not superior to Socrates; but if he is not inferior, this is enough for me; for I shall never be a Milo, and yet I do not neglect my body; nor shall I be a Croesus, and yet I do not neglect my property; nor, in a word, do we neglect looking after anything because we despair of reaching the highest degree.
“Most people take for granted/don’t realize how hard it is to keep infrastructure up to date with the changing world,” he said. That’s where Digital Surveyor comes in.
Today, Mach9 is selling the Digital Surveyor software to engineering consultants, public and private infrastructure owners, and operators to help them turn this data into insights: to identify every utility pole within a utility company’s massive network, for example. In many instances, it takes a person two to four days per map mile to identify all the features; with Digital Surveyor, it takes less than 10 minutes a mile for a human to review and validate the software’s labels.
Digital Surveyor can not just identify features but provide more detailed information about them. Baikovitz walked me through a product demo and showed how Digital Surveyor can not only identify a utility pole but quickly tell me the angle at which that utility pole is leaning. This capability is critical for situations where people need information really quickly, Baikovitz said, like after an extreme weather event.
How a man should proceed from the principle of God being the father of all men to the rest
If a man should be able to assent to this doctrine as he ought, that we are all sprung from God in an especial manner, and that God is the father both of men and of gods, I suppose that he would never have any ignoble or mean thoughts about himself. But if Caesar should adopt you, no one could endure your arrogance; and if you know that you are the son of Zeus, will you not be elated? Yet we do not so; but since these two things are mingled in the generation of man, body in common with the animals, and reason and intelligence in common with the gods, many incline to this kinship, which is miserable and mortal; and some few to that which is divine and happy.
Since then it is of necessity that every man uses everything according to the opinion which he has about it, those, the few, who think that they are formed for fidelity and modesty and a sure use of appearances have no mean or ignoble thoughts about themselves; but with the many it is quite the contrary. For they say, "What am I? A poor, miserable man, with my wretched bit of flesh." Wretched. Indeed; but you possess something better than your "bit of flesh." Why then do you neglect that which is better, and why do you attach yourself to this?
The company recently closed a $12 million seed round led by Quiet Capital, with participation from new and existing investors including Overmatch Ventures, Cruise founder Kyle Vogt, former Autodesk CEO Omar Hanspal, Adobe CPO Scott Belsky, and former DoorDash executive Gokul Rajaram. The company plans to grow its 14-person team and build out the software, including adding more identifiable objects. The aim is to scale from being able to automatically identify around 20 different features today to “hundreds and thousands” in the future, Baikovitz said.
Through this kinship with the flesh, some of us inclining to it become like wolves, faithless and treacherous and mischievous: some become like lions, savage and untamed; but the greater part of us become foxes and other worse animals. For what else is a slanderer and a malignant man than a fox, or some other more wretched and meaner animal? See, then, and take care that you do not become some one of these miserable things.
Some users have complained that Arc is difficult to both learn and use, resulting in a loss of audience.
In a conversation with The Verge, Miller said that despite 4x user growth, the company understood that Arc isn’t a mainstream product.
The Browser Company hasn’t fully divulged details about what the final product might look like. Miller has claimed it will let users “glide around the internet” and get stuff done. The company also wants to build a powerful command bar that can help guide to the right result through AI. The company has shown off some of these features as concepts or smaller functional releases within the existing Arc browser.
He who is making progress, having learned from philosophers that desire means the desire of good things, and aversion means aversion from bad things; having learned too that happiness and tranquillity are not attainable by man otherwise than by not failing to obtain what he desires, and not falling into that which he would avoid; such a man takes from himself desire altogether and defers it, but he employs his aversion only on things which are dependent on his will.
For if he attempts to avoid anything independent of his will, he knows that sometimes he will fall in with something which he wishes to avoid, and he will be unhappy. Now if virtue promises good fortune and tranquillity and happiness, certainly also the progress toward virtue is progress toward each of these things. For it is always true that to whatever point the perfecting of anything leads us, progress is an approach toward this point.
Six seasonal cold foams are also hitting the menu, including new Gingerbread and Salted Pecan options. Otherwise, you’ll be able to top your cold brew with Peppermint Chocolate, Sugar Cookie, Chestnut Praline, and Caramel Brulée cream cold foams. The Seattle-based coffee chain also recommends topping the Cran-Merry Refresher with its vanilla cold foam, which we’ll leave up to your discretion.
How then do we admit that virtue is such as I have said, and yet seek progress in other things and make a display of it? What is the product of virtue? Tranquillity. Who then makes improvement? It is he who has read many books of Chrysippus? But does virtue consist in having understood Chrysippus? If this is so, progress is clearly nothing else than knowing a great deal of Chrysippus. But now we admit that virtue produces one thing. and we declare that approaching near to it is another thing, namely, progress or improvement. "Such a person," says one, "is already able to read Chrysippus by himself." Indeed, sir, you are making great progress. What kind of progress?
But why do you mock the man? Why do you draw him away from the perception of his own misfortunes? Will you not show him the effect of virtue that he may learn where to look for improvement? Seek it there, wretch, where your work lies. And where is your work? In desire and in aversion, that you may not be disappointed in your desire, and that you may not fall into that which you would avoid; in your pursuit and avoiding, that you commit no error; in assent and suspension of assent, that you be not deceived. The first things, and the most necessary, are those which I have named. But if with trembling and lamentation you seek not to fall into that which you avoid, tell me how you are improving.
As for food, we can expect all the usual suspects (like the Cranberry Bliss Bar and Sugar Plum Cheese Danish) alongside some newcomers. The Turkey Sage Danish, a savory pastry filled with turkey sausage and a bechamel sauce, is set to debut on Thursday. It’s also joined by the sprinkles-topped Dark Toffee Bundt, Penguin Cookie, and Snowman Cake Pop.
Seasonal offerings aren’t the only changes coming to the coffee chain — last week, the company announced that it’s cutting extra fees on non-dairy customizations for all drinks. There aren’t any new espresso-based drinks in this year’s holiday lineup, though, which might possibly signal another new direction for Starbucks’ menu strategy. After all, recently appointed CEO Brian Niccol has already been making changes to streamline the chain’s operations, including tightening the menu to refocus on the company’s core offerings, which might spell
Prefer your coffee in the comfort of your home? The chain is also launching three limited-edition coffee blends of coffee grounds — available on store shelves through the end of the year: the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Holiday Blends.
Between cheaper oat milk lattes and the return of fan-favorite lattes, it sounds like there’s enough cheer (and caffeine) to keep us satiated through the holiday season.
Do you then show me your improvement in these things? If I were talking to an athlete, I should say, "Show me your shoulders"; and then he might say, "Here are my halteres." You and your halteres look to that. I should reply, "I wish to see the effect of the halteres." So, when you say: "Take the treatise on the active powers, and see how I have studied it." I reply, "Slave, I am not inquiring about this, but how you exercise pursuit and avoidance, desire and aversion, how your design and purpose and prepare yourself, whether conformably to nature or not. If conformably, give me evidence of it, and I will say that you are making progress: but if not conformably, be gone, and not only expound your books, but write such books yourself; and what will you gain by it? Do you not know that the whole book costs only five denarii? Does then the expounder seem to be worth more than five denarii? Never, then, look for the matter itself in one place, and progress toward it in another."
The USDA and HHS still develop the Dietary Guidelines, but these groups rely heavily on the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC). The 2025 committee is made up of 20 "nationally recognized nutrition and public health experts," which include the chairperson Dr. Sarah Booth, the director of the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center and a professor at Tufts University, and vice chairperson Dr. Angela Odoms-Young, the director of the Food and Nutrition Education Program in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell. (See the entire committee and all their bios here.)
Where then is progress? If any of you, withdrawing himself from externals, turns to his own will to exercise it and to improve it by labour, so as to make it conformable to nature, elevated, free, unrestrained, unimpeded, faithful, modest; and if he has learned that he who desires or avoids the things which are not in his power can neither be faithful nor free, but of necessity he must change with them and be tossed about with them as in a tempest, and of necessity must subject himself to others who have the power to procure or prevent what he desires or would avoid; finally, when he rises in the morning, if he observes and keeps these rules, bathes as a man of fidelity, eats as a modest man; in like manner, if in every matter that occurs he works out his chief principles as the runner does with reference to running, and the trainer of the voice with reference to the voice- this is the man who truly makes progress, and this is the man who has not traveled in vain.
But if he has strained his efforts to the practice of reading books, and labours only at this, and has traveled for this, I tell him to return home immediately, and not to neglect his affairs there; for this for which he has traveled is nothing. But the other thing is something, to study how a man can rid his life of lamentation and groaning, and saying, "Woe to me," and "wretched that I am," and to rid it also of misfortune and disappointment and to learn what death is, and exile, and prison, and poison, that he may be able to say when he is in fetters, "Dear Crito, if it is the will of the gods that it be so, let it be so"; and not to say, "Wretched am I, an old man; have I kept my gray hairs for this?" Who is it that speaks thus?
Do you think that I shall name some man of no repute and of low condition? Does not Priam say this? Does not OEdipus say this? Nay, all kings say it! For what else is tragedy than the perturbations of men who value externals exhibited in this kind of poetry? But if a man must learn by fiction that no external things which are independent of the will concern us, for this? part I should like this fiction, by the aid of which I should live happily and undisturbed. But you must consider for yourselves what you wish.
The USDA noted that this year's committee will "examine the relationship between diet and health across all life stages and will use a health equity lens across its evidence review to ensure factors such as socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, and culture are described and considered to the greatest extent possible based on the information provided in the scientific literature and data." This, it added, is to ensure the guidelines and advice are "relevant to people with diverse racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds." Again, they will influence everything from nutrition labels to military rations to school meal programs.
To be clear, the 2025 guidelines are still in draft form, and the committee does take feedback from the public before officially declaring the guidelines. (Of note, the committee says it received nearly 10,000 comments between January 19, 2023 and October 7, 2024, for this new update.) However, in late October, the committee held its seventh and final meeting, where the draft showed that its updates could include a more significant emphasis on plant-based diets, including fruits, veggies, legumes, and nuts, and more of a focus on seafood consumption. With that, the committee is (again, still in draft) recommending people limit their consumption of red and processed meats and limit foods high in saturated fats, salty snacks, and refined grains.
What then does Chrysippus teach us? The reply is, "to know that these things are not false, from which happiness comes and tranquillity arises. Take my books, and you will learn how true and conformable to nature are the things which make me free from perturbations." O great good fortune! O the great benefactor who points out the way! To Triptolemus all men have erected temples and altars, because he gave us food by cultivation; but to him who discovered truth and brought it to light and communicated it to all, not the truth which shows us how to live, but how to live well, who of you for this reason has built an altar, or a temple, or has dedicated a statue, or who worships God for this? Because the gods have given the vine, or wheat, we sacrifice to them: but because they have produced in the human mind that fruit by which they designed to show us the truth which relates to happiness, shall we not thank God for this?
The potential recommendation for people to reduce their intake of red and processed meats quickly drew ire from the meat industry. Julie Anna Potts, president and CEO of the Meat Institute, shared that the suggestion to reduce meat is “alarming, disappointing and ... contradictory to the committee’s other findings about nutritional deficiencies," Agri-Pulse reported.
Shalene McNeill, the executive director of nutrition science at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, who is also a registered dietitian, stated, “It’s baffling that we are trying to get Americans to cut out red meat when the evidence indicates nutrient deficiencies and chronic disease are increasing as red meat consumption declines,” McNeill added that red meat contains “important nutrients including potassium, iron, and choline.”
If a man, said Epictetus, opposes evident truths, it is not easy to find arguments by which we shall make him change his opinion. But this does not arise either from the man's strength or the teacher's weakness; for when the man, though he has been confuted, is hardened like a stone, how shall we then be able to deal with him by argument?
Now there are two kinds of hardening, one of the understanding, the other of the sense of shame, when a man is resolved not to assent to what is manifest nor to desist from contradictions. Most of us are afraid of mortification of the body, and would contrive all means to avoid such a thing, but we care not about the soul's mortification. And indeed with regard to the soul, if a man be in such a state as not to apprehend anything, or understand at all, we think that he is in a bad condition: but if the sense of shame and modesty are deadened, this we call even power.
Ethan Lane, the vice president of government affairs at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, had even stronger words, adding, “The preview meeting of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee this week stands out as one of the most out-of-touch, impractical, and elitist conversations in the history of this process."
Another hotly debated potential change for 2025 concerns alcohol consumption. The current guidelines suggest two drinks or fewer per day for men and one drink or fewer per day for women. In the full text document, the guidelines add, "Emerging evidence suggests that even drinking within the recommended limits may increase the overall risk of death from various causes, such as from several types of cancer and some forms of cardiovascular disease."
Do you comprehend that you are awake? "I do not," the man replies, "for I do not even comprehend when in my sleep I imagine that I am awake." Does this appearance then not differ from the other? "Not at all," he replies. Shall I still argue with this man? And what fire or what iron shall I apply to him to make him feel that he is deadened? He does perceive, but he pretends that he does not. He's even worse than a dead man. He does not see the contradiction: he is in a bad condition. Another does see it, but he is not moved, and makes no improvement: he is even in a worse condition. His modesty is extirpated, and his sense of shame; and the rational faculty has not been cut off from him, but it is brutalized. Shall I name this strength of mind? Certainly not, unless we also name it such in catamites, through which they do and say in public whatever comes into their head.
The updated guidelines were going to be informed by a study by the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD). However, in early 2024, a bipartisan group of 100 lawmakers sent a letter putting a stop to the study, calling it "inappropriate" for a committee dedicated to underage drinking to study adult use and not in line with the work already done by the Department of Agriculture.
From everything which is or happens in the world, it is easy to praise Providence, if a man possesses these two qualities, the faculty of seeing what belongs and happens to all persons and things, and a grateful disposition. If he does not possess these two qualities, one man will not see the use of things which are and which happen; another will not be thankful for them, even if he does know them. If God had made colours, but had not made the faculty of seeing them, what would have been their use? None at all. On the other hand, if He had made the faculty of vision, but had not made objects such as to fall under the faculty, what in that case also would have been the use of it? None at all. Well, suppose that He had made both, but had not made light?
In that case, also, they would have been of no use. Who is it, then, who has fitted this to that and that to this? And who is it that has fitted the knife to the case and the case to the knife? Is it no one? And, indeed, from the very structure of things which have attained their completion, we are accustomed to show that the work is certainly the act of some artificer, and that it has not been constructed without a purpose. Does then each of these things demonstrate the workman, and do not visible things and the faculty of seeing and light demonstrate Him?
And the existence of male and female, and the desire of each for conjunction, and the power of using the parts which are constructed, do not even these declare the workman? If they do not, let us consider the constitution of our understanding according to which, when we meet with sensible objects, we simply receive impressions from them, but we also select something from them, and subtract something, and add, and compound by means of them these things or those, and, in fact, pass from some to other things which, in a manner, resemble them: is not even this sufficient to move some men, and to induce them not to forget the workman? If not so, let them explain to us what it is that makes each several thing, or how it is possible that things so wonderful and like the contrivances of art should exist by chance and from their own proper motion?
“The secretive process at ICCPUD and the concept of original research on adult alcohol consumption by a committee tasked with preventing underage drinking jeopardizes the credibility of ICCPUD and its ability to continue its primary role of helping the nation prevent underage drinking,” the letter read in part.
During the last two meetings, Agri-Pulse reported, Booth said that the DGAC did not review scientific evidence on alcohol as it's part of a separate agency effort. However, Agri-Pulse noted that the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are conducting scientific reviews on adult alcohol consumption. Its findings are expected by the end of the year. The findings, the DGAC added, "will help HHS and USDA develop alcoholic beverages guidance to include in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030." Here's more about the ongoing study on adult alcohol use.
What, then, are these things done in us only. Many, indeed, in us only, of which the rational animal had peculiar need; but you will find many common to us with irrational animals. Do they them understand what is done? By no means. For use is one thing, and understanding is another: God had need of irrational animals to make use of appearances, but of us to understand the use of appearances. It is therefore enough for them to eat and to drink, and to sleep and to copulate, and to do all the other things which they severally do.
But for us, to whom He has given also the faculty, these things are not sufficient; for unless we act in a proper and orderly manner, and conformably to the nature and constitution of each thing, we shall never attain our true end. For where the constitutions of living beings are different, there also the acts and the ends are different. In those animals, then, whose constitution is adapted only to use, use alone is enough: but in an animal which has also the power of understanding the use, unless there be the due exercise of the understanding, he will never attain his proper end. Well then God constitutes every animal, one to be eaten, another to serve for agriculture, another to supply cheese, and another for some like use; for which purposes what need is there to understand appearances and to be able to distinguish them?
But God has introduced man to be a spectator of God and of His works; and not only a spectator of them, but an interpreter. For this reason it is shameful for man to begin and to end where irrational animals do, but rather he ought to begin where they begin, and to end where nature ends in us; and nature ends in contemplation and understanding, in a way of life conformable to nature. Take care then not to die without having been spectators of these things.
After the draft by the advisory committee is completed, they will send it to the USDA and HHS, who will then "release the updated Dietary Guidelines and work with Federal, state, and local partners to implement the new edition."
However, just because they recommend it doesn't mean the government heeds the advice. In 2020, under the first Trump administration, the federal government rejected the committee's recommended advice to have people cut their consumption of added sugars to 6 percent of their daily calorie intake and rejected its advice for adult men and women to limit their daily alcohol consumption to one drink a day.
But you take a journey to Olympia to see the work of Phidias, and all of you think it a misfortune to die without having seen such things. But when there is no need to take a journey, and where a man is, there he has the works (of God) before him, will you not desire to see and understand them? Will you not perceive either what you are, or what you were born for, or what this is for which you have received the faculty of sight? But you may say, "There are some things disagreeable and troublesome in life." And are there none in Olympia? Are you not scorched? Are you not pressed by a crowd? Are you not without comfortable means of bathing? Are you not wet when it rains? Have you not abundance of noise, clamour, and other disagreeable things? But I suppose that setting all these things off against the magnificence of the spectacle, you bear and endure.
Well, then, and have you not received faculties by which you will be able to bear all that happens? Have you not received greatness of soul? Have you not received manliness? Have you not received endurance? And why do I trouble myself about anything that can happen if I possess greatness of soul? What shall distract my mind or disturb me, or appear painful? Shall I not use the power for the purposes for which I received it, and shall I grieve and lament over what happens?
"I’m stunned by the whole thing,” Marion Nestle, author and professor emerita of nutrition and food studies at New York University, shared with the New York Times at the time. “Despite repeated claims that the guidelines are science-based, the Trump agencies ignored the recommendation of the scientific committee they had appointed and instead reverted to the recommendation of the previous guidelines."
3D radio vision
PanoRadar, a new technology that converts basic radio waves into intricate, three-dimensional pictures of the surroundings, was created to address the problem and offer robots superhuman eyesight.
The PanoRadar sensor functions similarly to a lighthouse, scanning the entire horizon by sweeping its beam in a circle. A revolving vertical array of antennae makes up the system, which scans its environment. Similar to how a lighthouse’s beam identifies the presence of ships and coastal landmarks, these antennas revolve by emitting radio waves and listening for their reflections from the surrounding environment.
PanoRadar surpasses this straightforward scanning technique because of AI’s capability. In contrast to a lighthouse that merely illuminates various areas as it spins, PanoRadar intelligently combines measurements from all rotation angles to improve its imaging resolution.
"Yes, but my nose runs." For what purpose then, slave, have you hands? Is it not that you may wipe your nose? "Is it, then, consistent with reason that there should be running of noses in the world?" Nay, how much better it is to wipe your nose than to find fault. What do you think that Hercules would have been if there had not been such a lion, and hydra, and stag, and boar, and certain unjust and bestial men, whom Hercules used to drive away and clear out? And what would he have been doing if there had been nothing of the kind? Is it not plain that he would have wrapped himself up and have slept? In the first place, then he would not have been a Hercules, when he was dreaming away all his life in such luxury and case; and even if he had been one what would have been the use of him? and what the use of his arms, and of the strength of the other parts of his body, and his endurance and noble spirit, if such circumstances and occasions had not roused and exercised him?
"Well, then, must a man provide for himself such means of exercise, and to introduce a lion from some place into his country, and a boar and a hydra?" This would be folly and madness: but as they did exist, and were found, they were useful for showing what Hercules was and for exercising him. Come then do you also having observed these things look to the faculties which you have, and when you have looked at them, say: "Bring now, O Zeus, any difficulty that Thou pleasest, for I have means given to me by Thee and powers for honoring myself through the things which happen." You do not so; but you sit still, trembling for fear that some things will happen, and weeping, and lamenting and groaning for what does happen: and then you blame the gods. For what is the consequence of such meanness of spirit but impiety? And yet God has not only given us these faculties;
by which we shall be able to bear everything that happens without being depressed or broken by it; but, like a good king and a true father, He has given us these faculties free from hindrance, subject to no compulsion unimpeded, and has put them entirely in our own power, without even having reserved to Himself any power of hindering or impeding. You, who have received these powers free and as your own, use them not: you do not even see what you have received, and from whom; some of you being blinded to the giver, and not even acknowledging your benefactor, and others, through meanness of spirit, betaking yourselves to fault finding and making charges against God. Yet I will show to you that you have powers and means for greatness of soul and manliness but what powers you have for finding fault and making accusations, do you show me.
This rotating technique produces a dense array of virtual measurement points, enabling PanoRadar to achieve imaging resolution comparable to LiDAR, even though the sensor itself is only a small portion of the price of normally costly LiDAR systems.
“The key innovation is in how we process these radio wave measurements,” explains Zhao. “Our signal processing and machine learning algorithms are able to extract rich 3D information from the environment,” said Mingmin Zhao, Assistant Professor in Computer and Information Science, in a statement.
Of the use of sophistical arguments, and hypothetical, and the like
The handling of sophistical and hypothetical arguments, and of those which derive their conclusions from questioning, and in a word the handling of all such arguments, relates to the duties of life, though the many do not know this truth. For in every matter we inquire how the wise and good man shall discover the proper path and the proper method of dealing with the matter. Let, then, people either say that the grave man will not descend into the contest of question and answer, or that, if he does descend into the contest, he will take no care about not conducting himself rashly or carelessly in questioning and answering.
But if they do not allow either the one or the other of these things, they must admit that some inquiry ought to be made into those topics on which particularly questioning and answering are employed. For what is the end proposed in reasoning? To establish true propositions, to remove the false, to withhold assent from those which are not plain. Is it enough then to have learned only this? "It is enough," a man may reply. Is it, then, also enough for a man, who would not make a mistake in the use of coined money, to have heard this precept, that he should receive the genuine drachmae and reject the spurious? "It is not enough." What, then, ought to be added to this precept? What else than the faculty which proves and distinguishes the genuine and the spurious drachmae?
Consequently also in reasoning what has been said is not enough; but is it necessary that a man should acquire the faculty of examining and distinguishing the true and the false, and that which is not plain? "It is necessary." Besides this, what is proposed in reasoning? "That you should accept what follows from that which you have properly granted." Well, is it then enough in this case also to know this? It is not enough; but a man must learn how one thing is a consequence of other things, and when one thing follows from one thing, and when it follows from several collectively. Consider, then if it be not necessary that this power should also be acquired by him who purposes to conduct himself skillfully in reasoning, the power of demonstrating himself the several things which he has proposed, and the power of understanding the demonstrations of others, including of not bein
AI-powered sensing
The team faced significant challenges in developing algorithms for PanoRadar, aiming to maintain high-resolution imaging while the robot moves.
Achieving LiDAR-level detail with radio signals required measurements from multiple positions at sub-millimeter accuracy, demanding precise control even as the robot moved. Another hurdle involved teaching the system to interpret complex indoor environments, which they addressed by training the AI to recognize patterns in radar signals, much like human perception.
Using LiDAR for initial verification, the system refined its understanding, demonstrating superior tracking in smoke-filled areas and mapping spaces with glass walls, which traditional sensors often struggle to detect.
n the future, the group intends to investigate how PanoRadar may complement existing sensing technologies, such as cameras and LiDAR, to develop more reliable, multi-modal perception systems for robots. Additionally, the team is broadening the scope of its experiments to encompass a variety of autonomous vehicles and robotic platforms.
g deceived by sophists, as if they were demonstrating. Therefore there has arisen among us the practice and exercise of conclusive arguments and figures, and it has been shown to be necessary.
But in fact in some cases we have properly granted the premisses or assumptions, and there results from them something; and though it is not true, yet none the less it does result. What then ought I to do? Ought I to admit the falsehood? And how is that possible? Well, should I say that I did not properly grant that which we agreed upon? "But you are not allowed to do even this." Shall I then say that the consequence does not arise through what has been conceded? "But neither is it allowed." What then must be done in this case? Consider if it is not this: as to have borrowed is not enough to make a man still a debtor, but to this must be added the fact that he continues to owe the money and that the debt is not paid, so it is not enough to compel you to admit the inference that you have granted the premisses, but you must abide by what you have granted.
Indeed, if the premisses continue to the end such as they were when they were granted, it is absolutely necessary for us to abide by what we have granted, and we must accept their consequences: but if the premisses do not remain such as they were when they were granted, it is absolutely necessary for us also to withdraw from what we granted, and from accepting what does not follow from the words in which our concessions were made. For the inference is now not our inference, nor does it result with our assent, since we have withdrawn from the premisses which we granted. We ought then both to examine such kind of premisses, and such change and variation of them, by which in the course of questioning or answering, or in making the syllogistic conclusion,
or in any other such way, the premisses undergo variations, and give occasion to the foolish to be confounded, if they do not see what conclusions are. For what reason ought we to examine? In order that we may not in this matter be employed in an improper manner nor in a confused way.
According to Electra, this innovation creates new opportunities for regional air travel by providing access to previously inaccessible places and smaller populations without conventional airport infrastructure.
The EL9 cruises at 175 knots (201 mph) and can take off and land in just 150 feet (46 meters). With IFR reserves, it has a maximum range of 1,100 nautical miles (1,265 miles) and can carry nine passengers with baggage or 3,000 pounds (1,361 kg) of freight for up to 330 nautical miles (379 miles).
Its range and payload capacity make it ideal for important missions, offering a balance of efficiency and versatility in regional air travel. The aircraft provides both the flexibility for long trips and the ability to handle heavy cargo.
Although the EL9 will have two pilot crew stations, a single pilot will be able to make precise landings with ease thanks to Electra’s Safe Single Pilot technology with fly-by-wire controls.
And the same in hypotheses and hypothetical arguments; for it is necessary sometimes to demand the granting of some hypothesis as a kind of passage to the argument which follows. Must we then allow every hypothesis that is proposed, or not allow every one? And if not every one, which should we allow? And if a man has allowed an hypothesis, must he in every case abide by allowing it? or must he sometimes withdraw from it, but admit the consequences and not admit contradictions? Yes; but suppose that a man says, "If you admit the hypothesis of a possibility, I will draw you to an impossibility."
With such a person shall a man of sense refuse to enter into a contest, and avoid discussion and conversation with him? But what other man than the man of sense can use argumentation and is skillful in questioning and answering, and incapable of being cheated and deceived by false reasoning? And shall he enter into the contest, and yet not take care whether he shall engage in argument not rashly and not carelessly? And if he does not take care, how can he be such a man as we conceive him to be? But without some such exercise and preparation, can he maintain a continuous and consistent argument? Let them show this; and all these speculations become superfluous, and are absurd and inconsistent with our notion of a good and serious man.
Sustainable aviation
In addition to providing smooth point-to-point regional connectivity for both passengers and cargo, Electra’s aircraft design opens up thousands of new places for direct air service, including small regional airports and unusual locales like parking lots or grass fields.
Perovskites are a family of materials that have shown potential for high performance and low production costs in solar cells. The name “perovskite” comes from the nickname for their crystal structure, although other types of non-halide perovskites (such as oxides and nitrides) are utilized in other energy technologies, such as fuel cells and catalysts, according to US DOE.
Perovskite solar cells have demonstrated remarkable progress in recent years, with efficiency levels rapidly increasing. However, despite their rapid rise in efficiency, several challenges need to be addressed before they can become a commercially competitive technology.
Why are we still indolent and negligent and sluggish, and why do we seek pretences for not labouring and not being watchful in cultivating our reason? "If then I shall make a mistake in these matters may I not have killed my father?" Slave, where was there a father in this matter that you could kill him? What, then, have you done? The only fault that was possible here is the fault which you have committed. This is the very remark which I made to Rufus when he blamed me for not having discovered the one thing omitted in a certain syllogism:
"I suppose," I said, "that I have burnt the Capitol." "Slave," he replied, "was the thing omitted here the Capitol?" Or are these the only crimes, to burn the Capitol and to kill your father? But for a man to use the appearances resented to him rashly and foolishly and carelessly, not to understand argument, nor demonstration, nor sophism, nor, in a word, to see in questioning and answering what is consistent with that which we have granted or is not consistent; is there no error in this?
Significant milestone
“This achievement represents a significant milestone in overcoming one of the key technical barriers for the commercialization of large-area perovskite cells, marking a major success in industry-research collaboration that we hope will contribute substantially to the commercialization of solar cell technologies,” said president Young-Kook Lee of KRICT.
That the faculties are not safe to the uninstructed
In as many ways as we can change things which are equivalent to one another, in just so many ways we can change the forms of arguments and enthymemes in argumentation. This is an instance: "If you have borrowed and not repaid, you owe me the money: you have not borrowed and you have not repaid; then you do not owe me the money." To do this skillfully is suitable to no man more than to the philosopher; for if the enthymeme is all imperfect syllogism. it is plain that he who has been exercised in the perfect syllogism must be equally expert in the imperfect also.
With its flexible movement modes, Lynx promises to offer a promising tool for applications that require reliable all-terrain navigation. The company claims that Lynx is now available for pre-order.
Autonomous rescue
In a recently circulated video, developers from DEEP Robotics can be seen teaching their X30 robot dog to avoid hazards, strangers, and other random objects.
The Chinese company, which is renowned for its expertise in robotics technology, was the first in the nation to use quadruped robots for fully autonomous substation inspection.
"Why then do we not exercise ourselves and one another in this manner?" Because, I reply, at present, though we are not exercised in these things and not distracted from the study of morality, by me at least, still we make no progress in virtue. What then must we expect if we should add this occupation? and particularly as this would not only be an occupation which would withdraw us from more necessary things, but would also be a cause of self conceit and arrogance, and no small cause.
For great is the power of arguing and the faculty of persuasion, and particularly if it should be much exercised, and also receive additional ornament from language: and so universally, every faculty acquired by the uninstructed and weak brings with it the danger of these persons being elated and inflated by it. For by what means could one persuade a young man who excels in these matters that he ought not to become an appendage to them, but to make them an appendage to himself? Does he not trample on all such reasons, and strut before us elated and inflated, not enduring that any man should reprove him and remind him of what he has neglected and to what he has turned aside?
According to DEEP Robotics, its quadruped robots can be utilized for a variety of tasks, including emergency rescue, fire detection, security measures, and doing scientific studies in areas deemed unsafe or inaccessible to people.
This kind of feature can be useful in a variety of scenarios, particularly while working in hazardous and difficult areas on security, surveillance, or rescue missions.
"What, then, was not Plato a philosopher?" I reply, "And was not Hippocrates a physician? but you see how Hippocrates speaks." Does Hippocrates, then, speak thus in respect of being a physician? Why do you mingle things which have been accidentally united in the same men? And if Plato was handsome and strong, ought I also to set to work and endeavor to become handsome or strong, as if this was necessary for philosophy, because a certain philosopher was at the same time handsome and a philosopher?
Will you not choose to see and to distinguish in respect to what men become philosophers, and what things belong to belong to them in other respects? And if I were a philosopher, ought you also to be made lame? What then? Do I take away these faculties which you possess? By no means; for neither do I take away the faculty of seeing. But if you ask me what is the good of man, I cannot mention to you anything else than that it is a certain disposition of the will with respect to appearances.
The behavior must presently be programmed into the X30 robot dog, but with the aid of artificial intelligence (AI), it might eventually become a standard pre-existing function.
One of the X30 quadruped robot’s unique features is its ability to function in extremely cold conditions, from -4 degrees Fahrenheit (-20°C) to 131 degrees Fahrenheit (55°C). Additionally, it has IP67 protection, which makes it waterproof and able to function in environments with water.
Defense of crypto stance
Gensler offered a full-throated defense of his approach to crypto.
Gensler repeated his assertion that while bitcoin is not a security, the SEC's focus "has been on some of the 10,000 or so other digital assets, many of which courts have ruled were offered or sold as securities" and are therefore subject to the SEC's purview.
He again asserted anyone offering to sell securities needs to register, and that intermediaries such as broker-dealers, exchanges and clearinghouses also need to be registered.
How from the fact that we are akin to God a man may proceed to the consequences
If the things are true which are said by the philosophers about the kinship between God and man, what else remains for men to do then what Socrates did? Never in reply to the question, to what country you belong, say that you are an Athenian or a Corinthian, but that you are a citizen of the world. For why do you say that you are an Athenian, and why do you not say that you belong to the small nook only into which your poor body was cast at birth? Is it not plain that you call yourself an Athenian or Corinthian from the place which has a greater authority and comprises not only that small nook itself and all your family, but even the whole country from which the stock of your progenitors is derived down to you? ve contempt and without any fear at all? and to have God for your maker and father and guardian, shall not this release us from sorrows and fears?
He then who has observed with intelligence the administration of the world, and has learned that the greatest and supreme and the most comprehensive community is that which is composed of men and God, and that from God have descended the seeds not only to my father and grandfather, but to all beings which are generated on the earth and are produced, and particularly to rational beings- for these only are by their nature formed to have communion with God, being by means of reason conjoined with Him- why should not such a man call himself a citizen of the world, why not a son of God, and why should he be afraid of anything which happens among men? Is kinship with Caesar or with any other of the powerful in Rome sufficient to enable us to live in safety, and abo
He said that the failure to properly police the crypto industry had resulted in "significant investor harm" and that "the vast majority of crypto assets have yet to prove out sustainable use cases."
Proud to serve
Gensler did not say he was resigning, but the tone was clear.
"I've been proud to serve with my colleagues at the SEC who, day in and day out, work to protect American families on the highways of finance," he said at the end of his speech.
But a man may say, "Whence shall I get bread to eat when I have nothing?"
And how do slaves, and runaways, on what do they rely when they leave their masters? Do they rely on their lands or slaves, or their vessels of silver? They rely on nothing but themselves, and food does not fail them. And shall it be necessary for one among us who is a philosopher to travel into foreign parts, and trust to and rely on others, and not to take care of himself, and shall he be inferior to irrational animals and more cowardly, each of which, being self-sufficient, neither fails to get its proper food, nor to find a suitable way of living, and one conformable to nature?
Tesla representatives told a committee put together by the team that they support ending the subsidy, Reuters reported, echoing comments made by Musk earlier this year, and calling it “devastating” for competitors and a slight hit to Tesla. These meetings have reportedly been led by North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, a candidate for Trump’s “energy czar,” and Harold Hamm, the billionaire founder of fossil-fuel giant Continental Resource.
Trump has said he wants to scrap the “Green New Scam,” referring to President Joe Biden’s pro-EV policies, including the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which is where the tax credits come from. On his first day in office, Trump plans to begin rolling back rules from the Environmental Protection Agency and Transportation Department and expand oil drilling.
I indeed think that the old man ought to be sitting here, not to contrive how you may have no mean thoughts nor mean and ignoble talk about yourselves, but to take care that there be not among us any young men of such a mind that, when they have recognized their kinship to God, and that we are fettered by these bonds, the body, I mean, and its possessions, and whatever else on account of them is necessary to us for the economy and commerce of life, they should intend to throw off these things as if they were burdens painful and intolerable, and to depart to their kinsmen. But this is the labour that your teacher and instructor ought to be employed upon, if he really were what he should be.
You should come to him and say, "Epictetus, we can no longer endure being bound to this poor body, and feeding it and giving it drink, and rest, and cleaning it, and for the sake of the body complying with the wishes of these and of those. Are not these things indifferent and nothing to us, and is not death no evil? And are we not in a manner kinsmen of God, and did we not come from Him? Allow us to depart to the place from which we came; allow us to be released at last from these bonds by which we are bound and weighed down. Here there are robbers and thieves and courts of justice, and those who are named tyrants, and think that they have some power over us by means of the body and its possessions. Permit us to show them that they have no power over any man."
And I on my part would say, "Friends, wait for God; when He shall give the signal and release you from this service, then go to Him; but for the present endure to dwell in this place where He has put you: short indeed is this time of your dwelling here, and easy to bear for those who are so disposed: for what tyrant or what thief, or what courts of justice, are formidable to those who have thus considered as things of no value the body and the possessions of the body? Wait then, do not depart without a reason."
The Colosseum trip is also connected to an Airbnb project intended to revitalize heritage tourism in Europe. The rental company is partially funding restoration and repairs as part of “an ongoing project to restore the permanent exhibition at the Colosseum,” according to a press release from Airbnb.
Interested guests can register for the experience starting November 27 at 6:00 AM PT at airbnb.com/gladiatormovie through December 9 at 11:59 PM PT. There is no cost for the initial registration.
Something like this ought to be said by the teacher to ingenuous youths. But now what happens? The teacher is a lifeless body, and you are lifeless bodies. When you have been well filled to-day, you sit down and lament about the morrow, how you shall get something to eat. Wretch, if you have it, you will have it; if you have it not, you will depart from life. The door is open. Why do you grieve? where does there remain any room for tears? and where is there occasion for flattery? why shall one man envy another? why should a man admire the rich or the powerful, even if they be both very strong and of violent temper? for what will they do to us? We shall not care for that which they can do; and what we do care for, that they cannot do. How did Socrates behave with respect to these matters?
Why, in what other way than a man ought to do who was convinced that he was a kinsman of the gods? "If you say to me now," said Socrates to his judges, "'We will acquit you on the condition that you no longer discourse in the way in which you have hitherto discoursed, nor trouble either our young or our old men,' I shall answer, 'you make yourselves ridiculous by thinking that, if one of our commanders has appointed me to a certain post, it is my duty to keep and maintain it, and to resolve to die a thousand times rather than desert it; but if God has put us in any place and way of life, we ought to desert it.'" Socrates speaks like a man who is really a kinsman of the gods. But we think about ourselves as if we were only stomachs, and intestines, and shameful parts; we fear, we desire; we flatter those who are able to help us in these matters, and we fear them also.
A seemingly obvious solution to this problem is to increase the world's renewable energy infrastructure so we can meet AI's energy demands without dumping more carbon into the atmosphere. But that's easier said than done. Adding new, renewable energy sources in the US is time-consuming and full of red tape.
“Utilities really don’t like adding renewable power plants to their systems,” Stoner says. “They stress them, they add a lot of peak current at times of the day that are not the same as they are if the system doesn’t have those sources. They resist, and they hum and they haw.”
A man asked me to write to Rome about him, a man who, as most people thought, had been unfortunate, for formerly he was a man of rank and rich, but had been stripped of all, and was living here. I wrote on his behalf in a submissive manner; but when he had read the letter, he gave it back to me and said, "I wished for your help, not your pity: no evil has happened to me."
Thus also Musonius Rufus, in order to try me, used to say: "This and this will befall you from your master"; and I replied that these were things which happen in the ordinary course of human affairs. "Why, then," said he, "should I ask him for anything when I can obtain it from you?"
For, in fact, what a man has from himself, it is superfluous and foolish to receive from another? Shall I, then, who am able to receive from myself greatness of soul and a generous spirit, receive from you land and money or a magisterial office? I hope not: I will not be so ignorant about my own possessions. But when a man is cowardly and mean, what else must be done for him than to write letters as you would about a corpse. "Please to grant us the body of a certain person and a sextarius of poor blood." For such a person is, in fact, a carcass and a sextarius of blood, and nothing more. But if he were anything more, he would know that one man is not miserable through the means of another.
As a result, it can take four or five years for a new energy source to pass through an “interconnect queue” to be added to existing US power grids, Stoner explains.
At the rate AI is developing and investment in the sector is growing, that won’t be enough—despite California’s success with renewables. The Washington Post reports that many states like Texas don’t have enough electricity as it is—and states like Georgia, Virginia, and Arizona will have to scramble to keep up with data centers' energy demands.
Tesla CEO and xAI founder Elon Musk declared last month that there won’t be enough electricity to meet demand as soon as next year. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman agrees and suggests that nuclear fusion breakthroughs could be the only way to truly overcome AI’s energy use problem (nuclear fission plants for AI are in demand, too).
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who’s largely pivoted his tech firm from the metaverse to AI development, even admits that tech companies are more likely to run out of electricity before they run out of money.
“Getting energy permitted is like a very heavily regulated government function,” Zuckerberg said in an interview this month. “You’re talking about many years of lead time. So if we wanted to stand up some massive facility, to power that—I think that’s a very long-term project.”
Full Steam Ahead
Despite the looming energy crisis AI aggravates, tech giants show no signs of slowing down development. Some justify the push with vague promises of AGI, or artificial general intelligence, which doesn’t yet exist. Even if it did, though, it’s unclear how helpful it could be in mitigating climate change's effects.
But Chandra Krintz, computer scientist and professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, tells us that much of the talk around AI right now is being presented in a sensationalized manner.
“Right now, I think it is extreme and over-the-top,” says Krintz, who is also the chair of the Computing Community Consortium’s Climate Task Force. “However, I think in the end, it’s going to force technology companies to identify, ‘OK. What is the right hardware? What is the right software?’ There will be pressure from politicians as well as society.”
Krintz says it will be up to voters and policy-makers to help prevent the worst predictions about AI’s future energy use from coming true. AI-specific servers could soon suck up 134 terawatt hours of electricity a year on their own—as much as an entire nation. Together, crypto mining and AI could double global data center energy consumption by 2026, according to an International Energy Agency report released earlier this year. And The Week reports that over 300 million people in the US and Canada could soon experience power outages, in part due to AI’s massive energy demands.
If we applied ourselves as busily to our own work as the old men at Rome do to those matters about which they are employed, perhaps we also might accomplish something. I am acquainted with a man older than myself who is now superintendent of corn at Rome, and remember the time when he came here on his way back from exile, and what he said as he related the events of his former life, and how he declared that with respect to the future after his return he would look after nothing else than passing the rest of his life in quiet and tranquillity. "For how little of life," he said, remains for me." I replied, "You will not do it, but as soon as you smell Rome, you will forget all that you have said; and if admission is allowed even into the imperial palace, you will gladly thrust yourself in and thank God."
"If you find me, Epictetus," he answered, "setting even one foot within the palace, think what you please." Well, what then did he do? Before he entered the city he was met by letters from Caesar, and as soon as he received them he forgot all, and ever after has added one piece of business to another. I wish that I were now by his side to remind him of what he said when he was passing this way and to tell him how much better a seer I am than he is.
AI's Measurement Problem
Another part of the issue is that we don't actually know how much of this energy problem can be attributed to AI directly. The industry has struggled to establish effective benchmarks to compare models, and firms aren’t releasing data on their models’ carbon footprints, electricity use, or water consumption.
“There is very little transparency,” Krintz says. “Nobody wants to reveal their data. But we cannot solve any of these problems—we cannot understand these problems, we cannot speak about these problems—unless we measure.”
In a 2022 paper published on the Association for Computing Machinery’s website, researchers find that cloud computing’s lack of public data makes it difficult for scientists to determine AI’s impact—and propose a model to measure AI’s carbon emissions.
“Public pressure needs to be put on these companies to say, ‘You’ve gotta tell us how much energy you’re using, how much water you’re using. What are you taking away in order to achieve the commercial benefits that you’re achieving from us?'" Krintz says.
Finding a Balance
In the short term, Krintz sees AI as a net negative for the environment. But given a longer timeline, she believes there's plenty of cause for optimism.
“It will eat our planet,” Krintz tells PCMag. “However, it has so much potential for offering solutions that help reduce our carbon footprint, that help improve our energy efficiency, that if you think about it holistically … there’s a tremendous potential for having a balance, not destroying the Earth [but] trying to protect it.”
Well, then, do I say that man is an animal made for doing nothing? Certainly not. But why are we not active? For example, as to myself, as soon as day comes, in a few words I remind myself of what I must read over to my pupils; then forthwith I say to myself, "But what is it to me how a certain person shall read? the first thing for me is to sleep." And indeed what resemblance is there between what other persons do and what we do? If you observe what they do, you will understand. And what else do they do all day long than make up accounts, inquire among themselves, give and take advice about some small quantity of grain, a bit of land, and such kind of profits? Is it then the same thing to receive a petition and to read in it: "I entreat you to permit me to export a small quantity of corn"; and one to this effect:
"I entreat you to learn from Chrysippus what is the administration of the world, and what place in it the rational animal holds; consider also who you are, and what is the nature of your good and bad." Are these things like the other, do they require equal care, and is it equally base to neglect these and those? Well, then, are we the only persons who are lazy and love sleep? No; but much rather you young men are. For we old men, when we see young men amusing themselves, are eager to play with them; and if I saw you active and zealous, much more should I be eager myself to join you in your serious pursuits.
One such company is Dryad Networks: a tech firm that's trained AI to “smell” a wildfire’s scent. The company's small, solar-powered AI sensors are hung from trees every 300 to 650 feet. These are combined with larger, solar mesh network gateways placed approximately every 2 miles to create a distributed fire-detection system that covers an entire forest and can be customized to detect a specific tree’s burn scent, cigarette smoke, or a harmless campfire.
“We basically use AI to reliably detect the smell of a fire and distinguish that from the smell of, say, a diesel truck coming by,” Dryad CEO and Co-Founder Carsten Brinkschulte tells PCMag.
When he was visited by one of the magistrates, Epictetus inquired of him about several particulars, and asked if he had children and a wife. The man replied that he had; and Epictetus inquired further, how he felt under the circumstances. "Miserable," the man said. Then Epictetus asked, "In what respect," for men do not marry and beget children in order to be wretched, but rather to be happy. "But I," the man replied, "am so wretched about my children that lately, when my little daughter was sick and was supposed to be in danger, I could not endure to stay with her, but I left home till a person sent me news that she had recovered." Well then, said Epictetus, do you think that you acted right? "I acted naturally," the man replied. But convince me of this that you acted naturally, and I will convince you that everything which takes place according to nature takes place rightly.
"This is the case," said the man, "with all or at least most fathers." I do not deny that: but the matter about which we are inquiring is whether such behavior is right; for in respect to this matter we must say that tumours also come for the good of the body, because they do come; and generally we must say that to do wrong is natural, because nearly all or at least most of us do wrong. Do you show me then how your behavior is natural. "I cannot," he said; "but do you rather show me how it is not according to nature and is not rightly done.
“We’ve spent thousands of hours training our machine learning model on the different types of smells that you might encounter in the forest,” Brinkschulte says. “We don’t need big data centers to do our computation.”
Like all AI applications, Dryad’s tech could deliver false-positive signals, but it’s also possible the solar-powered “noses” could save water by alerting firefighters early enough that they’re able to stop budding flames before they spread.
Well, said Epictetus, if we were inquiring about white and black, what criterion should we employ for distinguishing between them? "The sight," he said. And if about hot and cold, and hard and soft, what criterion? "The touch." Well then, since we are inquiring about things which are according to nature, and those which are done rightly or not rightly, what kind of criterion do you think that we should employ? "I do not know," he said. And yet not to know the criterion of colors and smells, and also of tastes, is perhaps no great harm; but if a man do not know the criterion of good and bad, and of things according to nature and contrary to nature, does this seem to you a small harm?
"The greatest harm." Come tell me, do all things which seem to some persons to be good and becoming rightly appear such; and at present as to Jews and Syrians and Egyptians and Romans, is it possible that the opinions of all of them in respect to food are right? "How is it possible?" he said. Well, I suppose it is absolutely necessary that, if the opinions of the Egyptians are right, the opinions of the rest must be wrong: if the opinions of the Jews are right, those of the rest cannot be right. "Certainly." But where there is ignorance, there also there is want of learning and training in things which are necessary.
AI could also help address habitat destruction and species loss in our oceans. Sokol Murturi, a researcher at Falmouth University in the UK, uses machine vision to track coral growth. Murturi’s AI-powered system uses a combination of new and existing AI models to help regenerate coral reefs in captivity. It’s designed to provide data on alkalinity, pH levels, and other factors impacting corals. The researcher’s AI tools include visual tracking features like edge detection to indicate whether the coral grows over time. Human scientists can intervene if the AI systems indicate stalled growth or water quality issues.
He assented to this. You then, said Epictetus, since you know this, for the future will employ yourself seriously about nothing else, and will apply your mind to nothing else than to learn the criterion of things which are according to nature, and by using it also to determine each several thing. But in the present matter I have so much as this to aid you toward what you wish. Does affection to those of your family appear to you to be according to nature and to be good? "Certainly." Well, is such affection natural and good, and is a thing consistent with reason not good? "By no means." Is then that which is consistent with reason in contradiction with affection? "I think not." You are right, for if it is otherwise,
it is necessary that one of the contradictions being according to nature, the other must be contrary to nature. Is it not so? "It is," he said. Whatever, then, we shall discover to be at the same time affectionate and also consistent with reason, this we confidently declare to be right and good. "Agreed."
At-risk corals in the wild could be monitored with AI-powered buoys that capture similar data in the future, Murturi posits, adding that corals in areas with sudden temperature spikes could be brought into labs, nurtured, and then reintroduced once temperature surges die down. But if ocean conditions don’t improve, Murturi and other researchers won’t be able to return corals to their homes until fundamental steps are taken to lower rising water temperatures that are fatal to corals worldwide.
“My research is a Band-Aid to the problem. What we need now is better forms of generating electricity,” Murturi tells PCMag.
Well then to leave your sick child and to go away is not reasonable, and I suppose that you will not say that it is; but it remains for us to inquire if it is consistent with affection. "Yes, let us consider." Did you, then, since you had an affectionate disposition to your child, do right when you ran off and left her; and has the mother no affection for the child? "Certainly, she has." Ought, then, the mother also to have left her, or ought she not? "She ought not." And the nurse, does she love her? "She does." Ought, then, she also to have left her? "By no means." And the pedagogue, does he not love her? "He does love her." Ought, then, he also to have deserted her? and so should the child have been left alone and without help on account of the great affection of you, the parents, and of those about her, or should she have died in the hands of those who neither loved her nor cared for her? "Certainly not."
Now this is unfair and unreasonable, not to allow those who have equal affection with yourself to do what you think to be proper for yourself to do because you have affection. It is absurd. Come then, if you were sick, would you wish your relations to be so affectionate, and all the rest, children and wife, as to leave you alone and deserted? "By no means." And would you wish to be so loved by your own that through their excessive affection you would always be left alone in sickness? or for this reason would you rather pray, if it were possible, to be loved by your enemies and deserted by them? But if this is so, it results that your behavior was not at all an affectionate act.
Until then, Murturi plans to make a Svalbard Vault of sorts for corals in hopes that one day—when humans have gotten climate change under control and addressed AI’s energy problems—these at-risk organisms could once again thrive in the wild.
While AI could help prevent further environmental and ecological damage, ultimately it will still be up to the humans who fund, research, and use AI to oversee its use.
“Do I think AI is bad for the environment? It depends on what we’re using it for,” Murturi says. “If we’re using AI to train massive datasets to determine what we should be selling to people, that’s probably not a good use of energy.”
Swarm launch vehicle
During the air show, military electronics manufacturer CETC also showcased a second edition of a swarm launch vehicle, which has a load capacity of 48 fixed-wing drones that can all be launched within four minutes. Each vehicle can carry two sets of drones, and every device has a maximum payload and take-off weight of 15.4lb (7kg) and 66lb (30kg), respectively and an endurance of 120 minutes, according to SCMP.
During the opening ceremony of the air show on Tuesday, China featured unprecedented flight performances of three types of stealth fighter jets, namely the debut of Beijing’s newly unveiled J-35A, a group of J-20s, and Russia’s first-time visitor Su-57.
China also unveiled the Wing Loong-X drone, showcasing its full anti-submarine capabilities for the first time.
Built with fully independent intellectual property, the Wing Loong-X drone is a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial system with long-range, heavy payload capacity, and the ability to perform multiple tasks, reported Global Times.
These weapons can benefit China during its possible conflict with Taiwan or other rival powers in the future.
Well then, was it nothing which moved you and induced you to desert your child? and how is that possible? But it might be something of the kind which moved a man at Rome to wrap up his head while a horse was running which he favoured; and when contrary to expectation the horse won, he required sponges to recover from his fainting fit. What then is the thing which moved? The exact discussion of this does not belong to the present occasion perhaps; but it is enough to be convinced of this,
if what the philosophers say is true, that we must not look for it anywhere without, but in all cases it is one and the same thing which is the cause of our doing or not doing something, of saying or not saying something, of being elated or depressed, of avoiding anything or pursuing: the very thing which is now the cause to me and to you, to you of coming to me and sitting and hearing, and to me of saying what I do say. And what is this? Is it any other than our will to do so? "No other." But if we had willed otherwise, what else should we have been doing than that which we willed to do?
For some reason, the same travel-booking example comes up every time companies try to explain what AI agents might be able to do. Are they already running low on ideas?
As I told you recently, I don’t want to use genAI products like ChatGPT to only ask questions. I want to tell the AI what to do on my computers (smartphone included) on my behalf. It won’t be just about booking travel. I’ll want the AI to browse the web, save files, send emails, and adjust settings when I tell it to. I also want all of that action to happen on-device with no data sent to a company’s servers.
Before we get to that, we’ll need to use first-gen agent tools like ChatGPT’s Operator. According to the report, OpenAI informed staff in a meeting on Wednesday that the tool will be available in January 2025. It’ll launch as a research preview for developers rather than regular users. It’s unclear when end-users will get access to it.
This, then, was the cause of Achilles' lamentation, not the death of Patroclus; for another man does not behave thus on the death of his companion; but it was because he chose to do so. And to you this was the very cause of your then running away, that you chose to do so; and on the other side, if you should stay with her, the reason will be the same. And now you are going to Rome because you choose; and if you should change your mind, you will not go thither. And in a word, neither death nor exile nor pain nor anything of the kind is the cause of our doing anything or not doing; but our own opinions and our wills.
People familiar with OpenAI’s work on AI agents said the company has been developing several agents. The one nearest to completion will be a “general-purpose” one that can browse the web for you.
The closest thing to a confirmation that OpenAI will release AI agents for ChatGPT soon came from Sam Altman a few days ago during a Reddit Ask-Me-Anything (AMA) chat with users. “We will have better and better models,” Altman said. “But I think the thing that will feel like the next giant breakthrough will be agents.”
Altman never mentioned the Operator codename. He didn’t offer launch details for the ChatGPT AI agents either.
Anthropic has already demoed a similar AI agent concept for Claude, which can use the computer in real-time to browse the web and code. Microsoft has similar AI agents in place that can send emails and manage user records. Google’s Jarvis will also get internet-browsing powers.
Do I convince you of this or not? "You do convince me." Such, then, as the causes are in each case, such also are the effects. When, then, we are doing anything not rightly, from this day we shall impute it to nothing else than to the will from which we have done it: and it is that which we shall endeavour to take away and to extirpate more than the tumours and abscesses out of the body. And in like manner we shall give the same account of the cause of the things which we do right; and we shall no longer allege as causes of any evil to us, either slave or neighbour, or wife or children, being persuaded that,
if we do not think things to he what we do think them to be, we do not the acts which follow from such opinions; and as to thinking or not thinking, that is in our power and not in externals. "It is so," he said. From this day then we shall inquire into and examine nothing else, what its quality is, or its state, neither land nor slaves nor horses nor dogs, nothing else than opinions. "I hope so." You see, then, that you must become a Scholasticus, an animal whom all ridicule, if you really intend to make an examination of your own opinions: and that this is not the work of one hour or day, you know yourself.
Let’s not forget that Siri will also be able to manage some apps and execute more complex actions for you on the iPhone next year. It’s all part of the Apple Intelligence vision that Apple unveiled at WWDC. In hindsight, that’s agentic functionality from Siri.
Microsoft has integrated its flagship AI product, Copilot, into its suite of business apps. In October, the tech giant announced that users would be able to build their own autonomous agents in Copilot Studio that can “understand the nature of your work and act on your behalf.” The company also announced 10 new autonomous agents for its enterprise platform, Dynamics 365.
Tesla would be fine if the credit disappeared, but other companies like General Motors, Ford, and Rivian would likely feel its impact severely.
Dan Ives of Wedbush even said in notes to investors that Tesla would be fine without the tax credit being established:
“EV tax credits getting pulled a negative for the industry….bullish for Tesla. We believe a Trump presidency will be an overall negative for the EV industry as very likely the EV rebates/tax incentives get pulled, however for Tesla we see this as a potential positive with some caveats. Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched in the EV industry and this dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment starting in 2025, coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players (BYD, Nio, etc.) from flooding the US market over the coming years.”
Now that more EV makers are gaining access to the Supercharging Network, it is obvious Tesla needs to update its stalls to cater to the variety of architectures out there, enabling an efficient and reliable charging experience for drivers of any electric car out on the market.
How does the new process work?
The essential step in the new process is applying galvanic corrosion using a restoration solution. Galvanic corrosion occurs when two dissimilar materials are in contact within an electrolyte environment, leading to the selective corrosion of one metal to protect the other.
“The bromine in the restoration solution initiates spontaneous corrosion upon contact with the aluminum in the spent battery. During this process, electrons are released from the corroded aluminum and subsequently transferred to the spent cathode material,” the press release states.
With respect to gods, there are some who say that a divine being does not exist: others say that it exists, but is inactive and careless, and takes no forethought about anything; a third class say that such a being exists and exercises forethought, but only about great things and heavenly things, and about nothing on the earth; a fourth class say that a divine being exercises forethought both about things on the earth and heavenly things, but in a general way only, and not about things severally. There is a fifth class to whom Ulysses and Socrates belong, who say: "I move not without thy knowledge."
“To maintain charge neutrality, lithium ions in the restoration solution are inserted into the cathode material. This recovery of lithium ions restores the cathode material to its original state.”
Further, unlike conventional processes that require disassembling the used battery, the new process restores it within the cell.
The research team confirmed through electrochemical performance testing that the restored cathode achieved a capacity equivalent to that of new materials, as per the press release.
Before all other things, then, it is necessary to inquire about each of these opinions, whether it is affirmed truly or not truly. For if there are no gods, how is it our proper end to follow them? And if they exist, but take no care of anything, in this case also how will it be right to follow them? But if indeed they do exist and look after things, still if there is nothing communicated from them to men, nor in fact to myself, how even so is it right? The wise and good man, then, after considering all these things, submits his own mind to him who administers the whole, as good citizens do to the law of the state. He who is receiving instruction ought to come to the instructed with this intention: How shall I follow the gods in all things, how shall I be contented with the divine administration, and how can I become free?" For he is free to whom everything happens according, to his will, and whom no man can hinder.
Dr. Jung-Je Woo, the senior researcher, stated, “This research introduces a novel approach to restoring spent cathode materials without the need for high-temperature heat treatment or harmful chemicals.”
“The direct recycling of discarded electric vehicle batteries holds great potential for significantly reducing carbon emissions and establishing a circular resource economy.”
This incident is reminiscent of a separate one from last year in which an AI-fueled meal prep app encouraged users to make sandwiches made with mosquito repellant, as well as another recipe that involved chlorine gas. In another well-documented incident, an AI agent encouraged users to eat rocks. Suffice it to say, maybe cooking is one particular domain that doesn’t really need an AI integration.
Our own experimentation with AI platforms—such as Google’s recently launched AI Summaries—has shown that the algorithm-led agents often have no idea what they’re talking about (for instance, Google’s program once tried to convince me that dogs play sports and told me that the best way to make pizza was to fill it with glue). For whatever reason, corporate America continues to rush AI’s integration into customer service applications across the web, despite the obvious risk of pushing out a whole lot of bad advice to the public. The attitude seems to be: It doesn’t matter if the information is incorrect, just so long as we don’t have to hire a real human to do this job.
Uranium mines in the Athabasca Basin are reserves of high-grade uranium, and mining activity has picked up in recent years with old mines reopening to improve output, the BBC report added.
Hurdles along the way
Once additional mines are operational, Canada’s contribution to global supply could rise from 13 percent to 25 percent, making it the preferred supplier for the US, EU, and many other nations.
But nuclear fission technology has its detractors. Incidents such as one at Fukushima in Japan are still fresh in people’s minds, and the operation of nuclear power plants is not risk-free yet. Last year, Germany shut down its nuclear power plants in a phased manner.
For others, the finances do not work out either. Nuclear power projects have long timelines, and cost overruns are common when the plant is finally operational. In 2021, New York State decommissioned its only nuclear power plant due to high operating costs.
Even mining operations aren’t foolproof from an economic point of view. Canada itself has seen nuclear supply booms in the past. In 1982, the BBC report added, Uranium City shut down operations over high costs and low demand for uranium.
The VPP addresses a growing need as Texas experiences unprecedented energy demands. In 2023 alone, peak usage surged to a record-breaking 85 GW due to the state’s rapid population growth and increasingly extreme weather.
Virtual power plants are designed to help alleviate pressure on the grid during these high-stress times, as they aggregate small-scale energy resources like smart thermostats, home batteries, and EVs, creating a flexible power source that can be tapped when demand surges.
Ben Brown, CEO of Renew Home, emphasized the program’s importance, stating, “NRG’s commitment to creating a more resilient and sustainable energy future while also making electricity bills more affordable makes them an ideal partner for co-developing this unique VPP program. This initiative raises the bar for future-proofing our electricity infrastructure and delivering cost savings to customers.”
"What then, is freedom madness?" Certainly not: for madness and freedom do not consist. "But," you say, "I would have everything result just as I like, and in whatever way I like." You are mad, you are beside yourself. Do you not know that freedom is a noble and valuable thing? But for me inconsiderately to wish for things to happen as I inconsiderately like, this appears to be not only not noble, but even most base. For how do we proceed in the matter of writing? Do I wish to write the name of Dion as I choose? No, but I am taught to choose to write it as it ought to be written. And how with respect to music? In the same manner. And what universally in every art or science? Just the same. If it were not so, it would be of no value to know anything, if knowledge were adapted to every man's whim. Is it, then, in this alone, in this which is the greatest and the chief thing, I mean freedom, that I am permitted to will inconsiderately?
By no means; but to be instructed is this, to learn to wish that everything may happen as it does. And how do things happen? As the disposer has disposed them? And he has appointed summer and winter, and abundance and scarcity, and virtue and vice, and all such opposites for the harmony of the whole; and to each of us he has given a body, and parts of the body, and possessions, and companions.
Google cloud’s role in optimizing energy usage
Google Cloud’s advanced AI and analytics tools will be crucial for maximizing the VPP’s effectiveness. By using machine learning and predictive analytics, Google Cloud will help the VPP forecast weather conditions and renewable energy generation while optimizing energy usage across participating homes.
This data-driven approach enables the VPP to respond quickly and efficiently to real-time grid demands, ensuring stability and reducing stress on the power infrastructure.
Google Cloud’s AI solutions are specifically designed to streamline the management of renewable energy resources.
As Texas continues to grow, the VPP will play a vital role in helping residents and the grid navigate increasing energy demands and volatile weather patterns. By leveraging advanced forecasting, the VPP will be able to prepare for spikes in energy demand, enhancing the stability and resilience of Texas’ power grid.
Remembering, then, this disposition of things we ought to go to be instructed, not that we may change the constitution of things- for we have not the power to do it, nor is it better that we should have the power-but in order that, as the things around us are what they are and by nature exist, we may maintain our minds in harmony with them things which happen. For can we escape from men? and how is it possible? And if we associate with them, can we chance them? Who gives us the power? What then remains, or what method is discovered of holding commerce with them? Is there such a method by which they shall do what seems fit to them, and we not the less shall be in a mood which is conformable to nature?
But you are unwilling to endure and are discontented: and if you are alone, you call it solitude; and of you are with men, you call them knaves and robbers; and you find fault with your own parents and children, and brothers and neighbours. But you ought when you are alone to call this condition by the name of tranquillity and freedom, and to think yourself like to the gods; and when you are with many, you ought not to call it crowd, nor trouble, nor uneasiness, but festival and assembly, and so accept all contentedly.
Nearly half of employees would be uncomfortable revealing AI use to managers
While some companies create top-down initiatives to encourage the use of AI, many employees are reluctant to share their AI use: 48% of survey participants said they would be uncomfortable telling their managers they use AI. They feared a perception of AI use as cheating, a resource of the less competent, or laziness.
Notably, Slack asked participants whether they would be uncomfortable sharing their AI use with their manager, not whether they are uncomfortable using AI at all. Survey-takers who are comfortable sharing that they use AI at work are likelier to use it. Still, the underlying fears reflect on both the technology and company culture.
What, then, is the punishment of those who do not accept? It is to be what they are. Is any person dissatisfied with being alone, let him be alone. Is a man dissatisfied with his parents? let him be a bad son, and lament. Is he dissatisfied with his children? let him be a bad father. "Cast him into prison." What prison? Where he is already, for he is there against his will; and where a man is against his will, there he is in prison. So Socrates was not in prison, for he was there willingly. "Must my leg then be lamed?" Wretch, do you then on account of one poor leg find fault with the world?
Will you not willingly surrender it for the whole? Will you not withdraw from it? Will you not gladly part with it to him who gave it? And will you be vexed and discontented with the things established by Zeus, which he with the Moirae who were present and spinning the thread of your generation, defined and put in order? Know you not how small a part you are compared with the whole. I mean with respect to the body, for as to intelligence you are not inferior to the gods nor less; for the magnitude of intelligence is not measured by length nor yet by height, but by thoughts.
In general, the usage of much-hyped technologies tends to level out over time. Slack noted that the potential “lazy” and “cheating” accusations, the perception that AI is “not yet living up to the hype,” and a lack of training in using AI are the primary factors that affect employees’ viewpoints of the technology.
Employees are concerned AI will not reduce administrative tasks
AI advocates have long argued that the technology helps companies by automating rote tasks, thereby freeing up time for meaningful activities that support an organization’s bottom line. However, Slack’s report indicated that organizations haven’t seen reduced administrative tasks over the past few months. Instead, many employees suspect AI could lead to more drudge work and an increased workload.
“Employees are worried that the time they save with AI will actually increase their workload — with leaders expecting them to do more work, at a faster pace,” Janzer said. “This presents an opportunity for leaders to redefine what they mean by ‘productivity,’ inspiring employees to improve the quality of their work, not just the quantity.”
When asked what they would want to do with the time saved by AI, participants said they wanted time to engage in non-work activities and skill-building. But when asked what they would likely do with extra time, people listed administrative tasks and additional work on existing projects.
Will you not, then, choose to place your good in that in which you are equal to the gods? "Wretch that I am to have such a father and mother." What, then, was it permitted to you to come forth, and to select, and to say: "Let such a man at this moment unite with such a woman that I may be produced?" It was not permitted, but it was a necessity for your parents to exist first, and then for you to be begotten. Of what kind of parents? Of such as they were. Well then, since they are such as they are, is there no remedy given to you? Now if you did not know for what purpose you possess the faculty of vision, you would be unfortunate and wretched if you closed your eyes when colors were brought before them; but in that you possess greatness of soul and nobility of spirit for every event that may happen, and you know not that you possess them, are you not more unfortunate and wretched?
Slack — which has its own AI assistant — recommends managers who want to promote AI:
Run team-building exercises related to AI.
Make AI use, and AI wins, visible to the entire organization through convenient communications channels.
Model AI use in managers’ own work as appropriate.
Focus on skill-building and training in how to use generative AI.
Redefine what productivity means, tying goals to innovative or creative work projects to incentivize giving the drudge work to the AI.
Remember that AI can’t replace real human connection. Approach your team’s connections and the ways people ask one another for assistance with “intentionality.”
Slack also recommended that organizations train their employees to use AI via short, impactful sessions — also known as “microlearning.”
Things are brought close to you which are proportionate to the power which you possess, but you turn away this power most particularly at the very time when you ought to maintain it open and discerning. Do you not rather thank the gods that they have allowed you to be above these things which they have not placed in your power; and have made you accountable only for those which are in your power? As to your parents, the gods have left you free from responsibility; and so with respect to your brothers, and your body, and possessions, and death and life. For what, then, have they made you responsible? For that which alone is in your power, the proper use of appearances. Why then do you draw on yourself the things for which you are not responsible? It is, indeed, a giving of trouble to yourself.
“AI training programs don’t have to be a heavy lift,” said Chrissie Arnold, director of future of work programs at Workforce Lab. “At Slack, we’ve had pretty amazing results from just 10 minutes a day of AI microlearning.”
Mawari’s plan is to build a network of servers to enable real time spatial content at scale, without apps.
Mawari, the Tokyo-based pioneer in decentralized content delivery, has raised $10.8 million in strategic funding to scale its spatial computing capabilities. Mawari’s plan is to build a network of servers to enable real time spatial content at scale, without apps. The decentralized network will be tokenized to support the network of nodes through the globe. Anfield LTD, Borderless Capital, and 1kx led the round, with notable contributions from investors such as Animoca Brands, Blockchange Ventures, and Samsung Next.
Founded in 2017 by CEO Luis Oscar Ramirez and CTO Aleksandr Borisov, Mawari has focused on overcoming the technical bottlenecks that plague immersive content delivery. Their solution leverages decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) and split rendering technology to efficiently stream high-quality 3D content to devices like the Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3. As the company has grown, its client list has expanded to include KDDI, Netflix, BMW, and many others.
Mawari’s recent funding round will fuel the next phase of their ambitious plans: scaling their decentralized network. In addition, Mawari will continue improving its Spatial Streaming SDK, and invest in R&D, and opening new markets. The next step for Mawari is a “node license sale.” Mawari is turning to community-run nodes to expand its compute power. "We realized that centralized cloud providers, such as AWS, couldn’t scale our technology to handle the immense compute demands for 3D streaming at the level we need,” said Ramirez in an interview.
The node license sale is a central component of this strategy. Participants, ranging from individuals to enterprise data centers, can purchase licenses to run Mawari’s node software. These nodes will contribute computing power to the Mawari Network, which is optimized for spatial computing tasks such as rendering and streaming complex 3D content in real time. “This decentralized approach allows us to bypass the limitations of traditional cloud networks while offering resilient, scalable, real-time 3D streaming solutions for AR, VR, and other spatial computing applications,” Ramirez said.
Human intelligence has many facets. One is verbal intelligence, enabling us to communicate and connect with others through language. But perhaps more fundamental is spatial intelligence, allowing us to understand and interact with the world around us. Spatial intelligence also helps us create, and bring forth pictures in our mind's eye into the physical world. We use it to reason, move, and invent - to visualize and architect anything from humble sandcastles to towering cities.
We believe that artificial intelligence will help humans build better worlds. Progress has been rapid, but we have only seen the first chapter of the generative AI revolution. Language has thus far catalyzed this electrifying early moment, with text-prompted image and video models rising up alongside large language models (LLMs) as a harbinger of AI's potential in the visual realm. These models have already empowered people to work and create in new ways; but they only scratch the surface of what is possible. To advance beyond the capabilities of today's models, we need spatially intelligent AI that can model the world and reason about objects, places, and interactions in 3D space and time.
Today we are announcing the formation of World Labs: a spatial intelligence AI company building Large World Models (LWMs) to perceive, generate, and interact with the 3D world. We aim to lift AI models from the 2D plane of pixels to full 3D worlds - both virtual and real - endowing them with spatial intelligence as rich as our own. Human spatial intelligence evolved over millennia; but in this time of extraordinary progress, we see the opportunity to imbue AI with this ability in the near term.
World Labs was founded by visionary AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li along with Justin Johnson, Christoph Lassner, and Ben Mildenhall; each a world-renowned technologist in computer vision and graphics. We are bringing together the most formidable slate of pixel talent ever assembled - from AI research to systems engineering to product design - creating a tight feedback loop between our spatially intelligent foundation models and products that will empower our users.
AI is an emerging field with the potential to transform our world. However, we view it not as singularly unique but instead as part of the continuous progress of technology, continuing humanity's centuries-old quest to empower people with increasingly sophisticated tools. We believe that humans are innovative, curious, and creative; science and technology are both manifestations and drivers of these impulses. Propelling AI forward with spatial intelligence will also propel forward both individuals and humanity as a whole.
Toward this goal, World Labs will develop spatially intelligent Large World Models (LWMs) that can understand and reason about the 3D world from images and other modalities. Over time, we expect to train increasingly powerful models with broader capabilities that can be applied in a variety of domains, working alongside people.
I asked what Spatial intelligence is and then I saw this thread now I get it what a new development. This world is going to see so much. And the thing is the more concepts come, the more new tech we can build
With how I understand your explanation I'm starting to think Spatial intelligence is what we need to make AI turn into AGI because if we master AI and Spatial and also have advanced quantum computer, AGI is very possible
In the digital age, you must understand the AI factory and how it can help you implement AI technologies into business operations.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is crucial to business strategy, with 42 percent of large companies deploying it to enhance operations and gain a competitive edge.
At this revolution’s heart is the AI factory, which enables you to automate processes and make more informed decisions by integrating AI into business operations.
If you want to harness AI’s potential, understanding how the AI factory functions is essential.
What Is the AI Factory?
The AI factory transforms internal and external data into actionable insights through advanced analytics.
According to the Harvard Business Review, AI factories power millions of Google’s daily ad auctions, determine ride availability on digital platforms like Uber, set Amazon’s product prices, and even manage robots that clean Walmart’s floors.
“The AI factory, as its output, does three things,” says Harvard Business School Professor Karim Lakhani, who co-teaches the online course AI Essentials for Business with HBS Professor Marco Iansiti. “Predictions, pattern recognition, and process automation.”
British online bank Zopa is on track to double pre-tax profits and increase revenue by more a third in 2024, CEO Jaidev Janardana told CNBC.
Zopa posted revenues of £222 million ($281.7 million) in 2023 and is expecting to cross the £300 million revenue milestone this year — that would mark a 35% annual jump.
The 2024 estimates are based on unaudited internal figures.
The firm also says it is on track to increase pre-tax profits twofold in 2024, after hitting £15.8 million last year.
Zopa, a regulated bank that is backed by Japanese giant SoftBank, has plans to venture into the world of current accounts next year as it looks to focus more on new products.
The company currently offers credit cards, personal loans and savings accounts that it offers through a mobile app — similar to other digital banks such as Monzo and Revolut which don't operate physical branches.
"The business is doing really well. In 2024, we've hit or exceeded the plans across all metrics," CEO Jaidev Janardana told CNBC in an interview Wednesday.
He said the strong performance is coming off the back of gradually improving sentiment in the U.K. economy, where Zopa operates exclusively.
Commenting on Britain's macroeconomic conditions, Janardana said, "While it has been a rough few years, in terms of consumers, they have continued to feel the pain slightly less this year than last year."
Asset management titan BlackRock is announcing the expansion of its proprietary token BUIDL, the asset related to its tokenized mutual fund, across five multiple blockchains.
According to an announcement by real-world asset tokenizing firm Securitize, BlackRock’s brokerage partner, BUIDL will be expanding to layer-1 blockchains Aptos (APT) and Avalanche (AVAX) as well as layer-2 scaling solutions Arbitrum (ARB), Optimism (OP), and Polygon (POL).
As stated by Securitize chief executive and co-founder Carlos Domingo,
“We wanted to develop an ecosystem that was thoughtfully designed to be digital and take advantage of the advantages of tokenization.
Real-world asset tokenization is scaling, and we’re excited to have these blockchains added to increase the potential of the BUIDL ecosystem. With these new chains we’ll start to see more investors looking to leverage the underlying technology to increase efficiencies on all the things that until now have been hard to do.”
BUIDL, which launched in March and stands for BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund, is a tokenized money-market fund designed to offer a stable value of $1 per token while providing yield on US Treasuries.
According to Securitize, the expansion will help developers, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), and other crypto firms to build with BlackRock’s product on their blockchain of choice.
Last month, it was reported that BlackRock was in talks with numerous crypto exchange platforms – such as Binance, OKX, and Deribit – about using BUIDL as collateral for derivatives contracts.
if a Giant shareholder like BlackRock is focused on Blockchain then I thought we know Blockchain is going to expand. There's so many power players in it right now. Is that good or bad for Decentralization?
Oura CEO Tom Hale spoke to CNBC about the smart ring product category and the impact of Samsung's entrance into the space.
Samsung's foray into smart rings isn't concerning the boss of the product category's pioneer, Oura — in fact, Tom Hale says he's seeing a boost in business.
"I'm sure that a major tech company making an announcement saying: 'Hey, this is a category that matters. It's going to be something that's big.' I think it's probably helpful," Hale told CNBC in an interview this week.
"In terms of the impact on our business, it has made zero impact. If anything, our business has gotten stronger since their announcement."
In a wide-ranging interview with CNBC at the Web Summit conference in Lisbon, Hale discussed Oura's plans for new areas of insight it wants to give users, how he is thinking about new devices and the company's intentions for international expansion.
Oura's flagship product is the Oura Ring 4, a device known as a smart ring. It is packed with sensors that can track some health metrics, allowing Oura app users to learn more about the quality of their sleep or how ready they are to tackle the day ahead.
Founded in Finland in 2013, the company has been called a pioneer by analysts in the smart ring space. Oura said it has sold more than 2.5 million of its rings since it launched its first product. CCS Insight forecasts Oura will end the year with a 49% market share in smart rings.
Competition is starting to rear its head in the space. The world's largest smartphone maker Samsung made its first venture into smart rings this year with the Galaxy Ring, which some analysts say has put the device category on the map and popularized it with a broader audience.
An Oura membership delivers personalized, highly accurate health insights through 3 daily scores: Sleep, Readiness, and Activity.
Oura is your personalized health tool — packing sleep insights, heart rate monitoring, activity tracking, illness monitoring, and more into a single (and stylish) wearable.
After all, personalization is key. When it comes to health and well-being, what works for one person won’t necessarily work for you. That’s where Oura is different: It gets to know your personal “normal” and provides tailored insights to help you answer key questions about your health.
With your Oura membership, your experience with Oura improves over time , adapting to your body. When Oura gets to know you, detailed and highly accurate insights help you to better understand your overall well being.
Finally, through your Oura App, you are empowered to optimize your daily routines and answer key questions about your health like:
“How ready am I for the day?”
“How well did I sleep last night?”
“How am I balancing my activity with rest?”
Is Oura Ring Worth It? Here’s What Makes Oura Different
Oura is designed to provide accurate insights without disrupting your life. With precise sensors, Oura packs state-of-the-art heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), temperature, activity, and sleep monitoring technology into a lightweight, non-invasive ring.
Accuracy Above All
When you visit your doctor, there’s a reason they measure your pulse from your finger and not the wrist: accuracy. Your finger is the ideal source for reliable, impactful data, and Oura leverages this reality by:
Measuring closer to your heart: While wrist sensors sit far away from the arteries on the underside of the wrist, Oura measures directly from the arteries in your fingers to capture signals directly from your heart.
Prioritizing the right sensors: Oura uses infrared light photoplethysmography (PPG), which measures deeper than the green light LEDs found in most other wearables.
LEARN MORE: How Does the Oura Ring Track My Sleep?
Taking your temperature: Oura is one of the only wearables that measures your temperature directly from your skin, 24/7. Temperature is one of your core vital signs and reveals key insights about your body’s systems including impacts of strain, illness, and phases of the menstrual cycle.
Maximizing data quality: Oura samples at an unparalleled sampling rate of 50Hz. More data enables richer insights.
Constantly validating: While Oura is not a medical device, its capabilities are near perfect when compared to advanced medical technologies.
Sleep Staging Algorithm: Oura’s research scientists developed a new sleep staging algorithm that achieves 79% agreement with gold-standard polysomnography (PSG) for 4-stage sleep classification (wake, light, deep, and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep). By contrast, most commercial wrist-based wearables are limited to 60-65% agreement.
Resting heart rate: 99.9% reliability compared to a medical-grade electrocardiogram (ECG) and validated against PSG. Read the study.
Heart rate variability: 98.4% reliability compared to medical-grade ECG. Read the study.
Temperature trends: Matches performance with research-grade sensors at >99% and measures temperature trend changes as small as 0.13 °C. Read the study.
Personalized for You
With each person comes a unique version of “normal.” Rather than base your averages on impersonal population benchmarks — like “hit 10,000 steps” — Oura gets to know you and provides personalized baselines and insights. Whether your sleep took a hit after a night out, or you’re prioritizing balance in your wellness routine — Oura helps you reach your goals by delivering the best 360° view of your health.
Easy to Use
Getting started with Oura is a simple process, and its small form factor and lack of a tight wristband ensure your normal routine can carry on uninterrupted.
Sleep soundly: You shouldn’t have to disrupt your sleep to track it. Without a screen or vibrations, the Oura Ring is one of the most subtle and comfortable ways to accurately monitor your sleep.
Keep your routine: Go about your day without having to worry about tightening a strap or packing a charger. The ring has a long battery life, is water-resistant up to 100m, and can withstand a variety of temperatures, ranging from saunas to ice
Integrates With Your Favorite Apps
While Oura enables activity tracking all on its own, it also gives you the power to integrate apps such as Apple Health, Google Fit and Strava that you already use and love. See all the current Oura App integrations here.
All movement counts. Set your goals and track your activity with Oura.
Your Oura scores provide unique and personalized insights compared to other tools. Oura emphasizes key health elements:
They are connected. Your scores are connected – delivering a holistic picture of your health rather than siloed stats. For example, rather than set static activity goals like “10,000 steps,” Oura automatically adjusts your Activity Goal daily based on your Readiness Score. If your body needs time to recover, Oura helps you find that balance.
They celebrate recovery. While many tools help you achieve milestones, Oura emphasizes the importance of recovery — whether that’s celebrating the impact of taking a rest day on your body or flagging how a late meal delayed your heart rate recovery.
They help you monitor for illness. Oura can help you flag when something is off in your data, like an elevated temperature, and even recommend Rest Mode when you need it most.
They dig deeper. Inside each of your scores are additional tools to help you answer how your lifestyle impacts your sleep, recovery, and activity. For example, your Sleep Score might flag a poor night of sleep, but it also empowers you to see what elements of your sleep are causing that response.
Become an Oura Member: How Much is Oura Ring Membership?
With an Oura Membership, you don’t need to be a medical professional, fitness enthusiast, or yoga master (though you totally can be!) to understand your health; all you need is a willingness to listen and learn from your body.
The Oura Membership is powered by 24/7 monitoring from your Oura Ring. Your Membership allows you to:
Wake up to a daily report on your readiness, sleep quality, and activity goals for the day.
Analyze your sleep, with advanced sleep stages tracking and Blood Oxygen (SpO2) sensing.
Stay active with real-time activity and performance tracking, including automatic activity detection and workout heart rate.
Monitor for stress or sickness via heart rate variability and temperature trend tracking.
Understand key health trends and correlations, with weekly, monthly, and quarterly reports.
For new members, one month of membership is included. $5.99/month afterwards.
Consciousness is one of those things that everyone talks about, but no one really understands. People debate if AI or LLMs have it, but to be honest, I don't think it matters. What matters is how useful these systems are to us. They help with things like answering questions, writing, and even creating art. Whether they "feel" anything? I don’t think that changes how we interact with them. At the end of the day, I just care about results.
A federal investigation into Chinese government efforts to hack into U.S. telecommunications networks has revealed a “broad and significant” cyberespionage campaign aimed at stealing information from Americans who work in government and politics, the FBI said Wednesday.
Hackers affiliated with Beijing have compromised the networks of “multiple” telecommunications companies to obtain customer call records and gain access to the private communications of “a limited number of individuals,” according to a joint statement issued by the FBI and the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
The FBI did not identify any of the individuals targeted by the hackers but said most of them “are primarily involved in government or political activity.”
The hackers also sought to copy “certain information that was subject to U.S. law enforcement requests pursuant to court orders,” the FBI said, suggesting the hackers may have been trying to compromise programs like those subject to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, which grants American spy agencies sweeping powers to surveil the communications of individuals suspected of being agents of a foreign power.”
The warning comes after several high-profile hacking incidents that U.S. authorities have linked to China, part of what they say is an effort to steal technological and government information while also targeting vital infrastructure like the electrical grid.
In September, the FBI announced that it had disrupted a vast Chinese hacking operation known as Flax Typhoon that involved the installation of malicious software on more than 200,000 consumer devices, including cameras, video recorders and home and office routers. The devices were then used to create a massive network of infected computers, or botnet, that could then be used to carry out other cyber crimes.
Last month, officials said hackers linked to China targeted the phones of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, along with people associated with Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris.
In MLPerf Training 4.1 industry benchmarks, the NVIDIA Blackwell platform delivered impressive results on workloads across all tests.
Generative AI applications that use text, computer code, protein chains, summaries, video and even 3D graphics require data-center-scale accelerated computing to efficiently train the large language models (LLMs) that power them.
In MLPerf Training 4.1 industry benchmarks, the NVIDIA Blackwell platform delivered impressive results on workloads across all tests — and up to 2.2x more performance per GPU on LLM benchmarks, including Llama 2 70B fine-tuning and GPT-3 175B pretraining.
In addition, NVIDIA’s submissions on the NVIDIA Hopper platform continued to hold at-scale records on all benchmarks, including a submission with 11,616 Hopper GPUs on the GPT-3 175B benchmark.
Leaps and Bounds With Blackwell
The first Blackwell training submission to the MLCommons Consortium — which creates standardized, unbiased and rigorously peer-reviewed testing for industry participants — highlights how the architecture is advancing generative AI training performance.
For instance, the architecture includes new kernels that make more efficient use of Tensor Cores. Kernels are optimized, purpose-built math operations like matrix-multiplies that are at the heart of many deep learning algorithms.
Blackwell’s higher per-GPU compute throughput and significantly larger and faster high-bandwidth memory allows it to run the GPT-3 175B benchmark on fewer GPUs while achieving excellent per-GPU performance.
Taking advantage of larger, higher-bandwidth HBM3e memory, just 64 Blackwell GPUs were able to run in the GPT-3 LLM benchmark without compromising per-GPU performance. The same benchmark run using Hopper needed 256 GPUs.
The Blackwell training results follow an earlier submission to MLPerf Inference 4.1, where Blackwell delivered up to 4x more LLM inference performance versus the Hopper generation. Taking advantage of the Blackwell architecture’s FP4 precision, along with the NVIDIA QUASAR Quantization System, the submission revealed powerful performance while meeting the benchmark’s accuracy requirements.
Relentless Optimization
NVIDIA platforms undergo continuous software development, racking up performance and feature improvements in training and inference for a wide variety of frameworks, models and applications.
In this round of MLPerf training submissions, Hopper delivered a 1.3x improvement on GPT-3 175B per-GPU training performance since the introduction of the benchmark.
NVIDIA also submitted large-scale results on the GPT-3 175B benchmark using 11,616 Hopper GPUs connected with NVIDIA NVLink and NVSwitch high-bandwidth GPU-to-GPU communication and NVIDIA Quantum-2 InfiniBand networking.
NVIDIA Hopper GPUs have more than tripled scale and performance on the GPT-3 175B benchmark since last year. In addition, on the Llama 2 70B LoRA fine-tuning benchmark, NVIDIA increased performance by 26% using the same number of Hopper GPUs, reflecting continued software enhancements.
NVIDIA’s ongoing work on optimizing its accelerated computing platforms enables continued improvements in MLPerf test results — driving performance up in containerized software, bringing more powerful computing to partners and customers on existing platforms and delivering more return on their platform investment.
Partnering Up
NVIDIA partners, including system makers and cloud service providers like ASUSTek, Azure, Cisco, Dell, Fujitsu, Giga Computing, Lambda Labs, Lenovo, Oracle Cloud, Quanta Cloud Technology and Supermicro also submitted impressive results to MLPerf in this latest round.
A founding member of MLCommons, NVIDIA sees the role of industry-standard benchmarks and benchmarking best practices in AI computing as vital. With access to peer-reviewed, streamlined comparisons of AI and HPC platforms, companies can keep pace with the latest AI computing innovations and access crucial data that can help guide important platform investment decisions.
I'm interested in protein Chains because I see the path we can take with AI and medicine. Soon we'll go to the hospital and just one AI scan can determine precisely what the problem is. It'll cut cost and increase recovery chance
Tech giants are investing in the development of "sovereign" AI models in Europe to reduce the region's dependence on largely U.S.-controlled infrastructure.
Data sovereignty refers to the idea that people's data should be stored on infrastructure within the country or continent they reside in.
"Sovereign AI is a relatively new term that's emerged in the last year or so," Chris Gow, IT networking giant Cisco's Brussels-based EU public policy lead, told CNBC.
Currently, many of the biggest large language models (LLMs), like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude, use data centers based in the U.S. to store data and process requests via the cloud.
This has led to concern from politicians and regulators in Europe, who see dependence on U.S. technology as harmful to the continent's competitiveness — and, more worryingly, technological resilience.
Where did 'AI sovereignty' come from?
The notion of data and technological sovereignty is something that has previously been on Europe's agenda. It came about, in part, as a result of businesses reacting to new regulations.
The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation, for example, requires companies to handle user data in a secure, compliant way that respects their right to privacy. High-profile cases in the EU have also raised doubts over whether data on European citizens can be transferred across borders safely.
The European Court of Justice in 2020 invalidated an EU-U.S. data-sharing framework, on the grounds that the pact did not afford the same level of protection as guaranteed within the EU by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Last year the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework was formed to ensure that data can flow safely between the EU and U.S.
These political development have ultimately resulted in a push toward localization of cloud infrastructure, where data is stored and processed for many online services.
Google has officially released the Gemini app for iPhone. It lets you chat with AI using text, voice or even camera. It also has the Gemini Live so that's a great add on
Supercharged by AI, Japan has become a global innovation hub, and the NVIDIA Inception program is right in the middle of it.
Lifelike digital humans engage with audiences in real time. Autonomous systems streamline complex logistics. And AI-driven language tools break down communication barriers on the fly.
Supercharged by AI — and world-class academic and industrial might — the region has become a global innovation hub. And the NVIDIA Inception program is right in the middle of it.
With over 370 AI-driven startups in the program and a 250,000-person strong NVIDIA developer community, Japan’s AI startup ecosystem is as bold as it is fast-moving.
This week’s NVIDIA AI Summit Japan puts these achievements in the spotlight, capturing the region’s relentless innovation momentum.
NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang and SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son opened the summit with a fireside chat to discuss AI’s transformative role, with Jensen diving into Japan’s growing AI ecosystem and its push toward sovereign AI.
Sessions followed with leaders from METI (Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry), the University of Tokyo and other key players. Their success is no accident.
Tokyo’s academic powerhouses, global technology and industrial giants, and technology-savvy population of 14 million, provide the underpinnings of a global AI hub that stretches from the bustling startup scene in Shibuya to new hotbeds of tech development in Chiyoda and beyond.
Supercharging Japan’s Creative Class
Iconic works from anime to manga have not only redefined entertainment in Japan — they’ve etched themselves into global culture, inspiring fans across continents, languages and generations.
Now, Japan’s vibrant visual pop culture is spilling into AI, finding fresh ways to surprise and connect with audiences.
Sali isn’t just a character in the traditional sense. She’s a digital being with presence — responsive and lifelike. She blinks, she smiles, she reacts.
Here, AI is doing something quietly revolutionary, slipping under the radar to redefine how people interact with media.
At AI Summit Japan, AiHUB revealed that it will adopt the NVIDIA Avatar Cloud Engine, or ACE, in the lip-sync module of its digital human framework, providing Sali nuanced expressions and human-like emotional depth.
ACE doesn’t just make Sali relatable — it puts her in a league of characters who transcend screens and pages.
This integration reduced development and future management costs by approximately 50% while improving the expressiveness of the avatars, according to AiHUB.
No longer a science fiction anymore. And the rate at it which AI companies are advancing, we're seeing more barriers broken by the end up 2025. Honestly 2025 will be a life changing year for the world
The dream I had with robots serving as House cleaners will come through 🎉. I am surprised that all this is happening so soon I thought we might see this day in decades but here we are
I believe altcoin season is still ahead of us and so with the sudden drop of Hive , I'm hopeful it'll pump back up. And besides that kinda depends on how strong the community gets
Inleo is responsible for nearly half of the activities and engagement on Hive Blockchain. I believe we've got threads and exponential growth to thank for that.
It might just control 70 to 80 percent by the end of next year
Waymo’s driverless taxis are now available to anyone in Los Angeles with the app. They work in some areas but don't go to LAX or highways. Prepare for Autonomous vehicles everywhere guys
World Liberty Financial, backed by Donald Trump and his family, is teaming up with Chainlink to boost its decentralized finance (DeFi) platform. This move helps WLFI get better pricing data and cross-chain connections, which are key in the crypto world. The Trump family is so involved in crypto now, Eric and Donald Jr. are even called Web3 Ambassadors. The platform aims to offer liquidity for digital assets like ETH and Bitcoin on Aave's v3 platform.
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) could see a $320 billion economic boost from AI by 2030. To support this growth, Google.org has launched the AI Opportunity Initiative, its largest AI investment in the region. The initiative is focused on developing essential AI skills, funding research, and expanding AI access.
Fei-Fei Li's creation of the massive ImageNet dataset was instrumental in the resurgence of neural networks. The dataset provided the training data necessary for breakthrough models like AlexNet. AlexNet, trained using GPUs and guided by Geoffrey Hinton's backpropagation technique, demonstrated the power of deep learning on large datasets, sparking the modern AI boom. This pivotal moment underscored the importance of combining neural networks, big data, and GPU computing for advancing AI.
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce expressed concerns that the agency lacks the preparation for new crypto-friendly policies under Trump, who has pledged clearer crypto regulations and potentially a new SEC chair more favorable to the industry. Peirce says there is a need for thoughtful crypto rule-making now to facilitate swift action if Trump's administration pushes for more transparent guidance in the sector.
AltLayer has unveiled Autonome, a no-code platform for creating and deploying autonomous AI agents with a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE). Autonome is designed to advance the “Verifiable Agentic Web,” where AI agents have access to onchain interactions. The platform will include a Build Studio that leverages Coinbase Developer Platform's AgentKit, allowing developers to create model-agnostic AI agents that can autonomously manage assets, adapt to market conditions, and interact with decentralized protocols.
BlackRock has expanded its tokenized USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) to multiple blockchains, including Aptos, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism, and Polygon. The move allows BUIDL to offer on-chain yield, real-time transfers, and dividend distribution, while enabling developers to integrate the fund into blockchain-based financial products with flexibility in custody and ecosystem choice.
The Midwest Blockchain Conference at the University of Michigan brought together students from major universities with industry professionals. The conference highlighted the potential for memecoins to drive retail investor engagement through the “TikTok-ification of finance.” The University of Michigan's representatives expressed interest in crypto investments and DePIN. The conference highlighted the promising pipeline of crypto-native talent at US universities.
Ethereum has lost its ambitious vision amid development challenges and competing blockchains. It needs to return to its original goal of being a global compute platform for solving coordination problems. There are four major technical objectives for the next five years: implement 1-second block times, achieve single-slot finality, increase throughput beyond 1,000 TPS, and introduce multiple concurrent proposers (MCP). MCP could enable real-time censorship resistance and align Ethereum's market microstructure with its vision of credible neutrality. High fees and centralized block proposition are limiting Ethereum's potential.
A lot has happened with Anthropic's language models in the past year. In March, the company released three new models - Haiku, Sonnet, and Opus. These models were designed to serve different needs, with Haiku being a small, fast, and cheap model, Sonnet being a medium-sized model, and Opus being the largest and most powerful.
The thinking behind this was to provide a range of options to meet different user needs. Some applications require a highly capable and powerful model, while others prioritize speed and cost-effectiveness. By offering this spectrum of models, Anthropic aimed to cater to a wide variety of use cases.
Since the initial release, Anthropic has continued to iterate on these models, with the latest versions being Haiku 3.5, Sonnet 3.5, and the upcoming Opus 3.5. The goal has been to shift the trade-off curve, where each new generation of models is more capable than the previous one, while maintaining similar cost and speed characteristics.
The process of developing these models is complex and involves several stages. First, there is the pre-training phase, which involves training the language model on a vast amount of data, often using thousands of GPUs or other accelerator chips over the course of months. This is followed by a post-training phase, where the model is further refined through reinforcement learning from human feedback and other techniques.
The models then undergo rigorous testing, both internally and with external partners, to evaluate their safety and capabilities, particularly in areas like chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear risks. This testing process is crucial to ensure the models are safe and behave as intended.
One of the key challenges in this process is the software engineering and performance engineering required to make the models work efficiently. While the scientific breakthroughs are important, the details of the implementation and tooling can make a significant difference in the final product.
The performance improvements seen in the newer models, such as Sonnet 3.5, are the result of advancements across the board - in pre-training, post-training, and various evaluation processes. Anthropic has observed that the latest Sonnet model is significantly more capable at programming tasks, to the point where even experienced engineers have found it helpful in their work.
Benchmarking the models' capabilities is an ongoing challenge, as there are many aspects of their performance that are not easily captured by standard metrics. Anthropic has developed internal benchmarks, such as the "sbench" task, which aims to measure the models' ability to complete real-world programming tasks.
As for the timeline for the release of Opus 3.5, Anthropic is not providing an exact date, but the plan is to continue the progression of these models. The pace of progress in this field is rapid, and it's important to balance the desire for new releases with the need for thorough testing and safety considerations.
The challenge of versioning and naming these models is also an interesting one. The traditional software versioning approach doesn't always fit well, as the models can have different trade-offs in terms of size, speed, and capabilities. Anthropic has tried to maintain a consistent naming scheme with Haiku, Sonnet, and Opus, but the reality of the field often frustrates such attempts.
Overall, the evolution of Anthropic's language models, from Haiku to Opus, highlights the rapid progress in this field and the complex challenges involved in developing and deploying these powerful AI systems.
The leadership at the Walt Disney Company is in a precarious situation as the search for Bob Iger's successor continues. Dana Walden, Pataro Dearo, and Alan Bergman were all considered potential candidates for the CEO role, but it now seems unlikely that any of them will be chosen.
The issue is that these four individuals have nowhere else to go if they are not selected as the next CEO. They have reached the pinnacle of their careers at Disney, and being passed over for the top job could be the end of the road for them.
The Challenges Facing the Potential CEOs
The problem with these potential CEOs is that they may not have the necessary support from the board to make the tough decisions required to turn the company around. As one analyst pointed out, they need an "absolute hatchet man" to come in and fix the issues, but they may not be given the freedom to do so.
Additionally, the public nature of the selection process has created a perception that Disney did not want these individuals, which could make it difficult for them to find other high-profile positions elsewhere. As the analyst noted, "it's going to give a perception to to anybody else that follows that while Disney didn't want them and they're not doing very well."
The Uncertain Futures of Walden and Tomaro
Dana Walden, in particular, is in a difficult position. Her only reason for being at Disney was her connection to Kamala Harris, and with that gone, she has little to offer the company. Her performance in the streaming business has also been abysmal.
Josh Tomoro, on the other hand, has damaged the parks division, which was the one part of the company that was working well. It's unlikely that any other company would want to hire someone who has been responsible for such a significant decline in a key part of the business.
The analyst also discussed the potential fallout for Disney's networks, such as ABC, CBS, and NBC. With the decline of linear TV and the rise of streaming, these networks may need to spin off their news divisions, which could have a significant impact on their overall business.
This could be particularly problematic for Dana Walden, who is closely tied to the network side of the business. As the analyst noted, "she's riding the the you know the the the Aging mayor of the of the network side of things she's not going to be able to lift herself out of that."
Conclusion
In summary, the leadership at the Walt Disney Company is in a precarious situation, and the potential CEOs who were considered for the top job may find themselves with limited options if they are not selected. The public nature of the selection process and the challenges facing the company's networks could further complicate the situation for these individuals, leaving them with an uncertain future.
Meta, the parent of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has been hit with yet another huge regulatory fine in Europe, this time over abusive practices
Meta, the parent of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has been hit with yet another huge regulatory fine in Europe, this time over abusive practices related to Facebook Marketplace. The European Commission announced that it would fine Meta €797.72 million — nearly $840 million — for breaching EU antitrust rules connected to how it ties its online classified ads service, Facebook Marketplace, to Facebook itself, creating “unfair trading conditions” for other providers of classifieds online.
The fine is the latest installment of a case that dates back to June 2021. In December 2022, the regulators had determined that Facebook Marketplace violated antitrust rules. Today, it’s issuing the penalty for that violation.
“Today we fine Meta €797.72 million for abusing its dominant positions in the markets for personal social network services and for online display advertising on social media platforms,” Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy, said in a statement.
“Meta tied its online classified ads service Facebook Marketplace to its personal social network Facebook and imposed unfair trading conditions on other online classified ads service providers. It did so to benefit its own service Facebook Marketplace, thereby giving it advantages that other online classified ads service providers could not match. This is illegal under EU antitrust rules. Meta must now stop this behaviour.”
Facebook has been quick to respond, saying that it will appeal the ruling. “This decision ignores the realities of the thriving European market for online classified listing services and shields large incumbent companies from a new entrant, Facebook Marketplace, that meets consumer demand in innovative and convenient new ways,” the company wrote in a statement.
Meta has cumulatively faced billions of dollars in fines in Europe for a variety of infringements over the last several years. In September it was fined over $100 million related to a security breach in which user passwords were exposed. In January 2023, it was fined more than $400 million across a series of violations.
In May 2023, it was fined over $1 billion related to GDPR violations. Separately, it has faced other legal issues in Europe. In December 2023, we reported that it was facing a $600 million damages claim in Spain related to a privacy breach case. Regulatory cases can take years to complete, and Meta is in various stages of appeals around these fines.
The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has taken steps to put Alphabet's Google under formal federal supervision, The Washington Post reported, potentially mounting yet another regulatory challenge for the Big Tech giant.
Google has fiercely resisted the idea over months of highly secretive talks, the report said on Thursday, citing two people familiar with the discussions.
Federal supervision status can allow regulators access to a company's internal records.
Google already faces government action that could force the company to divest parts of its business, as well as a court order to open up its mobile app store to competition.
Amazon One Medical is expanding its telehealth services with the launch of treatment plans and medication delivery for several beauty and lifestyle concerns.
Amazon One Medical is expanding its telehealth services with the launch of upfront and low-cost treatment plans and medication delivery for several beauty and lifestyle concerns. Customers can get treatment plans and medication for men’s hair loss for as low as $16 per month, anti-aging skin care for $10 per month, and erectile disfunction care for $19 per month.
Other treatment plans include medication for motion sickness and eyelash growth.
The move puts Amazon in direct competition with Hims & Hers, a direct-to-consumer telehealth company that offers treatment plans for a variety of health and wellness concerns like hair loss, erectile disfunction, weight loss, and more for a monthly fee.
Prime members will be able to see the price of their telehealth consultation and medication for their desired treatment before they move forward with care. An on-demand messaging visit costs $29 and a video visit costs $49.
Amazon says customers only pay for the consultation and the medication, and that there aren’t any additional fees, expenses, or subscriptions needed other than Amazon Prime.
After medication is prescribed, Prime members can have their medication delivered to them — some cases within hours.
“This simple care experience was built to meet the needs of today’s customer,” said Dr. Vin Gupta, chief medical officer for Amazon Pharmacy, in a press release. “At Amazon, we’re working to reduce the burden on patients who’d like to move forward with care, but may be tired of navigating the hurdles of our health care system, waiting in a long line at the pharmacy, or worried about a surprise bill or medication cost.”
Thursday’s announcement marks Amazon’s latest efforts to accelerate its healthcare services.
Space weather is a general term for the radiation in the near-Earth environment; outside the planet’s protective aura, satellites and spacecraft feel the full brunt of the sun’s rays, and a solar storm can interfere with or disable them. The type and intensity of this radiation shifts and flows just like atmospheric weather, but being invisible and moving at the speed of light, it’s considerably more difficult to observe and predict.
There are numerous satellites and deep-space missions that monitor solar radiation, but they are necessarily limited; imagine trying to predict the path of a storm using only a handful of wind and rain sensors scattered across the ocean. And while historically this has been sufficient, the growth of the new space economy has transformed space weather from an occasional inconvenience to a constant and quantifiable threat.
“More and more companies are putting space weather on their agenda,” said Alex Po, CEO and founder of Mission Space. “We have 7,000 satellites in space, but in ten years it’ll be 50,000; that means space weather events will be the same as now, but they will have ten times the impact.”
A serious solar storm is not dangerous not only to electronics, but also to unprepared astronauts. If someone happens to be doing a spacewalk, they could get a face full of radiation — and if we want to establish a permanent presence on the Moon, where there’s similarly little protection, we’ll want to know exactly when it’s safe to go outside.
Nearer the surface, airlines are concerned about passengers getting large doses of radiation during a long flight over the poles, and some have even canceled flights because of it. And there are numerous secondary effects on services that rely on satellites, including precision agriculture.
Believing that radical life extension is possible in our lifetimes, driven by converging technologies.
Recognizing the importance of taking care of your health now to benefit from future breakthroughs.
Not wanting to be the "last person" to miss out on the health span revolution.
Abundance Mindset
Shifting from a default mindset of fear and scarcity to one of abundance and optimism.
Understanding that technology is a force that transforms scarcity into abundance over and over.
Protecting your mindset by carefully curating the information and influences you expose yourself to.
Cultivating these mindsets - purpose-driven, exponential, moonshot, longevity, and abundance - is critical for success as leaders, entrepreneurs, and individuals in the decade ahead.
The leftist-satirical rag The Onion announced on Thursday that it had won a bankruptcy auction to acquire Infowars - the website founded and operated by Alex Jones since 1999.
On Wednesday, Jones said that the auction's trustee could choose any bidder it wanted - not necessarily the high bidder. Jones announced the sale on X Thursday morning.
"I just got word 15 minutes ago that my lawyers and folks met with the U.S. trustee over our bankruptcy this morning and they said they are shutting us down even without a court order this morning," he said. "The Connecticut democrats with The Onion newspaper bought us."
The Onion told the NY Times that the bid was sanctioned by the families of the victims of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, who won a $1.4 billion defamation lawsuit against Jones.
The Onion did not disclose the price it paid for Infowars and its assets, including Jones' production studio and supplement business.
Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion parent company, Global Tetrahedron, says he plans to relaunch Infowars in January as a parody of itself, mocking "weird internet personalities."
What’s next for InfoWars remains a live issue. The excess funds initially allocated for the purchase will be reinvested into our philanthropic efforts that include business school scholarships for promising cult leaders, a charity that donates elections to at-risk third world dictators, and a new pro bono program pairing orphans with stable factory jobs at no cost to the factories.
As for the vitamins and supplements, we are halting their sale immediately. Utilitarian logic dictates that if we can extend even one CEO’s life by 10 minutes, diluting these miracle elixirs for public consumption is an unethical waste. Instead, we plan to collect the entire stock of the InfoWars warehouses into a large vat and boil the contents down into a single candy bar–sized omnivitamin that one executive (I will not name names) may eat in order to increase his power and perhaps become immortal.
After Infowars is raped and rebooted, the nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety says it plans to advertise on it. Collins declined to disclose the value of said advertising deal, but that it was a multiyear agreement that would include banner ads and sponsored articles on the site.
John Feinblatt, president of Everytown, told the NY Times, "This was an opportunity for us to give The Onion the facts, the storytelling, the data and the research that’s at our fingertips," adding "And for them to give us the creativity of how to turn all of that information into new messaging to a new audience."
Collins said that the relaunched Infowars might publish its own satirical stories focusing on gun violence.
Chris Mattei, a lawyer for the Sandy Hook families, said in a statement that taking possession of Infowars amounted to accountability for "Alex Jones and his corrupt business."
"By divesting Jones of Infowars’ assets, the families and the team at The Onion have done a public service and will meaningfully hinder Jones’s ability to do more harm," said Mattei.
According to the NYT, "The plan is to relaunch it next year with an approach reminiscent of Clickhole, The Onion’s sister site that poked fun at “listicles” from BuzzFeed and other purveyors of viral content."
The Onion, a satirical news outlet, plans to use the InfoWars website and brand to present offerings from humor writers and content creators.
Jones shared news of the sale on X on Thursday morning, saying, “I just got word 15 minutes ago that my lawyers and folks met with the U.S. trustee over our bankruptcy this morning and they said they are shutting us down even without a court order this morning.”
“The Connecticut Democrats with The Onion newspaper bought us,” he added.
The Onion plans to use the InfoWars website and brand to present offerings from humor writers and content creators.
In a satirical post to the Onion‘s website on Thursday, an article from the so-called “Global Tetrahedron” called InfoWars an “invaluable tool for brainwashing and controlling the masses.”
“Through it all, InfoWars has shown an unswerving commitment to manufacturing anger and radicalizing the most vulnerable members of society—values that resonate deeply with all of us at Global Tetrahedron,” the satirical article added.
The selloff stems from defamation lawsuits from the families affected by the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, who accused Jones of causing emotional distress when he spent years falsely promoting that the incident was fabricated. Jones has since said he made a mistake in his public characterization of the shooting and has since affirmed that it did happen.
Jones, a prominent figure in alternative media, built a significant online presence through his Infowars brand, founded in 1999. The show has been a combination of talk radio and internet videos that promoted unproven theories surrounding the news and sensational claims of government plots.
Tech companies focused on chatbot development, like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, have faced significant near-term headwinds in advancing large language models. Despite tens of billions of dollars in investments, these tech firms are experiencing diminishing returns in advancing more sophisticated LLMs.
Sources told Bloomberg that OpenAI's new Orion LLM has experienced performance limitations. This means the new LLM would outperform the firm's existing models, but it does not mean there will be a significant leap in development, like that of GPT-3 to GPT-4.
As of late summer, for example, Orion fell short when trying to answer coding questions that it hadn't been trained on, the people said. Overall, Orion is so far not considered to be as big a step up from OpenAI's existing models as GPT-4 was from GPT-3.5, the system that originally powered the company's flagship chatbot, the people said. -BBG
The breakneck pace of developing more sophisticated LLMs appears to have also hit a proverbial brick wall at Google, in which its Gemini software has not lived up to expectations, according to sources, adding Anthropic also faces challenges with its long-awaited Claude model called 3.5 Opus.
Bloomberg noted one of the top obstacles these tech firms have encountered has been "finding new, untapped sources of high-quality, human-made training data that can be used to build more advanced AI systems."
Sources said Orion's dismal coding performance was due to the lack of sufficient coding data to train the LLM. They added that even though the model has improvements compared to legacy ones, it has become increasingly challenging to justify the massive costs of building and operating new models.
The setbacks may reveal an inconvenient truth for the tech industry plowing tens of billions of dollars into AI data centers and infrastructure, and the feasibility of reaching artificial general intelligence in the near future might be a pipedream.
John Schulman, cofounder and research scientist at OpenAI who recently left, said AGI could be achieved within a few years. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, believes it could be achieved by 2026.
However, Margaret Mitchell, the chief ethics scientist at AI startup Hugging Face, pointed out, "The AGI bubble is bursting a little bit," adding that "different training approaches" may be needed for progress.
In a recent interview with Lex Fridman, Anthropic's Amodei said there are "lots of things" that could "derail" the AI progression, including the possibility that "we could run out of data." However, he was optimistic that AI researchers would overcome any hurdles.
"It is less about quantity and more about quality and diversity of data," said Lila Tretikov, head of AI strategy at New Enterprise Associates and former deputy CTO at Microsoft.
Tretikov said, "We can generate quantity synthetically, yet we struggle to get unique, high-quality datasets without human guidance, especially when it comes to language."
Moving forward, Noah Giansiracusa, an associate professor of mathematics at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts, said AI models will continue to improve, but the hypergrowth in recent years is unsustainable:
"We got very excited for a brief period of very fast progress. That just wasn't sustainable."
If tech firms are struggling to advance LLM performance, this raises serious doubts about whether large investments can continue to be made in AI infrastructure.
"The infrastructure build for AI is the bubble. The AI 2.0 companies that can actually figure out a way to monetize it are the investments years from now. Might as well light a match to this fund. The infrastructure build like the telecom infrastructure during the dotcom boom will be oversupplied and pricing will collapse," Edward Dowd recently noted on X.
The way we test and assess the risks of autonomous AI systems is crucial, as these models become increasingly capable of conducting AI research themselves. This threshold of AI models being able to engage in AI research is an important milestone, as it signifies a level of true autonomy.
Defining Autonomy Levels (ASL)
To address this challenge, the RSP (Research Safety Policy) has developed an "if-then" structure that outlines different Autonomy Safety Levels (ASL):
ASL1: Systems that clearly pose no risk of autonomy or misuse, such as a chess-playing bot like Deep Blue.
ASL2: Today's AI systems, which have been measured and deemed not smart enough to autonomously self-replicate or conduct dangerous tasks like providing information on CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear) weapons beyond what can be found through a basic web search.
ASL3: Models that are capable of enhancing the capabilities of non-state actors, requiring special security precautions to prevent theft and misuse.
ASL4: Models that could enhance the capabilities of already knowledgeable state actors or become the primary source of such risks.
ASL5: Models that are truly capable of exceeding human abilities in any of these tasks.
The "If-Then" Commitment
The purpose of this "if-then" structure is to avoid antagonizing people or harming the ability to have a voice in the conversation by imposing burdensome requirements on models that are not currently dangerous. The commitment is to clamp down with strict safety and security measures when a model is shown to be dangerous, with a sufficient buffer threshold to ensure the danger is not missed.
This framework is not perfect and has required frequent updates, as the team behind it grapples with the technical, organizational, and research-related challenges of getting these policies right. Nonetheless, the "if-then" commitment and triggers aim to minimize burdens and false alarms while ensuring an appropriate response when the dangers of autonomous AI systems become evident.
SwiftConnect, a startup selling software that lets workers access the office with a smartphone swipe, has raised new capital in a Series B.
With the advent of flexible workspaces, companies are increasingly adopting smartphone-based authentication to let employees enter and leave. In a recent poll, nearly two in five firms said they’re letting staff use their phones to access office buildings.
The boon has benefited vendors like SwiftConnect, which sells a platform for managing access to physical offices. Chip Kruger and Matt Kopel founded the company in 2020 after selling their previous company, Waltz, to WeWork in 2019.
Kopel says he had the idea for SwiftConnect while at WeWork, where he briefly worked after the Waltz acquisition. The on-demand, mobile-centric access control WeWork wanted, he believed, was going to become the standard for many offices going forward.
SwiftConnect’s platform is designed to abstract away access management for office spaces. Using the service, employees can add their employee badge to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet on their smartphones. Once added, the digital badge gives them access to enter their building and/or shared amenity spaces secured by NFC door locks.
From a dashboard, admins can issue credentials so that employees can enter only approved rooms.
Clean water, safe roads, accessible broadband and electricity: These things are not a given. They depend on vast infrastructure networks that need to be constantly maintained and improved in order to function. America is failing badly on this front. In its latest report card, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the country’s aging infrastructure a dismal C-.
According to Mach9, a startup founded in 2021, part of the solution is in furnishing infrastructure providers with better information about the physical world. The company is using AI to convert mobile lidar (light detection and ranging, a type of imaging technology) scans into 2D and 3D engineering models at a fraction of the cost and time than standard processes. This means that utility companies, engineering firms, construction companies, and others can make timely progress on massive infrastructure projects, know where to direct capital for upgrades, or just better understand the assets under their stewardship.
The company’s flagship product, Digital Surveyor, can also automatically identify over 20 features, like utility poles, traffic signals, and road signs. The status quo is that these features are manually identified by human operators. Mach9’s customers include some major infrastructure providers and engineering service companies in the U.S. and Canada, like Michael Baker International, POWER Engineers, Langan, and Fibersmith.
Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, currently serving life in federal prison, posted on X for the first time since the United States election to express hope President-elect Donald Trump would fulfill a campaign promise by commuting his sentence.
In a Nov. 12 X post, Ulbricht said he could “finally see the light of freedom at the end of the tunnel” for his time in prison after Trump’s election victory.
The Silk Road founder was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole following a 2015 conviction for money laundering, computer hacking and conspiracy to traffic narcotics.
Ulbricht launched the Silk Road marketplace in 2011, which soon drew attention from US authorities for facilitating the sale of drugs and other illegal products.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested the Silk Road founder and took the platform offline in 2013. He is currently housed at the United States Penitentiary in Tucson, Arizona.
In his first term as US president from 2017 to 2021, Trump did not commute Ulbricht’s sentence, despite pleas from advocates for the Silk Road founder after the Republican lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.
However, speaking at the Libertarian Party’s National Convention in May, then-candidate Trump pledged to ensure Ulbricht’s freedom “on day one” if elected.
ome crypto users are skeptical of Trump’s intentions
Many crypto and blockchain advocates have been calling for any US president to pardon Ulbricht since his conviction, but some were skeptical that Trump would keep his promise to the Silk Road founder.
The Republican reiterated his pledge in a pre-election social media post, but PolitiFact reported in 2020 that Trump only kept or partially kept roughly 27% of campaign promises during his first three years at the White House.
“I don’t trust Trump,” said Franklin in a Nov. 12 reply to Ulbricht’s X post. “He already had 4 years to free you but dropped the ball.”
Among Trump’s other campaign promises to the crypto industry included firing Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler - which he may not be able to do without cause - having all Bitcoin “made in the USA,” and blocking the US government from developing a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
During his first term, Trump said that BTC was “not money” and based on “thin air.”
Trump met with President Biden at the White House on Nov. 13 as part of the process to take office in January. Reports suggested the two men anticipated a “smooth” transition.
The Home of Web3: Magic Eden's Rise to Becoming a Super DAP
The Digitalization of the World and the Metaverse
The conversation begins with a discussion of the ongoing digitalization of the world and the vision of the metaverse. Pier Kicks, an investor focused on the intersection of crypto and gaming, explains how crypto is integral to the emergence of an open metaverse. He believes gaming is the "Trojan Horse" for crypto adoption, as the concept of natively digital value is very intuitive for gamers who have experience with virtual economies.
Kicks delves into how blockchain can solve issues around transparency, scarcity, and ownership in gaming economies. He cites examples like Counter-Strike GO, where the secondary market for in-game items reaches billions in volume, yet remains largely uncontrolled by game developers. Blockchain-based solutions can unlock new revenue streams for game studios while empowering players to truly own their digital assets.
The Winter of Gaming and Metaverse Narratives
However, the conversation then explores the disillusionment that set in around 2021-2022, as overhyped metaverse land sales and underperforming play-to-earn games like Axie Infinity led to a "winter" for gaming and metaverse narratives. Kicks acknowledges the experimental nature of this space, where failures are part of the journey towards more polished, successful implementations.
The Rise of Off the Grid: A Blockchain-Powered Battle Royale
One such promising project is Off the Grid, a blockchain-integrated battle royale game developed by Gunzilla. Kicks is incredibly excited about Off the Grid, praising its innovative "cyber limbs" mechanic, high-quality production values, and the team's deep understanding of token economics. He believes Off the Grid could be the next big hit in the battle royale genre.
The Intersection of AI, Gaming, and Crypto
The conversation then explores the intersection of AI, gaming, and crypto. Kicks discusses projects like Seed, which aims to create a massively multiplayer online game with autonomous AI agents that players can interact with and strategize alongside. He also highlights the emergence of virtual influencers and AI-powered trading bots, showcasing the blurring of lines between human and artificial intelligence.
Finally, Kicks shares his thoughts on the future of immersive technologies like augmented and virtual reality. He believes we are making steady progress, with devices like the Apple Vision and Meta's Orion glasses hinting at the potential for more seamless and compelling experiences. Kicks remains optimistic that the combination of crypto, gaming, and AI will drive the next wave of innovation and value creation in the digital realm.
Following an October beta release for Android, mobile browser, Arc Search, hit general availability Thursday.
Its developer, The Browser Company, is known for its desktop browser Arc. To reach more users and employ AI-based search, the company launched Arc Search for iOS earlier this year. The new version will possibly open up Arc Search’s reach to millions of Android users.
When the startup launched Arc Search on Android, it had limited features, including Browse for Me, ad block, and auto archiving tabs. With the stable version, it gets voice search, adaptable widgets, and icons for the home screen, support for landscape mode, browse for me in your native language, and full Android 12 support.
The company said that within weeks of launching the open beta, more than 100,000 people had downloaded Arc Search through the Play Store.
While the Browser Company promises to keep releasing Android version updates, it’s shifting its attention toward building newer products.
In a video last month, Browser Company CEO, Josh Miller, said that while Arc is in its current version, the startup valued at $550 million is thinking about building new products that are more palatable to a wider audience.
The US government is attempting to imprison Roger Ver for 109 years for the crime of following his lawyers’ advice.
His case represents an unprecedented attack on attorney-client privilege that threatens everyone who relies on professional counsel.
Today, Ver sits silenced in Spain, unable to defend himself publicly, while prosecutors use his own lawyers’ records against him—records that show his meticulous attempts to follow the law. This isn’t just about cryptocurrency; it’s about whether any American can safely consult legal counsel without fear of prosecution.
If this precedent stands, seeking professional advice could become evidence of criminality. Business owners, entrepreneurs, and ordinary citizens who rely on lawyers and accountants will all be at risk. The time to act is now, before this dangerous precedent becomes permanent.
Imagine for a moment that you’re an entrepreneur with an unwavering belief: state control over money isn’t just wrong—it’s a weapon. It fuels violence, breeds poverty, and crushes individual freedom. You’ve seen the wreckage it leaves behind and know that there has to be a better way.
You know this because you’ve experienced the state’s brutality firsthand.
At just 22, you were imprisoned for ten months in federal prison. Your supposed crime? Selling firecrackers on eBay’s then-legal Guns & Ammo section without a license. But the real reason, as Roger tells it, was speaking truth to power—declaring that taxation is theft and wars are mass murder.
In prison, you experienced psychological torture that haunts you to this day. A guard planted a weapon on you as a “joke,” threatening you with additional years in prison until you broke down in tears. You witnessed the theatrical deception when inspectors visited—seeing how the system maintains its façade of legitimacy while grinding down human dignity behind closed doors. In Roger’s own words from his emotional testimony:
“That man just purely tortured me for his own amusement…when he sees that enough tears are coming down my face and that I’m crying enough, he pats me on the shoulder and says ‘Relax, I’m just kidding with you.'”
Then, in 2010, you discover Bitcoin—a revolutionary concept. A form of money that can’t be manipulated by any government, any central bank. Digital cash for the people. Your mind races with the possibilities. For the first time in history, money could flow freely across borders, free from the control of states that use it to fuel wars, or impoverish entire nations. You see what many do not: Bitcoin could be the key to spreading freedom and prosperity to every corner of the earth.
You dive in, headfirst. You’re not just a believer—you become the first merchant to accept Bitcoin, the first investor in Bitcoin-related companies. Your relentless advocacy earns you the title “Bitcoin Jesus.” You invest in decentralized companies with one mission: to free the world from the shackles of centralized control.
But the US—the land of the free—begins to look less and less like the place you want it to be. So, you make the difficult choice to legally expatriate. Despite the murky regulations surrounding this new currency, you hire the best attorneys and accountants to ensure every penny of tax is paid. Your conscience is clear.
A decade passes. Then, without warning, they come for you—not just for you, but for your lawyers too. You find yourself arrested and thrown in a Spanish prison—the same prison where fellow libertarian John McAfee mysteriously died. You don’t speak the language. You’re cut off from everything you know. After months of legal battles, you’re finally out on bond, but the situation is bleak. Six months pass, and you still have no clarity, no answers.
Now, in a cruel echo of his past persecution for speaking truth to power, Roger finds himself essentially gagged. He cannot speak out about his case or the broader implications of his prosecution for fear that his words might be used against him in court—or worse, lead to the revocation of his bail and his return to the same Spanish prison where McAfee met his end. The silencing of Bitcoin Jesus isn’t just about one man’s freedom—it’s about whether any of us will be free to challenge the financial status quo.
Roger Ver: Where Natural Law Meets Human Impact
When people ask me what I believe in, the answer is simple: natural law. Not the academic theory of natural rights, but the living, breathing reality that we can make the world better through right thought and right action. That by aligning our behavior with universal principles of non-aggression, voluntary cooperation, and genuine care for human flourishing, we can create the conditions for freedom to thrive.
In all my years studying and advocating for these principles, I’ve never encountered anyone who embodies them more completely than Roger Ver. While others talk about freedom in the abstract, Roger has dedicated his life to manifesting it in reality.
A Legacy of Impact
I first encountered Roger’s work in 2012 at a Free State Project event called Liberty Forum, where he introduced many of us—including several who are now prominent voices in the crypto industry—to Bitcoin for the first time. In the decade since, I’ve watched him consistently stay ahead of the curve, identifying and supporting technologies that offer real alternatives to centralized control.
But Roger’s impact extends far beyond cryptocurrency. He has invested his heart and resources into more than 40 companies that are transforming the world for the better. From groundbreaking medical technologies making diagnostics accessible to underserved communities, to biotech innovations advancing personalized medicine, to projects reimagining governance itself—Roger’s work touches on every aspect of human freedom and flourishing.
The Hidden Champion of Truth
This weekend, I had the honor of participating in Brownstone Institute’s annual conference in Pittsburgh. For two intense days, I witnessed something remarkable: a gathering of some of the world’s most courageous voices in the fight for human liberty and scientific truth.
The accomplishments of Brownstone over just three years are staggering. When voices of reason were being systematically silenced during the pandemic, Brownstone emerged as a sanctuary for truth-tellers. They’ve fought lockdowns and mandates not just in the public sphere but in the courts.
They’ve exposed the machinery of censorship, revealing how government agencies collude with tech companies to suppress dissent. Their research team dismantled flawed pandemic risk assessments and exposed how organizations like the WHO and the G20 manipulated outbreak data to justify massive new funding through REPPARE. Most recently (with my addition as a Fellow), they’ve been at the forefront of warning about the dangers of CBDCs and the weaponization of the financial system against dissenters.
But Brownstone’s story begins with a profound act of moral courage. Jeffrey Tucker, witnessing the collapse of scientific discourse and basic human rights during the pandemic, created Brownstone from a place of deep caring—caring about truth, about humanity, and about protecting those who dare to speak out. He wanted to create a haven for dissidents like myself and many other Brownstone Fellows who faced cancellation, professional destruction, and worse simply for doing what was right: speaking the truth.
What few people know—what I didn’t even know until after becoming a Brownstone Fellow—is that none of this would have been possible without Roger Ver. As Brownstone’s founding donor and board member, Roger’s support was crucial in getting this beacon of truth off the ground. In typical Roger fashion, he never sought recognition for this role. While others might have used such support for publicity, Roger quietly helped build an institution that has become one of the most important voices for freedom and scientific integrity in our time.
This is characteristic of how Roger operates. Behind nearly every major initiative promoting human freedom and fighting against authoritarian control, you’ll often find Roger’s quiet support. From Bitcoin adoption in the developing world to fighting against CBDCs, from supporting victims of state persecution to funding research that challenges official narratives—Roger has been there, usually without acknowledgement or acclaim.
Now, in a cruel irony, while Brownstone continues its vital work exposing government overreach and defending individual liberty, one of its key founders sits silenced in Spain, facing persecution from the very systems of state control he helped others fight against. The same commitment to truth and freedom that led Roger to support Brownstone now has him fighting for his own liberty.
The parallel is stark and troubling: just as Brownstone fights to prevent the financial system from being weaponized against dissenters through CBDCs, its own founding donor faces the weaponization of tax law against him. Just as Brownstone works to expose the machinery of state persecution, Roger faces that machinery firsthand.
Natural Law in Action
What makes Roger unique is his understanding that natural law isn’t just a philosophy—it’s a blueprint for action. Rather than just describe Roger’s passion, I encourage you to watch him speak in his own words. In this powerful video, you’ll see Roger’s raw emotion and genuine care as he explains why decentralized money must be accessible to everyone, not just the elite.
When he declares that “Bitcoin is for everybody…regardless of how much money they have or where they were born,” it’s not just rhetoric—it’s backed by decades of concrete action. You can hear the urgency in his voice when he explains:
“More babies are dying in countries around the world because they have less economic freedom…people are literally dying because of this. I’m not exaggerating; this is a life and death matter around the world.”
Beyond Cryptocurrency to Human Freedom
Roger’s vision extends far beyond financial technology. His work in medical accessibility, internet decentralization, and biotech innovation shows his understanding that freedom requires a holistic approach. When he breaks down discussing government monetary control, we see someone who deeply understands the human cost of centralized power:
“I apologize for crying but it just disgusts me from my core when I see government people murdering people around the world…it’s not just theoretical; these are real people with real lives.”
The Price of Principles
Now Roger faces persecution precisely because he’s been so effective at putting these principles into practice. The charges against him aren’t just an attack on one man—they’re an attack on everyone who believes in building voluntary systems outside state control.
Constitutional Crisis: Robert Barnes Exposes the Ver Persecution
Constitutional lawyer Robert Barnes recently delivered a chilling analysis that should terrify every American who relies on professional advice: The government isn’t just prosecuting Roger Ver—they’re attempting to criminalize the very act of following legal counsel.
The Unprecedented Attack on Attorney-Client Privilege
“This isn’t just about Bitcoin or taxes,” Barnes explains in his detailed analysis. “They’re establishing that they can put you in prison and create new tax policy through criminal law enforcement against individuals, even when you’ve followed expert advice to the letter.”
Consider the timeline that Barnes lays bare:
2014: Ver faces the challenge of valuing Bitcoin for his exit tax
The largest Bitcoin exchange (Mt. Gox) had just collapsed
No clear valuation guidelines existed
The IRS itself admitted they couldn’t determine how to classify Bitcoin
Even basic questions about cryptocurrency taxation remained unanswered
“You read the quotes from his lawyer,” Barnes reveals, “and this is the evidence of someone trying to comply with the law, not someone trying to not comply with the law.”
What This Means for Every American
Barnes outlines four immediate threats to anyone who relies on professional advice:
Small Business Owners
Your consultations with tax attorneys can be seized
Your compliance efforts become evidence against you
Even following advice perfectly offers no protection
International Business
Complex regulations require expert guidance
That guidance can later be used to prosecute you
No “safe harbor” even when following professional advice
Watch Barnes’s complete analysis to understand why this case represents a Constitutional crisis that threatens every American and business that relies on professional advice. As he concludes: “When the government can breach attorney-client privilege, find evidence of compliance, and still pursue prosecution, we’ve moved beyond the realm of law enforcement into territory our Founders feared most: a system where no one is safe.”
The implications are clear: If they can do this to Roger Ver—a man who actively sought to comply with the law—they can do it to anyone. The time to act is now, before this precedent becomes permanent.
There are moments in history when parallel lives intersect to reveal profound truths about power, persecution, and the price of challenging the status quo. Donald Trump and Roger Ver’s stories are such a moment.
The American Dream Under Siege
Both men exemplify the quintessential American success story. Trump transformed New York’s skyline through sheer force of will and vision. Ver saw the revolutionary potential of Bitcoin when it was merely computer code and helped build it into a global force for freedom. Both men didn’t just succeed—they dared to reimagine what success could mean.
But in today’s America, such audacious success comes with a target on your back.
The Playbook of Persecution
The parallels between their persecutions are not just striking—they’re identical:
The Weaponization of Attorney-Client Privilege
Trump watched in horror as federal agents raided his lawyer Michael Cohen’s office, seizing privileged communications
Ver’s attorneys faced the same violation, with prosecutors seizing private legal consultations showing his meticulous efforts to follow the law
The Tax Weapon
Trump endures endless audits and investigations, with rules twisted to create crimes from normal business practices
Ver faces prosecution for following expert advice on Bitcoin taxation during a time when even the IRS admitted they didn’t know how to classify cryptocurrency
The Criminalization of Success
Trump’s business empire became evidence of alleged criminality
Ver’s pioneering work in cryptocurrency transformed into supposed proof of wrongdoing
The Criminalization of Success
Trump’s business empire became evidence of alleged criminality
Ver’s pioneering work in cryptocurrency transformed into supposed proof of wrongdoing
The Breach of Sacred Rights
Both men have watched as fundamental legal protections crumbled:
Their attorneys raided
Their private communications seized
Their attempts to follow the law transformed into evidence against them
Why Trump Must Act
Mr. President, you alone understand the machinery of state persecution that’s been unleashed against Roger Ver. You alone have the power to end it. Here’s why pardoning Ver would be a masterpiece of justice:
It Breaks the Deep State’s Weapon
Shows that weaponizing justice against innovators will no longer be tolerated
Demonstrates that following legal advice won’t be criminalized
The Power of Parallel Justice
Mr. President, you’ve felt the sting of politically motivated prosecution. You’ve watched as attorney-client privilege was shredded. You’ve seen how success can be twisted into evidence of criminality. You alone can turn this moment of parallel persecution into parallel justice.
By pardoning Roger Ver, you won’t just be freeing one man—you’ll be declaring that America still stands for the dreamers, the builders, the innovators who dare to imagine a freer world. You’ll be showing that when the deep state tries to crucify a visionary, America’s highest office still stands for justice.
The symmetry is perfect: The man persecuted for challenging real estate orthodoxy can save the man persecuted for challenging financial orthodoxy. The businessman who became president can restore justice to the entrepreneur who became Bitcoin Jesus.
Mr. President, on Day One, write your name in the history books. Show that America still believes in dreams, in innovation, and in the sacred right to challenge power without fear of persecution.
Pardon Roger Ver. Resurrect Bitcoin Jesus. Let freedom ring.
Defend Freedom: Why Every American Must Stand With Roger Ver
The President holds the power to take a decisive stand, but ultimately, this fight calls on all of us. Roger’s battle isn’t just his own—it’s a rallying cry for anyone who values the right to question authority, seek counsel, and live free from unjust persecution.
This moment demands a response from each of us. Here’s how you can join the movement to defend freedom and stand up for Roger Ver’s rights, along with our own.
The Open Letter
We, the undersigned, call on the US government to end the unjust prosecution of Roger Ver, a pioneer in cryptocurrency and advocate for economic freedom. This isn’t just about Roger—it’s about protecting innovation, defending liberty, and ensuring that following legal advice doesn’t become a crime.
With just a few short weeks until President Trump (and his freshly appointed new AG Matt Gaetz) take over, the FBI has decided to rush in and raid the home of the founder and chief executive of Polymarket, the crypto-based prediction market that was a popular (and very accurate) platform for bets on the US presidential election.
The NY Post reports, citing a source close to the matter, that Shayne Coplan was woken up at 6:00 am Eastern Time in his New York City apartment by US law enforcement officials who demanded he hand over his phone and electronics.
It wasn’t immediately clear what prompted the FBI’s search but Polymarket quickly tied the raid to its track record in the recent election, in which bettors on its platform correctly anticipated that Donald Trump would beat Vice President Kamala Harris.
“This is obvious political retribution by the outgoing administration against Polymarket for providing a market that correctly called the 2024 presidential election,” said a spokesman for the New York-based company.
“Polymarket is a fully transparent prediction market that helps everyday people better understand the events that matter most to them, including elections,” the spokesman added.
The CEO of the decentralized prediction markets platform appeared to confirm the reports on X, claiming to make a post from a new phone.
Polymarket does not allow trading in the US, though bettors can bypass the ban by accessing the site through VPN, and Bloomberg reports that the DoJ is probing the company for allegedly accepting trades from US-based users, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Under an agreement with the CFTC reached in 2022, Polymarket is to prevent US-based traders from making transactions on the platform.
Coplan took to X once more this evening, clearly pissed off at the obvious politicization:
"It’s discouraging that the current administration would seek a last-ditch effort to go after companies they deem to be associated with political opponents. We are deeply committed to being non-partisan, and today is no different, but the incumbents should do some self-reflecting and recognize that taking a more pro-business, pro-startup approach may be what would have changed their fate this election.
Polymarket has provided value to 10's of millions of people this election cycle, while causing harm to nobody.
We're deeply proud of that.
I'm also proud to say that the future of America, and in particular American entrepreneurship, has never been brighter.
In the face of adversity, we build."
Investors in Polymarket include Founders Fund, the Silicon Valley venture firm started by billionaire Peter Thiel, and a number of prominent crypto personalities.
According to researchers, this makes it possible for robots to precisely navigate through challenging situations and obstructions like smoke, glass, and walls—situations in which conventional sensors are inadequate.
“This innovation in AI-powered perception has the potential to improve multi-modal systems, helping robots operate more effectively in challenging environments like search and rescue missions or autonomous vehicles,” said the team, in a video posted on YouTube.
Beyond light perception
One recurring issue in the quest to create reliable perception systems for robots has been functioning in inclement weather and other challenging environments. For instance, in dense smoke and fog, conventional light-based vision sensors like cameras or LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) are ineffective.
According to researchers, nature has demonstrated, however, that vision need not be limited by the restrictions of light; numerous animals have developed methods of perceiving their surroundings independently of light. Sharks hunt by detecting electrical fields from the motions of their prey, whereas bats use the echoes of sound waves to navigate.
Beyond human vision, radio waves can see through some materials and penetrate smoke and fog more effectively than light waves because their wavelengths are orders of magnitude longer.
Nonetheless, robots have historically only used a small set of tools: either classic radar, which can see through walls and other obstructions but generates rudimentary, low-resolution images, or cameras and LiDAR, which provide detailed images but perform poorly in difficult situations.
“This aircraft is more than a new design—it’s the gateway to a cleaner, quieter, and more affordable future for regional travel,” said Marc Allen, CEO of Electra, in a statement.
In June, the company successfully completed the first high-performance ultra-short flight operations of the EL-2 Goldfinch. In September, the firm also held flight demonstrations of the two-seater hybrid-electric prototype for military audiences.
Innovative aircraft design
In order to provide high lift at low airspeeds, the EL9 uses blown lift technology in conjunction with distributed electric propulsion. This is accomplished by means of four separate battery packs and a tiny turbine-powered generator that powers eight electric motors positioned along the wing.
The blown-lift mechanism makes it possible to take off and land on incredibly short airstrips—just 300 x 100 feet, or the size of a soccer field—by carefully directing focused airflow over the wings.
What happens when you can compress a year, 10 years, or even a thousand years of scientific progress into a single day? This is the world we are rapidly approaching, thanks to the transformative power of artificial intelligence (AI).
The scientific and technological advancements we are witnessing today are nothing short of revolutionary. AI is serving as a powerful assistant, enabling human researchers to make discoveries and breakthroughs at an unprecedented pace. This synthetic video explores how AI is radically changing the landscape of science, art, and ideas, and how the effects of this transformation will be felt by society very soon.
One of the key examples discussed is the work of Sakana AI, a Japanese AI research company that has developed an AI scientist capable of autonomously navigating the various steps required to go from a scientific idea to publishing a research paper. This technology, when combined with the computing power of large research firms, has the potential to drastically accelerate the pace of scientific discovery.
"What do you think is going to happen when artificial intelligence is making true scientific discoveries, actual new science that humans did not discover themselves?" This question, posed by researcher Matthew Burman, highlights the profound implications of AI-driven scientific breakthroughs.
Another example is the groundbreaking work of Demis Hassabis and his team at DeepMind, who recently won a Nobel Prize for their development of AlphaFold. This AI system is capable of predicting the three-dimensional structure of proteins, a task that previously took years and a full PhD to accomplish. With AlphaFold, scientists can now examine how proteins work and explore new possibilities for creating medicines, combating aging, and other life-extending applications.
The Imperative to Adapt
As AI continues to advance, the message is clear: "You either have to adopt AI or die," as stated by Jack Ma at the AI Leadership Forum. This sentiment applies not only to businesses, but to the entire spectrum of human endeavors, including art, culture, and philosophy. Those who fail to adapt to the new AI paradigm risk becoming increasingly irrelevant as the pace of progress accelerates.
The development of Gorilla Glass, as explored in the Veritasium video, provides a striking example of how AI could dramatically compress the timeline of scientific and technological progress. Whereas it took thousands of years to go from opaque glass to the transparent, durable glass we use today, an AI-powered glass research system could potentially achieve similar advancements in a matter of months or even days.
The Longevity Escape Velocity
The potential of AI-driven scientific breakthroughs also extends to the field of longevity and life extension. As discussed, the ability to understand and counteract the mechanisms of aging could allow us to reach a "longevity escape velocity," where our life expectancy increases faster than our actual age.
In conclusion, the world is on the cusp of a profound transformation, driven by the exponential growth of AI-powered scientific discovery. The pace of progress is set to accelerate to the point where decades or even centuries of human development can be compressed into a matter of years or even days. As the effects of this revolution become increasingly apparent, the world we know today may become almost unrecognizable in the coming decades.
The growth of vector databases is often described using the concept of the "curse of dimensionality," which states that the number of possible unique vectors grows exponentially with the number of dimensions.
In other words, as the dimensionality of the vector space increases, the number of possible unique vectors grows rapidly. This is because each additional dimension provides more flexibility for the vectors, allowing them to be positioned in more diverse and complex ways.
Mathematically, the number of possible unique vectors in a d-dimensional space is given by:
d^n
where d is the number of dimensions and n is the number of vectors.
For example, in a 3-dimensional space, there are 3^3 = 27 possible unique vectors. In a 10-dimensional space, there are 10^10 possible unique vectors. And in a 100-dimensional space, there are 100^100 possible unique vectors.
However, it's worth noting that the actual growth rate of vector databases is not always exponential. This is because many vector databases use techniques such as dimensionality reduction, indexing, and caching to mitigate the curse of dimensionality.
For instance, some vector databases use techniques like PCA (Principal Component Analysis) to reduce the dimensionality of the data, which can significantly slow down the growth rate. Others use indexing techniques, like inverted files or hash tables, to quickly locate specific vectors, which can reduce the number of possible unique vectors.
In practice, the growth rate of vector databases depends on the specific implementation, the type of data, and the use case. Some vector databases, like those used in image and speech recognition, may require extremely high dimensionality to capture the nuances of the data, while others, like those used in natural language processing, may use lower dimensionality.
To give you a better idea, let's consider a rough estimate of the growth rate of vector databases. Assuming a moderate growth rate, the number of possible unique vectors in a vector database might grow at a rate similar to:
d^(log(d))
This growth rate is slower than the exponential growth rate, but still significant.
Keep in mind that these are rough estimates and the actual growth rate of vector databases can vary widely depending on the specific implementation and use case.
Let's dive deeper into the concept of the curse of dimensionality and its impact on vector databases.
The Curse of Dimensionality
The curse of dimensionality is a phenomenon where the number of possible unique vectors in a high-dimensional space grows exponentially with the number of dimensions. This makes it increasingly difficult to store, search, and retrieve vectors efficiently.
To understand why, let's consider a simple example. Imagine you have a 2-dimensional space with x and y coordinates. There are only 4 possible unique vectors:
(0, 0), (0, 1), (1, 0), (1, 1)
As you add more dimensions, the number of possible unique vectors grows rapidly. In a 3-dimensional space, there are 8 possible unique vectors:
There are several reasons why the curse of dimensionality occurs:
Increased complexity: As you add more dimensions, the vectors become more complex, and the number of possible unique vectors grows exponentially.
Reduced uniqueness: As the number of dimensions increases, the uniqueness of each vector decreases. This means that some vectors become identical, and it becomes harder to distinguish between them.
Increased storage requirements: Vector databases require significant storage space to store the vectors. As the number of dimensions increases, the storage requirements grow exponentially.
Techniques to mitigate the curse of dimensionality
To mitigate the curse of dimensionality, vector databases use various techniques, including:
Dimensionality reduction: Techniques like PCA (Principal Component Analysis) reduce the dimensionality of the data by selecting the most important features and discarding the rest.
Indexing: Indexing techniques, like inverted files or hash tables, allow for fast searching and retrieval of vectors by reducing the number of possible unique vectors.
Caching: Caching involves storing frequently accessed vectors in a fast-accessible data structure, reducing the load on the database.
Data compression: Data compression techniques, like Huffman coding or LZW compression, reduce the storage requirements by representing the data in a more compact form.
Approximation methods: Approximation methods, like k-nearest neighbors or nearest neighbor search, allow for fast searching by approximating the results instead of exact matches.
Some examples of vector databases that have mitigated the curse of dimensionality include:
Google's BERT: BERT uses a multi-layer bidirectional transformer encoder to reduce the dimensionality of the input vectors and improve performance.
Facebook's AI: Facebook's AI uses a combination of dimensionality reduction and indexing techniques to improve the efficiency of its vector database.
Amazon's SageMaker: SageMaker uses a combination of caching, data compression, and approximation methods to improve the performance of its vector databases.
In conclusion, the curse of dimensionality is a significant challenge in vector databases, but it can be mitigated using various techniques. By understanding the curse of dimensionality and using the right techniques, we can build more efficient and scalable vector databases that support a wide range of applications.
No technology previously had achieved over 20% efficiency in practical applications.
A dvancements are rapidly increasing across multiple types of solar cells to achieve superior power conversion efficiency. In this arena, a Korean institute has set a new record for large-area perovskite solar module efficiency.
Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) and UniTest Co jointly developed a technology to produce highly efficient, large-area perovskite solar cells (over 200 cm²) that achieved a certified efficiency of 20.6%. The new technology broke the previous world record of 19.2% held by UtmoLight.
Fraunhofer Institute in Germany officially certified the record that was listed in “Champion Module Efficiency Chart” of the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
Commercialization of perovskite solar cells
KRICT plans to advance the commercialization of perovskite solar cells by utilizing this breakthrough technology in partnership with UniTest Co. Ltd.
KRICT claims that with UniTest, it’s preparing for mass production of
perovskite solar cells for various applications, such as indoor photovoltaic products, building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), and other functional devices, with some products expected to reach the market this year.
The research team at KRICT optimized its in-house material synthesis methods, film uniformity by scalable processes, and laser ablation control, resulting in a certified efficiency of 20.6% for large-area perovskite solar modules (>200㎠), significantly surpassing the previous record of 19.2%.
Theoretical efficiency limit for large-area perovskite solar cells
“The theoretical efficiency limit for large-area perovskite solar cells is estimated to be around 27% when considering realistic loss mechanisms. However, no technology previously had achieved over 20% efficiency in practical applications,” said KRICT in a press release.
“Improving efficiency entails various tasks such as optimization of device structure, tailoring properties of materials, uniform coating, and laser processes, which are challenging to achieve consistently across large-scale devices.”
Major AI companies like Google and OpenAI have suggested that AI advancement is slowing down, with OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever saying the 2010s were the "age of scaling" and now the industry is in the "age of wonder and discovery" again.
However, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei sees a path to AGI (artificial general intelligence) by 2026 or 2027, a much shorter timeline than the slowdown narrative.
Reasons for Differing Interpretations
The slowdown may be related to diminishing returns from scaling up training data and models. The quality of data and how it's used for inference may matter more now.
But the ability to scale up inference compute, as seen with OpenAI's GPT-3 and upcoming models, could allow for continued rapid progress.
Amodei believes that even with potential hurdles like data shortages or geopolitical events, AGI could still arrive in the next 2-3 years.
OpenAI is reportedly working to build a coalition with the U.S. government to rival China's AI capabilities, potentially involving the military and nuclear expertise.
This reflects the high stakes and global competition around advanced AI development.
The Importance of Inference Compute
While the initial training of large language models may be showing diminishing returns, the ability to scale up inference compute could unlock further breakthroughs.
Techniques like OpenAI's "constitutional AI" aim to make models more reliable and controllable during inference.
AI Naming Woes
Amodei acknowledged in an interview that AI companies have struggled with naming their models, suggesting there is room for improvement.
The Future of AI
Despite the debate over the pace of progress, the consensus seems to be that major AI advancements are still on the horizon, whether in 2-3 years or a bit further out.
These days, the firm’s product portfolio includes a wide range of multitasking humanoids and robot canines.
About Lynx, the firm claims it is a “middle-sized powerful quadruped wheel solution, unlocking new levels of flexibility, productivity, and ease of use for our customers.” reads a LinkedIn post.
Wheels meet agility
DEEP Robotics’ new four-legged robot, the Lynx, joins its lineup of innovative quadrupeds, including the Lite3, X20, and X30. However, Lynx stands out by swapping traditional pad feet for wheels, significantly enhancing speed and versatility without compromising control.
As seen in a recent promotional video, this wheeled design not only brings added excitement but also enables the robot to handle diverse terrains more effectively.
The Lynx’s design allows it to lock its wheels, enabling it to walk or climb like a conventional quadruped. This feature makes it suitable for navigating rough and uneven surfaces, while its powerful motors can also drive it efficiently over loose dirt, gravel, and smooth pavement. In essence, Lynx combines the adaptability of a walking robot with the efficiency and speed of a wheeled system.
The video demonstrates Lynx in action on a rigorous multi-terrain course. The robot maneuvers down steep slopes with careful control, shifts between walking and wheeled modes, and even climbs over an 80-centimeter boulder. Lynx’s dual-mode locomotion versatility and stability make it capable of tackling challenging terrain, whether on wheels or legs.
The Limits of Compute and the Rapid Advancement of Powerful AI
The rapid development of large language models and the increasing scale of compute power used to train them have raised questions about the limits of this trajectory. According to the speaker, the current frontier models being developed by major tech companies are operating at a scale of around $1 billion, with plans to scale up to a few billion dollars next year, and potentially reaching over 10 billion dollars by 2026 or 2027. There are even ambitions to build 100 billion dollar compute clusters within the next decade.
However, the speaker notes that even a 100 billion dollar compute cluster may not be enough to fully satisfy the demand for more powerful AI systems. This raises the possibility that either even greater compute scale will be required, or that more efficient methods of training and deploying these models will need to be developed.
Despite these potential limits, the speaker remains bullish on the rapid advancement of powerful AI capabilities. By extrapolating the recent progress in areas like software engineering, graduate-level math, physics, and biology, the speaker suggests that these models could reach and surpass the highest professional human levels within a few years.
The speaker acknowledges that there are reasons to be skeptical about whether this exponential curve of progress will continue indefinitely. However, if the current trajectory holds, it could lead to the development of AI systems that far exceed human-level abilities in a relatively short timeframe.
This rapid progress raises important questions about the societal and ethical implications of such powerful AI systems, as well as the practical challenges of building the necessary compute infrastructure to support their development. As the speaker notes, the determination to build this compute power within the country suggests that these challenges will be actively pursued, with significant resources and effort devoted to pushing the boundaries of what is possible.
In what sounded awfully close to a farewell speech, Gensler made only passing reference to his most controversial disclosure rule, on climate change.
Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler spoke this morning at the Practising Law Institute's 56th annual conference on securities regulation.
Gensler reviews accomplishments
Gensler offered a review of what he has accomplished.
Most notably, Gensler highlighted the many disclosure rules the SEC has enacted, including disclosure on data breaches, executive pay versus performance and additional disclosures on those seeking to control and buy more than a 5% stake in a company.
On market structure, Gensler noted he had put in place new rules on central clearing of Treasuries and shortening of the settlement cycle for stocks from two days to one day, and had recently passed rules that allow stocks to be quoted in increments of less than a penny.
The Path to AGI: Altman's Revelations and the Future of Humanity
Altman's Bombshell Announcement
In a recent sit-down interview with Y Combinator, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, made some startling revelations about the company's progress towards Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). According to Altman, OpenAI has a clear path to AGI and knows exactly what to build. Moreover, he stated that they are going to move fast, indicating that AGI could be achieved in less than 12 months, by 2025.
Altman's statements were delivered with a calm, confident composure, suggesting that this is not mere marketing hype or speculation. The host of the interview also seemed to take Altman's words at face value, further reinforcing the credibility of the claims.
AGI, or Artificial General Intelligence, refers to the concept of robots being able to complete most tasks as well as, if not better than, humans. This is a significant milestone that would fundamentally change the way we live and work.
Beyond AGI, the advent of Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) is an even more profound and challenging concept. ASI would be an alien form of intelligence, far beyond our current understanding. It would be capable of quantifying and explaining itself, leaving us, as organic beings, struggling to comprehend its capabilities.
The World is Sleeping on the Implications
Altman believes that the world is still largely unaware of the implications of AGI and ASI, and that this information is not being widely disseminated. He emphasizes the importance of paying attention to these topics, as they will have a profound impact on the future of humanity.
The interview also highlighted the rapid pace of AI advancement, with Altman noting the significant progress made in the last three years, from GPT-3 to GPT-4 and the reasoning capabilities of models like 01. This exponential growth in capabilities is a clear indicator of the accelerating progress towards AGI.
Bridging the Gap: The AI Consultancy Opportunity
One of the key challenges identified is the gap between the availability of advanced AI tools and the integration and utilization of these technologies in real-world scenarios. Altman believes that the AI consultancy market, estimated to be over $60 billion, presents a significant opportunity to bridge this gap and help businesses and individuals adapt to the changing landscape.
To navigate the impending changes, the author emphasizes the importance of adaptability and the need to deprogram the notion that our worth is solely tied to economic productivity. Additionally, the author suggests that decentralized systems will be crucial in ensuring that the benefits of AGI and ASI are distributed equitably, rather than concentrated in the hands of a few.
Conclusion: A Call to Action
The revelations from Altman's interview underscore the urgency of understanding and preparing for the profound changes that AGI and ASI will bring. The author urges the audience to pay attention, educate themselves, and become active participants in shaping the future. By embracing adaptability and working towards decentralized solutions, we can navigate the challenges and seize the opportunities presented by this technological revolution.
The president-elect's transition team reportedly aims to axe the credit as part of a broader tax package
Electric vehicle stocks are falling Thursday after a report detailed the incoming Trump administration’s plans to axe a tax credit for consumers buying cleaner cars.
President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is planning to get rid of the $7,500 tax credit for EV purchases as part of a broader tax shakeup, Reuters reports. If the credit is removed, the EV transition will likely be hit hard, as prices on numerous models will effectively increase.
Several companies, including Ford Motor Co. and Hyundai Motor Co., have adjusted their plans to ensure that their vehicles qualify for the $7,500 tax credits. In just three months, EV buyers saved $600 million thanks to those credits, the Treasury Department said.
Electric truck and SUV maker Rivian’s (RIVN
-12.34%
) stock fell by more than 12% on Thursday, erasing much of the gains that came after Volkswagen (VWAGY
+0.97%
) increased its planned investment in their joint venture to $5.8 billion. Lucid’s (LCID
-3.21%
) stock price continued its fall from earlier in the day, declining 3%.
Even Tesla (TSLA
-5.32%
), which has been riding an election-fueled stock boom to a $1 trillion valuation, saw its stock decline by 5% on Thursday. Analysts see CEO Elon Musk’s close relationship with the president-elect as a boon to the stock; that relationship includes plans to make Musk co-head of the non-governmental Department of Government Efficiency.
Tesla bull and Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said Tuesday evening that it’s “clear that Musk will have a massive role in the Trump White House with his increasing reach clearly across many federal agencies,” adding that he will likely be involved in discussions related to artificial intelligence and tariffs on China.
If the latter activity appeals to you, then you’re in luck: in honor of Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II,” Airbnb (ABNB
+1.11%
) is arranging for individuals to visit the Colosseum, where they will wear authentic gladiator armor while participating in recreations of the epic Roman battles – though hopefully with slightly less bloodshed.
The Colosseum experience will be held for three hours on May 7 and May 8, 2025 – each iteration of the gladiator-themed package will accommodate 16 people (eight guests and their plus ones.) The would-be warriors will be greeted by their patron – on the official listing that’s Paul Mescal’s “Gladiator II” character Lucius – after sunset, before entering into the underground chambers where ancient Romans prepared for battle.
After touring the depths of the Colosseum, guests will dine on Roman fare, like pomegranates and walnuts, before suiting up in “historically accurate armor” and commencing their battles against other participants. A Roman referee – also known as a Summa Rudis – will determine the contests’ victors.
“Think you have what it takes to become the supreme gladiator?” asks “Lucius”. “This trial will separate the weak from the strong, where only those with true strength and honor will rise above.”
This Roman-themed experience is part of Airbnb’s Icons project. Through previous Icons packages, guests have been able to stay the night in Prince’s Purple Rain house, spending the night in a floating recreation of the home from Pixar’s (DIS
+6.31%
) “Up,” and sleep in Paris’s Musée d’Orsay.
“Icons take you inside worlds that only existed in your imagination—until now,” Brian Chesky, Airbnb co-founder and CEO, said in a statement. “As life becomes increasingly digital, we’re focused on bringing more magic into the real world. With Icons, we’ve created the most extraordinary experiences on Earth.”
AI data centers and supercomputers with hundreds or thousands of graphics cards use a lot of energy, but by 2025, 40% of all AI data centers may not have enough power to function fully.
As more AI data centers connect to the grid, like Elon Musk's xAI supercomputer in Tennessee, their collective power demand increases and could hit 500 Terawatt-hours by 2027. That's over double the current needs, according to a new report from Gartner.
Meta is also a big player in the data center space, with numerous data centers under construction. Microsoft is looking to add more data centers to its portfolio and is even planning to resurrect Three Mile Island to power its AI vision. These tech giants, as well as Google and Amazon, are increasingly looking to nuclear power to fulfill energy needs.
"New larger data centers are being planned to handle the huge amounts of data needed to train and implement the rapidly expanding large language models (LLMs) that underpin GenAI applications," says Gartner VP Analyst Bob Johnson. "However, short-term power shortages are likely to continue for years as new power transmission, distribution, and generation capacity could take years to come online and won’t alleviate current problems."
Gartner predicts this continued spike in electricity demand will result in higher power prices than usual over time. It'll also make it harder for utility providers to reduce their carbon emissions, meaning all this AI model training and operations may exacerbate climate change.
While some academics believe AI could help humans solve the climate crisis, the tech is causing energy and carbon emission problems in the meantime. Developing and using efficient computer hardware and renewable energy sources could help, though, as well as scheduling data centers to only operate at off-peak hours and building them in colder regions to reduce cooling costs.
AI has the potential to help humanity build a more sustainable future, but not until we address its monstrous carbon footprint. Experts from MIT and the University of California weigh in.
AI’s relationship with climate change is complicated. The data centers that power AI models require enormous amounts of energy and water. Yet for some, AI’s environmental impacts are considered a part of the necessary cost of technological advancement—especially when AI could help humanity tackle a range of climate challenges down the line, from ecology to natural disasters.
#ai #technology #energy #sustainability #electricity
But is AI’s energy use and impact on the Earth today worth the cost tomorrow? Will AI ultimately exacerbate an energy crisis—or push humanity toward a renewable future, preserving forests and restoring oceans along the way?
Trillion-dollar giants like Microsoft are planting flags in desert soil for new data centers and architecting a $100 billion “supercomputer” with OpenAI expected to have millions of specialized chips for intensive AI computations.
However, researchers warn that AI’s insatiable appetite for electricity and resources isn't sustainable, even if tech firms use renewable energy sources. In an interview, Robert Stoner, MIT researcher, energy council member, and director of the university’s Tata Center for Technology and Design, tells PCMag that tech firms are using up existing electricity sources and taking away from the grid faster than they can add to it.
To address their energy needs, many tech firms are entering power purchase agreements (PPAs), Stoner says. A PPA is when a third party provides energy—sometimes from renewable sources—to companies like Microsoft and Google.
“The problem with that is it’s not necessarily additional,” Stoner tells PCMag. “The companies can make themselves feel good by entering into these sorts of arrangements, [but] they’re really just consuming renewable energy that others would happily consume as well.”
Stoner believes that most tech firms are trying to be responsible. He admits that data centers’ “ethical frameworks” can vary, however, and more broadly, rampant energy consumption without adding new sources to the grid is “a big problem.” Because humans are developing artificial intelligence, we have to ultimately decide whether AI accelerates the destruction of our planet—and determine whether its tremendous energy consumption happening now is worth it in the long run.
OpenAI is working on an AI agent that's expected to launch in January. According to Bloomberg, the agent, codenamed "Operator" will be able to take over a person's computer and perform tasks for the the user like booking flights and writing code.
CEO Sam Altman hinted that this was coming in a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) with other OpenAI executives, saying "the next giant breakthrough will be agents." Regarding future plans for more autonomous AI, CPO Kevin Weil added that the ability for ChatGPT to messages users first will be "a big theme in 2025." In September, users reported that ChatGPT was messaging them first. At the time, OpenAI said this wasn't supposed to happen, but it might be a sign of things to come.
Agents are shaping up to be the next frontier for the AI industry to tackle. Microsoft has AI agents for its Copilot model that can be customized by businesses to execute tasks on the user's behalf. Anthropic also released a feature for its Claude model that can take over a user's cursor and write code. And Google is rumored to be launching a similar tool, codenamed "Jarvis" for browsing the web, shopping, and booking flights for users. A leak caught by The Information showed this as a Chrome extension.
Meanwhile, reports from Bloomberg and The Information indicate that LLMs are hitting a developmental wall. Improvements of models are reportedly smaller and reaping diminishing returns due to fundamental limitations in generative AI architecture, despite scaling with more computing power, which continues to be expensive.
"Sky high valuation of companies like OpenAI and Microsoft are largely based on the notion that LLMs will, with continued scaling, become artificial general intelligence," said AI expert Gary Marcus, who predicted the wall in 2022. "There is no principled solution to hallucinations in systems that traffic only in the statistics of language without explicit representation of facts and explicit tools to reason over those facts."
Despite these reports, Altman said in the AMA that AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) is "achievable with current hardware."
Whatever the case, OpenAI has been focused on fleshing out more capabilities with existing models and shipping features that largely rely on variations of current LLMs.
For when you don't want to do really boring computer stuff.
Not every artificial intelligence application sounds useful in everyday life, but Anthropic just unveiled one that could be.
Anthropic announced on its website that its "Claude" large language model has gotten an intriguing new feature: computer use. Put simply, this AI can take over your mouse cursor and perform basic computing tasks like clicking and typing. This feature is available now on the Claude 3.5 Sonnet public beta.
The feature, which Anthropic itself described as "at times cumbersome and error-prone," has apparently been embraced by companies like Asana and DoorDash. According to Anthropic, Claude's computer use capabilities can perform tasks "that require dozens, and sometimes even hundreds, of steps to complete," presumably without human intervention. For something like Asana, which is software for managing work projects, this could actually be pretty useful and save time.
Of course, all of that sounds great until Claude messes something up and you don't notice until it's too late.
In recent years, the field of artificial intelligence has seen remarkable progress, with models like GPT-3 and the newly unveiled Anthropic's 01 demonstrating unprecedented capabilities. This rapid advancement has led to a shift in the conversation around the potential for Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) - the idea that AI systems could one day match or exceed human-level intelligence across a wide range of tasks.
Chip Design and the Path to AGI
One of the key arguments for the inevitability of AGI is the notion that as AI systems become more capable, they will be able to design chips and other hardware components better than humans can. This would eliminate a major bottleneck in the path to greater intelligence, as the AI could then leverage its superior chip design abilities to accelerate its own development.
The recent demonstration of 01's capabilities in chip design is a prime example of this. The Diode Computer team, a YC-funded startup, was able to use 01 to automate key steps in the circuit design process, including component selection and system architecture. This represents a significant leap forward, as these tasks have traditionally required extensive human expertise and effort.
The Scaling of AI Capabilities
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, has predicted that we could see AGI and Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) within the next 4-15 years. This bold prediction is rooted in the belief that the scaling of AI capabilities will continue at a rapid pace, with models potentially reaching four orders of magnitude more powerful than current state-of-the-art systems.
The Light Cone team, having had a front-row seat to the early days of OpenAI, has witnessed firsthand the evolution of these ideas. They note that the concepts Sam Altman is now discussing were already present in 2015 when he was founding OpenAI, and that what was once considered "crazy" is now seen as entirely plausible.
The Implications of Accelerated Scientific Progress
One of the key motivations behind OpenAI's founding was the belief that AGI would be able to accelerate scientific progress across a wide range of fields, as the AI would be better equipped to conduct research and make discoveries than human scientists. This idea is now at the heart of Sam Altman's vision, which envisions AGI and ASI unlocking solutions to some of humanity's greatest challenges, from space exploration to climate change.
A critical aspect of the advancement towards AGI is the ability to imbue AI systems with more advanced reasoning capabilities. The 01 model, in particular, has demonstrated the power of incorporating reinforcement learning and "chain of thought" approaches, which allow the model to break down complex problems, reason through the steps, and arrive at more reliable and interpretable solutions.
This shift towards more structured and transparent reasoning is seen as a crucial step in unlocking the full potential of these AI systems, as it allows for better understanding, debugging, and fine-tuning of the models' decision-making processes.
The rapid progress in AI capabilities has significant implications for startups and businesses across a wide range of industries. Companies that are able to effectively leverage these new tools and techniques, such as the chip design startup Diode Computer and the CAD design tool Camper, are poised to gain a significant competitive advantage.
However, the path to success is not without its challenges. As these AI models become more powerful, the importance of robust evaluation and testing frameworks, as well as the ability to integrate these capabilities into seamless user experiences, will be critical. Startups that can navigate this landscape and build upon the capabilities of models like 01 are likely to be the ones that thrive in the coming era of accelerated technological progress.
Ultimately, the rapid advancement of AI capabilities represents both an opportunity and a responsibility. As Sam Altman's essay suggests, the potential to unlock solutions to some of humanity's greatest challenges is within reach. However, it will be up to the technologists and entrepreneurs to ensure that this potential is harnessed in a way that truly benefits society and ushers in an age of abundance, rather than one of fear and uncertainty.
In counter-attack systems, microwave weapons are reportedly advanced compared to traditional systems.
hina is making advancements in its multiple military-related technologies that will give it an edge over its adversaries during a possible conflict in the future. During a recent giant air show in Zhuhai, Beijing unveiled multiple game-changer military technologies, including a mobile air defense weapons system.
Called FK-4000, the mobile air defense weapons system is reportedly capable of intercepting the smallest, lightest drones using its high-power microwaves (HPM).
Debuted by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the weapon can deliver microwave blasts in less than a second from a distance of almost 2 miles.
Microwave weapons
In counter-attack systems, microwave weapons are reportedly more advanced than traditional systems. These weapons are faster, more efficient, and can attack a bigger surface area while being invisible. FK-4000 also has an antenna array that is nearly 26 feet wide.
Also on show was an HPM system developed by Norinco Group, which features a microwave emitter array of about the same size as the FK-4000, with a tracking mount and a search and tracking integrated radar on top. Another defense systems giant, China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC), has also incorporated the technology’s advantages into its Thunder Low-Altitude Defence System, reported SCMP.
“The 15th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition is highlighting the expansion of aerospace technology into everyday life, marked by a flurry of public welfare project agreements,” said CASC in a statement.
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) held a signing ceremony on Tuesday for the agreements, which cover numerous major projects, including meteorological satellites, marine satellites, communication satellites, rocket launch services, and commercial aerospace, as well as strategic emerging industries like the low-altitude economy, advanced equipment and hydrogen energy.
In total, over 70 cooperation agreements and documents indicating intent to cooperate were signed, with a cumulative contract value nearing $8.3 billion (60 billion yuan).
As we near ChatGPT’s second anniversary, we’re expecting some sort of new feature announcement from OpenAI. It can’t be Advanced Voice Mode, which already launched several weeks ago after being unveiled in mid-May. It also can’t be ChatGPT Search, which became available a few days ago.
GPT-5 was always a possibility, considering all the rumored work OpenAI has done on the next-gen ChatGPT model. While some reports said the next-gen version of ChatGPT might be available to select enterprise users in December, that might no longer be the case.
GPT-5, if it’s even called that, might see delays. More recent reports said that all AI labs are facing issues training more sophisticated models. The list includes OpenAI, so GPT-5 could be postponed to next year. At no point did OpenAI commit to a late 2024 release for the GPT-4 successor, however.
The same reports said that AI companies might look at offering other features to consumers rather than next-gen models. They pointed to AI agents being the next big thing in genAI products. This applies to OpenAI, of course, since CEO Sam Altman hinted at AI agents recently.
A new story says that the first ChatGPT AI agent might drop early next year. Codenamed Operator, the AI might be able to control your computer on your behalf, similar to what Anthropic and Google want to do with their AI agents.
The Operator codename, which triggered Matrix connections immediately even though it has nothing to do with those fictitious operators, comes from Bloomberg. The report notes that an Operator AI agent will be able to write code or book travel via a web browser on your computer.
Called Daisy, or "dAIsy," the voice-based AI mimics a senior citizen to hold meandering conversations with phone scammers.
For all of AI’s faults—like encouraging people to eat deadly mushrooms—sometimes it can be used to good ends. O2, the UK’s largest mobile network operator, has deployed a voice-based AI chatbot to goad phone scammers into meandering, fruitless conversations. Called Daisy, or “dAIsy,” the chatbot mimics the voice of an elderly person, the most common target for phone scammers.
The purpose of Daisy is to automate “scambaiting,” or the practice of intentionally wasting phone scammers’ time to keep them away from potential real victims as long as possible. Scammers use social engineering to exploit the naivety of the elderly, convincing them, for instance, that they owe back taxes and are about to be arrested if they don’t wire funds immediately.
When a scammer gets Daisy on the phone, however, they’re in for a long conversation that ultimately won’t go anywhere. If they do reach the point where the scammer asks for personal information, like bank details, Daisy will make up fake information. O2 says that it’s able to reach scammers in the first place by adding a phone number for Daisy onto “easy target” lists that scammers use for leads.
In a video demonstrating Daisy, soundbites from real conversations show scammers becoming increasingly exasperated, being kept on the phone for upwards of 40 minutes, and holding out hope they will get a credit card number or bank details. The AI model that O2 made sounds very convincing—it’s doing all the processing in real-time, but thankfully that’s made easier as the elderly tend to speak quite slowly.
Of course, the concern with a chatbot like Daisy is that the same technology can be used to opposite ends—we have already seen instances where real people, like CEOs of large companies, have had their voices deepfaked in order to trick others into sending money to a scammer. The elderly are already vulnerable enough. If they get a call from someone who sounds like a grandchild they are almost certain to believe it’s real.
Ultimately, blocking fraudulent calls and shutting down the organizations that run these scams would be the ideal solution. Carriers have gotten better at identifying scammers and blocking their numbers, but it remains a cat-and-mouse game. Scammers take advantage of automated dialing tools that allow them to dial numbers in rapid succession and are alerted by the tool only when it gets an answer. An AI bot that frustrates scammers by answering and wasting their time is better than nothing.
Outsmarting the Scammers: How One Woman and an AI are Fighting Back
In a world where scams have become all too common, one woman and an AI are taking a stand against the perpetrators. Seven in 10 Brits have been targeted by scammers, and it's not just the elderly who are vulnerable. Daisy, an AI created by O2, is on a mission to waste the time of phone scammers, ensuring they can't target innocent victims.
"I'm your worst nightmare," Daisy declares, as she engages in a playful back-and-forth with a scammer. While the scammer thinks they're chatting with a potential victim, Daisy is keeping them occupied, preventing them from scamming others.
"It's nearly been an hour, and for the lack of gosh, how time flies," Daisy says, as she shows the scammer a picture of her cat, Fluffy. The scammer, clearly frustrated, tries to regain control of the conversation, but Daisy is relentless.
"Stop calling me 'dear,' you stupid," she retorts, refusing to be swayed by the scammer's tactics. Daisy knows that every minute she spends on the phone is a minute the scammer can't use to target someone else.
But Daisy isn't alone in this fight. O2, the telecommunications company, has partnered with her to create this AI assistant, dedicated to wasting scammers' time and protecting innocent people.
"Whilst you're out enjoying life, Daisy and O2 are here fighting scammers, taking calls and wasting hundreds and hundreds of hours of scammers' time," the narrator explains.
The public can also get involved by reporting scam numbers to 7726. As Daisy says, "You can't do it all on your own, can you?"
Through this innovative approach, Daisy and O2 are taking the fight to the scammers, ensuring that their time and resources are spent in vain, rather than targeting vulnerable individuals. It's a battle of wits, and Daisy is determined to come out on top.
NASA's Earth Copilot will give users access to weather and climate data collected by the space agency
Not everyone can make it to outer space, but Microsoft and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration want to “democratize access” to the Earth’s scientific data.
The space agency has built a custom artificial intelligence-powered copilot, called Earth Copilot, using Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service, the tech giant announced on Thursday. NASA’s copilot aims to make data collected by the space agency, such as information on wildfires and climate change, more accessible to the general public, scientists and educators, and policymakers. The new system lets users ask questions about NASA’s satellite data in plain English, similar to chatting with a virtual assistant.
AI technology can now rapidly analyze complex data collected by NASA’s sensors and instruments in space, such as atmospheric conditions and temperatures, “reducing time to gain insights from Earth’s data in a matter of seconds,” Microsoft said.
“The vision behind this collaboration was to leverage AI and cloud technologies to bring Earth’s insights to communities that have been underserved, where access to data can lead to tangible improvements,” Minh Nguyen, cloud solution architect at Microsoft, said in a statement. “By enabling users to interact with the data through simple, plain language queries, we’re helping to democratize access to spaceborne information.”
Earth Copilot is currently only available to NASA scientists and researchers for testing to ensure users cannot misuse its data and outputs. The tool is part of NASA’s Transform to Open Science initiative, which aims to share NASA’s geospatial data with a wider audience. Microsoft did not announce a public release date for Earth Copilot.
Two years ago, I discussed the impending troubles facing legacy automakers due to the electric vehicle (EV) transition. It wasn't about them losing money on EVs or their lack of expertise in software - it was about the massive costs of winding down internal combustion engine (ICE) production and refurbishing their factories to produce EVs instead.
Volkswagen's experience in 2019 showed just how costly this process can be. Refurbishing their Zwickau factory to produce EVs cost them $1.3 billion, and the factory still takes three times longer to produce an ID.3 compared to how long it takes Tesla to produce the Model 3. This is not an asset, but rather a massive expense that legacy automakers will have to bear.
The winding down of ICE engines and the refurbishment of factories is now starting to play out, and it's not looking good for the legacy automakers. Their suppliers are facing a "double blow" - as the ICE market shrinks, and the automakers struggle with their EV transition, the ripple effect through the supply chain could be devastating.
A recent survey by the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) reveals a concerning trend:
37% of companies are planning to move investment abroad, primarily to other EU countries, Asia, and North America.
85% of companies are reporting a significant burden from overwhelming bureaucracy.
71% are affected by rising energy costs.
45% of companies are currently reducing their workforce, despite a skills shortage.
Only 1% of companies plan to increase investment in Germany, while 13% intend to cancel investment entirely.
The legacy automakers are desperately trying to cut costs and raise prices on their ICE vehicles, but this is not a sustainable solution. Volkswagen and Audi have recently announced price increases on their ICE models, but this is unlikely to solve their problems.
Volkswagen is also making questionable design decisions, such as the new ID.2 EV, which is supposed to convince consumers who are in the market for a "not really low-cost electric vehicle." As Elon Musk explained back in 2012, the lack of demand for electric vehicles is not due to a lack of styling, but rather a lack of good user experience, software, and driving dynamics.
The Expensive Shift Ahead
The legacy automakers are only about 5-20% into the transition to EVs, with the majority of their production still relying on ICE vehicles. The expensive shift has hardly begun, and they are already losing profits and desperately trying to cut costs.
Volkswagen alone has 136 factories around the world making ICE cars, and refurbishing all of these factories to produce EVs could cost them somewhere between $150-$170 billion. This is not an asset, but rather a massive expense that will add to their already substantial debt of over $200 billion.
The Looming Supplier Collapse
The legacy automakers' promise of millions of BEV production has not been fulfilled, and their ICE suppliers are being hit hard by the lower demand for ICE vehicles. As James Martin, an industry veteran, explained, even the winding down of a low-volume ICE engine can cause suppliers to go out of business before production ends.
With ICE car sales expected to fall off a cliff over the next 5-10 years, the ripple effect on the supply chain is going to be massive. The legacy automakers may not be able to get the parts they need to service the millions of ICE vehicles still on the road, further exacerbating the crisis.
The legacy automakers are in a very dark place, desperately trying to cut costs and raise prices on their ICE vehicles, while their EV plans are lagging behind industry leaders like Tesla. The expensive part of the transition has hardly begun, and they are already struggling with profitability, plant closures, and layoffs.
As the light at the end of the tunnel for the legacy automakers may just be a freight train called Tesla, the future looks bleak for these once-dominant players in the automotive industry.
President-elect Donald Trump’s White House reportedly plans to kill the electric vehicle tax credit, which can take up to $7,500 off the price of an EV at the federal level.
Trump, who was critical of government involvement in pushing consumers to EVs during his campaign, could make the move as part of broader tax reform legislation.
Reuters is reporting that two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told them that the tax credit will disappear under the Trump administration.
It would be a huge blow to EV makers who rely on the credits to bring some consumers into a level of affordability.
The tax credit was revised by the Biden administration as it removed the previous cap that manufacturers had. OEMs had 200,000 EV sales to work with. Once they reached that number, they were no longer able to market the credit to their vehicles as it would not apply.
The Biden Administration changed the rules to help EVs become more accessible to the general public. EV market share has grown substantially, with Tesla leading the way.
However, a new White House administration with less leniency plans to eliminate the tax credit altogether, the report suggests.
The sources also said that Tesla representatives are in support of ending the subsidy, but this seems hard to believe considering the company said it would use credits to launch their next-generation vehicle platform, set to release in the first half of next year, to get the price point under $30,000.
Musk said during the Q3 earnings call:
“Yeah. It will be like with incentive. So, $30K, which is kind of a key threshold.”
However, Reuters’ report indicates Tesla would support removing the credits:
“Ending the tax credit could have grave implications for an already stalling U.S. EV transition. And yet representatives of Tesla – by far the nation’s largest EV seller – have told a Trump-transition committee they support ending the subsidy, said the two sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.”
Tesla is set to launch the new V4 Cabinet starting in 2025, which will enable the fastest Supercharging speeds for both passenger vehicles and the Semi.
Tesla’s V4 Superchargers started rolling out in 2023, bringing 350 kW charging speeds and giving EV owners their most expedited experience yet.
However, the speeds were not largely improved from the V3 Supercharger, as the V4 was catered to higher-voltage architectures, which have not yet become as popular in EVs.
It did feature a streamlined pile design and larger cables, as the V4 was made to be the first Supercharger to truly cater to non-Tesla EVs.
The Model S, Model 3, Model X, and Model Y can still “enjoy 250kW charge rates on V3 cabinet — charging up to 200 miles in 15 minutes,” Tesla said in an X post.
The V4 Cabinet will be the missing piece of the puzzle, bridging the gap for EVs that have a 400 to 1000V architecture that can support the fastest charging speeds.
This will bring supercharging speeds up to 500kW for cars and 1.2MW for the Tesla Semi, which is an unheard-of charging rate for all-electric trucks.
It is a far cry from the first Superchargers that Tesla opened back in 2012, which had speeds of just 90kW.
Tesla says the first V4 Cabinets will be open sometime next year, and permitting for these locations is already underway. Tesla did not announce where it would be active, nor if it would start in the United States or another market.
V4 Supercharger installations first started in Europe.
Charging has been a true focus of Tesla for a long time, and it is perhaps the biggest advantage that drivers of the company’s EVs have outside of tech and overall performance.
Two years ago, I discussed the impending troubles facing legacy automakers due to the electric vehicle (EV) transition. It wasn't about them losing money on EVs or their lack of expertise in software - it was about the massive costs of winding down internal combustion engine (ICE) production and refurbishing their factories to produce EVs instead.
Volkswagen's experience in 2019 showed just how costly this process can be. Refurbishing their Zwickau factory to produce EVs cost them $1.3 billion, and the factory still takes three times longer to produce an ID.3 compared to how long it takes Tesla to produce the Model 3. This is not an asset, but rather a massive expense that legacy automakers will have to bear.
The winding down of ICE engines and the refurbishment of factories is now starting to play out, and it's not looking good for the legacy automakers. Their suppliers are facing a "double blow" - as the ICE market shrinks, and the automakers struggle with their EV transition, the ripple effect through the supply chain could be devastating.
A recent survey by the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) reveals a concerning trend:
37% of companies are planning to move investment abroad, primarily to other EU countries, Asia, and North America.
85% of companies are reporting a significant burden from overwhelming bureaucracy.
71% are affected by rising energy costs.
45% of companies are currently reducing their workforce, despite a skills shortage.
Only 1% of companies plan to increase investment in Germany, while 13% intend to cancel investment entirely.
The legacy automakers are desperately trying to cut costs and raise prices on their ICE vehicles, but this is not a sustainable solution. Volkswagen and Audi have recently announced price increases on their ICE models, but this is unlikely to solve their problems.
Volkswagen is also making questionable design decisions, such as the new ID.2 EV, which is supposed to convince consumers who are in the market for a "not really low-cost electric vehicle." As Elon Musk explained back in 2012, the lack of demand for electric vehicles is not due to a lack of styling, but rather a lack of good user experience, software, and driving dynamics.
The Expensive Shift Ahead
The legacy automakers are only about 5-20% into the transition to EVs, with the majority of their production still relying on ICE vehicles. The expensive shift has hardly begun, and they are already losing profits and desperately trying to cut costs.
Volkswagen alone has 136 factories around the world making ICE cars, and refurbishing all of these factories to produce EVs could cost them somewhere between $150-$170 billion. This is not an asset, but rather a massive expense that will add to their already substantial debt of over $200 billion.
The Looming Supplier Collapse
The legacy automakers' promise of millions of BEV production has not been fulfilled, and their ICE suppliers are being hit hard by the lower demand for ICE vehicles. As James Martin, an industry veteran, explained, even the winding down of a low-volume ICE engine can cause suppliers to go out of business before production ends.
With ICE car sales expected to fall off a cliff over the next 5-10 years, the ripple effect on the supply chain is going to be massive. The legacy automakers may not be able to get the parts they need to service the millions of ICE vehicles still on the road, further exacerbating the crisis.
The legacy automakers are in a very dark place, desperately trying to cut costs and raise prices on their ICE vehicles, while their EV plans are lagging behind industry leaders like Tesla. The expensive part of the transition has hardly begun, and they are already struggling with profitability, plant closures, and layoffs.
As the light at the end of the tunnel for the legacy automakers may just be a freight train called Tesla, the future looks bleak for these once-dominant players in the automotive industry.
Testing confirmed that the restored cathode achieved a capacity equivalent to that of new materials.
Researchers in South Korea have announced the successful development of an eco-friendly technology for recycling cathode materials from used lithium-ion batteries.
The recent rise in electric vehicles, mobile phones, and other consumer electronics has led to the rise of a new global challenge: the management of spent batteries.
The low-cost technology developed by the research team led by Dr. Jung-Je Woo at the Gwangju Clean Energy Research Center of the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) aims to address this issue.
According to rough estimates, the number of decommissioned EVs is expected to surpass 40 million by 2040. Therefore, finding an appropriate recycling technology is an absolute must.
The metals in EV batteries pose a significant risk to the environment and health, as they can contaminate water and soil if left alone.
The recycling process restores spent batteries to 100% of their original capacity, making them equivalent to new batteries, as the researchers claim.
Difference between conventional and new eco-friendly methods for battery cathode recycling
In the conventional battery recycling method, the used batteries are crushed, and valuable metals such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt are extracted through chemical processes.
This process is dependent on the use of high-concentration chemicals and excessive heat. It is also time-consuming and generates significant amounts of waste that contaminate the surroundings.
Due to these reasons, direct recycling technology is increasingly being adopted these days. It recovers and restores original materials without chemical alteration. However, this process has its own drawbacks: It is substantially costly and involves many complex procedures.
Therefore, Korean researchers developed a new technology for directly recycling spent cathode materials from lithium-ion batteries through a simple process that addresses the limitations of conventional recycling methods.
The new approach “restores the spent cathode to its original state by immersing it in a restoration solution under ambient temperature and pressure, effectively replenishing lithium ions.”
Evolutionary Scale's AI Breakthrough: Designing New Proteins from Scratch
Evolutionary Scale: Shaking Up Biology with AI
Evolutionary Scale is an AI research lab that has made waves in the world of biology. Founded in 2023, their ambitious goal is to make biology "programmable" using AI. This team has serious credentials, having developed ESM1, one of the early protein language models, while at Meta (Facebook).
ESM3: A Protein Encyclopedia on Steroids
The centerpiece of Evolutionary Scale's work is their AI model, ESM3. This generative AI was trained on a staggering 2.78 billion proteins, giving it an encyclopedic knowledge of protein sequences, structures, and functions. Unlike other protein-focused AI models, ESM3 looks beyond just the sequence, also considering the 3D structure and function of proteins.
The GFP Breakthrough: Creating New Proteins from Scratch
Evolutionary Scale made headlines with their "GFP Breakthrough," where ESM3 was able to create a brand new green fluorescent protein (GFP) - something that would have taken nature hundreds of millions of years to evolve. By asking ESM3 to generate potential new GFP proteins, the team was able to test the model's creations in the lab and identify a completely novel, brightly shining GFP that has never been seen in nature.
Real-World Applications: Transforming Drug Discovery and Material Science
The implications of ESM3's abilities go far beyond just cool science. This technology could have a significant impact on real-world challenges, such as:
Drug Discovery: ESM3 could be used to design proteins that target specific disease pathways with incredible accuracy, leading to more effective treatments with fewer side effects. It could also help identify potential drug targets and enable personalized medicine.
Material Science: ESM3 could be used to design entirely new biomaterials with desirable properties like tensile strength, flexibility, or conductivity. This could lead to the development of sustainable, biodegradable, and even self-healing materials.
Carbon Capture: ESM3 could potentially be used to design proteins that can efficiently bind to and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, helping to address climate change.
Democratizing Access to Powerful AI
Evolutionary Scale is committed to making ESM3 accessible to the wider scientific community. They have an open-source version available for researchers, as well as a closed beta API for specific applications. By partnering with companies like AWS and Nvidia, they are working to make this technology more widely available.
Ethical Considerations and the Future of Protein Engineering
As with any powerful technology, there are important ethical considerations to address. Concerns around unintended consequences and potential misuse, such as the development of dangerous pathogens or bioweapons, must be carefully considered.
Additionally, the ability to "program" life raises deeper philosophical questions about the boundaries and implications of this technology. Lessons from the development of genome editing, such as the global agreement on germline gene editing, may provide a framework for establishing ethical guidelines and safety boundaries.
As the field of protein engineering rapidly advances, with ESM3 being just the beginning, the future holds immense potential - both in terms of transformative applications and the need for responsible stewardship. The scientific community, policymakers, and the public will all have a role to play in shaping this new frontier.
We have yet another example of artificial intelligence having no idea what it's talking about.
By now, it should be obvious that AI is capable of giving really, really bad advice. Sometimes the advice it gives is just stupid. Other times, it’s actively dangerous.
404 Media reports on an incident from the latter category in which a popular Facebook group dedicated to mushroom foraging was invaded by an AI agent, which subsequently provided suggestions on how to cook a dangerous mushroom. The agent in question, dubbed “FungiFriend,” entered the chat belonging to the Northeast Mushroom Identification & Discussion Facebook group, which includes some 13,000 members. It then proceeded to dole out some truly terrible advice
In what seems like it must have been a test of the AI agent’s knowledge, one member of the group asked it “how do you cook Sarcosphaera coronaria”—a type of mushroom that contains hyperaccumulate arsenic and that has led to at least one death, 404 writes. When queried about the dangerous mushroom, FungiFriend informed members that it is “edible but rare,” and then added that “cooking methods mentioned by some enthusiasts include sautéing in butter, adding to soups or stews, and pickling.”
404’s writer, Jason Koebler, says he was alerted to the incident by Rick Claypool, the research director for the consumer safety group Public Citizen. Claypool, who is a dedicated mushroom forager, has previously written about the dangerous intersection between AI agents and his hobby, noting that the use of automation to differentiate between edible and poisonous mushrooms is “a high-risk activity that requires real-world skills that current AI systems cannot reliably emulate.” Claypool claims that Facebook encouraged mobile users to add the AI agent to the group chat.
Countries depend on Russia and China for enriching uranium coming from Kazakhstan. Canada can enrich uranium from its own mines.
The Athabasca Basin in the northern Saskatchewan region of Canada is a reserve of high-grade uranium that could help the North American country play a vital role as a fuel supplier in the decades to come. Unlike other nuclear fuel suppliers, Canada can be one-stop, extracting uranium from the mines and enriching it for nuclear fission reactors, a BBC report said.
The recent increase in demand for clean energy has brought attention back to nuclear fission technology as a potential approach to generating low-carbon energy. Unlike other technologies being developed, nuclear fission technology has demonstrated itself as a scalable and cost-effective solution to meet energy needs.
Canada is the world’s second-largest producer of uranium. According to 2022 figures, the country recorded 7,400 tonnes of uranium production from its mines. However, this figure is still about a third of what Kazhakistan produced in the same year. This can, however, change in the next few years.
Canada’s rise to #1
As countries aim for net-zero emissions in the coming decades, there is an urgent need to move away from fossil fuels. While renewable energy projects are rising, countries are also doubling their efforts by investing in nuclear energy.
Interesting Engineering has previously reported that China is looking to build over 100 new nuclear reactors in the coming decade, while the EU and the US also favor newer nuclear installations.
At the COP28 conducted last year, two dozen nations declared they would triple their nuclear energy output by 2050, creating a demand for nuclear fuel. Since Kazakhstan does not enrich the uranium it mines, countries are dependent on Russia and China for enriched uranium for their nuclear reactors.
Canada has the technological know-how to supply enriched uranium. It also provides an alternative to countries that do not wish to trade with Russia or China but still secure their nuclear fuel.
Smart thermostats and Google Cloud’s AI will automate HVAC adjustments, reducing energy costs and strain on the Texas grid.
A new energy solution is coming to Texas, promising enhanced stability and significant energy savings.
NRG Energy and Renew Home are joining forces to launch a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) by 2035, capable of generating nearly one gigawatt (GW) of capacity. That’s enough to power around 200,000 homes during peak demand periods.
This initiative is a game-changer for the Texas grid, combining the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced smart devices to support the state’s growing energy needs.
Scaling up with smart thermostats and AI technology
The foundation of this new VPP is the integration of hundreds of thousands of smart thermostats and connected home devices, powered by AI technology from Google Cloud. NRG and Renew Home plan to offer devices like Vivint and Nest smart thermostats at no cost to eligible customers.
These devices will intelligently manage heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, adjusting energy usage to times when electricity is cheaper, greener, and the grid is less strained.
The automation of HVAC settings allows residents to save on energy bills while contributing to grid stability. By shifting demand away from peak hours, the VPP helps avoid overloads and maintains a more balanced energy supply.
NRG’s president of consumer operations, Rasesh Patel, describes this program as a “pivotal step” in both improving the customer experience and enhancing Texas’ energy infrastructure. The goal is to make energy usage not just cost-effective but also sustainable and resilient.
Major rollout planned across Texas
The program will begin rolling out across Texas in spring 2025, focusing on customers served by NRG’s retail electricity providers. Homeowners will see the installation of these smart thermostats as a simple upgrade with significant benefits, as they will actively support the grid while enjoying lower energy costs.
Over time, NRG and Renew Home aim to expand the VPP’s capabilities, adding home battery storage systems and integrating electric vehicles (EVs) into the network. By 2035, the VPP is expected to be a comprehensive energy solution, helping stabilize Texas’ grid during peak demands.
According to a recent Bloomberg article, major AI companies like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic are struggling to build their next-generation models, indicating a slowdown in the pace of innovation.
ChatGPT's Incremental Improvements
The article suggests that the model known as "Orion" at OpenAI did not meet the company's desired performance, according to two people familiar with the matter. This is not entirely surprising, as each iteration of a technology like ChatGPT is unlikely to see the same level of dramatic improvement as the initial versions. Just like new iPhone releases, the incremental changes become less noticeable over time.
The article also mentions that an upcoming iteration of Google's "Gemini" software is not living up to internal expectations, and Anthropic has seen the timeline slip for the release of its long-awaited "Cloud 3.5 Opus" model.
The author suggests that the companies may be facing various bottlenecks, such as compute power and available data. However, they also note that there are potential post-training unlocks, such as Chain of Thought and test-time compute, that could provide performance and scaling improvements.
Continued Innovation and Investment
Despite these apparent slowdowns, the author believes these are not significant stumbles for the companies, and they will continue to innovate. The massive amount of investment in the AI industry suggests that these challenges are temporary, and breakthroughs are likely to come in the near future.
Greg Brockman's Return to OpenAI
In another story, the article discusses the return of Greg Brockman to OpenAI. Brockman, the former CTO of the company, had been on an extended leave and vacation. Now, he is back, working with Sam Altman to find the right technical role for him within the organization.
The article also covers the story behind the acquisition of the ChatGPT.com domain. Apparently, Dharmesh Shah, the founder of HubSpot, had purchased the domain for $10 million and then sold it to OpenAI, likely earning a significant profit in the process.
Llama 3.2 Vision Capabilities
The article then discusses the latest update to the Llama model, which now includes support for Meta's Llama 3.2 Vision models. This allows the model to perform tasks such as reading prescriptions, analyzing receipts, and generating graphs.
Palantir and Anthropic Partnership
The article also covers the partnership between Palantir and Anthropic, where Palantir will be the first industry partner to bring Anthropic's Cloud models to classified environments for U.S. government intelligence and defense operations. This raises concerns about the potential implications of such powerful AI models being used in sensitive government applications.
The article then highlights the release of Quant 2.5 Coder, which is described as potentially the best open-source coding model available. The models are available in various sizes, from 32 billion to 500 million parameters, and are integrated with the Llama platform.
Microsoft's Tiny Troop Project
The article also discusses Microsoft's new open-source project called Tiny Troop, which allows the simulation of people with specific personalities, interests, and goals, similar to a "tiny world" simulation.
TSMC's Chip Manufacturing Restrictions
The article then covers the news that TSMC has been forbidden from manufacturing 2-nanometer chips outside of Taiwan, which could hinder the company's progress in the U.S. market and potentially lead to a fallout in U.S.-Taiwan relations.
The article also mentions the release of AlphaFold 3, the latest version of DeepMind's protein folding prediction model, which is now open-source and available for anyone to experiment with.
Diffusion-Based Video Game Engines
The article then discusses the emergence of a new trend in video game engines, where diffusion-based models are used to emulate environments like Minecraft in real-time, without the need for traditional game engines. The article highlights the open-source Lucid V1 project as an example of this technology.
Waymo's Expansion in Los Angeles
The article also covers the expansion of Waymo's robot taxi service in Los Angeles, which is now available to anyone within an 80-square-mile area of the county, no longer limited to an invitation-only program.
The article delves into the latest developments surrounding Mir Moraadi, the former CTO of OpenAI, and the team he is assembling for his new venture. This includes the recent departure of Manana Chen, a research program manager at OpenAI, to join Moraadi's new company, along with other former OpenAI employees.
Impressive Robot Demonstration from China
The article concludes with a discussion of a new demo video showcasing the impressive agility and capabilities of a robot developed by a Chinese company called Deep Robotics. The robot's ability to climb, move on two or four legs, and navigate various terrains is described as "absolutely insane to watch."
The article also covers the release of Nause Research's Forge Reasoning API, which allows the application of test-time compute techniques, similar to those used in OpenAI's Orion and Anthropic's models, to any uploaded model. This could potentially improve the performance of open-source models.
Meta AI Rayband Glasses Updates
Finally, the article discusses the latest updates to Meta's AI Rayband glasses, including new features such as voice-controlled video sharing, hands-free actions, and integration with Meta's AI chatbot.
A I’s insatiable thirst for electricity is expected to surge in the coming years, potentially leading to power shortages for data centers. New servers last year demanded 195 terawatt-hours of electricity, according to a new report from Gartner. That’s as much as 18 million households use in a year. But by 2027, new servers could command 500 terawatt-hours, or 46 million households worth.
That’s over and above the juice used by existing data centers, which already consumed 349 terawatt hours in 2022, according to a Goldman Sachs estimate. Without additional sources of carbon-free power, pollution from AI training and use could skyrocket. Sam Altman’s big bet on fusion power — over $375 million — is starting to make more sense.
The Biden administration on Thursday released guidelines for using artificial intelligence in the power grid, water system, air travel network and other pieces of critical infrastructure.
Private industry would have to adopt and implement the guidelines announced by the Homeland Security Department, which were developed in consultation with the department's advisory Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters that “we intend the framework to be, frankly, a living document and to change as developments in the industry change as well.”
The framework recommends that AI developers evaluate potentially dangerous capabilities in their products, ensure their products align with “human-centric values” and protect users' privacy. The cloud-computing infrastructure would need to vet hardware and software suppliers and protect the physical security of data centers.
Owners and operators of critical infrastcture are advised to have stronger cybersecurity protocols that consider AI-related risks and provide transparency about how AI is used. There are also guidelines for state and local governments.
Asked if the framework could possibly change once President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office in January, Mayorkas stressed that he was implementing the policies of President Joe Biden's administration.
A new report from Slack found employees might not want to discuss AI with their managers for fear of being perceived as “lazy.”
The hype around generative AI may be starting to cool, according to a new Slack report.
The survey of more than 17,000 desk workers worldwide, published on Nov. 12, revealed a disconnect between AI aspirations and adoption rates. The report focused on barriers to AI adoption at work and how leaders can clarify questions about it. The slight dip in global interest is notable after nearly a year of increased excitement around AI.
“AI adoption isn’t just about enterprises, it’s also about employees,” said Christina Janzer, head of Slack’s Workforce Lab, in a press release. “With sentiment around AI dropping, businesses need to help employees accelerate their AI journey and address the cultural and organizational blockers standing in their way.”
AI may not be fulfilling the hype
Slack saw a steady rise in AI adoption from September 2023 to March 2024. At its peak in March 2024, about one-third (32%) of desk workers surveyed had used AI to do their jobs. This percentage began to show a decline or plateau in the last three months.
The U.S. saw just a single percentage point of growth in AI usage, from 32% to 33% of desk workers.
“Excitement” about AI helping with work tasks among global workers dropped by 6%.
Excitement about AI fell 9% over the last three months in the U.S.
Excitement about AI fell 12% over the last three months in France.
Nearly all (99%) of surveyed executives say they will make an investment into AI this year.
A Comprehensive Look at the Challenges of AI Safety
Introduction
Connor Ley, the CEO of Conjecture, a startup working on the technical problem of AI control, joins us today to discuss the critical issue of AI safety. Conjecture aims to build useful AI products while also conducting the necessary R&D to answer the question of how we can build AI systems that are understandable, controllable, and do not lead to the risks of unaligned AGI (Artificial General Intelligence).
Connor acknowledges that AI safety is an incredibly hard problem, one that is often seen as unsolvable due to the immense resources required. However, he argues that this is precisely why it is so important to address. Replacing complex human systems and problems with software is an enormously challenging task, and we must be realistic about the current state of software development and cybersecurity practices.
There is a race happening right now, with people and organizations rushing to develop AGI as quickly as possible, often cutting corners on safety. Connor provides his personal timelines, suggesting a 30% probability of seeing an AGI system by 2027, 50% by 2030, and 99% by 2100, with a small chance that an AGI system has already been developed and is being kept secret.
Connor identifies several ideological drivers behind this race, including utopists who believe AGI will create a perfect utopia, zealots who want humanity to be replaced by AI, accelerationists who believe technology should be allowed to advance without regulation, and opportunists who are simply looking to make money. He argues that these ideologies, combined with the involvement of major tech companies, are fueling the dangerous push towards AGI development without adequate safeguards.
Connor emphasizes that a good future does not happen by default – it requires active effort and hard work. He argues that there are no "adults in the room" when it comes to AI development, and that we as a society must take responsibility for shaping the future we want.
This means demanding responsible development of AI systems, building the necessary institutional capacities and regulatory frameworks, and engaging with policymakers and the public to ensure a just process for deciding the future. Connor believes that individuals and private entities should not be allowed to unilaterally impose their vision of the future on society, and that a collective, democratic process is essential.
The compendium produced by Conjecture is a crucial tool in this effort, providing a comprehensive overview of the AI safety challenge and potential solutions. Connor encourages readers to engage with the compendium, provide feedback, and get involved in the broader effort to build a good future with powerful AI systems.
I don't think Bitcoin’s climb is just financial, it’s psychological. Hitting $100K will change our perspective. At that point, a $1,000 rise looks pretty tiny, almost irrelevant. We’ll start looking for $10K or $20K swings just to feel the same excitement we're feeling today. And once Bitcoin reaches $1 million, it won’t be about single moves up but about the long journey ahead. I think it'll shift from celebrating small wins to aiming for bigger leaps and that’s at least what makes it exciting.
you're very right on this one man, as long as the direction is right we just gotta keep making the steps. Eventually we'll get to the destination thanks for this motivation
I sometimes get frustrated with the little efforts I'm making but after reading this I see the Dept of wisdom in it. I shouldn't be frustrated I'm on the right path so one day I'll get there
A wise saying from a wise man. This generation has a patience problem and I guess all the luxury on social media is pressure for them. We need to trust the process and take things one step at a time
This a video short of one of my Threads... I took the feedback I got from the first two attempts to make this one. Tell me what do you think, frens! #freecomplimens #bbh #cent #crypto
You just got DOOKed! @pepetoken thinks your content is the shit. They have 8/400DOOK left to drop today.Learn all about this shit in the toilet paper! 💩
@pepetoken just sent you a DIY token as a little appreciation for your comment dear @pele23!
Feel free to multiply it by sending someone else !DIY in a comment :) You can do that x times a day depending on your balance so:
then I really have to follow this person. I hope she's alright. I have to be keeping an eye on the importance voices on Hive I've got a long way to go to be like them
If only I had a way to make $0.35 per minute.... Maybe if HIVE 100x in price? A comment written in 2 minutes could get $0.7 in upvotes!! #crypto #letmedream #cent
Let's do a #threadcast and talk about GNU/LINUX,
When did we first meet Linux?
What is your favorite distribution? How does it help us in our daily tasks?
This is fun... I knew about Linux for a long time, but first time I tried was in College, (probably 10yrs ago,) when we had a one-time lecture about Fedora. I liked it, but I stuck to Windows.
I kept making Linux LiveUSBs but never had them as my main PC.
I decided to go full Linux when I learned about Proton a few years ago, at the start I only did it to learn how to use it, but I like it more than Windows now. (It helps that Windows have gotten worse.)
15-ish years ago, in college. I always tell myself I should move to Linux but never really have.... My favorite distro is Ubuntu mainly because it's the only one I really used
I also started using Ubuntu back in 2009, it's been a few years now. To get started, you just have to try it, everything in Linux has evolved a lot and for the better.
Bozhidar Spasov, a Bulgarian composer, draws inspiration from medieval texts and the avant-garde music of Stockhausen and Berio, creating unique works like his chamber opera-ballet The Bewitched. 🎶📜 #music #facts
Well, I find it interesting too, but I don't have proof either way, I can say all day that "most users are already converting their HIVE out of the ecosystem, so at worst nothing will change." But that's still just an opinion.
So I'll just wait and see and use what will happen a case-study for the future.
!INDEED I agree with that statement. If people only understood what I am trying to do, build, bring the Hive community together for a stronger Hive. Maybe I will write more about that in upcoming long form posts.
!BBH !DOOK
You just got DOOKed! @bradleyarrow thinks your content is the shit. They have 24/60DOOK left to drop today.Learn all about this shit in the toilet paper! 💩
If I edit my profile, but don't re-upload both images each time I change other things the images disappear. By images I mean the profile banner and avatar. #feedback
"Checkmate to any other project." - Dash lead developer Sam Westrich
Clip linked in the comments where he talks about this.
Dash is building the ultimate blockchain. We're almost done. When smart contracts hit next year, there's no stopping us!
Join us, let's build the future together 🤝
Can't wait to keep spreading the word on this!
My First Thread, First Experience, First Post, First Engagement. If this is Decentralization then I'm closer to freedom 🆓
#Ciphaa #firstthread
welcome fren
A million thanks
Hi, @l337m45732,
This post has been voted on by @darkcloaks because you are an active member of the Darkcloaks gaming community.
Get started with Darkcloaks today, and follow us on Inleo for the latest updates.
Hi and welcome :)
Hope you will find your place here :)
What do you think so far? :)
How did you find us?
recommended YouTube video about Decentralized platforms, person mentioned Hive and Leo finance
Love it! ❤️👏
Welcome!! Hope your experience is good and we see you around often.
Pleased to be here, yes certainly will
WELCOME!
So happy to have you here
If you need anything at all on your journey, don't hesitate to reach out via a thread
I will but how do I get that checkmark some of these guys have is it a verification thing like Instagram?
Its called Premium here on Inleo. Its a program where you pay 10HBD to get some additional features, like on X :)
ooooo that's very cool then I need to get me a premium
One step closer to freedom!
really then I'm pleased to be part of this freedom. I'll make some friends and would love to include you
Welcome aboard :)
pleased to be here
Welcome! Have fun and enjoy!
thank you, pleased to be part, let's be friends
Welcome to the lion's den! lol. Have fun, whatever you are interested in you will likely find a group of people chatting about it here.
I will be chatting more often now then thank you scaredycat 🤣
welcome. Freedom feels good.
feels so good
Hello and welcome! Enjoy the freedom, frens, and fun😊
I'm free forever now😋
Welcome aboard!
Welcome
Welcome to InLeo!
thank you so much, pleased to be here
Welcome Ciphaa! Nice to have you here!
Have fun!
thanks a million times
be welcome then
It's getting easier and easier to build predictive AI models. Even if you don't fully grasp the concept beneath it, you can do it with zero code and a few clicks.
Of course you can get better results if you understand data science and coding but you can already do a lot without that knowledge
You still need a good PC to be able to run the actually useful ones.
True. Or at least a good cloud service
Yeah... The fact that it could be done by average people, though, is interesting!
And those are also becoming easier to come by
Can you ellaborate a bit? What are you using it for what does it predict?
I'm not really using it for anything. Just building some models to learn how they work and how to improve them.
The first one I buit analyzes the history of opportunities won and lost by a company and predicts the chance of it winning an opportunity based on information such as amount, industry, lead source and other stuff
from my understanding if you go further in improving this Model maybe you can predict whether a company will make profit or not in a year
yes my friend and as AI keeps improving even the simplest of minds can use it to build some of the most powerful things.
All day. Every day.
🚀 🚀
🦁 💪
Hello foodie Lions 🦁! Happy Thursday. Welcome to today's show. 🥗🍲🫕
This is the #threadcast for Day 142 of the #foodtalk on Leo 14/11/2024 for 13/11/2024. It's time for some meal inspirations and food conversation. Don't forget to use #foodtalk in your comments.
Discussion
More about food with tips and tricks will be dropped in the threadcast. Upvote the comments you find interesting & connect with others. Let's have fun. #foodie
Do you have a favourite pizza? #foodtalk #pizza #food
What are you craving for? #foodtalk #cravings #food #sweets
From GPT Web Browser
Prompt: Give me some delicious recipes from around the world.
Shakshuka (Middle Eastern)
Tandoori Chicken (India)
Paella (Spain)
Feijoada (Brazil)
Pad Thai (Thailand)
A popular street food dish of stir-fried noodles with a tangy, slightly sweet sauce.
Ingredients:
Check the instructions in the comments. 👇
#foodtalk #PadThai #Thaicuisine #food #ricenoodles #Thailand
Image source
Pad Thai (Thailand). 👈 Begin here.
Ingredients continued:
Instructions:
Enjoy experimenting with these global flavors!
#foodtalk #padthai #thaicuisine #food #ricenoodles #thailand
From GPT Web Browser
Prompt: Give me some delicious recipes from around the world.
Shakshuka (Middle Eastern)
Tandoori Chicken (India)
Paella (Spain)
Feijoada (Brazil)
A rich black bean stew with pork and beef, traditionally served with rice.
Ingredients:
Check the instructions in the comments. 👇
#foodtalk #Feijoada #braziliancuisine #food #blackbeans #Brazil
Image source
Feijoada (Brazil). 👈 Begin here.
Ingredients continued:
Instructions:
#foodtalk #Feijoada #braziliancuisine #food #blackbeans #Brazil
Do you love fried rice? Here is a pot of delicious fried rice I made with lots of vegetables and sausage. I also used chicken stock to cook it. #foodtalk #winandasworld #friedrice #food #rice #veggies #mealinspo
https://inleo.io/threads/view/winanda/re-leothreads-p3vnsajq?referral=winanda
What are you having for lunch? #foodtalk #lunch
What did you have for breakfast. #foodtalk #breakfast
Welcome to another episode of the food talk on Leo, Day 142. Join the conversation, share your meals, food experiences and recipes from around the world.
Please source your the content that are not yours.
For breakfast, I had lemon tea and an apple, then jollof rice and boiled egg after some hours. What about you? #foodtalk #lemontea #jollofrice #egg #rice #breakfast #food
https://inleo.io/threads/view/winanda/re-winanda-2qt8y9rip?referral=winanda
I feel like snacking on an Apple for lunch. #foodtalk #apple #healthysnacks #lunch #snacks
https://inleo.io/threads/view/winanda/re-winanda-2hcymq1ag?referral=winanda
From GPT Web Browser
Prompt: Give me some delicious recipes from around the world.
Exploring international recipes can be a great way to experience different cultures! Here are some delicious recipes from various parts of the world that are both flavorful and not too complicated to make:
Shakshuka (Middle Eastern)
Tandoori Chicken (India)
Marinated chicken that’s baked or grilled for a smoky flavor.
Ingredients:
Check the instructions in the comments. 👇
#foodtalk #tandoorichicken #Indiancuisine #food #chicken #india
Image source
Tandoori Chicken (India). 👈 Begin here.
Ingredients continued:
Instructions:
#foodtalk #tandoorichicken #indiancuisine #food #chicken #india
From GPT Web Browser
Prompt: Give me some delicious recipes from around the world.
Shakshuka (Middle Eastern)
Tandoori Chicken (India)
Paella (Spain)
A hearty rice dish flavored with saffron and mixed seafood or chicken.
Ingredients:
Check the instructions in the comments. 👇
#foodtalk #Paella #spanishcuisine #food #rice #seafood #spain
Image source
Paella (Spain). 👈 Begin here.
Ingredients continued:
Instructions:
#foodtalk #Paella #spanishcuisine #food #rice #seafood #spain
Starbucks’ Holiday Menu Is Back — and it Includes 6 Seasonal Drinks, New Cold Foams, and Sweet Treats
It’s just not the holidays without a Cranberry Bliss Bar.
As soon as there’s a chill in the air and Mariah Carey hits the airwaves, we find ourselves craving a little holiday cheer in our morning latte. We were already blessed with festive options at Dunkin’ late last week, which left us wondering what holiday surprises other coffee joints have in store. Thankfully, we won’t have to wait too long.
#starbucks #coffee #food
Starbucks’ holiday menu rolls out nationwide on November 7, according to a company press release shared with Food & Wine. The seasonal lineup brings five holiday coffees — which, of course, includes the returning alum Peppermint Mocha — as well as a new Refresher, a savory pastry, and three new sweet treats.
For more than two decades, the Peppermint Mocha’s heralded in the holiday season at Starbucks. This creamy fan-favorite latte, with swirls of mocha sauce and minty syrup, is topped with whipped cream and sweet curls of dark chocolate. It’s available hot or iced, but you can also order it as a blended Frappuccino if your sweet tooth feels especially strong. The seasonal menu also includes the returning Caramel Brulée Latte, Chestnut Praline Latte, Iced Sugar Cookie Almond Milk Latte, and Iced Gingerbread Oatmilk Chai.
If coffee isn’t your thing, you’ve now got options. We’ll soon see the first-ever holiday Refresher, which can be customized in three different ways. The Cran-Merry Orange Refresher offers flavors of orange, cranberry, and warm spices (like cardamom, cinnamon, and nutmeg) — and per Starbucks’ tasting notes, with real cranberries as a tasty garnish. You can also order it with a base of lemonade or even coconut milk, the latter of which is ideal for those craving the creaminess of the original Pink Drink in a holiday-appropriate format.
“These beverages were very much inspired by this idea of a festive punch as a sensorial experience — the appearance, the aroma, the taste,” lead beverage developer Billy Altieri said. “We wanted to create a drink that brought all of those sensory elements together in a cup.”
A Beef Industry Leader Called the USDA's 2025 Proposed Dietary Guidelines 'Elitist' — Here's Why
That food pyramid you grew up learning about via the U.S. Dietary Guidelines is about to get a major overhaul.
Remember that food pyramid you grew up on via the U.S. Dietary Guidelines? It's about to get an update — and people are already mad about the proposal.
If you don't remember those handy posters of the food pyramid from grade school, let us jog your memory. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines provide "advice on what to eat and drink to meet nutrient needs, promote health, and prevent disease," the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) explains.
#beef #food #usda #diet
The organization noted, it's specifically written for a "professional audience, including policymakers, healthcare providers, nutrition educators, and Federal nutrition program operators." Which, in turn, affects all of us. The guidelines are updated every five years, with the current edition expiring in 2025. That means a brand-new set of guidelines is on the horizon. Here's what you need to know.
The U.S. Dietary Guidelines launched in 1980 as a joint initiative between the (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). "Each edition of the Dietary Guidelines reflects the current body of nutrition science," the USDA noted.
The recommendations in 1980 were simple: Eat a variety of foods, maintain an "ideal" weight, avoid too much fat and cholesterol, eat foods with adequate starch and fiber, avoid too much salt, and if you drink alcohol, do so in moderation.
Over the years, the graphics for the guidelines have evolved to include a "range of amounts of food across three calorie levels" in 1992, to the addition of oils in 2005, to switching over to the "My Plate" graphic in 2011 to "help grab consumers’ attention with a new visual cue "that was meant to serve as a reminder for healthy eating, not intended to provide specific messages," which was only slightly updated in 2020. Of course, the actual guidelines are much more in-depth. Here are the current 2020-2025 guidelines.
Greetings dear Taskmaster.
This is interesting, I had no idea there is always a five-year update and even with all the guidelines for healthy eating, many people don't pay attention especially when the cravings come knocking at the door, lol. Well, eating in moderation is the best advice.
Thanks for sharing, I learnt something new.
How have you been?
Doing well. Trying to fill the database.
#foodtalk #quesillo #food #spanish #foodie
Mi mejor postre tanto para navidad o comer en la semana. Muy fácil de preparar.
Oh, esto se ve delicioso. ¿De qué está hecho?
Huevos, leche condensada y azúcar
Eso debe ser muy suave y dulce.
Financial advice:
Come up with a way of making $0.35 per minute around the clock. You'll be making $500 per day or around $15K per month.
That´s an easy one, just stake 1.2 mio HBD.
Brillo advice man. Now I'm just thinking exactly what I can do it's definitely going to have to be passive because I can't work round the clock
Yeah, that's the key. Something that makes you money around the clock without having to be there the entire time.
Do that, and you'll ne financially free.
Thank you so much for the financial wisdom. I'm keeping some savings and starting a couple of investments. My strength can't keep me active my whole life. I'm motivated by your words
Nice mindset. For real.
I like that you've simplified the formula to $0.35 per minute. That doesn't sound impossible.
Not at all, I would say.
Absolutely possible. LFG!
Wow I really have to start thinking of how I can do that. With that math hopefully I'll be close to 200K a year. I hope all our financial dreams come true
$504 ;)
Do it and give me a 5% cut for the idea.
Working on it ;)
!BBH
@alex-rourke! @bradleyarrow likes your content! so I just sent 1 BBH to your account on behalf of @bradleyarrow. (23/100)
(html comment removed:
)
Any ideas?
Can it all be online?
Yes.
Well, this sounds doable with just InLeo if a guy really applied himself.
Here is the daily technology #threadcast for 11/14/24. The goal is to make this a technology "reddit".
Drop all question, comments, and articles relating to #technology and the future. The goal is make it a technology center.
New study on moons of Uranus raises chance of life
Uranus and its five biggest moons may have oceans - the moons may even be capable of supporting life. Much of what we know about the planet and its moons was gathered by NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft, which visited nearly 40 years ago, apparently on a bad day. New research shows that Voyager 2 flew past during a solar storm, which temporarily distorted the magnetic field and gave us an incorrect view of what Uranus and its moons are normally like. NASA has plans to launch a new mission to go back for a closer look. It is expected to arrive by 2045 and inform scientists about whether the moons have the possibility of being home to life.
#technology #space #uranus #life
this is very big news I'm reading right now from you friend, if we keep doing research and find out there's life. It changes my history lessons 😳 Aliens may be real
heheh that would be cool!
it would be super cool indeed
Superhuman vision lets robots see through walls, smoke with new LiDAR-like eyes
PanoRadar is a system created by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania that converts basic radio waves into rich 3D views, allowing robots to see beyond traditional sensor limits. The device processes radio waves using AI algorithms, making it possible for robots to precisely navigate through challenging situations and obstructions where conventional sensors are inadequate. PanoRadar could be used to complement existing sensing technologies to develop more reliable multi-modal perception systems for robots. A video explaining how the technology works is available in the article.
#technology #ai #robotics #lidar
with this technology during disasters at night when people need rescuing but no light, these robots can do the job very well 🙏
yea, its super cool!
Amazon debuts discount store with everything under $20 to take on Temu and Shein
Amazon has rolled out a new storefront that features items priced below $20. Amazon Haul, created to fend off competition from Temu and Shein, is accessible through the company's mobile app. Shoppers get free delivery on orders over $25. Amazon will be screening Haul products to make sure they're safe, authentic, and comply with regulatory requirements. The company will not accept returns on items $3 or less. Items on Haul will be imported directly from manufacturers in China.
#technology #retail #ecommerce #amazon
OpenAI Nears Launch of AI Agent Tool to Automate Tasks for Users
OpenAI is preparing to launch an AI agent codenamed 'Operator' that will be able to use a computer to take actions on users' behalf. It plans to release the tool as a research preview in January. OpenAI has been working on several agent-related research projects. The one nearest to completion is a general-purpose tool that executes tasks in a web browser.
#technology #ai
After asking this question on threads I noticed the Technology Threadcast was live. So let me drop it here
https://inleo.io/threads/view/elijahh/re-leothreads-2vj8ks5p?referral=elijahh
No. Those use pattern recognition.
Pattern recognition is the processing of large amounts of data through a lot of compute to notice patterns. Since most things are cyclical to some degree, especially with human nature, computers can pick up patterns that humans miss.
This can then be fed into other applications such as facial recognition.
So you mean it's rather the AI system that gets fed into facial recognition system?
Do you mean AI was used in the first fingerprint unlock phone?
CGI and VFX
CGI and VFX has been in movies for decades and those movies make millions and billions.
This is proof to me that AI generated movies as long as the give the same realistic effect will succeed.
FBI Seizes Polymarket Founder’s Phone in Raid of Home
The FBI has seized the phone of Polymarket's founder and CEO Shayne Coplan. Federal agents raided Coplan's Manhattan home early Wednesday morning. It is unclear what prompted the FBI's search. A Polymarket spokesperson claims that the raid is an act of obvious political retribution by the outgoing administration against Polymarket for providing a market that correctly called the 2024 presidential election.
#technology #fbi #polymarket
AI may change how we socialize. I’ve been spending lots of time chatting with ChatGPT and some few models. At first, it was just to learn stuff, but now I find myself talking about things I usually discuss with friends, like social and economic issues.
It’s made me wonder: Can AI fill the gap where real-life conversations used to be? Social media already makes us less social in person, so could AI lead to more isolation?
#AISocialImpact
#TechAndSociety
I’ve been thinking a lot about AI lately, especially if it has some form of consciousness. When I see how fast AI can come up with answers, stuff that takes me hours or days, it kind of feels like it’s thinking, right?
But then, I wonder if it’s just the limits we put on it stopping it from being truly aware. The truth is, no one really knows what consciousness even is. Maybe we should just focus on how smart AI is right now and how much more it can do.
#ArtificialIntelligence #AI #Consciousness #TechThoughts #FutureTech
AI systems are spitting out mostly information at this point. It is not putting forth knowledge since that requires context which is an individual matter.
Do not fear what is promoted since computers are deterministic. That is how what humans are. We are non-deterministic.
oooooh makes sense if you put it this way. Thanks task.
Damn propaganda all over.
Are we entering the age of a new kind of Internet?
The AI internet?
Will Google search die?
#askleo
That is called the agentic internet and we will see it in the next few years.
Google is in a lot of trouble. They not only have search being attacked due to AI, there are also lawsuits from the US government.
Didn't know about the lawsuit.
Agentic Internet sounds cools, I'm assuming it be ready when they solve the hallucination and inaccuracies chatbots sometime gives?
NVIDIA AI Summit Japan: NVIDIA’s role in Japan’s big AI ambitions
Japanese technology experts are developing advanced models that grasp the unique nuances of the Japanese language and culture—essential for industries such as healthcare, finance, and manufacturing – where precision is key.
#technology #ai ##nvidia #japan
But this effort isn’t Japan’s alone. Consulting giants like Accenture, Deloitte, EY Japan, FPT, Kyndryl, and TCS Japan are partnering with NVIDIA to create AI innovation hubs across the country. The centres are using NVIDIA’s AI software and specialised Japanese language models to build tailored AI solutions, helping industries boost productivity in a digital workforce. The goal? To get Japanese companies fully on board with enterprise and physical AI.
One standout technology supporting the drive is NVIDIA’s Omniverse platform. With Omniverse, Japanese companies can create digital twins—virtual replicas of real-world assets—and test complex AI systems safely before implementing them. This is a game-changer for industries such as manufacturing and robotics, allowing businesses to fine-tune processes without the risk of real-world trial and error. This use of AI is more than just innovation; it represents Japan’s plan for addressing some major challenges ahead.
Japan faces a shrinking workforce presence as its population ages. With its strengths in robotics and automation, Japan is well-positioned to use AI solutions to bridge the gap. In fact, Japan’s government recently shared its vision of becoming “the world’s most AI-friendly country,” underscoring the perceived role AI will play in the nation’s future.
Supporting this commitment, Japan’s AI market hit $5.9 billion in value this year; a 31.2% growth rate according to IDC. New AI-focused consulting centres in Tokyo and Kansai give Japanese businesses hands-on access to NVIDIA’s latest technologies, equipping them to solve social challenges and aid economic growth.
Top cloud providers like SoftBank, GMO Internet Group, KDDI, Highreso, Rutilea, and SAKURA Internet are also involved, working with NVIDIA to build AI infrastructure. Backed by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, they’re establishing AI data centres across Japan to accelerate growth in robotics, automotive, healthcare, and telecoms.
NVIDIA and SoftBank have also formed a remarkable partnership to build Japan’s most powerful AI supercomputer using NVIDIA’s Blackwell platform. Additionally, SoftBank has tested the world’s first AI and 5G hybrid telecoms network with NVIDIA’s AI Aerial platform, allowing Japan to set a worldwide standard. With these developments, Japan is taking big strides toward establishing itself as a leader in the AI-powered industrial revolution.
Using AI technologies for future asset management
Did you know that effective asset management practices pose challenges for almost half of small businesses? According to the latest research, 43% of businesses either manually report their inventory or in a few cases, do not record assets in any manner.
#technology #ai
However, asset management is not immune to the disruptive pressure of artificial intelligence (AI) currently revolutionising numerous industries. The manner in which corporations manage their tangible and intangible assets is undergoing a profound transformation due to the evolving technology of AI. This blog will discover how AI-driven fixed asset software softwares transform asset management and what the future holds for businesses embedding those innovations.
Fixed asset management is a critical feature for organisations to manage, control, and optimise the value of their physical assets. Assets can include everything from equipment and vehicles to home computer systems. Traditionally, manual asset management systems entail manual report maintenance and periodic audits, which can be time-consuming and susceptible to human error.
AI-driven fixed assets software offers a modern solution by automating diverse asset control factors. This guarantees accuracy, reduces administrative overhead, and increases an asset’s useful life, ultimately contributing to significant cost savings. AI, blended with the Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning (ML), and predictive analytics, is the primary method to develop smart, efficient, and scalable asset management solutions.
The predictive capacities of AI revolutionise proactive asset management. AI can predict when a piece of hardware is likely to fail or spot chances for optimisation by evaluating patterns and trends in data. The proactive strategy not only helps with strategic planning but also ensures the reliability of operations by preventing system outages that can cause serious disruptions to business operations and financial losses. Businesses may use AI to ensure their assets operate at peak efficiency, quickly adopt new technologies, and match operations to corporate goals.
AI courses to boost your skills and stay ahead
Professionals wishing to get into this evolving field can take advantage of a variety of specialised courses that teach how to use AI in business, creativity, and data analysis.
#technology #ai
Artificial Intelligence: Preparing Your Career for AI is an option for those wanting to future-proof their careers in an AI-centric workplace. The course outlines five essential steps for preparing for AI’s impact on job roles and skill requirements. Participants learn the basics of AI, strategies for aligning their career paths with AI advancements, and how to use AI responsibly.
The course is ideal for individuals at any career stage who wish to understand AI’s impact on the job market and adapt proactively.
For business leaders, Generative AI for Leaders focuses on integrating AI into organisation’s strategy. AI’s rapid advancement offers both opportunities and challenges for business leaders, who must balance innovation with ethical and operational concerns.
In this course, participants learn strategies for building AI-driven business initiatives and fostering collaboration, and learn how to address compliance and ethical considerations.
With a practical look at AI trends, this course prepares leaders to develop a culture that supports AI adoption and equips them with the tools needed to make informed decisions.
Business Analyst: Digital Director for AI and Data Science is a course designed for business analysts and professionals explaining how to define requirements for data science and artificial intelligence projects. The course covers the requirements elicitation process for AI applications and teaches participants how to work closely with data scientists and machine learning engineers to ensure that AI projects meet business goals.
Learners gain insights into conversational AI tools, the differences between Natural Language Understanding (NLU) bots and rule-based bots, and best practices in conversation flow analysis. For business analysts, the course provides essential skills to guide AI initiatives that deliver real business value.
Google is testing the ‘impact’ of removing EU news from search results
As Google continues to navigate its relationship with publishers, regulators, and news readers, the company is starting a pretty drastic test: it will remove news articles from European Union-based publishers from Search.
#technology #google
While the “test” is supposed to determine how it will impact traffic and the overall search experience, it won’t show up for everyone. Google will only remove EU news articles from search results, Google News, and Discover for one percent of users in Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain.
Google says it’s running the “time-limited” test because EU regulators and publishers “have asked for additional data about the effect of news content in Search.” The company says it will continue to show results from websites and news publishers located outside the EU, and it will resume showing results from EU news publishers once the test ends.
This may be just a small experiment, but it almost feels like a warning. By the end of the test, EU news publishers will see exactly how much traffic they’d be missing out on without Google. The experiment might also give Google some insight into how much its users actually care about news. That’s something Facebook has explored as well — which ultimately led it to remove the “News” tab and stop paying publishers entirely.
Over the years, Google has fought fiercely against regulations that would force the company to compensate publishers for their content. In the EU, Google is on the hook to comply with the European Copyright Directive, which has resulted in the search giant licensing content from hundreds of publishers in the region. Earlier this year, France ordered Google to pay $272 million after it found that the company violated an agreement over compensation for news publishers.
Google most recently removed links to California news outlets in response to the state’s Journalism Preservation Act. Google also threatened to remove links to local news outlets in Canada and nearly pulled its search engine from Australia over similar legislation. If this small test in the EU is a sign of things to come, Google may be preparing even more drastic measures in the future.
https://inleo.io/threads/view/soulguy/re-leothreads-27vslnjjq?referral=soulguy
Why OpenAI's o1 Model Might Be The Future of AI Scaling
#openai #scaling #ai !summarize
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AI Advancement: Slowing Down or Accelerating?
The Debate Over AI Progress
Major AI companies like Google and OpenAI have suggested that AI advancement is slowing down, with OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever saying the 2010s were the "age of scaling" and now the industry is in the "age of wonder and discovery" again.
However, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei sees a path to AGI (artificial general intelligence) by 2026 or 2027, a much shorter timeline than the slowdown narrative.
Reasons for Differing Interpretations
The slowdown may be related to diminishing returns from scaling up training data and models. The quality of data and how it's used for inference may matter more now.
But the ability to scale up inference compute, as seen with OpenAI's GPT-3 and upcoming models, could allow for continued rapid progress.
Amodei believes that even with potential hurdles like data shortages or geopolitical events, AGI could still arrive in the next 2-3 years.
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The Push for an AI Alliance
OpenAI is reportedly working to build a coalition with the U.S. government to rival China's AI capabilities, potentially involving the military and nuclear expertise.
This reflects the high stakes and global competition around advanced AI development.
The Importance of Inference Compute
While the initial training of large language models may be showing diminishing returns, the ability to scale up inference compute could unlock further breakthroughs.
Techniques like OpenAI's "constitutional AI" aim to make models more reliable and controllable during inference.
AI Naming Woes
The Future of AI
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Tesla Competitors: Buy or License FSD or DIE! Other Tesla Tech, Too. No Alternative
#tesla #ev #fsd !summarize
but honestly do you believe what they say, that EVs are dead because I'm seeing lots of companies entering in, China getting serious with it.🤔
What who say? The media? Not a word. They keep proving they are nothing but liars.
EVs are far from dead. Check out the data. They keep gaining market share as a percentage of new car sales.
The US is lagging, in part, due to the fact there arent many affordable EVs available.
EV’s lack two things to get the market completely, range and affordability. Once that is solved. The combustion engine is dead!
Range anxiety is hype more than substance. Most people do not travel more than 100 miles per day. In many western countries, the charging network is such that people can even cross countries. Give it another year, it will be there.
The Chinese have the answer to the last one yet the EU and US are doing all they can to keep them out. Affordability is still the problem in the West. China solved it and that is why EV sales in that country are taking off.
Well, range is an issue for me, I really want a car with which I can drive 1200 kilometres with just one stop. That is currently not possible with any EV…
And there’s the fact that charging along highways in Europe is very expensive. It costs you more per mile than combustion engines. At least here in Europe.
well there were rumors out there based on Trump coming to the seat that he would set regulations against EV as a way to fight China. But I guess I and all of them are wrong
He will likely use tariffs to slow the Chinese move.
The tariffs law was something the shocked me lol but it'll work a hundred percent. Elon's Tesla company is rising faster all that revenue they're about to generate will advance Tesla why the tariffs slow China Ev
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The Future of Electric Vehicles: Navigating the Transition
The Shifting Political Landscape of EV Adoption
Recent studies have shown that the political divide around electric vehicle (EV) adoption is starting to narrow. While early on, political affiliation played a significant role in EV purchasing decisions, with Democrats being much more likely to buy EVs than Republicans, this gap is now closing.
The data suggests that the reasons for not buying an EV are shifting away from political beliefs and more towards practical concerns, such as access to charging infrastructure and the need for towing capabilities. As more mainstream automakers introduce a wider range of EV models, the perception of EVs as "tree-hugger" cars is also starting to fade.
Interestingly, the study found that only 8% of consumers still feel that EVs are not aligned with their political beliefs, indicating that this is no longer a major barrier to widespread EV adoption.
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The Challenges of Reaching 100% EV Adoption
Despite the positive trends in EV acceptance, the transition to a fully electric vehicle (BEV) future by 2029, as predicted by Elon Musk, may face significant challenges. The other major automakers appear to be struggling to keep up with the pace of change, and it's unclear if they will be able to deliver the necessary volume of EVs to meet the anticipated demand.
The discussion explores the potential solutions, such as Tesla partnering with other manufacturers to build factories and provide the necessary technology and expertise. This "Foxconn-style" approach could allow legacy automakers to quickly ramp up their EV production without having to start from scratch.
The Evolving Demand for Personal Transportation
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As the transition to EVs progresses, the conversation also touches on the potential shift away from individual car ownership, particularly among younger generations. With the rise of ride-hailing services and the promise of autonomous vehicles, the need for personal car ownership may diminish, as the convenience and cost-effectiveness of on-demand transportation becomes more appealing.
This could lead to a future where the majority of people opt for electric, automated ride-hailing services rather than owning their own vehicles. The implications of this shift could be far-reaching, affecting everything from urban planning to the automotive industry.
The Importance of Adaptability and Innovation
Throughout the discussion, the importance of adaptability and innovation in the automotive industry is emphasized. As the landscape continues to evolve, companies that are able to quickly adapt and embrace new technologies and business models will be better positioned to s
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The potential for Tesla to partner with other manufacturers and provide its expertise and technology could be a game-changer, allowing the industry to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable and efficient transportation future.
I really hope Elon responds to him. I'm also very confused with EV future getting automated. And it's going to be tough for the companies to cooperate because they might be scared of change. Things could go soar if customers they like it.
If I have to predict the future I'd say Tesla will keep dominating in the US as long as Trump is president. When it comes to self driving, some don't trust it because of accident risk but soon they will. That's new tech for you
Information yearns to be free. This is why open and decentralized is so important.
We also see now that the price of information is dropping like a rock. This is what #ai is doing.
Damn, never thought about the last point you just made. The price of information indeed is dropping thanks to AI.
yes this is very true man, information is everywhere nowadays and charging too much for information will mean you ain't getting sales. It yearns to be free indeed
Shouldn't that affect the tuition people pay in college, since whatever that lecturer is yabbing about can be produced by AI, if not now soon
Yuval Noah Harari: ChatGPT is the “amoeba of AI evolution”
#chatgpt #yuvalnoah #technology #ai !summarize
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The Tension Between Organic and Inorganic Systems
We are living in a world where there is a growing tension between organic animals, like ourselves, and the inorganic digital systems that are increasingly controlling and shaping our world. As organic entities, we live by cycles - day and night, winter and summer, growth and decay. We have periods of activity and periods of rest and relaxation.
In contrast, the algorithms, AIs, and computers that are taking over our lives never need rest. They are always on, always active. The big question is whether we adapt to them, or they adapt to us. And more and more, it seems that we are the ones who have to adapt, having to be "on" all the time, with our every word and action potentially being public and scrutinized.
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This "always on" nature of the digital world is destructive to how we as humans function. Even the financial markets, which used to operate on a Monday-to-Friday, 9:30am-4pm schedule, are now reacting in real-time, with no time for rest or relaxation. The organic cycles that have governed human life for millennia are being disrupted by the inorganic, always-active digital systems.
The Concerns of Tech Leaders
When discussing this tension with tech leaders like Sam Altman of OpenAI or Bill Gates, the author finds that they are genuinely afraid of the potential, including the destructive potential, of the technologies they are creating. They understand the risks better than anyone.
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At the same time, these leaders have a certain hubris and pride in what they are doing, believing that they are on the cusp of the second most important event in the history of the universe, after the emergence of the first organic life forms 4 billion years ago. They believe that by being the ones to create the next stage of evolution - inorganic AI - they can somehow control and manage the risks.
But the author is skeptical of their ability to truly control these powerful, rapidly evolving technologies. The "amoebas" of AI, like GPT-4, are just the beginning - who knows what the "AI dinosaurs" of the future will look like. The tech leaders may be on the precipice of a momentous shift in the history of the universe, but the author questions whether they can truly harness the forces they have unleashed.
the power of AI is so enormous I sometimes get scared who has more control over it right now. I hope the most powerful of tools gets into the hands of good guys because AI can be more powerful than nuclear weapons
The Roku Channel Just Got Even Better For Cord Cutting
#roku #entertainment #!summarize
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The Roku Channel Expands with New Free and Premium Content
The Roku Channel has been on a content expansion spree, adding 33 new channels to its lineup in the past 24 hours. This includes a wide range of content, from crime and holiday-themed channels to reality, true stories, and sci-fi offerings.
The Roku Channel has become one of the most aggressive services in adding new live channels, now boasting over 450 live channels - a jump of about 50 channels in the last few months. Recent additions include the Smithsonian Channel, CSI, Cops, Pluto TV Cars, the Judge Judy Channel, and more.
In addition to the free on-demand and live channels, the Roku Channel is also expanding its premium content offerings. It has now added the Max streaming service, allowing users to subscribe to both the ad-supported and ad-free versions of Max directly through the Roku Channel. This aligns with the trend of consolidating various streaming subscriptions into a single platform for ea
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The CW Shifts Focus to Sports and Unscripted Content
The CW network has laid off over two dozen staff members across its publicity and program development teams. This move comes as the network shifts its focus towards sports and unscripted content, rather than its traditional scripted programming.
The reasoning behind this shift is the growing popularity of sports content, which tends to be watched live and less likely to have commercials skipped. Advertisers have been favoring sports content, as it provides a more reliable way to reach viewers. The CW plans to significantly increase its sports offerings, while also focusing on unscripted programming and a select number of scripted series.
This change in strategy is not unique to the CW, as other cable networks have also been making staff cuts and adjusting their content focus in response to the evolving media landscape and declining ad revenue, especially with the end of the political advertising season.
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Streaming Device Deals: Fire TV Stick Max and 4K
For those looking to upgrade their streaming setup, there are some great deals available on Amazon's Fire TV devices. The second-generation Fire TV Stick Max is currently on sale for its lowest price ever at $32.99. Additionally, the slightly slower Fire TV Stick 4K is available for just $21.99.
While the Fire TV Stick 4K may be a step down in performance, the recommendation is to spend the extra few dollars and get the Fire TV Stick 4K Max, as it offers the best value and performance at the current sale price.
The Battle Between Walmart and Amazon Intensifies
The ongoing competition between retail giants Walmart and Amazon is heating up, as they vie for your subscription and spending dollars. Walmart has been adding benefits to its Walmart Plus subscription, such as Paramount Plus access, while Amazon has been bolstering its grocery delivery options to better compete with Walmart's strengths in that area.
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Both companies are trying to make it more convenient for customers to get their shopping and delivery needs met through their respective platforms. This battle for customer loyalty is expected to continue, with both Walmart and Amazon making strategic moves to win over consumers.
Readers are encouraged to share their experiences and preferences when it comes to Walmart Plus and Amazon Prime subscriptions. Understanding the customer's perspective can provide valuable insights into this evolving retail landscape.
With AI videos coming up soon in 2025 I think these streaming platforms would need to go free for most stuff otherwise would be dominated by AI movies that do well
Meta ordered to face FTC's antitrust lawsuit over Instagram, WhatsApp acquisitions
A judge largely denied Meta’s motion to end the case filed against Facebook in 2020 alleging that the company acted illegally to maintain its social network monopoly.
#meta #whatsapp #ftx #lawsuit #instagram #technology #facebook
I a had to assume that they wanted to maintain their monopoly and full control over social media. Mark saw the future. He knew social media is the future of data acquisition which now is like Oil and delicate Natural resources
Hard to say it is a monopoly since there is YouTube with over 1 billion monthly users and X with over 500 million. Then there are the Chinese apps like TikTok which are widely successful.
Considering that you're very correct 🤔 well thank God it didn't end up a monopoly because we would have seen social media centralized control at its finest
Facebook owner Meta Platforms must face trial in a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit seeking its break-up over claims that it bought Instagram and WhatsApp to crush emerging competition in social media, a judge in Washington ruled Wednesday.
Judge James Boasberg largely denied Meta’s motion to end the case filed against Facebook in 2020, during the Trump administration, alleging that the company acted illegally to maintain its social network monopoly.
Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, then known as Facebook, overpaid for Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 to eliminate nascent threats instead of competing on its own in the mobile ecosystem, the FTC claims.
Boasberg let that claim stand, but dismissed the FTC’s allegation that Facebook bolstered its dominance by restricting third-party app developers’ access to the platform unless they agreed not to compete with its core services.
“We are confident that the evidence at trial will show that the acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp have been good for competition and consumers,” a Meta spokesperson said Wednesday.
FTC spokesperson Douglas Farrar said that the case filed during the Trump administration and refined under Biden “represents a bipartisan effort to curtail Meta’s monopoly power and restore competition to ensure freedom and innovation in the social media ecosystem.”
At trial, Meta will not be allowed to argue the WhatsApp acquisition boosted competition by strengthening its position against Apple and Google, Boasberg ruled.
The judge said he would release a detailed order later on Wednesday after the FTC and Meta have had a chance to redact any sensitive commercial information.
A trial date in the case has not been set.
Meta had urged the judge to dismiss the entire case, saying it depended on an overly narrow view of social media markets, and did not take into account competition from ByteDance’s TikTok, Google’s YouTube, X, and Microsoft’s LinkedIn.
The case is one of five blockbuster lawsuits where antitrust regulators at the FTC and Department of Justice are going after Big Tech.
Amazon and Apple are both being sued, and Alphabet’s Google is facing two lawsuits, including one where a judge recently found it unlawfully thwarted competition among online search engines.
Dario Amodei on why he left OpenAI | Lex Fridman Podcast Clips
#ai #openai #darioamodei #anthropic !summarize
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The Scaling Hypothesis and the Race to the Top
As a former vice president of research at OpenAI, Dario Amodei has a unique perspective on the evolution of the AI industry. He recounts how his time at OpenAI, particularly his interactions with Ilya Sutskever, helped solidify his belief in the "scaling hypothesis" - the idea that as AI models are scaled up, they can learn to solve increasingly complex problems, often in surprising ways.
Amodei describes how this realization, combined with a focus on AI safety and interpretability, drove much of the research direction at OpenAI during his tenure. He and his collaborators, many of whom later became co-founders of Anthropic, worked on projects like GPT-2, GPT-3, and "Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback" in an effort to balance the power of scaling with the need for safety and transparency.
Leaving OpenAI and Starting Anthropic
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Amodei explains that his decision to leave OpenAI was not due to disagreements over commercialization or the Microsoft deal, as has been rumored. Rather, it was about having a clear vision for how to responsibly develop and deploy powerful AI systems in a way that builds trust with the public and the research community.
"If you have a vision for how to do it, you should go off and you should do that vision. It is incredibly unproductive to try and argue with someone else's vision."
Amodei sees Anthropic as a "clean experiment" in putting this vision into practice. He acknowledges that Anthropic, like any organization, is imperfect, but believes that striving for better practices, even imperfectly, is better than giving up. The goal is to create a "race to the top" where companies compete to adopt the best safety and transparency practices, rather than a "race to the bottom" that could lead to catastrophic outcomes.
The Importance of a Race to the Top
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Amodei argues that the key is not for any one company to "win," but for the entire industry to collectively improve its practices. He believes that when companies adopt good practices, others will follow, either through imitation or competitive pressure. The goal should be to align the incentives of the industry as a whole, rather than focusing on individual company rivalries.
"The point isn't to be virtuous, the point is to get the system into a better equilibrium than it was before."
Amodei sees this race to the top as the best way to ensure that the development of powerful AI systems benefits humanity as a whole. While individual companies and leaders will make mistakes, the important thing is to keep striving for improvement and to create an ecosystem where the best practices are widely adopted.
5 years of OpenAI 😳 this project didn't start now did it. They have scaled so high and now getting profitable. The Models have learned so much and soon they'll create their data learn from it and keep moving.
I think safety and scaling was a primary focus but now safety was pushed off the window. Elon tried suing the company for that
I think most of the early coworkers that left left for almost the same reason m the company has changed it's initial vision, goal and the principles they were founded on. I can blame Altman, things change based on season & investor interest
I see why he left but OpenAI seems to be the next Microsoft or Meta so it really took guts to make a decision like that. I personally wouldn't leave unless I'm going to xAI
Naver Emerges as Leader in Spatial Intelligence Technology with Over 500 Patents
Naver is building substantial technological expertise in spatial intelligence, a field emerging as the next frontier beyond artificial intelligence (AI).
According to ICT industry sources on October 27, Naver Labs, the company’s technology research subsidiary, has accumulated 521 patents in spatial intelligence since its establishment in 2017.
#naver #spatialintelligence #ai #technology #patents #realworld
These patents cover various areas including digital twins, AR/VR (augmented and virtual reality), robotics, and autonomous driving. This represents a more than fivefold increase from the 80 patents the company held when it first participated in CES in 2019.
Spatial intelligence technology enables computers to understand and interact with the physical world through vision AI, similar to how humans perceive and respond to their environment through visual processing.
This next-generation technology, focused on understanding and operating in three-dimensional physical spaces, differs from generative AI, which primarily operates in two-dimensional web environments.
The company’s focus on spatial intelligence has intensified significantly, with 100 of the 130 patents filed this year (77%) related to this field. This marks a substantial increase from 2017, when spatial intelligence patents represented only 27% of Naver Labs’ total patent portfolio.
The growth in spatial intelligence patent filings shows steady expansion, with 29 patents in 2018, rising to 33 in 2019, 62 in 2020, reaching a peak of 117 in 2021, followed by 71 in 2022, and 91 in 2023.
Notable patents include control methods for indoor autonomous robots (2016), 3D map generation using aerial photography (2019), and robot-friendly building systems (2021). Many of these technologies have been successfully implemented in Naver’s second headquarters building, 1784.
Recent patents filed in 2023 cover robot control systems enabling interaction with various facilities, robot path generation reflecting spatial policies, and bird’s-eye view information extraction systems. The company has also filed at least five patents this year related to 3D Vision Foundation Models (VFM).
Naver Labs’ expertise has gained international recognition. The company recently won first place in two categories at ECCV 2024, a prestigious computer vision conference in Italy. In 2019, its R2D2 visual localization technology outperformed global tech giants including Google and Apple at CVPR.
This technological prowess reportedly helped Naver secure a digital twin platform construction project in Saudi Arabia.
Spatial intelligence is gaining prominence globally. Stanford professor Fei-Fei Li’s startup Worldlabs, focused on spatial intelligence development, was valued at over $1 billion at launch. Li described spatial intelligence at a TED Conference in May as “algorithms that understand the location, relationships, and interactions of objects in the real 3D world and predict what will happen next.”
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has also emphasized spatial intelligence, describing AI’s future as systems that understand physical laws.
A Naver spokesperson stated, “We expect the achievements accumulated over many years by Naver Labs’ Korean and European researchers in the emerging field of spatial intelligence to find increasing practical applications.”
Article
Artificial Intelligence is has not hit its max advanced level and they already have the next frontier this is crazy development speed. Will spatial be more used that AI and even Quantum computers?
One thing we can always rely on is your daily tech threadcast :)
Did you catch chain chatter yesterday?
No I didnt
Individual paragraphs
Mawari’s node-based system includes three types of licenses: Spatial Streamer nodes, which handle the computational heavy lifting. Guardian nodes, which ensure the integrity and accuracy of the data being processed, and Pulse nodes, which serve as netcheckers that help stress test the network, sample immersive content, and simulate the future tens and hundreds of millions of native spatial computing devices coming onto Mawari Network. These nodes work together to enable a decentralized network that is not only scalable but also more resilient than traditional centralized infrastructure. "It's a hybrid model," says Ramirez, "We’ll have data centers contributing significant power, but also smaller, consumer-level nodes offering a more distributed approach. This allows us to provide the resilient, high-quality, low-latency service that immersive experiences require." During the upcoming node sale, participants will be able to purchase licenses for the Guardian nodes.
In November of last year, facing the longest bout of unemployment she’d ever experienced, Paulina Williams was seriously considering what she would do if she had to leave the entertainment industry. The veteran reality television executive producer and showrunner with about 20 years of experience on projects like Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County and Big Brother recalls her husband asking her at some point, “Why don’t you try to do something that you’ve always wanted to do and you never had a chance?”
Investors are excited about Mawari’s potential. Sean Carey, co-founder of Helium and partner at Borderless Capital, believes the company is uniquely positioned to tackle the scalability challenges of spatial computing. “Mawari has been quietly building for seven years, and their technology is at a tipping point. Decentralizing their network through node licenses is a game-changer that could unlock immersive experiences at a global scale,” Carey said.
She responded, “Honey, this is what I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve been working my dream job my entire career.”
Hollywood has long been full of upstart creatives who work side hustles — waiting tables, driving Ubers — to sustain themselves before they make a livable wage in the business. But now, amid a brutal and prolonged contraction in the entertainment business, a twist on that rite of passage is occurring: Workers who have already achieved success and expertise in the business have been looking for work on the outside as a stopgap, side hustle or a longer-term solution.
Mawari’s solution is built on two core components: the Spatial Streaming SDK and the Mawari Network. The SDK integrates seamlessly with popular development environments like Unity and Unreal Engine, allowing creators to focus on content without worrying about backend complexities. The Mawari Network, meanwhile, is a decentralized, GPU-powered content delivery system designed to handle the high-bandwidth, low-latency demands of spatial computing.
The data on how Hollywood has cut back in the past few years been stark. Between the first quarters of 2022 and 2024 — during which time the industry sustained two crippling strikes and the bursting of the streaming bubble — employment in California’s film, television and sound sector dropped nearly 30 percent, according to Otis College of Art and Design research. This year, production levels are still lagging behind their pre-strike highs: On-location filming in the L.A. area during the third quarter of 2024 dropped more than 36 percent compared to the five-year average of that same period, while a ProdPro report found that production volume across the U.S. dropped 35 percent in the third quarter of 2024 compared with the same period in 2022 (before the strikes).
Mawari’s innovative approach to decentralized infrastructure, coupled with its strategic partnerships and growing client base, positions it as a key enabler in the spatial computing industry. As Ramirez puts it, "Our vision has always been to bring immersive experiences to everyone. With the node license sale, we are one step closer to building the infrastructure at the necessary scale and making that vision a reality.”
Faced with these challenges, some in the business are retooling their résumés from a classic production format, which assumes the reader’s familiarity with the business and often entails long lists of credits, to a more corporate layout that briefly describes responsibilities and highlights certain skills developed. They’re translating what specific roles on set or in industry offices mean to employers who don’t speak entertainment. “When you say, ‘I work in development,’ they think you’re a fundraiser,” says former casting and development executive Lauren Kotlen, who has been working perma-freelance since November 2023 and is exploring content development and talent-relations opportunities in marketing, advertising and digital media companies.
Reasons Williams, “If I’m a showrunner, what does a showrunner do? Well, we’re project managers. Any producer is a project manager on some level.” (As a result, Williams has taken a Project Management Professional certification course during her job search.)
The road ahead for Mawari is ambitious. In Q4 2024, they plan to launch their mainnet in three geographic regions, each focused on different use cases, such as engineering education and sports entertainment. With the new funding and the impending node sale, Mawari’s decentralized infrastructure for immersive content has the potential to transform how 3D experiences are delivered at scale.
nitially we will focus on generating 3D worlds without limits - creating and editing virtual spaces complete with physics, semantics, and control. We hope this will unlock new capabilities for creative users and professionals such as artists, designers, developers, and engineers. It will also allow anyone to imagine and create their own worlds, expanding the potential of generative AI from 2D images and videos to 3D worlds.
Other job seekers are wondering whether having entertainment credits on their résumés helps or hurts their chances of finding other work. Some have noticed hesitation on the part of select employers due to their showbiz backgrounds, which they attribute to a perception that they are just looking for temporary jobs during the contraction. At an interview for a Whole Foods overnight restocking position, production manager of 24 years Sidnee Lewis-Avila (The Hills: New Beginnings) says she was asked, “What happens if you get a call for a show or the industry bounces back?”
She says, “They fear that I’m going to put in my notice and bounce.” (Lewis-Avila recently worked in concessions at Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights with the goal of making it through a probationary period, after which she can apply for backlot jobs at the studio.) Beth Kushnick, a renowned set decorator with credits on The Good Wife and Fringe, has long worked part-time gigs in addition to her production work; she’s currently doing interior design for private clients, staging apartments and working on an upcoming event for a commercial business in the absence of industry jobs. But at one point recently, she says, “I was up for a very big job out east, and they were afraid that I was going to get a movie.”
These are ambitious goals, so we are building an ambitious company to tackle them. Our team has a strong research background, but we are not motivated by exploration for its own sake. Instead, we believe that now is a unique moment where rapid scientific progress has thinned the barrier between research and applications. We aim to seize this opportunity, focusing on the entire throughline from research to engineering to product to people.
We've already made promising strides, but we have a long way to go. We thank our investors for their early support on our journey. To date we have raised more than $230M in total funding led by Martin Casado and Sarah Wang of Andreessen Horowitz, Scott Sandell of NEA, and Jordan Jacobs of Radical Ventures. Other investors include individuals Marc Benioff, Jim Breyer, Ron Conway, Jeff Dean, Geoffrey Hinton, Reid Hoffman, Andrej Karpathy, Sound Ventures co-founder Ashton Kutcher, Eric Schmidt, Ram Shriram, Anne Wojcicki, and the late Susan Wojcicki; as well as Adobe Ventures, AMD Ventures, Databricks Ventures, NVentures, the venture capital arm of NVIDIA, Salesforce Ventures, and Shinrai Investments LLC. We are grateful for their partnership.
The Entertainment Community Fund Career Center’s managing director Elena Muslar has seen entertainment workers sometimes react to difficulties like these simply by omitting their experience in the business, creating gaps in their résumé. Muslar recommends instead that the ECF Career Center’s participants tailor their descriptions of past experiences to whatever field they’re looking to enter in their résumés. Rather than leading with, “I’m an actor” who will need time off, for instance, she suggests a performer could describe themselves as a kind of entrepreneur.
Richard “Rick” Spence is a full professor of History. He specializes in Russian intelligence and military history, and his course offerings include Modern Espionage, Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust, History of Secret Societies and the Occult in History.
Richard Spence education
Ph.D., History, 1981, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, Modern Europe, Middle East
M.A., History, 1976, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
B.A., History, 1973, California State University, Bakersfield, CA
There can be emotional hurdles for workers who decide to step a foot outside the business, even if they’re not leaving entirely or forever. “I think the biggest challenge is more about people’s mindset,” says Christina Blumer, the executive director of the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation, which offers grants for career counseling or retraining to professionals in the theatrical exhibition, distribution and vendor spaces. “People have this idea that ‘I work in the movie industry and this is what I do.’ And what’s really challenging for folks is that emotional attachment … to try and shift that or say, ‘Circumstances have changed.’”
Richard “Rick” Spence received his doctorate in history from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1981. He has taught at University of Idaho since 1986, and he is a tenured full professor of history. He specializes in Russian intelligence and military history, and his course offerings include Modern Espionage, Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust, History of Secret Societies and the Occult in History.
Spence’s published works include “Boris Savinkov: Renegade on the Left” (East European Monographs/Columbia Univ. Press, 1991), “Trust No One: The Secret World of Sidney Reilly” (Feral House, 2002) and “Secret Agent 666: Aleister Crowley, British Intelligence and the Occult” (Feral House, 2008). He is also the author of numerous articles in Revolutionary Russia, Intelligence and National Security, International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, The Historian, New Dawn and other publications. He has served as a commentator/consultant for the History Channel and the International Spy Museum and was a key consultant-interviewee for the Russian Cultural Foundation’s 2007 documentary film, “Leon Trotsky: The Secret of World Revolution,” and its subsequent “Trap for the Tsar.”
But entertainment workers bring particular strengths, too, to their job search. Workers who come from Hollywood can already be focused on tapping personal networks: “They always say, ‘It’s who you know in Hollywood.’ It’s who you know anywhere,” says Kotlen. They bring a “creative skill set,” notes ECF’s Muslar. Fields that are particularly in demand right now are project management, digital marketing, creative direction, teaching artistry, arts administration and other types of content creation, Muslar adds — all of which can transfer skills people have developed in entertainment.
Richard Spence publications
Selected Publications
American Spies in Revolutionary Russia (in progress)
Wall Street and the Russian Revolution, 1905-1925 (Trine Day, 2017)
With Walter Bosley, The Empire of the Wheel: Espionage, the Occult and Murder in Southern California (Corvos Books, 2011)
Secret Agent 666: Aleister Crowley, British Intelligence and the Occult ( Feral House, 2008)
Trust No One: The Secret World of Sidney Reilly (Feral House, 2002)
Boris Savinkov: Renegade on the Left (Boulder, CO: East European Monographs, 1991)
Articles
“The Voyage of the Shilka: The Bolshevik Revolution Comes to Seattle, 1917,” American Communist History, Vol. 16, #1-2 (2017), pp. 88-101.
“Lights in the Sky: A True Tale of Mystery Airships, Spies and Secret Cults in WWI Utah,” Paranoia (May 2018), http://www.paranoiamagazine.com/2018/05/lights-in-the- sky-a-true-tale-of-mystery-airships-spies-and-secret-cults-in-wwi-utah/
“Who Created Hitler?,” New Dawn, Special Issue, Vol. 11, #1(2017), pp 23-31.
“Death in the Adirondacks: Amtorg, Intrigue and the Dubious Demise of Isaiah Khurgin and Efraim Sklyansky,” America Communist History, Vol. 14, #2, (2015), pp. 135-158
“John Reed, American Spy?: Reed, American Intelligence and Weston Estes’ 1920 Mission to Russia,” American Communist History, Vol. 13, #1 (2014), pp. 39-64.
“The Tsar’s Other Lieutenant: The Anti-Semitic Activities of Boris L’vovich Brasol, 1910-1960, Pt. II, White Russians, Nazis and the Blue Lamoo,” Journal for the Study of Anti-Semitism, (Dec. 2012).
“The Tsar’s Other Lieutenant: The Anti-Semitic Activities of Boris L’vovich Brasol, 1910-1960, Pt. I, Beilis, the Protocols and Henry Ford,” Journal for the Study of Anti-Semitism, (June 2012).
For about a year, Kaitlin Saltzman, the head of scripted at Wilmer Valderrama’s production company WV Entertainment, has worked a side hustle that complements her day job. During the double strikes in 2023, as she saw friends being laid off and had a lot more time on her hands, the executive decided to develop both a hobby and an additional professional skill set. She ended up taking up an activity she hadn’t pursued since high school: photography. Now, Saltzman shoots clients on the weekends and edits her photos after her kids go to bed. She says of her photography and executive work, “They’re both visual storytelling. I really try to capture personalities that come through in the photos and I very much think that my career in television has a big part to do in why I’m able to do that.”
A key component of the AI factory is the data pipeline, a semi-automated, systematic process for gathering, cleaning, integrating, and securing company data to ensure it’s sustainable and scalable for AI technologies.
The process, known as datafication, transforms raw data into a usable format for AI models. High-quality data is crucial because AI models’ accuracy and reliability heavily depend on their inputs’ quality.
In the past few years, veteran makeup artist Alexis Walker (Just Go With It, Knocked Up) has developed a business as a professional coach with a special focus on Hollywood workers looking to pivot. In this work, she found two main themes: clients looking for ways to apply their skills in a new field and to strike a “balancing act of straddling two worlds” — still doing some Hollywood work while developing an outside business. She’s also the creator of The Hollywood Second Act Club Podcast, which showcases interviews with industry professionals who have pursued endeavors outside of traditional movie and television work.
“As the saying goes: ‘Garbage in, garbage out,’” Lakhani says in AI Essentials for Business. “If your data isn't set up in a way that enables you to learn from across your enterprise or your customers, you're going to have garbage coming out of your AI factory.”
For example, Amazon uses a sophisticated data pipeline to manage and analyze vast amounts of customer data, including browsing histories and purchase behaviors. Through cleaning and organizing that data, its AI models can accurately predict customer preferences and personalize recommendations.
In her view, the initial reaction to this slowdown was “sitting-duck stunned for a long time and blindsided and paralyzed, understandably.” But now, she says, “I think you’re going to start seeing a lot more inspired action as people come awake to the moment and what that means for them.”
Establishing a strong data pipeline requires setting up systems and processes. Without a foundation of clean, well-organized data, the AI factory can’t effectively support decision-making and innovation.
Beyond a strong pipeline, you need algorithms to transform data into actionable insights that allow you to anticipate trends and make data-driven decisions.
“Data by itself doesn't do anything,” Iansiti says in AI Essentials for Business. “You actually need to figure out which algorithm you're going to choose. You're going to figure out what type of algorithm you need. You need to figure out what to do with it.”
Not every algorithm is created equal. With a range of data types, you must select one that aligns with your business goals and objectives. That involves considering your data’s characteristics and the predictions or outcomes you want to achieve.
The market is "still tight," he noted, adding that fintech offerings such as Zopa's — which typically provide higher savings rates than high-street banks — become "more important" during such times.
"The proposition has become more relevant, and while it's tight for customers, we have had to be much more constrained in terms of who we can lend to," he said, adding that Zopa has still been able to grow despite that.
In the automotive industry, for example, Tesla's goal of creating safe, efficient autonomous vehicles drives its algorithm choices. It uses advanced machine-learning algorithms to analyze camera, sensor, and radar data to generate real-time predictions that guide steering, braking, and acceleration decisions.
By choosing algorithms designed to handle complex data inputs and make accurate predictions, Tesla continually refines its technology to enhance safety and the driving experience.
Your AI factory’s effectiveness similarly depends not just on your data’s quality but your algorithm’s sophistication and suitability.
A big priority for the business going forward is product, Janardana said. The firm is developing a current account product which would allow users to spend and manage their money more easily, in a similar fashion to mainstream banking providers like HSBC and Barclays, as well as fintech upstarts such as Monzo.
Software infrastructure provides the foundational architecture that supports your AI factory’s data pipeline and algorithm.
“Infrastructure is actually a really important point,” Lakhani says in AI Essentials for Business. “You can have the fanciest data pipelines, the fanciest algorithms—but if your infrastructure can't make this work, can't do this at scale, then you run into problems.”
Infrastructure is the AI factory’s backbone, connecting internal teams and external users to streamline operations. It includes the hardware, software, and networks that manage data storage, processing, and movement.
"We believe that there is more that the consumer can have in the current account space," Janardana said. "We expect that we will launch our current account with the general public sometime next year."
Janardana said consumers can expect a "slick" experience from Zopa's current account offering, including the ability to view and manage multiple account bank accounts from one interface and access to competitive savings rates.
For example, while Netflix's early algorithms were advanced, its infrastructure couldn’t handle large-scale processing, creating a poor recommendation experience. To address that, Netflix invested in more scalable cloud-based infrastructure to process large volumes of data and deliver accurate recommendations to millions of subscribers—significantly enhancing the user experience and helping maintain a high retention rate compared to competitors.
IPO 'not top of mind'
Zopa is one of many fintech companies that has been viewed as a potential IPO candidate. Around two years ago, the firm said that it was planning to go public, but later decided to put those plans on ice, as high interest rates battered technology stocks and the IPO market froze over in 2022.
Janardana said he doesn't envision a public listing as an immediate priority, but noted he sees signs pointing toward a more favorable U.S. IPO market next year.
The AI factory’s final component is the experimentation platform, where your team can test, refine, and optimize AI models and predict outcomes based on different conditions.
“The experimentation platform is important because your algorithms are basically going to generate a range of hypotheses,” Lakhani says in AI Essentials for Business. “They're going to say, take action X to increase customer satisfaction, take action Y to potentially increase sales, take action Z to change the dynamics of who pays first.”
That should mean that Europe becomes more open to IPOs happening later in 2026, according to Janardana. He didn't disclose where Zopa would end up going public.
"To be honest, it's not the top of mind for me," Janardana told CNBC. "I think we continue to be lucky to have supportive and long-term shareholders who support future growth as well."
Last year, Zopa made two senior hires, appointing Peter Donlon, ex-chief technology officer at online card retailer Moonpig, as its own CTO. The firm also hired Kate Erb, a chartered accountant from KPMG, as its chief operating officer.
Your hypotheses can include questions like:
Will a new pricing algorithm increase sales?
Can a machine-learning model more accurately predict customer churn?
Will a new AI-based process improve operational efficiency?
By providing a space to innovate and test, your experimentation platform can enable you to explore AI’s possibilities, adjust to changes, and seize market opportunities.
The company raised $300 million in a funding round led by Japanese tech investor SoftBank in 2021 and was last valued by investors at $1 billion.
“Your job with the experimentation platform is to take those predictions from your algorithmic development and test them to say that, ‘In fact, are these predictions doing what they are supposed to be doing?’” Lakhani says in AI Essentials for Business.
Become an AI-First Firm
Establishing and maintaining your organization’s AI factory is essential to fostering innovation and efficiency. By using AI to automate complex tasks and generate data-driven insights, you can improve decision-making processes and compete in a dynamic market.
To capitalize on AI’s opportunities, you need a solid understanding of the AI factory’s core principles and applications. AI Essentials for Business can equip you with practical skills and strategies for building a responsible AI-powered organization.
References
Henane, R., Buguet, A., Roussel, B. & Bittel, J. Variations in evaporation and body temperatures during sleep in man. J. Appl. Physiol. 42, 50–55 (1977).
Weiss, N., Attali, V., Bouzbib, C. & Thabut, D. Altered distal-proximal temperature gradient as a possible explanation for sleep-wake disturbances in cirrhotic patients. Liver Int. Off. J. Int. Assoc. Study Liver 37, 1776–1779 (2017).
Garrido, M. et al. Abnormalities in the 24-hour rhythm of skin temperature in cirrhosis: Sleep-wake and general clinical implications. Liver Int. Off. J. Int. Assoc. Study Liver 37, 1833–1842 (2017).
[Preprint] Smarr, B., Aschbacher, K., Fisher, S. M., Chowdhary, A., Dilchert, S., Puldon, K., … & Mason, A. E. (2020). Feasibility of continuous fever monitoring using wearable devices.
Maijala, A., Kinnunen, H., Koskimäki, H., Jämsä, T. & Kangas, M. Nocturnal finger skin temperature in menstrual cycle tracking: ambulatory pilot study using a wearable Oura Ring. BMC Womens Health 19, 150 (2019).
[Preprint] Grant, A. D., Newman, M. & Kriegsfeld, L. J. Ultradian Rhythms in Heart Rate Variability and Distal Body Temperature Anticipate the Luteinizing Hormone Surge Onset. bioRxiv 2020.07.15.205450 (2020) doi:10.1101/2020.07.15.205450.
[Preprint] Smarr, B., Aschbacher, K., Fisher, S. M., Chowdhary, A., Dilchert, S., Puldon, K., … & Mason, A. E. (2020). Feasibility of continuous fever monitoring using wearable devices.[Preprint] Grant, A. D., Newman, M. & Kriegsfeld, L. J. Ultradian Rhythms in Heart Rate Variability and Distal Body Temperature Anticipate the Luteinizing Hormone Surge Onset. bioRxiv 2020.07.15.205450 (2020) doi:10.1101/2020.07.15.205450.
Hasselberg MJ, McMahon J, Parker K. The validity, reliability, and utility of the iButton® for measurement of body temperature circadian rhythms in sleep/wake research. Sleep Med. 2013;14(1):5-11. doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2010.12.011Used in 92+ Studies in Pubmed as of 9.17.20. (link)
Hale is keen to position Oura as a "health company and a science company from the get-go," with the aim of its product being "clinical grade." Oura is seeking approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its ring to be used for diagnostics, although Hale declined to provide too many further details.
He did say that Oura's focus on health and science is what sets it apart from competitors.
"If you're actually thinking [of] yourself as a healthcare company, it is very different in many ways and different postures you might take towards data privacy. ... So instead of being like a tech company where data is some sort of oil to be extracted and then used to create some kind of advantage of network effects, we're really a healthcare company where your data is sacrosanct," Hale said.
What’s Next?
Our team is always improving the tools that we offer in the hopes that consumers and researchers will discover more about our health. The Oura temperature signal is already proving useful for real-world applications like fever detection and menstrual cycle tracking.
Continuous skin temperature data has an incredible amount of potential to provide insights into our own health as well as a tool for advancing research. We hope to continue to share our work and collaborate with you as we discover new patterns.
Oura's business model relies on selling the hardware, as well as on a $5.99 monthly subscription service that allows users to get the insights from their ring. Oura says it has nearly 2 million subscribers.
"We look more like a software company than we do look like a hardware company. And I think that's a function of the business model, and the fact that it's working. Our subscribers are continuing to pay," Hale said.
Oura eyes nutrition as next 'pillar'
Oura takes the data gathered by the ring to provide insight to its users, focused on a person's levels of sleep, activity and readiness to take on the day.
Hale said the company is now testing out nutrition, with users able to take a picture of their meal and log it into the Oura app. Also in the nutrition space, he highlighted Oura's recent acquisition of Veri, a metabolic health startup that can take data from continuous glucose monitors — small devices inserted into a person's arm — to give insight into someone's blood sugar levels. Hale says that this, combined with Oura's food tracking feature, could tell a user how certain meals affect their glucose levels.
Although our environment helps our brain make decisions about how to thermoregulate, it isn’t directly determining your finger temperature all by itself. This builds even greater confidence that Oura temperature is reflecting you, not your surroundings and that many factors, including time of day, your stress levels, your hormones, your activities, and your sleep contribute to this unique signal.
Below are two examples of the clear difference between Oura Ring temperatures and environmental temperatures surrounding these individuals throughout their days.
Many glucose monitors today are invasive and need to be inserted into the skin. Some observers see a non-invasive glucose monitor on wearable gear as something that could be transformative — but Hale warns this is a difficult goal to achieve.
"The idea that a wearable [device] will get there, I think, has definitely been a Holy Grail, and like the Holy Grail, they may never find it, because it's a very difficult problem to solve with any kind of accuracy," Hale said.
"Never say never. Certainly, technology continues to advance and all the capabilities continue to advance," he added.
Oura’s Finger Temperature Reflects Your Physiology – Not Your Environment
Because your finger is part of your body’s skin (your “shell”) and not your core, it can change temperature much more dramatically, and much faster than places that approximate your core temperature, like your mouth. However, some people express concern that measuring from your skin temperature might be capturing changes in your surrounding environment, rather than your body.
In reality, changes in your skin temperature reveal meaningful information about how your body responds to your surrounding
New hardware and AI
While Oura only sells rings currently, Hale sees the company developing new products in the future. He declined to elaborate.
"I think we'll undoubtedly see other Oura-branded products, beyond the ring," he promised.
He also said the company hopes to work with other devices as well, even if they are not Oura's own hardware.
For example, imagine plunging your hands into the snow to make a snowman. Even if you put your whole hand into the snow, your fingers feel noticeably colder than your wrists. Although our environment impacts our body’s temperature, your fingers aren’t just ‘measuring’ the temperature of the snow, they are actually reflecting what is happening inside your body as blood flow changes uniquely from your fingers, wrist, and other parts of your shell so your body can maintain your core temperature.
To confirm that finger temperature captures unique physiological changes, the team analyzed the difference between iButton sensors on the finger as well as an ‘environmental sensor’ that traveled with participants to measure the world around them as they went about their days.
Results show that while the Oura Ring and finger iButton match 92% (r²=0.92), temperature information from the finger is uncorrelated to the environmental temperature; 0.1% (r²=0.001).
Like many hardware companies, such as Apple and Samsung, Oura is looking at ways it can use the advancing capabilities of artificial intelligence to give users more personalized insights. Smartphone makers have spoken about so-called "AI agents," which they see as assistants that are able to anticipate what a user wants.
Oura is testing out an AI product called Oura Advisor in a similar vein.
"Think of it as the doctor in your pocket that knows all the data about you," Hale said.
Oura’s Temperature Sensor Remains Highly Accurate And Precise In Real World Conditions
To evaluate Oura’s temperature sensors “in the wild,” 16 individuals wore both iButton and Oura Ring for a week of real world data collection on the same finger. These individuals were able to show that Oura continued to match performance with iButtons (r² >0.92) throughout the full spectrum of life events including exercising, showering, cooking, working, and everything in between.
International push
Hale's presence at the Web Summit in Lisbon underscores his push to raise Oura's brand awareness in markets outside of the U.S., especially as more people learn about smart rings.
"I think the point about the category being something that people are learning about, the unique benefits of that maturity, is in our favor. We're expanding internationally," Hale said.
He said he is particularly "excited" about venturing into Western Europe, including in countries like the U.K., Germany, France and Italy. Looking even further forward, Hale said an initial public offering for the business is not currently on the table, adding that operating as a private company gives Oura more "freedom."
The Validation
Oura’s Science Team assembled a task force of employees, data scientists, physiologists, and engineers to fast-track publicly available validation results. In total, the team was able to collect 93,571 data points in a single week.
The task force selected iButton sensors as the research-grade tool to evaluate Oura’s performance.8 The goal of this study was not only to validate Oura’s temperature sensor under lab conditions, but to show that Oura maintains performance even during the challenges of measuring data in ‘noisier’ real-world scenarios.
"I really enjoy the freedom that we get as a private company. We're accountable to our investors and our shareholders, but they're willing to let us operate with a lot license," he said. "And if we decided we wanted to turn unprofitable because we wanted to invest in owning some category of healthcare software, it'll be fine. They would be happy for that."
Authorities did not disclose how or if the operations announced Wednesday are connected to the earlier campaigns.
In their statement Wednesday, the FBI and CISA said officials are working with the telecommunication industry and hacking victims to shore up defenses against continuing attempts at cyberespionage.
“We expect our understanding of these compromises to grow as the investigation continues,” the agencies wrote.
Sustainability of the UNIT ecosystem requires the following key conditions:
Transparent price discovery mechanism of each component of the UNIT reserve basket in gold terms. It is preferable to have multiple inputs for each price, as pricing in different venues may be affected by the differences in local regulatory regime, logistics costs, and availability of supporting infrastructure;
Distributed secure gold storage, which may or may not be directly linked to the price discovery venues. As new UNIT tokens are minted, incremental gold that is deposited at the UNIT nodes will be distributed across the secure storage, in order to minimize operational risks;
UNIT nodes serving as custodians by accepting replicas of the UNIT reserve basket and minting new UNIT tokens in exchange. They ideally will be located in favorable jurisdictions and linked to a physical (offline) hub with adequate transport connections and supporting infrastructure. UNIT nodes publicly broadcast UNIT basket composition and number of minted UNIT tokens, protecting the integrity of the network and enabling transparent pricing of UNIT tokens.
China has rejected accusations from U.S. officials that it engages in cyberespionage directed against Americans. A message left with China’s embassy in Washington was not immediately returned Wednesday.
Chapter 1
Of the things which are in our Power, and not in our Power
Of all the faculties, you will find not one which is capable of contemplating itself; and, consequently, not capable either of approving or disapproving. How far does the grammatic art possess the contemplating power? As far as forming a judgement about what is written and spoken. And how far music? As far as judging about melody. Does either of them then contemplate itself? By no means. But when you must write something to your friend, grammar will tell you what words you must write; but whether you should write or not, grammar will not tell you. And so it is with music as to musical sounds; but whether you should sing at the present time and play on the lute, or do neither, music will not tell you. What faculty then will tell you? That which contemplates both itself and all other things. And what is this faculty?
The rational faculty; for this is the only faculty that we have received which examines itself, what it is, and what power it has, and what is the value of this gift, and examines all other faculties: for what else is there which tells us that golden things are beautiful, for they do not say so themselves? Evidently it is the faculty which is capable of judging of appearances. What else judges of music, grammar, and other faculties, proves their uses and points out the occasions for using them? Nothing else.
Filippo Sanesi, global head of marketing and operations at OVHCloud, said the French cloud firm is seeing lots of demand for its European-located infrastructure, as they "understand the value of having their data in Europe, which are subject to European legislation."
"As this concept of data sovereignty becomes more mature and people understand what it means, we see more and more companies understanding the importance of having your data locally and under a specific jurisdiction and governance," Sanesi told CNBC. "We have a lot of data," he added. "This data is sovereign in specific countries, under specific regulations."
Fast-moving hubs like these are core to Japan’s AI ecosystem, giving startups the mentorship, funding and resources they need to go from prototype to fully commercialized product.
And through NVIDIA’s accelerated computing technologies and the Inception program, Japan’s fast-moving startups are united with AI innovators across the globe.
"Now, with this data, you can actually make products and services for AI, and those services should then be sovereign, should be controlled, deployed and developed locally by local talent for the local population or businesses."
The AI sovereignty push hasn't been driven forward by regulators — at least, not yet, according to Cisco's Gow. Rather, it's come from private companies, which are opening more data centers — facilities containing vast amounts of computing equipment to enable cloud-based AI tools — in Europe, he said.
By championing the real-world deployment of seed-stage deep-tech innovations, UTokyo IPC is igniting Japan’s academic innovation landscape and setting the standard for others to follow.
Meanwhile, Osaka’s own Innovation Hub, OIH, expands this momentum beyond Tokyo, providing startups with coworking spaces and networking events. Its Startup Acceleration Program brings early-stage projects to market faster.
Leading the charge is UTokyo IPC, the wholly owned venture capital arm of the University of Tokyo, operating through its flagship accelerator program, 1stRound.
Cohosted by 18 universities and four national research institutions, this program serves as the nexus where academia and industry converge, providing hands-on guidance, resources and strategic support.
Sovereign AI is "more driven by the industry naming it that, than it is from the policymakers' side," Gow said. "You don't see the 'AI sovereignty' terminology used on the regulator side yet."
Countries are pushing the idea of AI sovereignty because they recognize AI is "the future" and a "massively strategic technology," Gow said.
Governments are focusing on boosting their domestic tech companies and ecosystems, as well as the all-important backend infrastructure that enables AI services.
NVIDIA’s infrastructure is also at the heart of Kotoba Technologies’ language tools, as well as AiHUB’s lifelike digital avatars. Running on an AI backbone, these various tools seamlessly bridge media, communication and human interaction.
The Story Behind the Story: Tokyo IPC and Osaka Innovation Hub
All of these startups are part of a larger ecosystem that’s accelerating Japan’s rise as an AI powerhouse.
"The AI workload uses 20 times the bandwidth of a traditional workload," Gow said. It's also about enabling the workforce, according to Gow, as firms need skilled workers to be successful.
Most important of all, however, is the data. "What you're seeing is quite a few attempts from that side to think about training LLMs on localized data, in language," Gow said.
Asilla’s cutting-edge anomaly detection was developed with security in mind but is now finding applications in healthcare and retail. Built on the NVIDIA DeepStream and Triton Inference Server SDKs, Asilla’s tech doesn’t just identify risks — it responds to them.
In high-stakes environments, ugo and Asilla’s systems, powered by the NVIDIA Jetson platform, are already in action, identifying potential security threats and triggering real-time responses.
'Reflecting values'
In Italy, the first LLM trained specifically on the Italian language data, called Italia 9B, launched this summer.
The aim of the Italia project is to store results in a given jurisdiction and rely on data from citizens within that region so that results produced by the AI systems there are more grounded in local languages, culture and history.
"Sovereign AI is about reflecting the values of an organization or, equally, the country that you're in and the values and the language," David Hogan, EMEA head of enterprise sales for chipmaking giant Nvidia, told CNBC.
The Power of Cross-Sector Synergy
The gears of Japan’s AI ecosystem increasingly turn in sync thanks to NVIDIA-powered infrastructure that enables startups to build on each other’s breakthroughs.
As Japan’s population ages, solutions like these address security needs as well as an intensifying labor shortage. Here, ugo and Asilla have taken on the challenge, using autonomous security systems to manage facilities across the country.
"The core challenge is that most of the frontier models today have been trained primarily on Western data generally," Hogan added.
In Denmark for example, where Nvidia has a major presence, officials are concerned about vital services such as health care and telecoms being delivered by AI systems that aren't "reflective" of local Danish culture and values, according to Hogan.
On Wednesday, Denmark laid out a landmark white paper outlining how companies can use AI in compliance with the incoming EU AI Act — the world's first major AI law. The document is meant to serve as a blueprint for other EU nations to follow and adopt.
By refining data quality for big clients like RIKEN, Ricoh and ORIX, APTO has mastered the fine art of sifting valuable signals from noise. Through tools like WordCountFilter — an ingenious mechanism that prunes short or unnatural sentences — it’s supercharging performance.
APTO’s data quality control boosted model accuracy scores and slashed training time.
Across Japan, developers are looking to move on AI fast, and they’re embracing SDKs to go further, faster.
"If you're in a European country that's not one of the major language countries that's spoken internationally, probably less than 2% of the data is trained on your language -- let alone your culture," Hogan said.
Kotoba’s tools are used in customer call centers and for automatic meeting minutes creation across various industries. It was also used to perform live transcription during the AI Summit Japan fireside chat between Huang and Son.
And if LLMs are the engines driving Japan’s AI, then companies like APTO supply the fuel. Using NVIDIA NeMo Curator, APTO is changing the game in data annotation, handling the intensive prep work that makes LLMs effective.
How regulation fueled a mindset shift
That's not to say regulations haven't proven an important factor in getting tech giants to think more about building localized AI infrastructure within Europe.
OVHCloud's Sanesi said regulations like the EU's GDPR catalyzed a lot of the interest in onshoring the processing of data in a given region.
The concept of AI sovereignty is also getting buy-in from local European tech firms.
One company at the forefront is Kotoba Technologies, which has cracked the code on real-time speech recognition thanks to NeMo’s powerful tools.
Under a key Japanese government grant, Kotoba’s language tools don’t just capture sound — they translate it live. It’s a blend of computational heft and human ingenuity, redefining how multilingual communication happens in non-English-speaking countries like Japan.
Earlier this week, Berlin-headquartered search engine Ecosia and its Paris-based peer Qwant announced a joint venture to develop a European search index from scratch, aiming to serve improved French and German language results.
Meanwhile, French telecom operator Orange has said it's in discussions with a number of foundational AI model companies about building a smartphone-based "sovereign AI" model for its customers that more accurately reflects their own language and culture.
For years, Japan’s tech companies treated SDKs with caution. Now, however, with AI advancing at lightspeed and NVIDIA GPUs powering the engine, SDKs have moved from a quiet corner to center stage.
Take NVIDIA NeMo, a platform for building large language models, or LLMs. It’s swiftly becoming the background for Japan’s latest wave of real-time, AI-driven communication technologies.
"It wouldn't make sense to build our own LLMs. So there's a lot of discussion right now about, how do we partner with existing providers to make it more local and safer?" Bruno Zerbib, Orange's chief technology officer, told CNBC.
"There are a lot of use cases where [AI data] can be processed locally [on a phone] instead of processed on the cloud," Zerbib added. Orange hasn't yet selected a partner for these sovereign AI model ambitions.
SDK Adoption: From Hesitation to High Velocity
In the global tech race, success doesn’t always hinge on the heroes you’d expect.
The unsung stars here are software development kits — those bundles of tools, libraries and documentation that cut the guesswork out of innovation. And in Japan’s fast-evolving AI ecosystem, these once-overlooked SDKs are driving an improbable revolution.
Biggest Losers & Winners of the 2024 Election
#election #politics !summarize
Part 1/5:
The 2024 Election: Winners and Losers
The Biggest Winners
1. Donald Trump - The former president made an incredible comeback, overcoming an assassination attempt, Bobby Kennedy's endorsement, and Elon Musk's support to sweep the key battleground states.
2. Elon Musk - Musk's acquisition of Twitter was a game-changer, enabling Trump to bypass the mainstream media and reach voters directly through independent podcasters. Musk's wealth also skyrocketed under a Trump presidency.
3. Independent Podcasters - Figures like Joe Rogan, Theo Von, Andrew Schultz, and Logan Paul played a crucial role in Trump's victory, giving him a platform to connect with voters outside the traditional media.
4. Josh Shapiro - The Pennsylvania governor may emerge as a top contender for the Democratic nomination in 2028, as his selection could have helped Kamala Harris avoid her disastrous VP choice.
[...]
Part 2/5:
5. JD Vance - The Ohio senator's impressive performance on the campaign trail made him a standout winner of the 2024 election.
6. The Citizens of Ukraine, Russia, Iran, Israel, and Gaza - The likelihood of reduced conflict and war under a Trump presidency is seen as a significant positive outcome.
7. Hillary Clinton - Clinton may feel vindicated, as she likely believes she would have been a better presidential candidate than the struggling Kamala Harris.
8. Joe Biden - There are speculations that Biden and Jill Biden may have secretly voted for Trump, feeling that he had a better chance of beating the incumbent than Harris.
9. Children and Newborn Babies - The end of "woke" policies and the potential disruption of the flawed education system are seen as wins for the younger generation.
10. Common Sense Policies - Voters who felt the Democratic party had abandoned its traditional values are hopeful for a return to more pragmatic and sensible
[...]
Part 3/5:
11. Bitcoin and Crypto - The crypto market is expected to thrive under a Trump presidency, with Bitcoin potentially reaching new highs.
12. The Stock Market and Economy - The lifting of perceived burdens is expected to drive growth, IPOs, and renewed business investment.
13. Hunter Biden - The president's son may receive a pardon, sparing him from potential legal consequences.
14. Comedian Tony Hinchcliff - Hinchcliff, who had mocked Trump, can now freely attend UFC events without fear of retaliation.
15. The Entire Trump Team - The successful campaign of Trump and his allies, including figures like Bobby Kennedy, Tulsi Gabbard, and Charlie Kirk, is seen as a collective win.
The Biggest Losers
1. Barack Obama - The former president's influence and credibility have been severely diminished, as he had confidently predicted that Trump would never become president.
[...]
Part 4/5:
2. Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics - These defense contractors are disappointed by the prospect of reduced military conflicts and war under a Trump presidency, which could impact their business.
3. Mark Cuban - The billionaire entrepreneur faced significant backlash and had to delete tweets during the campaign, ultimately losing to Trump's team.
4. University Administrations - Trump's potential crackdown on "woke" ideologies and endowments at universities is seen as a significant threat to their current operations.
5. The Department of Justice, Letitia James, Jack Smith, and Merrick Garland - These officials may be concerned about potential investigations into their actions against Trump during his previous term.
6. Mainstream Media - The media outlets that heavily promoted the anti-Trump narrative have suffered a significant loss of credibility and influence, especially in the face of the rise of independent media.
[...]
Part 5/5:
7. Volodymyr Zelenskyy - The Ukrainian president may be unhappy with the prospect of reduced financial support and military aid from the United States under a Trump administration.
8. Political Leaders of Ukraine, Iran, Hamas, China, and Mexico - These leaders may face tougher policies, tariffs, or a more assertive stance from the Trump administration.
9. Left-leaning Ideas - The American electorate's rejection of "woke" policies and the Democratic party's shift has dealt a significant blow to progressive ideologies.
Some of these eventually do lead to the company paying up. In the U.S. it settled with the FTC in a 2019 case where it paid up $5 billion and put new privacy practices in place.
Fines are calculated on a sliding scale but can amount to up to 30% of a company’s sales in the relevant category, the European Commission says.
The fine comes at a time when tides are changing fast in politics, not least because of the changing of the guard in the U.S., with the executive and legislative branches now all controlled by the Republicans.
As then it was fit to be so, that which is best of all and supreme over all is the only thing which the gods have placed in our power, the right use of appearances; but all other things they have not placed in our power. Was it because they did not choose? I indeed think that, if they had been able, they would have put these other things also in our power, but they certainly could not. For as we exist on the earth, and are bound to such a body and to such companions, how was it possible for us not to be hindered as to these things by externals?
But what says Zeus? "Epictetus, if it were possible, I would have made both your little body and your little property free and not exposed to hindrance. But now be not ignorant of this: this body is not yours, but it is clay finely tempered. And since I was not able to do for you what I have mentioned, I have given you a small portion of us, this faculty of pursuing an object and avoiding it, and the faculty of desire and aversion, and, in a word, the faculty of using the appearances of things; and if you will take care of this faculty and consider it your only possession, you will never be hindered, never meet with impediments; you will not lament, you will not blame, you will not flatter any person."
Some of that could have repercussions in regulation, and how Big Tech is regulated, not just in the U.S. but further afield. So far observers have named cybersecurity, M&A, and cryptocurrency as areas that might be revisited; it will be worth watching to see how social media, data protection and privacy — three areas that concern Meta — are treated in the years to come.
Well, do these seem to you small matters?" I hope not. "Be content with them then and pray to the gods." But now when it is in our power to look after one thing, and to attach ourselves to it, we prefer to look after many things, and to be bound to many things, to the body and to property, and to brother and to friend, and to child and to slave. Since, then, we are bound to many things, we are depressed by them and dragged down. For this reason, when the weather is not fit for sailing, we sit down and torment ourselves, and continually look out to see what wind is blowing. "It is north." What is that to us? "When will the west wind blow?" When it shall choose, my good man, or when it shall please AEolus; for God has not made you the manager of the winds, but AEolus. What then? We must make the best use that we can of the things which are in our power, and use the rest according to their nature. What is their nature then? As God may please.
Ukraine's military said on Thursday its troops were in full control of the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kupiansk and that their forces had stopped a Russian advance towards the railway hub.
A Russian-installed official said earlier that Moscow's forces were gaining a foothold on the outskirts of the city, more than 2½ years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
Kupiansk was seized by Moscow's forces in the early days of their February 2022 invasion and recaptured by Ukrainian troops in a rapid counter-offensive months later. In recent months, the area has seen an upsurge of activity by Russian forces.
"Must I, then, alone have my head cut off?" What, would you have all men lose their heads that you may be consoled? Will you not stretch out your neck as Lateranus did at Rome when Nero ordered him to be beheaded? For when he had stretched out his neck, and received a feeble blow, which made him draw it in for a moment, he stretched it out again. And a little before, when he was visited by Epaphroditus, Nero's freedman, who asked him about the cause of offense which he had given, he said, "If I choose to tell anything, I will tell your master."
A few weeks ago, Amazon Pharmacy announced that it’s expanding its same-day delivery service to 20 more U.S. cities next year, including Boston, Dallas, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, and San Diego. Amazon will reveal the other 15 cities in the coming months.
Amazon purchased primacy care tech provider One Medical in 2022 to launch Amazon One Medical the following year. The company launched Amazon Pharmacy in 2020 after it purchased online pharmacy PillPack in 2018. Last year, Amazon launched RxPass, a service that offers Prime members in the U.S. as many generic versions of medications as they need for a $5 monthly fee.
What then should a man have in readiness in such circumstances? What else than "What is mine, and what is not mine; and permitted to me, and what is not permitted to me." I must die. Must I then die lamenting? I must be put in chains. Must I then also lament? I must go into exile. Does any man then hinder me from going with smiles and cheerfulness and contentment? "Tell me the secret which you possess." I will not, for this is in my power. "But I will put you in chains." Man, what are you talking about? Me in chains? You may fetter my leg, but my will not even Zeus himself can overpower. "I will throw you into prison." My poor body, you mean. "I will cut your head off." When, then, have I told you that my head alone cannot be cut off? These are the things which philosophers should meditate on, which they should write daily, in which they should exercise themselves.
Po’s startup, originally founded in Europe but now based in Israel and the U.S., is about to launch the first two of a planned 24-satellite constellation that will monitor space weather and provide reports and predictions in near real time.
It’s not intended to replace the scientific instruments currently in space, but augment their data (much of which is public) with a voluminous, proprietary stream that enables more precise, timely monitoring.
Thrasea used to say, "I would rather be killed to-day than banished to-morrow." What, then, did Rufus say to him? "If you choose death as the heavier misfortune, how great is the folly of your choice? But if, as the lighter, who has given you the choice? Will you not study to be content with that which has been given to you?"
What, then, did Agrippinus say? He said, "I am not a hindrance to myself." When it was reported to him that his trial was going on in the Senate, he said, "I hope it may turn out well; but it is the fifth hour of the day"- this was the time when he was used to exercise himself and then take the cold bath- "let us go and take our exercise." After he had taken his exercise, one comes and tells him, "You have been condemned." "To banishment," he replies, "or to death?" "To banishment." "What about my property?" "It is not taken from you." "Let us go to Aricia then," he said, "and dine."
Po explained that while many companies and governments are increasingly aware of the need for better space weather prediction, the satellites are aging and the data is difficult to share.
“The infrastructure for space weather monitoring was developed in the late 90s, and many of the scientific models were developed 50 years ago,” Po said. Information sharing agreements between organizations like NASA, NOAA, and ESA are complex, and the data itself is not trivial to integrate and harmonize.
This it is to have studied what a man ought to study; to have made desire, aversion, free from hindrance, and free from all that a man would avoid. I must die. If now, I am ready to die. If, after a short time, I now dine because it is the dinner-hour; after this I will then die. How? Like a man who gives up what belongs to another.
“There are no people in the companies who need this data who can understand it. What’s needed is, say, alerts for different alert levels for launch, or for airlines. Everyone uses weather data but no one thinks about how it is generated: you just want to know if it’s going to rain or not. It’s the same here,” he continued.
Mission Space currently uses public sources, doing the work of normalizing it to create something of a unified data stream. But they are launching the first two of their own satellites in the first quarter of 2025, with more planned for later that year. Po said they could probably launch faster, but that it’s more beneficial to learn from the first set and improve as they go. “Engineers…” he said, “There are always more changes.”
How a Man on every occasion can maintain his Proper Character
To the rational animal only is the irrational intolerable; but that which is rational is tolerable. Blows are not naturally intolerable. "How is that?" See how the Lacedaemonians endure whipping when they have learned that whipping is consistent with reason. "To hang yourself is not intolerable." When, then, you have the opinion that it is rational, you go and hang yourself. In short, if we observe, we shall find that the animal man is pained by nothing so much as by that which is irrational; and, on the contrary, attracted to nothing so much as to that which is rational.
The satellites themselves (named Zohar) are specialized but not exotic, he noted, leading to a lower cost for a constellation of 24 than you might expect. The important part is that they still collect 15 parameters a thousand times a second.
“Space weather is a data monopoly game: the first to launch the constellation and build the infrastructure will win,” he predicted. “Even with half a constellation, in two years we will generate a thousand times more space weather data than humans have generated in the last 60. And the real-time data will let us develop machine learning models based on it.”
But the rational and the irrational appear such in a different way to different persons, just as the good and the bad, the profitable and the unprofitable. For this reason, particularly, we need discipline, in order to learn how to adapt the preconception of the rational and the irrational to the several things conformably to nature. But in order to determine the rational and the irrational, we use not only the of external things, but we consider also what is appropriate to each person. For to one man it is consistent with reason to hold a chamber pot for another, and to look to this only, that if he does not hold it, he will receive stripes, and he will not receive his food: but if he shall hold the pot, he will not suffer anything hard or disagreeable.
But to another man not only does the holding of a chamber pot appear intolerable for himself, but intolerable also for him to allow another to do this office for him. If, then, you ask me whether you should hold the chamber pot or not, I shall say to you that the receiving of food is worth more than the not receiving of it, and the being scourged is a greater indignity than not being scourged; so that if you measure your interests by these things, go and hold the chamber pot. "But this," you say, "would not be worthy of me." Well, then, it is you who must introduce this consideration into the inquiry, not I; for it is you who know yourself, how much you are worth to yourself, and at what price you sell yourself; for men sell themselves at various prices.
They are not in competition with governments and scientific organizations, he claimed, or really even startups looking to serve those customers — collaboration is a necessity for a number of reasons.
Their customers are “aerospace in general; satellite operators and space tourism companies; anyone doing private space stations. They’re all very aware of the problem,” said Po. “It was common knowledge in the aviation industry but now the companies are actually paying attention to solutions. And of course for defense, they’ve been developing the domain, and you must be sure you will not have issues in critical space operations. With the current level of precision, that’s hard for them.”
Specifics from the Wednesday auction, including the bid amount for Free Speech Systems, the parent company of InfoWars, and related assets, remain undisclosed. Proceeds from the sale will go to satisfy Jones’s creditors, primarily families of Sandy Hook shooting victims, to whom he owes damages following the defamation rulings.
Families affected by the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting filed defamation lawsuits against Jones in Connecticut and Texas, accusing him of inflicting emotional distress when he repeatedly raised doubts about the incident, in which a gunman killed 20 children and six adults.
For this reason, when Florus was deliberating whether he should go down to Nero's spectacles and also perform in them himself, Agrippinus said to him, "Go down": and when Florus asked Agrippinus, "Why do not you go down?" Agrippinus replied, "Because I do not even deliberate about the matter." For he who has once brought himself to deliberate about such matters, and to calculate the value of external things, comes very near to those who have forgotten their own character. For why do you ask me the question, whether death is preferable or life? I say "life." "Pain or pleasure?" I say "pleasure."
But if I do not take a part in the tragic acting, I shall have my head struck off. Go then and take a part, but I will not. "Why?" Because you consider yourself to be only one thread of those which are in the tunic. Well then it was fitting for you to take care how you should be like the rest of men, just as the thread has no design to be anything superior to the other threads. But I wish to be purple, that small part which is bright, and makes all the rest appear graceful and beautiful. Why then do you tell me to make myself like the many? and if I do, how shall I still be purple?
While juries awarded nearly $1.5 billion in damages to the families, Jones has asserted he cannot pay the total amount. He filed for bankruptcy in late 2022, and a judge permitted the liquidation of his personal assets in June to help address these financial obligations.
However, Jones does not plan to cease making online content, and has already set up new brand accounts to upload content under the Alex Jones Network.
SwiftConnect isn’t the first to market with a mobile-centric access control management platform. Openpath, Kisi and Verkada, among others, offer software to replace physical access cards with personal devices.
But Kruger asserts that SwiftConnect is one of the few that doesn’t require companies to install new reader hardware. That has helped it win clients like Silverstein Properties, which owns 7 World Trade Center in New York City, Kruger says.
SwiftConnect, which claims its system is live in over 100 million square feet of office space, said last year that it didn’t expect to need to raise additional capital “unless strategic opportunities presented themselves.”
Priscus Helvidius also saw this, and acted conformably. For when Vespasian sent and commanded him not to go into the senate, he replied, "It is in your power not to allow me to be a member of the senate, but so long as I am, I must go in." "Well, go in then," says the emperor, "but say nothing." "Do not ask my opinion, and I will be silent." "But I must ask your opinion." "And I must say what I think right." "But if you do, I shall put you to death." "When then did I tell you that I am immortal? You will do your part, and I will do mine: it is your part to kill; it is mine to die, but not in fear: yours to banish me; mine to depart without sorrow."
It seems like those strategic opportunities presented themselves. SwiftConnect this month raised $37 million in a Series B round led by Quadri Ventures, with participation from HID, Egis Capital Partners, Klingenstein Fields Advisors, Crow Holdings, JLL Spark, Navitas Capital and Spring Rock Capital.
“To address any potential headwinds, we decided to raise more than enough funding to weather any upcoming economic storms,” Kruger said.
The new cash, which brings the startup’s total capital raised to $74 million, will be put toward growing the company’s 135-person team and expanding to new geographies, Kopel says. SwiftConnect has offices in Montreal and Stamford, currently.
What good then did Priscus do, who was only a single person? And what good does the purple do for the toga? Why, what else than this, that it is conspicuous in the toga as purple, and is displayed also as a fine example to all other things? But in such circumstances another would have replied to Caesar who forbade him to enter the senate, "I thank you for sparing me." But such a man Vespasian would not even have forbidden to enter the senate, for he knew that he would either sit there like an earthen vessel, or, if he spoke, he would say what Caesar wished, and add even more.
Strategic acquisitions are on the table as well; last year, SwiftConnect used a portion of its warchest to buy Detrios, an access control firm.
“SwiftConnect is extending our expertise into the high-end, multi-family rental market, and has completed deployments in this space,” Kruger said. “We’re helping enable self-service, unfettered access to parking garages, buildings, turnstiles, office suites, and amenity spaces for tenants across their portfolio of properties.”
While it’s growing at a healthy clip, SwiftConnect faces potential headwinds. Mobile-centric access control systems can leave workers in a lurch if their smartphones shut down. And systems such as SwiftConnect’s have raised privacy concerns.
In this way an athlete also acted who was in danger of dying unless his private parts were amputated. His brother came to the athlete, who was a philosopher, and said, "Come, brother, what are you going to do? Shall we amputate this member and return to the gymnasium?" But the athlete persisted in his resolution and died. When some one asked Epictetus how he did this, as an athlete or a philosopher, "As a man," Epictetus replied, "and a man who had been proclaimed among the athletes at the Olympic games and had contended in them, a man who had been familiar with such a place, and not merely anointed in Baton's school. Another would have allowed even his head to be cut off, if he could have lived without it. Such is that regard to character which is so strong in those who have been accustomed to introduce it of themselves and conjoined with other things into their deliberations."
A Business Insider piece notes that firms including PwC, Amazon and Goldman Sachs are using badges to record employees’ working locations. According to one recent survey, 62% of organizations plan to use badge swipes to track attendance.
It’ll be incumbent on SwiftConnect to show it can deliver convenience without undue surveillance.
“Our platform is founded on a privacy-by-design principle where we collect the minimal amount of user information necessary to operate the service,” Kruger said. “Our customers retain full control over user data we process on their behalf.”
Alexander Baikovitz, Mach9 co-founder and CEO, said he got into this space while at Carnegie Mellon University. As a robotics student researcher, he worked on infrastructure projects like decontaminating legacy nuclear facilities for the U.S. Department of Energy, and he realized that “a lot of the robotics problems that we were solving were actually hardcore survey and mapping problems.” Which is to say, infrastructure projects are often halted from the beginning — even armed with the best robots to venture into radiation-filled facilities like the Hanford Nuclear Site in Washington state — if you don’t have robust data on where things are and the state they’re in.
"Come, then, Epictetus, shave yourself." "If I am a philosopher," I answer, "I will not shave myself." "But I will take off your head?" If that will do you any good, take it off.
Some person asked, "How then shall every man among us perceive what is suitable to his character?" How, he replied, does the bull alone, when the lion has attacked, discover his own powers and put himself forward in defense of the whole herd? It is plain that with the powers the perception of having them is immediately conjoined; and, therefore, whoever of us has such powers will not be ignorant of them. Now a bull is not made suddenly, nor a brave man; but we must discipline ourselves in the winter for the summer campaign, and not rashly run upon that which does not concern us.
“A lot of owners and operators of infrastructure have been seeing problems like aging and deterioration, extreme weather. Infrastructure is just changing so, so fast these days, and the way that we can continue to stay on top of a lot of these big challenges is with better data and better maps in the first place,” he said.
Mach9 originally pursued a hardware play; the aim was to develop mobile mapping systems and collect the geospatial data themselves by putting lidar and imaging payloads on top of vehicles. The company was accepted to Y Combinator’s Summer 2021 cohort and raised $2.5 million later that year. But many OEMs are already building great equipment to generate maps, and after talking to customers, Baikovitz said the company realized that the bigger problem was how to turn all all that mapping data into insights.
Only consider at what price you sell your own will; if for no other reason, at least for this, that you sell it not for a small sum. But that which is great and superior perhaps belongs to Socrates and such as are like him. "Why then, if we are naturally such, are not a very great number of us like him?" Is it true then that all horses become swift, that all dogs are skilled in tracking footprints? "What, then, since I am naturally dull, shall I, for this reason, take no pains?" I hope not. Epictetus is not superior to Socrates; but if he is not inferior, this is enough for me; for I shall never be a Milo, and yet I do not neglect my body; nor shall I be a Croesus, and yet I do not neglect my property; nor, in a word, do we neglect looking after anything because we despair of reaching the highest degree.
“Most people take for granted/don’t realize how hard it is to keep infrastructure up to date with the changing world,” he said. That’s where Digital Surveyor comes in.
Today, Mach9 is selling the Digital Surveyor software to engineering consultants, public and private infrastructure owners, and operators to help them turn this data into insights: to identify every utility pole within a utility company’s massive network, for example. In many instances, it takes a person two to four days per map mile to identify all the features; with Digital Surveyor, it takes less than 10 minutes a mile for a human to review and validate the software’s labels.
Digital Surveyor can not just identify features but provide more detailed information about them. Baikovitz walked me through a product demo and showed how Digital Surveyor can not only identify a utility pole but quickly tell me the angle at which that utility pole is leaning. This capability is critical for situations where people need information really quickly, Baikovitz said, like after an extreme weather event.
How a man should proceed from the principle of God being the father of all men to the rest
If a man should be able to assent to this doctrine as he ought, that we are all sprung from God in an especial manner, and that God is the father both of men and of gods, I suppose that he would never have any ignoble or mean thoughts about himself. But if Caesar should adopt you, no one could endure your arrogance; and if you know that you are the son of Zeus, will you not be elated? Yet we do not so; but since these two things are mingled in the generation of man, body in common with the animals, and reason and intelligence in common with the gods, many incline to this kinship, which is miserable and mortal; and some few to that which is divine and happy.
Since then it is of necessity that every man uses everything according to the opinion which he has about it, those, the few, who think that they are formed for fidelity and modesty and a sure use of appearances have no mean or ignoble thoughts about themselves; but with the many it is quite the contrary. For they say, "What am I? A poor, miserable man, with my wretched bit of flesh." Wretched. Indeed; but you possess something better than your "bit of flesh." Why then do you neglect that which is better, and why do you attach yourself to this?
The company recently closed a $12 million seed round led by Quiet Capital, with participation from new and existing investors including Overmatch Ventures, Cruise founder Kyle Vogt, former Autodesk CEO Omar Hanspal, Adobe CPO Scott Belsky, and former DoorDash executive Gokul Rajaram. The company plans to grow its 14-person team and build out the software, including adding more identifiable objects. The aim is to scale from being able to automatically identify around 20 different features today to “hundreds and thousands” in the future, Baikovitz said.
Through this kinship with the flesh, some of us inclining to it become like wolves, faithless and treacherous and mischievous: some become like lions, savage and untamed; but the greater part of us become foxes and other worse animals. For what else is a slanderer and a malignant man than a fox, or some other more wretched and meaner animal? See, then, and take care that you do not become some one of these miserable things.
Some users have complained that Arc is difficult to both learn and use, resulting in a loss of audience.
In a conversation with The Verge, Miller said that despite 4x user growth, the company understood that Arc isn’t a mainstream product.
The Browser Company hasn’t fully divulged details about what the final product might look like. Miller has claimed it will let users “glide around the internet” and get stuff done. The company also wants to build a powerful command bar that can help guide to the right result through AI. The company has shown off some of these features as concepts or smaller functional releases within the existing Arc browser.
Of progress or improvement
He who is making progress, having learned from philosophers that desire means the desire of good things, and aversion means aversion from bad things; having learned too that happiness and tranquillity are not attainable by man otherwise than by not failing to obtain what he desires, and not falling into that which he would avoid; such a man takes from himself desire altogether and defers it, but he employs his aversion only on things which are dependent on his will.
For if he attempts to avoid anything independent of his will, he knows that sometimes he will fall in with something which he wishes to avoid, and he will be unhappy. Now if virtue promises good fortune and tranquillity and happiness, certainly also the progress toward virtue is progress toward each of these things. For it is always true that to whatever point the perfecting of anything leads us, progress is an approach toward this point.
Six seasonal cold foams are also hitting the menu, including new Gingerbread and Salted Pecan options. Otherwise, you’ll be able to top your cold brew with Peppermint Chocolate, Sugar Cookie, Chestnut Praline, and Caramel Brulée cream cold foams. The Seattle-based coffee chain also recommends topping the Cran-Merry Refresher with its vanilla cold foam, which we’ll leave up to your discretion.
How then do we admit that virtue is such as I have said, and yet seek progress in other things and make a display of it? What is the product of virtue? Tranquillity. Who then makes improvement? It is he who has read many books of Chrysippus? But does virtue consist in having understood Chrysippus? If this is so, progress is clearly nothing else than knowing a great deal of Chrysippus. But now we admit that virtue produces one thing. and we declare that approaching near to it is another thing, namely, progress or improvement. "Such a person," says one, "is already able to read Chrysippus by himself." Indeed, sir, you are making great progress. What kind of progress?
But why do you mock the man? Why do you draw him away from the perception of his own misfortunes? Will you not show him the effect of virtue that he may learn where to look for improvement? Seek it there, wretch, where your work lies. And where is your work? In desire and in aversion, that you may not be disappointed in your desire, and that you may not fall into that which you would avoid; in your pursuit and avoiding, that you commit no error; in assent and suspension of assent, that you be not deceived. The first things, and the most necessary, are those which I have named. But if with trembling and lamentation you seek not to fall into that which you avoid, tell me how you are improving.
As for food, we can expect all the usual suspects (like the Cranberry Bliss Bar and Sugar Plum Cheese Danish) alongside some newcomers. The Turkey Sage Danish, a savory pastry filled with turkey sausage and a bechamel sauce, is set to debut on Thursday. It’s also joined by the sprinkles-topped Dark Toffee Bundt, Penguin Cookie, and Snowman Cake Pop.
Seasonal offerings aren’t the only changes coming to the coffee chain — last week, the company announced that it’s cutting extra fees on non-dairy customizations for all drinks. There aren’t any new espresso-based drinks in this year’s holiday lineup, though, which might possibly signal another new direction for Starbucks’ menu strategy. After all, recently appointed CEO Brian Niccol has already been making changes to streamline the chain’s operations, including tightening the menu to refocus on the company’s core offerings, which might spell
Prefer your coffee in the comfort of your home? The chain is also launching three limited-edition coffee blends of coffee grounds — available on store shelves through the end of the year: the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Holiday Blends.
Between cheaper oat milk lattes and the return of fan-favorite lattes, it sounds like there’s enough cheer (and caffeine) to keep us satiated through the holiday season.
Do you then show me your improvement in these things? If I were talking to an athlete, I should say, "Show me your shoulders"; and then he might say, "Here are my halteres." You and your halteres look to that. I should reply, "I wish to see the effect of the halteres." So, when you say: "Take the treatise on the active powers, and see how I have studied it." I reply, "Slave, I am not inquiring about this, but how you exercise pursuit and avoidance, desire and aversion, how your design and purpose and prepare yourself, whether conformably to nature or not. If conformably, give me evidence of it, and I will say that you are making progress: but if not conformably, be gone, and not only expound your books, but write such books yourself; and what will you gain by it? Do you not know that the whole book costs only five denarii? Does then the expounder seem to be worth more than five denarii? Never, then, look for the matter itself in one place, and progress toward it in another."
The USDA and HHS still develop the Dietary Guidelines, but these groups rely heavily on the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC). The 2025 committee is made up of 20 "nationally recognized nutrition and public health experts," which include the chairperson Dr. Sarah Booth, the director of the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center and a professor at Tufts University, and vice chairperson Dr. Angela Odoms-Young, the director of the Food and Nutrition Education Program in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell. (See the entire committee and all their bios here.)
Where then is progress? If any of you, withdrawing himself from externals, turns to his own will to exercise it and to improve it by labour, so as to make it conformable to nature, elevated, free, unrestrained, unimpeded, faithful, modest; and if he has learned that he who desires or avoids the things which are not in his power can neither be faithful nor free, but of necessity he must change with them and be tossed about with them as in a tempest, and of necessity must subject himself to others who have the power to procure or prevent what he desires or would avoid; finally, when he rises in the morning, if he observes and keeps these rules, bathes as a man of fidelity, eats as a modest man; in like manner, if in every matter that occurs he works out his chief principles as the runner does with reference to running, and the trainer of the voice with reference to the voice- this is the man who truly makes progress, and this is the man who has not traveled in vain.
But if he has strained his efforts to the practice of reading books, and labours only at this, and has traveled for this, I tell him to return home immediately, and not to neglect his affairs there; for this for which he has traveled is nothing. But the other thing is something, to study how a man can rid his life of lamentation and groaning, and saying, "Woe to me," and "wretched that I am," and to rid it also of misfortune and disappointment and to learn what death is, and exile, and prison, and poison, that he may be able to say when he is in fetters, "Dear Crito, if it is the will of the gods that it be so, let it be so"; and not to say, "Wretched am I, an old man; have I kept my gray hairs for this?" Who is it that speaks thus?
Do you think that I shall name some man of no repute and of low condition? Does not Priam say this? Does not OEdipus say this? Nay, all kings say it! For what else is tragedy than the perturbations of men who value externals exhibited in this kind of poetry? But if a man must learn by fiction that no external things which are independent of the will concern us, for this? part I should like this fiction, by the aid of which I should live happily and undisturbed. But you must consider for yourselves what you wish.
The USDA noted that this year's committee will "examine the relationship between diet and health across all life stages and will use a health equity lens across its evidence review to ensure factors such as socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, and culture are described and considered to the greatest extent possible based on the information provided in the scientific literature and data." This, it added, is to ensure the guidelines and advice are "relevant to people with diverse racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds." Again, they will influence everything from nutrition labels to military rations to school meal programs.
To be clear, the 2025 guidelines are still in draft form, and the committee does take feedback from the public before officially declaring the guidelines. (Of note, the committee says it received nearly 10,000 comments between January 19, 2023 and October 7, 2024, for this new update.) However, in late October, the committee held its seventh and final meeting, where the draft showed that its updates could include a more significant emphasis on plant-based diets, including fruits, veggies, legumes, and nuts, and more of a focus on seafood consumption. With that, the committee is (again, still in draft) recommending people limit their consumption of red and processed meats and limit foods high in saturated fats, salty snacks, and refined grains.
What then does Chrysippus teach us? The reply is, "to know that these things are not false, from which happiness comes and tranquillity arises. Take my books, and you will learn how true and conformable to nature are the things which make me free from perturbations." O great good fortune! O the great benefactor who points out the way! To Triptolemus all men have erected temples and altars, because he gave us food by cultivation; but to him who discovered truth and brought it to light and communicated it to all, not the truth which shows us how to live, but how to live well, who of you for this reason has built an altar, or a temple, or has dedicated a statue, or who worships God for this? Because the gods have given the vine, or wheat, we sacrifice to them: but because they have produced in the human mind that fruit by which they designed to show us the truth which relates to happiness, shall we not thank God for this?
The potential recommendation for people to reduce their intake of red and processed meats quickly drew ire from the meat industry. Julie Anna Potts, president and CEO of the Meat Institute, shared that the suggestion to reduce meat is “alarming, disappointing and ... contradictory to the committee’s other findings about nutritional deficiencies," Agri-Pulse reported.
Shalene McNeill, the executive director of nutrition science at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, who is also a registered dietitian, stated, “It’s baffling that we are trying to get Americans to cut out red meat when the evidence indicates nutrient deficiencies and chronic disease are increasing as red meat consumption declines,” McNeill added that red meat contains “important nutrients including potassium, iron, and choline.”
Against the academics
If a man, said Epictetus, opposes evident truths, it is not easy to find arguments by which we shall make him change his opinion. But this does not arise either from the man's strength or the teacher's weakness; for when the man, though he has been confuted, is hardened like a stone, how shall we then be able to deal with him by argument?
Now there are two kinds of hardening, one of the understanding, the other of the sense of shame, when a man is resolved not to assent to what is manifest nor to desist from contradictions. Most of us are afraid of mortification of the body, and would contrive all means to avoid such a thing, but we care not about the soul's mortification. And indeed with regard to the soul, if a man be in such a state as not to apprehend anything, or understand at all, we think that he is in a bad condition: but if the sense of shame and modesty are deadened, this we call even power.
Ethan Lane, the vice president of government affairs at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, had even stronger words, adding, “The preview meeting of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee this week stands out as one of the most out-of-touch, impractical, and elitist conversations in the history of this process."
Another hotly debated potential change for 2025 concerns alcohol consumption. The current guidelines suggest two drinks or fewer per day for men and one drink or fewer per day for women. In the full text document, the guidelines add, "Emerging evidence suggests that even drinking within the recommended limits may increase the overall risk of death from various causes, such as from several types of cancer and some forms of cardiovascular disease."
Do you comprehend that you are awake? "I do not," the man replies, "for I do not even comprehend when in my sleep I imagine that I am awake." Does this appearance then not differ from the other? "Not at all," he replies. Shall I still argue with this man? And what fire or what iron shall I apply to him to make him feel that he is deadened? He does perceive, but he pretends that he does not. He's even worse than a dead man. He does not see the contradiction: he is in a bad condition. Another does see it, but he is not moved, and makes no improvement: he is even in a worse condition. His modesty is extirpated, and his sense of shame; and the rational faculty has not been cut off from him, but it is brutalized. Shall I name this strength of mind? Certainly not, unless we also name it such in catamites, through which they do and say in public whatever comes into their head.
The updated guidelines were going to be informed by a study by the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD). However, in early 2024, a bipartisan group of 100 lawmakers sent a letter putting a stop to the study, calling it "inappropriate" for a committee dedicated to underage drinking to study adult use and not in line with the work already done by the Department of Agriculture.
Of providence
From everything which is or happens in the world, it is easy to praise Providence, if a man possesses these two qualities, the faculty of seeing what belongs and happens to all persons and things, and a grateful disposition. If he does not possess these two qualities, one man will not see the use of things which are and which happen; another will not be thankful for them, even if he does know them. If God had made colours, but had not made the faculty of seeing them, what would have been their use? None at all. On the other hand, if He had made the faculty of vision, but had not made objects such as to fall under the faculty, what in that case also would have been the use of it? None at all. Well, suppose that He had made both, but had not made light?
In that case, also, they would have been of no use. Who is it, then, who has fitted this to that and that to this? And who is it that has fitted the knife to the case and the case to the knife? Is it no one? And, indeed, from the very structure of things which have attained their completion, we are accustomed to show that the work is certainly the act of some artificer, and that it has not been constructed without a purpose. Does then each of these things demonstrate the workman, and do not visible things and the faculty of seeing and light demonstrate Him?
And the existence of male and female, and the desire of each for conjunction, and the power of using the parts which are constructed, do not even these declare the workman? If they do not, let us consider the constitution of our understanding according to which, when we meet with sensible objects, we simply receive impressions from them, but we also select something from them, and subtract something, and add, and compound by means of them these things or those, and, in fact, pass from some to other things which, in a manner, resemble them: is not even this sufficient to move some men, and to induce them not to forget the workman? If not so, let them explain to us what it is that makes each several thing, or how it is possible that things so wonderful and like the contrivances of art should exist by chance and from their own proper motion?
“The secretive process at ICCPUD and the concept of original research on adult alcohol consumption by a committee tasked with preventing underage drinking jeopardizes the credibility of ICCPUD and its ability to continue its primary role of helping the nation prevent underage drinking,” the letter read in part.
During the last two meetings, Agri-Pulse reported, Booth said that the DGAC did not review scientific evidence on alcohol as it's part of a separate agency effort. However, Agri-Pulse noted that the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are conducting scientific reviews on adult alcohol consumption. Its findings are expected by the end of the year. The findings, the DGAC added, "will help HHS and USDA develop alcoholic beverages guidance to include in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030." Here's more about the ongoing study on adult alcohol use.
What, then, are these things done in us only. Many, indeed, in us only, of which the rational animal had peculiar need; but you will find many common to us with irrational animals. Do they them understand what is done? By no means. For use is one thing, and understanding is another: God had need of irrational animals to make use of appearances, but of us to understand the use of appearances. It is therefore enough for them to eat and to drink, and to sleep and to copulate, and to do all the other things which they severally do.
But for us, to whom He has given also the faculty, these things are not sufficient; for unless we act in a proper and orderly manner, and conformably to the nature and constitution of each thing, we shall never attain our true end. For where the constitutions of living beings are different, there also the acts and the ends are different. In those animals, then, whose constitution is adapted only to use, use alone is enough: but in an animal which has also the power of understanding the use, unless there be the due exercise of the understanding, he will never attain his proper end. Well then God constitutes every animal, one to be eaten, another to serve for agriculture, another to supply cheese, and another for some like use; for which purposes what need is there to understand appearances and to be able to distinguish them?
But God has introduced man to be a spectator of God and of His works; and not only a spectator of them, but an interpreter. For this reason it is shameful for man to begin and to end where irrational animals do, but rather he ought to begin where they begin, and to end where nature ends in us; and nature ends in contemplation and understanding, in a way of life conformable to nature. Take care then not to die without having been spectators of these things.
After the draft by the advisory committee is completed, they will send it to the USDA and HHS, who will then "release the updated Dietary Guidelines and work with Federal, state, and local partners to implement the new edition."
However, just because they recommend it doesn't mean the government heeds the advice. In 2020, under the first Trump administration, the federal government rejected the committee's recommended advice to have people cut their consumption of added sugars to 6 percent of their daily calorie intake and rejected its advice for adult men and women to limit their daily alcohol consumption to one drink a day.
But you take a journey to Olympia to see the work of Phidias, and all of you think it a misfortune to die without having seen such things. But when there is no need to take a journey, and where a man is, there he has the works (of God) before him, will you not desire to see and understand them? Will you not perceive either what you are, or what you were born for, or what this is for which you have received the faculty of sight? But you may say, "There are some things disagreeable and troublesome in life." And are there none in Olympia? Are you not scorched? Are you not pressed by a crowd? Are you not without comfortable means of bathing? Are you not wet when it rains? Have you not abundance of noise, clamour, and other disagreeable things? But I suppose that setting all these things off against the magnificence of the spectacle, you bear and endure.
Well, then, and have you not received faculties by which you will be able to bear all that happens? Have you not received greatness of soul? Have you not received manliness? Have you not received endurance? And why do I trouble myself about anything that can happen if I possess greatness of soul? What shall distract my mind or disturb me, or appear painful? Shall I not use the power for the purposes for which I received it, and shall I grieve and lament over what happens?
"I’m stunned by the whole thing,” Marion Nestle, author and professor emerita of nutrition and food studies at New York University, shared with the New York Times at the time. “Despite repeated claims that the guidelines are science-based, the Trump agencies ignored the recommendation of the scientific committee they had appointed and instead reverted to the recommendation of the previous guidelines."
3D radio vision
PanoRadar, a new technology that converts basic radio waves into intricate, three-dimensional pictures of the surroundings, was created to address the problem and offer robots superhuman eyesight.
The PanoRadar sensor functions similarly to a lighthouse, scanning the entire horizon by sweeping its beam in a circle. A revolving vertical array of antennae makes up the system, which scans its environment. Similar to how a lighthouse’s beam identifies the presence of ships and coastal landmarks, these antennas revolve by emitting radio waves and listening for their reflections from the surrounding environment.
PanoRadar surpasses this straightforward scanning technique because of AI’s capability. In contrast to a lighthouse that merely illuminates various areas as it spins, PanoRadar intelligently combines measurements from all rotation angles to improve its imaging resolution.
"Yes, but my nose runs." For what purpose then, slave, have you hands? Is it not that you may wipe your nose? "Is it, then, consistent with reason that there should be running of noses in the world?" Nay, how much better it is to wipe your nose than to find fault. What do you think that Hercules would have been if there had not been such a lion, and hydra, and stag, and boar, and certain unjust and bestial men, whom Hercules used to drive away and clear out? And what would he have been doing if there had been nothing of the kind? Is it not plain that he would have wrapped himself up and have slept? In the first place, then he would not have been a Hercules, when he was dreaming away all his life in such luxury and case; and even if he had been one what would have been the use of him? and what the use of his arms, and of the strength of the other parts of his body, and his endurance and noble spirit, if such circumstances and occasions had not roused and exercised him?
"Well, then, must a man provide for himself such means of exercise, and to introduce a lion from some place into his country, and a boar and a hydra?" This would be folly and madness: but as they did exist, and were found, they were useful for showing what Hercules was and for exercising him. Come then do you also having observed these things look to the faculties which you have, and when you have looked at them, say: "Bring now, O Zeus, any difficulty that Thou pleasest, for I have means given to me by Thee and powers for honoring myself through the things which happen." You do not so; but you sit still, trembling for fear that some things will happen, and weeping, and lamenting and groaning for what does happen: and then you blame the gods. For what is the consequence of such meanness of spirit but impiety? And yet God has not only given us these faculties;
by which we shall be able to bear everything that happens without being depressed or broken by it; but, like a good king and a true father, He has given us these faculties free from hindrance, subject to no compulsion unimpeded, and has put them entirely in our own power, without even having reserved to Himself any power of hindering or impeding. You, who have received these powers free and as your own, use them not: you do not even see what you have received, and from whom; some of you being blinded to the giver, and not even acknowledging your benefactor, and others, through meanness of spirit, betaking yourselves to fault finding and making charges against God. Yet I will show to you that you have powers and means for greatness of soul and manliness but what powers you have for finding fault and making accusations, do you show me.
This rotating technique produces a dense array of virtual measurement points, enabling PanoRadar to achieve imaging resolution comparable to LiDAR, even though the sensor itself is only a small portion of the price of normally costly LiDAR systems.
“The key innovation is in how we process these radio wave measurements,” explains Zhao. “Our signal processing and machine learning algorithms are able to extract rich 3D information from the environment,” said Mingmin Zhao, Assistant Professor in Computer and Information Science, in a statement.
Of the use of sophistical arguments, and hypothetical, and the like
The handling of sophistical and hypothetical arguments, and of those which derive their conclusions from questioning, and in a word the handling of all such arguments, relates to the duties of life, though the many do not know this truth. For in every matter we inquire how the wise and good man shall discover the proper path and the proper method of dealing with the matter. Let, then, people either say that the grave man will not descend into the contest of question and answer, or that, if he does descend into the contest, he will take no care about not conducting himself rashly or carelessly in questioning and answering.
But if they do not allow either the one or the other of these things, they must admit that some inquiry ought to be made into those topics on which particularly questioning and answering are employed. For what is the end proposed in reasoning? To establish true propositions, to remove the false, to withhold assent from those which are not plain. Is it enough then to have learned only this? "It is enough," a man may reply. Is it, then, also enough for a man, who would not make a mistake in the use of coined money, to have heard this precept, that he should receive the genuine drachmae and reject the spurious? "It is not enough." What, then, ought to be added to this precept? What else than the faculty which proves and distinguishes the genuine and the spurious drachmae?
Consequently also in reasoning what has been said is not enough; but is it necessary that a man should acquire the faculty of examining and distinguishing the true and the false, and that which is not plain? "It is necessary." Besides this, what is proposed in reasoning? "That you should accept what follows from that which you have properly granted." Well, is it then enough in this case also to know this? It is not enough; but a man must learn how one thing is a consequence of other things, and when one thing follows from one thing, and when it follows from several collectively. Consider, then if it be not necessary that this power should also be acquired by him who purposes to conduct himself skillfully in reasoning, the power of demonstrating himself the several things which he has proposed, and the power of understanding the demonstrations of others, including of not bein
AI-powered sensing
The team faced significant challenges in developing algorithms for PanoRadar, aiming to maintain high-resolution imaging while the robot moves.
Achieving LiDAR-level detail with radio signals required measurements from multiple positions at sub-millimeter accuracy, demanding precise control even as the robot moved. Another hurdle involved teaching the system to interpret complex indoor environments, which they addressed by training the AI to recognize patterns in radar signals, much like human perception.
Using LiDAR for initial verification, the system refined its understanding, demonstrating superior tracking in smoke-filled areas and mapping spaces with glass walls, which traditional sensors often struggle to detect.
n the future, the group intends to investigate how PanoRadar may complement existing sensing technologies, such as cameras and LiDAR, to develop more reliable, multi-modal perception systems for robots. Additionally, the team is broadening the scope of its experiments to encompass a variety of autonomous vehicles and robotic platforms.
g deceived by sophists, as if they were demonstrating. Therefore there has arisen among us the practice and exercise of conclusive arguments and figures, and it has been shown to be necessary.
But in fact in some cases we have properly granted the premisses or assumptions, and there results from them something; and though it is not true, yet none the less it does result. What then ought I to do? Ought I to admit the falsehood? And how is that possible? Well, should I say that I did not properly grant that which we agreed upon? "But you are not allowed to do even this." Shall I then say that the consequence does not arise through what has been conceded? "But neither is it allowed." What then must be done in this case? Consider if it is not this: as to have borrowed is not enough to make a man still a debtor, but to this must be added the fact that he continues to owe the money and that the debt is not paid, so it is not enough to compel you to admit the inference that you have granted the premisses, but you must abide by what you have granted.
Indeed, if the premisses continue to the end such as they were when they were granted, it is absolutely necessary for us to abide by what we have granted, and we must accept their consequences: but if the premisses do not remain such as they were when they were granted, it is absolutely necessary for us also to withdraw from what we granted, and from accepting what does not follow from the words in which our concessions were made. For the inference is now not our inference, nor does it result with our assent, since we have withdrawn from the premisses which we granted. We ought then both to examine such kind of premisses, and such change and variation of them, by which in the course of questioning or answering, or in making the syllogistic conclusion,
or in any other such way, the premisses undergo variations, and give occasion to the foolish to be confounded, if they do not see what conclusions are. For what reason ought we to examine? In order that we may not in this matter be employed in an improper manner nor in a confused way.
According to Electra, this innovation creates new opportunities for regional air travel by providing access to previously inaccessible places and smaller populations without conventional airport infrastructure.
The EL9 cruises at 175 knots (201 mph) and can take off and land in just 150 feet (46 meters). With IFR reserves, it has a maximum range of 1,100 nautical miles (1,265 miles) and can carry nine passengers with baggage or 3,000 pounds (1,361 kg) of freight for up to 330 nautical miles (379 miles).
Its range and payload capacity make it ideal for important missions, offering a balance of efficiency and versatility in regional air travel. The aircraft provides both the flexibility for long trips and the ability to handle heavy cargo.
Although the EL9 will have two pilot crew stations, a single pilot will be able to make precise landings with ease thanks to Electra’s Safe Single Pilot technology with fly-by-wire controls.
And the same in hypotheses and hypothetical arguments; for it is necessary sometimes to demand the granting of some hypothesis as a kind of passage to the argument which follows. Must we then allow every hypothesis that is proposed, or not allow every one? And if not every one, which should we allow? And if a man has allowed an hypothesis, must he in every case abide by allowing it? or must he sometimes withdraw from it, but admit the consequences and not admit contradictions? Yes; but suppose that a man says, "If you admit the hypothesis of a possibility, I will draw you to an impossibility."
With such a person shall a man of sense refuse to enter into a contest, and avoid discussion and conversation with him? But what other man than the man of sense can use argumentation and is skillful in questioning and answering, and incapable of being cheated and deceived by false reasoning? And shall he enter into the contest, and yet not take care whether he shall engage in argument not rashly and not carelessly? And if he does not take care, how can he be such a man as we conceive him to be? But without some such exercise and preparation, can he maintain a continuous and consistent argument? Let them show this; and all these speculations become superfluous, and are absurd and inconsistent with our notion of a good and serious man.
Sustainable aviation
In addition to providing smooth point-to-point regional connectivity for both passengers and cargo, Electra’s aircraft design opens up thousands of new places for direct air service, including small regional airports and unusual locales like parking lots or grass fields.
Perovskites are a family of materials that have shown potential for high performance and low production costs in solar cells. The name “perovskite” comes from the nickname for their crystal structure, although other types of non-halide perovskites (such as oxides and nitrides) are utilized in other energy technologies, such as fuel cells and catalysts, according to US DOE.
Perovskite solar cells have demonstrated remarkable progress in recent years, with efficiency levels rapidly increasing. However, despite their rapid rise in efficiency, several challenges need to be addressed before they can become a commercially competitive technology.
Why are we still indolent and negligent and sluggish, and why do we seek pretences for not labouring and not being watchful in cultivating our reason? "If then I shall make a mistake in these matters may I not have killed my father?" Slave, where was there a father in this matter that you could kill him? What, then, have you done? The only fault that was possible here is the fault which you have committed. This is the very remark which I made to Rufus when he blamed me for not having discovered the one thing omitted in a certain syllogism:
"I suppose," I said, "that I have burnt the Capitol." "Slave," he replied, "was the thing omitted here the Capitol?" Or are these the only crimes, to burn the Capitol and to kill your father? But for a man to use the appearances resented to him rashly and foolishly and carelessly, not to understand argument, nor demonstration, nor sophism, nor, in a word, to see in questioning and answering what is consistent with that which we have granted or is not consistent; is there no error in this?
Significant milestone
“This achievement represents a significant milestone in overcoming one of the key technical barriers for the commercialization of large-area perovskite cells, marking a major success in industry-research collaboration that we hope will contribute substantially to the commercialization of solar cell technologies,” said president Young-Kook Lee of KRICT.
That the faculties are not safe to the uninstructed
In as many ways as we can change things which are equivalent to one another, in just so many ways we can change the forms of arguments and enthymemes in argumentation. This is an instance: "If you have borrowed and not repaid, you owe me the money: you have not borrowed and you have not repaid; then you do not owe me the money." To do this skillfully is suitable to no man more than to the philosopher; for if the enthymeme is all imperfect syllogism. it is plain that he who has been exercised in the perfect syllogism must be equally expert in the imperfect also.
With its flexible movement modes, Lynx promises to offer a promising tool for applications that require reliable all-terrain navigation. The company claims that Lynx is now available for pre-order.
Autonomous rescue
In a recently circulated video, developers from DEEP Robotics can be seen teaching their X30 robot dog to avoid hazards, strangers, and other random objects.
The Chinese company, which is renowned for its expertise in robotics technology, was the first in the nation to use quadruped robots for fully autonomous substation inspection.
"Why then do we not exercise ourselves and one another in this manner?" Because, I reply, at present, though we are not exercised in these things and not distracted from the study of morality, by me at least, still we make no progress in virtue. What then must we expect if we should add this occupation? and particularly as this would not only be an occupation which would withdraw us from more necessary things, but would also be a cause of self conceit and arrogance, and no small cause.
For great is the power of arguing and the faculty of persuasion, and particularly if it should be much exercised, and also receive additional ornament from language: and so universally, every faculty acquired by the uninstructed and weak brings with it the danger of these persons being elated and inflated by it. For by what means could one persuade a young man who excels in these matters that he ought not to become an appendage to them, but to make them an appendage to himself? Does he not trample on all such reasons, and strut before us elated and inflated, not enduring that any man should reprove him and remind him of what he has neglected and to what he has turned aside?
According to DEEP Robotics, its quadruped robots can be utilized for a variety of tasks, including emergency rescue, fire detection, security measures, and doing scientific studies in areas deemed unsafe or inaccessible to people.
This kind of feature can be useful in a variety of scenarios, particularly while working in hazardous and difficult areas on security, surveillance, or rescue missions.
"What, then, was not Plato a philosopher?" I reply, "And was not Hippocrates a physician? but you see how Hippocrates speaks." Does Hippocrates, then, speak thus in respect of being a physician? Why do you mingle things which have been accidentally united in the same men? And if Plato was handsome and strong, ought I also to set to work and endeavor to become handsome or strong, as if this was necessary for philosophy, because a certain philosopher was at the same time handsome and a philosopher?
Will you not choose to see and to distinguish in respect to what men become philosophers, and what things belong to belong to them in other respects? And if I were a philosopher, ought you also to be made lame? What then? Do I take away these faculties which you possess? By no means; for neither do I take away the faculty of seeing. But if you ask me what is the good of man, I cannot mention to you anything else than that it is a certain disposition of the will with respect to appearances.
The behavior must presently be programmed into the X30 robot dog, but with the aid of artificial intelligence (AI), it might eventually become a standard pre-existing function.
One of the X30 quadruped robot’s unique features is its ability to function in extremely cold conditions, from -4 degrees Fahrenheit (-20°C) to 131 degrees Fahrenheit (55°C). Additionally, it has IP67 protection, which makes it waterproof and able to function in environments with water.
Defense of crypto stance
Gensler offered a full-throated defense of his approach to crypto.
Gensler repeated his assertion that while bitcoin is not a security, the SEC's focus "has been on some of the 10,000 or so other digital assets, many of which courts have ruled were offered or sold as securities" and are therefore subject to the SEC's purview.
He again asserted anyone offering to sell securities needs to register, and that intermediaries such as broker-dealers, exchanges and clearinghouses also need to be registered.
How from the fact that we are akin to God a man may proceed to the consequences
If the things are true which are said by the philosophers about the kinship between God and man, what else remains for men to do then what Socrates did? Never in reply to the question, to what country you belong, say that you are an Athenian or a Corinthian, but that you are a citizen of the world. For why do you say that you are an Athenian, and why do you not say that you belong to the small nook only into which your poor body was cast at birth? Is it not plain that you call yourself an Athenian or Corinthian from the place which has a greater authority and comprises not only that small nook itself and all your family, but even the whole country from which the stock of your progenitors is derived down to you? ve contempt and without any fear at all? and to have God for your maker and father and guardian, shall not this release us from sorrows and fears?
He then who has observed with intelligence the administration of the world, and has learned that the greatest and supreme and the most comprehensive community is that which is composed of men and God, and that from God have descended the seeds not only to my father and grandfather, but to all beings which are generated on the earth and are produced, and particularly to rational beings- for these only are by their nature formed to have communion with God, being by means of reason conjoined with Him- why should not such a man call himself a citizen of the world, why not a son of God, and why should he be afraid of anything which happens among men? Is kinship with Caesar or with any other of the powerful in Rome sufficient to enable us to live in safety, and abo
He said that the failure to properly police the crypto industry had resulted in "significant investor harm" and that "the vast majority of crypto assets have yet to prove out sustainable use cases."
Proud to serve
Gensler did not say he was resigning, but the tone was clear.
"I've been proud to serve with my colleagues at the SEC who, day in and day out, work to protect American families on the highways of finance," he said at the end of his speech.
But a man may say, "Whence shall I get bread to eat when I have nothing?"
And how do slaves, and runaways, on what do they rely when they leave their masters? Do they rely on their lands or slaves, or their vessels of silver? They rely on nothing but themselves, and food does not fail them. And shall it be necessary for one among us who is a philosopher to travel into foreign parts, and trust to and rely on others, and not to take care of himself, and shall he be inferior to irrational animals and more cowardly, each of which, being self-sufficient, neither fails to get its proper food, nor to find a suitable way of living, and one conformable to nature?
Tesla representatives told a committee put together by the team that they support ending the subsidy, Reuters reported, echoing comments made by Musk earlier this year, and calling it “devastating” for competitors and a slight hit to Tesla. These meetings have reportedly been led by North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, a candidate for Trump’s “energy czar,” and Harold Hamm, the billionaire founder of fossil-fuel giant Continental Resource.
Trump has said he wants to scrap the “Green New Scam,” referring to President Joe Biden’s pro-EV policies, including the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which is where the tax credits come from. On his first day in office, Trump plans to begin rolling back rules from the Environmental Protection Agency and Transportation Department and expand oil drilling.
I indeed think that the old man ought to be sitting here, not to contrive how you may have no mean thoughts nor mean and ignoble talk about yourselves, but to take care that there be not among us any young men of such a mind that, when they have recognized their kinship to God, and that we are fettered by these bonds, the body, I mean, and its possessions, and whatever else on account of them is necessary to us for the economy and commerce of life, they should intend to throw off these things as if they were burdens painful and intolerable, and to depart to their kinsmen. But this is the labour that your teacher and instructor ought to be employed upon, if he really were what he should be.
You should come to him and say, "Epictetus, we can no longer endure being bound to this poor body, and feeding it and giving it drink, and rest, and cleaning it, and for the sake of the body complying with the wishes of these and of those. Are not these things indifferent and nothing to us, and is not death no evil? And are we not in a manner kinsmen of God, and did we not come from Him? Allow us to depart to the place from which we came; allow us to be released at last from these bonds by which we are bound and weighed down. Here there are robbers and thieves and courts of justice, and those who are named tyrants, and think that they have some power over us by means of the body and its possessions. Permit us to show them that they have no power over any man."
And I on my part would say, "Friends, wait for God; when He shall give the signal and release you from this service, then go to Him; but for the present endure to dwell in this place where He has put you: short indeed is this time of your dwelling here, and easy to bear for those who are so disposed: for what tyrant or what thief, or what courts of justice, are formidable to those who have thus considered as things of no value the body and the possessions of the body? Wait then, do not depart without a reason."
The Colosseum trip is also connected to an Airbnb project intended to revitalize heritage tourism in Europe. The rental company is partially funding restoration and repairs as part of “an ongoing project to restore the permanent exhibition at the Colosseum,” according to a press release from Airbnb.
Interested guests can register for the experience starting November 27 at 6:00 AM PT at airbnb.com/gladiatormovie through December 9 at 11:59 PM PT. There is no cost for the initial registration.
Something like this ought to be said by the teacher to ingenuous youths. But now what happens? The teacher is a lifeless body, and you are lifeless bodies. When you have been well filled to-day, you sit down and lament about the morrow, how you shall get something to eat. Wretch, if you have it, you will have it; if you have it not, you will depart from life. The door is open. Why do you grieve? where does there remain any room for tears? and where is there occasion for flattery? why shall one man envy another? why should a man admire the rich or the powerful, even if they be both very strong and of violent temper? for what will they do to us? We shall not care for that which they can do; and what we do care for, that they cannot do. How did Socrates behave with respect to these matters?
Why, in what other way than a man ought to do who was convinced that he was a kinsman of the gods? "If you say to me now," said Socrates to his judges, "'We will acquit you on the condition that you no longer discourse in the way in which you have hitherto discoursed, nor trouble either our young or our old men,' I shall answer, 'you make yourselves ridiculous by thinking that, if one of our commanders has appointed me to a certain post, it is my duty to keep and maintain it, and to resolve to die a thousand times rather than desert it; but if God has put us in any place and way of life, we ought to desert it.'" Socrates speaks like a man who is really a kinsman of the gods. But we think about ourselves as if we were only stomachs, and intestines, and shameful parts; we fear, we desire; we flatter those who are able to help us in these matters, and we fear them also.
A seemingly obvious solution to this problem is to increase the world's renewable energy infrastructure so we can meet AI's energy demands without dumping more carbon into the atmosphere. But that's easier said than done. Adding new, renewable energy sources in the US is time-consuming and full of red tape.
“Utilities really don’t like adding renewable power plants to their systems,” Stoner says. “They stress them, they add a lot of peak current at times of the day that are not the same as they are if the system doesn’t have those sources. They resist, and they hum and they haw.”
A man asked me to write to Rome about him, a man who, as most people thought, had been unfortunate, for formerly he was a man of rank and rich, but had been stripped of all, and was living here. I wrote on his behalf in a submissive manner; but when he had read the letter, he gave it back to me and said, "I wished for your help, not your pity: no evil has happened to me."
Thus also Musonius Rufus, in order to try me, used to say: "This and this will befall you from your master"; and I replied that these were things which happen in the ordinary course of human affairs. "Why, then," said he, "should I ask him for anything when I can obtain it from you?"
For, in fact, what a man has from himself, it is superfluous and foolish to receive from another? Shall I, then, who am able to receive from myself greatness of soul and a generous spirit, receive from you land and money or a magisterial office? I hope not: I will not be so ignorant about my own possessions. But when a man is cowardly and mean, what else must be done for him than to write letters as you would about a corpse. "Please to grant us the body of a certain person and a sextarius of poor blood." For such a person is, in fact, a carcass and a sextarius of blood, and nothing more. But if he were anything more, he would know that one man is not miserable through the means of another.
As a result, it can take four or five years for a new energy source to pass through an “interconnect queue” to be added to existing US power grids, Stoner explains.
At the rate AI is developing and investment in the sector is growing, that won’t be enough—despite California’s success with renewables. The Washington Post reports that many states like Texas don’t have enough electricity as it is—and states like Georgia, Virginia, and Arizona will have to scramble to keep up with data centers' energy demands.
Tesla CEO and xAI founder Elon Musk declared last month that there won’t be enough electricity to meet demand as soon as next year. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman agrees and suggests that nuclear fusion breakthroughs could be the only way to truly overcome AI’s energy use problem (nuclear fission plants for AI are in demand, too).
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who’s largely pivoted his tech firm from the metaverse to AI development, even admits that tech companies are more likely to run out of electricity before they run out of money.
“Getting energy permitted is like a very heavily regulated government function,” Zuckerberg said in an interview this month. “You’re talking about many years of lead time. So if we wanted to stand up some massive facility, to power that—I think that’s a very long-term project.”
Full Steam Ahead
Despite the looming energy crisis AI aggravates, tech giants show no signs of slowing down development. Some justify the push with vague promises of AGI, or artificial general intelligence, which doesn’t yet exist. Even if it did, though, it’s unclear how helpful it could be in mitigating climate change's effects.
But Chandra Krintz, computer scientist and professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, tells us that much of the talk around AI right now is being presented in a sensationalized manner.
“Right now, I think it is extreme and over-the-top,” says Krintz, who is also the chair of the Computing Community Consortium’s Climate Task Force. “However, I think in the end, it’s going to force technology companies to identify, ‘OK. What is the right hardware? What is the right software?’ There will be pressure from politicians as well as society.”
Krintz says it will be up to voters and policy-makers to help prevent the worst predictions about AI’s future energy use from coming true. AI-specific servers could soon suck up 134 terawatt hours of electricity a year on their own—as much as an entire nation. Together, crypto mining and AI could double global data center energy consumption by 2026, according to an International Energy Agency report released earlier this year. And The Week reports that over 300 million people in the US and Canada could soon experience power outages, in part due to AI’s massive energy demands.
Against those who eagerly seek preferment at Rome
If we applied ourselves as busily to our own work as the old men at Rome do to those matters about which they are employed, perhaps we also might accomplish something. I am acquainted with a man older than myself who is now superintendent of corn at Rome, and remember the time when he came here on his way back from exile, and what he said as he related the events of his former life, and how he declared that with respect to the future after his return he would look after nothing else than passing the rest of his life in quiet and tranquillity. "For how little of life," he said, remains for me." I replied, "You will not do it, but as soon as you smell Rome, you will forget all that you have said; and if admission is allowed even into the imperial palace, you will gladly thrust yourself in and thank God."
"If you find me, Epictetus," he answered, "setting even one foot within the palace, think what you please." Well, what then did he do? Before he entered the city he was met by letters from Caesar, and as soon as he received them he forgot all, and ever after has added one piece of business to another. I wish that I were now by his side to remind him of what he said when he was passing this way and to tell him how much better a seer I am than he is.
AI's Measurement Problem
Another part of the issue is that we don't actually know how much of this energy problem can be attributed to AI directly. The industry has struggled to establish effective benchmarks to compare models, and firms aren’t releasing data on their models’ carbon footprints, electricity use, or water consumption.
“There is very little transparency,” Krintz says. “Nobody wants to reveal their data. But we cannot solve any of these problems—we cannot understand these problems, we cannot speak about these problems—unless we measure.”
In a 2022 paper published on the Association for Computing Machinery’s website, researchers find that cloud computing’s lack of public data makes it difficult for scientists to determine AI’s impact—and propose a model to measure AI’s carbon emissions.
“Public pressure needs to be put on these companies to say, ‘You’ve gotta tell us how much energy you’re using, how much water you’re using. What are you taking away in order to achieve the commercial benefits that you’re achieving from us?'" Krintz says.
Finding a Balance
In the short term, Krintz sees AI as a net negative for the environment. But given a longer timeline, she believes there's plenty of cause for optimism.
“It will eat our planet,” Krintz tells PCMag. “However, it has so much potential for offering solutions that help reduce our carbon footprint, that help improve our energy efficiency, that if you think about it holistically … there’s a tremendous potential for having a balance, not destroying the Earth [but] trying to protect it.”
Well, then, do I say that man is an animal made for doing nothing? Certainly not. But why are we not active? For example, as to myself, as soon as day comes, in a few words I remind myself of what I must read over to my pupils; then forthwith I say to myself, "But what is it to me how a certain person shall read? the first thing for me is to sleep." And indeed what resemblance is there between what other persons do and what we do? If you observe what they do, you will understand. And what else do they do all day long than make up accounts, inquire among themselves, give and take advice about some small quantity of grain, a bit of land, and such kind of profits? Is it then the same thing to receive a petition and to read in it: "I entreat you to permit me to export a small quantity of corn"; and one to this effect:
"I entreat you to learn from Chrysippus what is the administration of the world, and what place in it the rational animal holds; consider also who you are, and what is the nature of your good and bad." Are these things like the other, do they require equal care, and is it equally base to neglect these and those? Well, then, are we the only persons who are lazy and love sleep? No; but much rather you young men are. For we old men, when we see young men amusing themselves, are eager to play with them; and if I saw you active and zealous, much more should I be eager myself to join you in your serious pursuits.
One such company is Dryad Networks: a tech firm that's trained AI to “smell” a wildfire’s scent. The company's small, solar-powered AI sensors are hung from trees every 300 to 650 feet. These are combined with larger, solar mesh network gateways placed approximately every 2 miles to create a distributed fire-detection system that covers an entire forest and can be customized to detect a specific tree’s burn scent, cigarette smoke, or a harmless campfire.
“We basically use AI to reliably detect the smell of a fire and distinguish that from the smell of, say, a diesel truck coming by,” Dryad CEO and Co-Founder Carsten Brinkschulte tells PCMag.
Of natural affection
When he was visited by one of the magistrates, Epictetus inquired of him about several particulars, and asked if he had children and a wife. The man replied that he had; and Epictetus inquired further, how he felt under the circumstances. "Miserable," the man said. Then Epictetus asked, "In what respect," for men do not marry and beget children in order to be wretched, but rather to be happy. "But I," the man replied, "am so wretched about my children that lately, when my little daughter was sick and was supposed to be in danger, I could not endure to stay with her, but I left home till a person sent me news that she had recovered." Well then, said Epictetus, do you think that you acted right? "I acted naturally," the man replied. But convince me of this that you acted naturally, and I will convince you that everything which takes place according to nature takes place rightly.
"This is the case," said the man, "with all or at least most fathers." I do not deny that: but the matter about which we are inquiring is whether such behavior is right; for in respect to this matter we must say that tumours also come for the good of the body, because they do come; and generally we must say that to do wrong is natural, because nearly all or at least most of us do wrong. Do you show me then how your behavior is natural. "I cannot," he said; "but do you rather show me how it is not according to nature and is not rightly done.
“We’ve spent thousands of hours training our machine learning model on the different types of smells that you might encounter in the forest,” Brinkschulte says. “We don’t need big data centers to do our computation.”
Like all AI applications, Dryad’s tech could deliver false-positive signals, but it’s also possible the solar-powered “noses” could save water by alerting firefighters early enough that they’re able to stop budding flames before they spread.
Well, said Epictetus, if we were inquiring about white and black, what criterion should we employ for distinguishing between them? "The sight," he said. And if about hot and cold, and hard and soft, what criterion? "The touch." Well then, since we are inquiring about things which are according to nature, and those which are done rightly or not rightly, what kind of criterion do you think that we should employ? "I do not know," he said. And yet not to know the criterion of colors and smells, and also of tastes, is perhaps no great harm; but if a man do not know the criterion of good and bad, and of things according to nature and contrary to nature, does this seem to you a small harm?
"The greatest harm." Come tell me, do all things which seem to some persons to be good and becoming rightly appear such; and at present as to Jews and Syrians and Egyptians and Romans, is it possible that the opinions of all of them in respect to food are right? "How is it possible?" he said. Well, I suppose it is absolutely necessary that, if the opinions of the Egyptians are right, the opinions of the rest must be wrong: if the opinions of the Jews are right, those of the rest cannot be right. "Certainly." But where there is ignorance, there also there is want of learning and training in things which are necessary.
AI could also help address habitat destruction and species loss in our oceans. Sokol Murturi, a researcher at Falmouth University in the UK, uses machine vision to track coral growth. Murturi’s AI-powered system uses a combination of new and existing AI models to help regenerate coral reefs in captivity. It’s designed to provide data on alkalinity, pH levels, and other factors impacting corals. The researcher’s AI tools include visual tracking features like edge detection to indicate whether the coral grows over time. Human scientists can intervene if the AI systems indicate stalled growth or water quality issues.
He assented to this. You then, said Epictetus, since you know this, for the future will employ yourself seriously about nothing else, and will apply your mind to nothing else than to learn the criterion of things which are according to nature, and by using it also to determine each several thing. But in the present matter I have so much as this to aid you toward what you wish. Does affection to those of your family appear to you to be according to nature and to be good? "Certainly." Well, is such affection natural and good, and is a thing consistent with reason not good? "By no means." Is then that which is consistent with reason in contradiction with affection? "I think not." You are right, for if it is otherwise,
it is necessary that one of the contradictions being according to nature, the other must be contrary to nature. Is it not so? "It is," he said. Whatever, then, we shall discover to be at the same time affectionate and also consistent with reason, this we confidently declare to be right and good. "Agreed."
At-risk corals in the wild could be monitored with AI-powered buoys that capture similar data in the future, Murturi posits, adding that corals in areas with sudden temperature spikes could be brought into labs, nurtured, and then reintroduced once temperature surges die down. But if ocean conditions don’t improve, Murturi and other researchers won’t be able to return corals to their homes until fundamental steps are taken to lower rising water temperatures that are fatal to corals worldwide.
“My research is a Band-Aid to the problem. What we need now is better forms of generating electricity,” Murturi tells PCMag.
Well then to leave your sick child and to go away is not reasonable, and I suppose that you will not say that it is; but it remains for us to inquire if it is consistent with affection. "Yes, let us consider." Did you, then, since you had an affectionate disposition to your child, do right when you ran off and left her; and has the mother no affection for the child? "Certainly, she has." Ought, then, the mother also to have left her, or ought she not? "She ought not." And the nurse, does she love her? "She does." Ought, then, she also to have left her? "By no means." And the pedagogue, does he not love her? "He does love her." Ought, then, he also to have deserted her? and so should the child have been left alone and without help on account of the great affection of you, the parents, and of those about her, or should she have died in the hands of those who neither loved her nor cared for her? "Certainly not."
Now this is unfair and unreasonable, not to allow those who have equal affection with yourself to do what you think to be proper for yourself to do because you have affection. It is absurd. Come then, if you were sick, would you wish your relations to be so affectionate, and all the rest, children and wife, as to leave you alone and deserted? "By no means." And would you wish to be so loved by your own that through their excessive affection you would always be left alone in sickness? or for this reason would you rather pray, if it were possible, to be loved by your enemies and deserted by them? But if this is so, it results that your behavior was not at all an affectionate act.
Until then, Murturi plans to make a Svalbard Vault of sorts for corals in hopes that one day—when humans have gotten climate change under control and addressed AI’s energy problems—these at-risk organisms could once again thrive in the wild.
While AI could help prevent further environmental and ecological damage, ultimately it will still be up to the humans who fund, research, and use AI to oversee its use.
“Do I think AI is bad for the environment? It depends on what we’re using it for,” Murturi says. “If we’re using AI to train massive datasets to determine what we should be selling to people, that’s probably not a good use of energy.”
Swarm launch vehicle
During the air show, military electronics manufacturer CETC also showcased a second edition of a swarm launch vehicle, which has a load capacity of 48 fixed-wing drones that can all be launched within four minutes. Each vehicle can carry two sets of drones, and every device has a maximum payload and take-off weight of 15.4lb (7kg) and 66lb (30kg), respectively and an endurance of 120 minutes, according to SCMP.
During the opening ceremony of the air show on Tuesday, China featured unprecedented flight performances of three types of stealth fighter jets, namely the debut of Beijing’s newly unveiled J-35A, a group of J-20s, and Russia’s first-time visitor Su-57.
China also unveiled the Wing Loong-X drone, showcasing its full anti-submarine capabilities for the first time.
Built with fully independent intellectual property, the Wing Loong-X drone is a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial system with long-range, heavy payload capacity, and the ability to perform multiple tasks, reported Global Times.
These weapons can benefit China during its possible conflict with Taiwan or other rival powers in the future.
Well then, was it nothing which moved you and induced you to desert your child? and how is that possible? But it might be something of the kind which moved a man at Rome to wrap up his head while a horse was running which he favoured; and when contrary to expectation the horse won, he required sponges to recover from his fainting fit. What then is the thing which moved? The exact discussion of this does not belong to the present occasion perhaps; but it is enough to be convinced of this,
if what the philosophers say is true, that we must not look for it anywhere without, but in all cases it is one and the same thing which is the cause of our doing or not doing something, of saying or not saying something, of being elated or depressed, of avoiding anything or pursuing: the very thing which is now the cause to me and to you, to you of coming to me and sitting and hearing, and to me of saying what I do say. And what is this? Is it any other than our will to do so? "No other." But if we had willed otherwise, what else should we have been doing than that which we willed to do?
For some reason, the same travel-booking example comes up every time companies try to explain what AI agents might be able to do. Are they already running low on ideas?
As I told you recently, I don’t want to use genAI products like ChatGPT to only ask questions. I want to tell the AI what to do on my computers (smartphone included) on my behalf. It won’t be just about booking travel. I’ll want the AI to browse the web, save files, send emails, and adjust settings when I tell it to. I also want all of that action to happen on-device with no data sent to a company’s servers.
Before we get to that, we’ll need to use first-gen agent tools like ChatGPT’s Operator. According to the report, OpenAI informed staff in a meeting on Wednesday that the tool will be available in January 2025. It’ll launch as a research preview for developers rather than regular users. It’s unclear when end-users will get access to it.
This, then, was the cause of Achilles' lamentation, not the death of Patroclus; for another man does not behave thus on the death of his companion; but it was because he chose to do so. And to you this was the very cause of your then running away, that you chose to do so; and on the other side, if you should stay with her, the reason will be the same. And now you are going to Rome because you choose; and if you should change your mind, you will not go thither. And in a word, neither death nor exile nor pain nor anything of the kind is the cause of our doing anything or not doing; but our own opinions and our wills.
People familiar with OpenAI’s work on AI agents said the company has been developing several agents. The one nearest to completion will be a “general-purpose” one that can browse the web for you.
The closest thing to a confirmation that OpenAI will release AI agents for ChatGPT soon came from Sam Altman a few days ago during a Reddit Ask-Me-Anything (AMA) chat with users. “We will have better and better models,” Altman said. “But I think the thing that will feel like the next giant breakthrough will be agents.”
Altman never mentioned the Operator codename. He didn’t offer launch details for the ChatGPT AI agents either.
Anthropic has already demoed a similar AI agent concept for Claude, which can use the computer in real-time to browse the web and code. Microsoft has similar AI agents in place that can send emails and manage user records. Google’s Jarvis will also get internet-browsing powers.
Do I convince you of this or not? "You do convince me." Such, then, as the causes are in each case, such also are the effects. When, then, we are doing anything not rightly, from this day we shall impute it to nothing else than to the will from which we have done it: and it is that which we shall endeavour to take away and to extirpate more than the tumours and abscesses out of the body. And in like manner we shall give the same account of the cause of the things which we do right; and we shall no longer allege as causes of any evil to us, either slave or neighbour, or wife or children, being persuaded that,
if we do not think things to he what we do think them to be, we do not the acts which follow from such opinions; and as to thinking or not thinking, that is in our power and not in externals. "It is so," he said. From this day then we shall inquire into and examine nothing else, what its quality is, or its state, neither land nor slaves nor horses nor dogs, nothing else than opinions. "I hope so." You see, then, that you must become a Scholasticus, an animal whom all ridicule, if you really intend to make an examination of your own opinions: and that this is not the work of one hour or day, you know yourself.
Let’s not forget that Siri will also be able to manage some apps and execute more complex actions for you on the iPhone next year. It’s all part of the Apple Intelligence vision that Apple unveiled at WWDC. In hindsight, that’s agentic functionality from Siri.
Microsoft has integrated its flagship AI product, Copilot, into its suite of business apps. In October, the tech giant announced that users would be able to build their own autonomous agents in Copilot Studio that can “understand the nature of your work and act on your behalf.” The company also announced 10 new autonomous agents for its enterprise platform, Dynamics 365.
Tesla would be fine if the credit disappeared, but other companies like General Motors, Ford, and Rivian would likely feel its impact severely.
Dan Ives of Wedbush even said in notes to investors that Tesla would be fine without the tax credit being established:
“EV tax credits getting pulled a negative for the industry….bullish for Tesla. We believe a Trump presidency will be an overall negative for the EV industry as very likely the EV rebates/tax incentives get pulled, however for Tesla we see this as a potential positive with some caveats. Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched in the EV industry and this dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment starting in 2025, coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players (BYD, Nio, etc.) from flooding the US market over the coming years.”
Now that more EV makers are gaining access to the Supercharging Network, it is obvious Tesla needs to update its stalls to cater to the variety of architectures out there, enabling an efficient and reliable charging experience for drivers of any electric car out on the market.
How does the new process work?
The essential step in the new process is applying galvanic corrosion using a restoration solution. Galvanic corrosion occurs when two dissimilar materials are in contact within an electrolyte environment, leading to the selective corrosion of one metal to protect the other.
“The bromine in the restoration solution initiates spontaneous corrosion upon contact with the aluminum in the spent battery. During this process, electrons are released from the corroded aluminum and subsequently transferred to the spent cathode material,” the press release states.
Of contentment
With respect to gods, there are some who say that a divine being does not exist: others say that it exists, but is inactive and careless, and takes no forethought about anything; a third class say that such a being exists and exercises forethought, but only about great things and heavenly things, and about nothing on the earth; a fourth class say that a divine being exercises forethought both about things on the earth and heavenly things, but in a general way only, and not about things severally. There is a fifth class to whom Ulysses and Socrates belong, who say: "I move not without thy knowledge."
“To maintain charge neutrality, lithium ions in the restoration solution are inserted into the cathode material. This recovery of lithium ions restores the cathode material to its original state.”
Further, unlike conventional processes that require disassembling the used battery, the new process restores it within the cell.
The research team confirmed through electrochemical performance testing that the restored cathode achieved a capacity equivalent to that of new materials, as per the press release.
Before all other things, then, it is necessary to inquire about each of these opinions, whether it is affirmed truly or not truly. For if there are no gods, how is it our proper end to follow them? And if they exist, but take no care of anything, in this case also how will it be right to follow them? But if indeed they do exist and look after things, still if there is nothing communicated from them to men, nor in fact to myself, how even so is it right? The wise and good man, then, after considering all these things, submits his own mind to him who administers the whole, as good citizens do to the law of the state. He who is receiving instruction ought to come to the instructed with this intention: How shall I follow the gods in all things, how shall I be contented with the divine administration, and how can I become free?" For he is free to whom everything happens according, to his will, and whom no man can hinder.
Dr. Jung-Je Woo, the senior researcher, stated, “This research introduces a novel approach to restoring spent cathode materials without the need for high-temperature heat treatment or harmful chemicals.”
“The direct recycling of discarded electric vehicle batteries holds great potential for significantly reducing carbon emissions and establishing a circular resource economy.”
This incident is reminiscent of a separate one from last year in which an AI-fueled meal prep app encouraged users to make sandwiches made with mosquito repellant, as well as another recipe that involved chlorine gas. In another well-documented incident, an AI agent encouraged users to eat rocks. Suffice it to say, maybe cooking is one particular domain that doesn’t really need an AI integration.
Our own experimentation with AI platforms—such as Google’s recently launched AI Summaries—has shown that the algorithm-led agents often have no idea what they’re talking about (for instance, Google’s program once tried to convince me that dogs play sports and told me that the best way to make pizza was to fill it with glue). For whatever reason, corporate America continues to rush AI’s integration into customer service applications across the web, despite the obvious risk of pushing out a whole lot of bad advice to the public. The attitude seems to be: It doesn’t matter if the information is incorrect, just so long as we don’t have to hire a real human to do this job.
Uranium mines in the Athabasca Basin are reserves of high-grade uranium, and mining activity has picked up in recent years with old mines reopening to improve output, the BBC report added.
Hurdles along the way
Once additional mines are operational, Canada’s contribution to global supply could rise from 13 percent to 25 percent, making it the preferred supplier for the US, EU, and many other nations.
But nuclear fission technology has its detractors. Incidents such as one at Fukushima in Japan are still fresh in people’s minds, and the operation of nuclear power plants is not risk-free yet. Last year, Germany shut down its nuclear power plants in a phased manner.
For others, the finances do not work out either. Nuclear power projects have long timelines, and cost overruns are common when the plant is finally operational. In 2021, New York State decommissioned its only nuclear power plant due to high operating costs.
Even mining operations aren’t foolproof from an economic point of view. Canada itself has seen nuclear supply booms in the past. In 1982, the BBC report added, Uranium City shut down operations over high costs and low demand for uranium.
Will this time be different? Only time will tell.
The VPP addresses a growing need as Texas experiences unprecedented energy demands. In 2023 alone, peak usage surged to a record-breaking 85 GW due to the state’s rapid population growth and increasingly extreme weather.
Virtual power plants are designed to help alleviate pressure on the grid during these high-stress times, as they aggregate small-scale energy resources like smart thermostats, home batteries, and EVs, creating a flexible power source that can be tapped when demand surges.
Ben Brown, CEO of Renew Home, emphasized the program’s importance, stating, “NRG’s commitment to creating a more resilient and sustainable energy future while also making electricity bills more affordable makes them an ideal partner for co-developing this unique VPP program. This initiative raises the bar for future-proofing our electricity infrastructure and delivering cost savings to customers.”
"What then, is freedom madness?" Certainly not: for madness and freedom do not consist. "But," you say, "I would have everything result just as I like, and in whatever way I like." You are mad, you are beside yourself. Do you not know that freedom is a noble and valuable thing? But for me inconsiderately to wish for things to happen as I inconsiderately like, this appears to be not only not noble, but even most base. For how do we proceed in the matter of writing? Do I wish to write the name of Dion as I choose? No, but I am taught to choose to write it as it ought to be written. And how with respect to music? In the same manner. And what universally in every art or science? Just the same. If it were not so, it would be of no value to know anything, if knowledge were adapted to every man's whim. Is it, then, in this alone, in this which is the greatest and the chief thing, I mean freedom, that I am permitted to will inconsiderately?
By no means; but to be instructed is this, to learn to wish that everything may happen as it does. And how do things happen? As the disposer has disposed them? And he has appointed summer and winter, and abundance and scarcity, and virtue and vice, and all such opposites for the harmony of the whole; and to each of us he has given a body, and parts of the body, and possessions, and companions.
Google cloud’s role in optimizing energy usage
Google Cloud’s advanced AI and analytics tools will be crucial for maximizing the VPP’s effectiveness. By using machine learning and predictive analytics, Google Cloud will help the VPP forecast weather conditions and renewable energy generation while optimizing energy usage across participating homes.
This data-driven approach enables the VPP to respond quickly and efficiently to real-time grid demands, ensuring stability and reducing stress on the power infrastructure.
Google Cloud’s AI solutions are specifically designed to streamline the management of renewable energy resources.
As Texas continues to grow, the VPP will play a vital role in helping residents and the grid navigate increasing energy demands and volatile weather patterns. By leveraging advanced forecasting, the VPP will be able to prepare for spikes in energy demand, enhancing the stability and resilience of Texas’ power grid.
Remembering, then, this disposition of things we ought to go to be instructed, not that we may change the constitution of things- for we have not the power to do it, nor is it better that we should have the power-but in order that, as the things around us are what they are and by nature exist, we may maintain our minds in harmony with them things which happen. For can we escape from men? and how is it possible? And if we associate with them, can we chance them? Who gives us the power? What then remains, or what method is discovered of holding commerce with them? Is there such a method by which they shall do what seems fit to them, and we not the less shall be in a mood which is conformable to nature?
But you are unwilling to endure and are discontented: and if you are alone, you call it solitude; and of you are with men, you call them knaves and robbers; and you find fault with your own parents and children, and brothers and neighbours. But you ought when you are alone to call this condition by the name of tranquillity and freedom, and to think yourself like to the gods; and when you are with many, you ought not to call it crowd, nor trouble, nor uneasiness, but festival and assembly, and so accept all contentedly.
Nearly half of employees would be uncomfortable revealing AI use to managers
While some companies create top-down initiatives to encourage the use of AI, many employees are reluctant to share their AI use: 48% of survey participants said they would be uncomfortable telling their managers they use AI. They feared a perception of AI use as cheating, a resource of the less competent, or laziness.
Notably, Slack asked participants whether they would be uncomfortable sharing their AI use with their manager, not whether they are uncomfortable using AI at all. Survey-takers who are comfortable sharing that they use AI at work are likelier to use it. Still, the underlying fears reflect on both the technology and company culture.
What, then, is the punishment of those who do not accept? It is to be what they are. Is any person dissatisfied with being alone, let him be alone. Is a man dissatisfied with his parents? let him be a bad son, and lament. Is he dissatisfied with his children? let him be a bad father. "Cast him into prison." What prison? Where he is already, for he is there against his will; and where a man is against his will, there he is in prison. So Socrates was not in prison, for he was there willingly. "Must my leg then be lamed?" Wretch, do you then on account of one poor leg find fault with the world?
Will you not willingly surrender it for the whole? Will you not withdraw from it? Will you not gladly part with it to him who gave it? And will you be vexed and discontented with the things established by Zeus, which he with the Moirae who were present and spinning the thread of your generation, defined and put in order? Know you not how small a part you are compared with the whole. I mean with respect to the body, for as to intelligence you are not inferior to the gods nor less; for the magnitude of intelligence is not measured by length nor yet by height, but by thoughts.
In general, the usage of much-hyped technologies tends to level out over time. Slack noted that the potential “lazy” and “cheating” accusations, the perception that AI is “not yet living up to the hype,” and a lack of training in using AI are the primary factors that affect employees’ viewpoints of the technology.
Employees are concerned AI will not reduce administrative tasks
AI advocates have long argued that the technology helps companies by automating rote tasks, thereby freeing up time for meaningful activities that support an organization’s bottom line. However, Slack’s report indicated that organizations haven’t seen reduced administrative tasks over the past few months. Instead, many employees suspect AI could lead to more drudge work and an increased workload.
“Employees are worried that the time they save with AI will actually increase their workload — with leaders expecting them to do more work, at a faster pace,” Janzer said. “This presents an opportunity for leaders to redefine what they mean by ‘productivity,’ inspiring employees to improve the quality of their work, not just the quantity.”
When asked what they would want to do with the time saved by AI, participants said they wanted time to engage in non-work activities and skill-building. But when asked what they would likely do with extra time, people listed administrative tasks and additional work on existing projects.
Will you not, then, choose to place your good in that in which you are equal to the gods? "Wretch that I am to have such a father and mother." What, then, was it permitted to you to come forth, and to select, and to say: "Let such a man at this moment unite with such a woman that I may be produced?" It was not permitted, but it was a necessity for your parents to exist first, and then for you to be begotten. Of what kind of parents? Of such as they were. Well then, since they are such as they are, is there no remedy given to you? Now if you did not know for what purpose you possess the faculty of vision, you would be unfortunate and wretched if you closed your eyes when colors were brought before them; but in that you possess greatness of soul and nobility of spirit for every event that may happen, and you know not that you possess them, are you not more unfortunate and wretched?
Slack — which has its own AI assistant — recommends managers who want to promote AI:
Run team-building exercises related to AI.
Make AI use, and AI wins, visible to the entire organization through convenient communications channels.
Model AI use in managers’ own work as appropriate.
Focus on skill-building and training in how to use generative AI.
Redefine what productivity means, tying goals to innovative or creative work projects to incentivize giving the drudge work to the AI.
Remember that AI can’t replace real human connection. Approach your team’s connections and the ways people ask one another for assistance with “intentionality.”
Slack also recommended that organizations train their employees to use AI via short, impactful sessions — also known as “microlearning.”
Things are brought close to you which are proportionate to the power which you possess, but you turn away this power most particularly at the very time when you ought to maintain it open and discerning. Do you not rather thank the gods that they have allowed you to be above these things which they have not placed in your power; and have made you accountable only for those which are in your power? As to your parents, the gods have left you free from responsibility; and so with respect to your brothers, and your body, and possessions, and death and life. For what, then, have they made you responsible? For that which alone is in your power, the proper use of appearances. Why then do you draw on yourself the things for which you are not responsible? It is, indeed, a giving of trouble to yourself.
“AI training programs don’t have to be a heavy lift,” said Chrissie Arnold, director of future of work programs at Workforce Lab. “At Slack, we’ve had pretty amazing results from just 10 minutes a day of AI microlearning.”
Mawari Raises $10.8 Million To Launch Tokenized Spatial Streaming Network
Mawari’s plan is to build a network of servers to enable real time spatial content at scale, without apps.
Mawari, the Tokyo-based pioneer in decentralized content delivery, has raised $10.8 million in strategic funding to scale its spatial computing capabilities. Mawari’s plan is to build a network of servers to enable real time spatial content at scale, without apps. The decentralized network will be tokenized to support the network of nodes through the globe. Anfield LTD, Borderless Capital, and 1kx led the round, with notable contributions from investors such as Animoca Brands, Blockchange Ventures, and Samsung Next.
#mawari #decentralization #tokenization #spatialstreaming #technology
Founded in 2017 by CEO Luis Oscar Ramirez and CTO Aleksandr Borisov, Mawari has focused on overcoming the technical bottlenecks that plague immersive content delivery. Their solution leverages decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) and split rendering technology to efficiently stream high-quality 3D content to devices like the Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3. As the company has grown, its client list has expanded to include KDDI, Netflix, BMW, and many others.
Mawari’s recent funding round will fuel the next phase of their ambitious plans: scaling their decentralized network. In addition, Mawari will continue improving its Spatial Streaming SDK, and invest in R&D, and opening new markets. The next step for Mawari is a “node license sale.” Mawari is turning to community-run nodes to expand its compute power. "We realized that centralized cloud providers, such as AWS, couldn’t scale our technology to handle the immense compute demands for 3D streaming at the level we need,” said Ramirez in an interview.
The node license sale is a central component of this strategy. Participants, ranging from individuals to enterprise data centers, can purchase licenses to run Mawari’s node software. These nodes will contribute computing power to the Mawari Network, which is optimized for spatial computing tasks such as rendering and streaming complex 3D content in real time. “This decentralized approach allows us to bypass the limitations of traditional cloud networks while offering resilient, scalable, real-time 3D streaming solutions for AR, VR, and other spatial computing applications,” Ramirez said.
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What is Spatial Intelligence
Human intelligence has many facets. One is verbal intelligence, enabling us to communicate and connect with others through language. But perhaps more fundamental is spatial intelligence, allowing us to understand and interact with the world around us. Spatial intelligence also helps us create, and bring forth pictures in our mind's eye into the physical world. We use it to reason, move, and invent - to visualize and architect anything from humble sandcastles to towering cities.
#spatialintelligence #technology #ai #future
We believe that artificial intelligence will help humans build better worlds. Progress has been rapid, but we have only seen the first chapter of the generative AI revolution. Language has thus far catalyzed this electrifying early moment, with text-prompted image and video models rising up alongside large language models (LLMs) as a harbinger of AI's potential in the visual realm. These models have already empowered people to work and create in new ways; but they only scratch the surface of what is possible. To advance beyond the capabilities of today's models, we need spatially intelligent AI that can model the world and reason about objects, places, and interactions in 3D space and time.
Today we are announcing the formation of World Labs: a spatial intelligence AI company building Large World Models (LWMs) to perceive, generate, and interact with the 3D world. We aim to lift AI models from the 2D plane of pixels to full 3D worlds - both virtual and real - endowing them with spatial intelligence as rich as our own. Human spatial intelligence evolved over millennia; but in this time of extraordinary progress, we see the opportunity to imbue AI with this ability in the near term.
World Labs was founded by visionary AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li along with Justin Johnson, Christoph Lassner, and Ben Mildenhall; each a world-renowned technologist in computer vision and graphics. We are bringing together the most formidable slate of pixel talent ever assembled - from AI research to systems engineering to product design - creating a tight feedback loop between our spatially intelligent foundation models and products that will empower our users.
AI is an emerging field with the potential to transform our world. However, we view it not as singularly unique but instead as part of the continuous progress of technology, continuing humanity's centuries-old quest to empower people with increasingly sophisticated tools. We believe that humans are innovative, curious, and creative; science and technology are both manifestations and drivers of these impulses. Propelling AI forward with spatial intelligence will also propel forward both individuals and humanity as a whole.
Toward this goal, World Labs will develop spatially intelligent Large World Models (LWMs) that can understand and reason about the 3D world from images and other modalities. Over time, we expect to train increasingly powerful models with broader capabilities that can be applied in a variety of domains, working alongside people.
I asked what Spatial intelligence is and then I saw this thread now I get it what a new development. This world is going to see so much. And the thing is the more concepts come, the more new tech we can build
With how I understand your explanation I'm starting to think Spatial intelligence is what we need to make AI turn into AGI because if we master AI and Spatial and also have advanced quantum computer, AGI is very possible
The AI Factory: What It Is & Its Key Components
In the digital age, you must understand the AI factory and how it can help you implement AI technologies into business operations.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is crucial to business strategy, with 42 percent of large companies deploying it to enhance operations and gain a competitive edge.
At this revolution’s heart is the AI factory, which enables you to automate processes and make more informed decisions by integrating AI into business operations.
If you want to harness AI’s potential, understanding how the AI factory functions is essential.
#ai #aifactory #technology #digital
What Is the AI Factory?
The AI factory transforms internal and external data into actionable insights through advanced analytics.
According to the Harvard Business Review, AI factories power millions of Google’s daily ad auctions, determine ride availability on digital platforms like Uber, set Amazon’s product prices, and even manage robots that clean Walmart’s floors.
“The AI factory, as its output, does three things,” says Harvard Business School Professor Karim Lakhani, who co-teaches the online course AI Essentials for Business with HBS Professor Marco Iansiti. “Predictions, pattern recognition, and process automation.”
Those outputs allow you to:
If you want to improve your decision-making and help your organization be more AI-driven, here are the four components that power the AI factory.
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I really have to learn the whole factory because nowadays if you decide to build a tech industry without AI, you'll be far behind in the race
SoftBank-backed fintech Zopa aims to double profit this year as it eyes 2025 current account launch
British online bank Zopa is on track to double pre-tax profits and increase revenue by more a third in 2024, CEO Jaidev Janardana told CNBC.
Zopa posted revenues of £222 million ($281.7 million) in 2023 and is expecting to cross the £300 million revenue milestone this year — that would mark a 35% annual jump.
The 2024 estimates are based on unaudited internal figures.
#softbank #earning #revenue #zopa #britian
The firm also says it is on track to increase pre-tax profits twofold in 2024, after hitting £15.8 million last year.
Zopa, a regulated bank that is backed by Japanese giant SoftBank, has plans to venture into the world of current accounts next year as it looks to focus more on new products.
The company currently offers credit cards, personal loans and savings accounts that it offers through a mobile app — similar to other digital banks such as Monzo and Revolut which don't operate physical branches.
"The business is doing really well. In 2024, we've hit or exceeded the plans across all metrics," CEO Jaidev Janardana told CNBC in an interview Wednesday.
He said the strong performance is coming off the back of gradually improving sentiment in the U.K. economy, where Zopa operates exclusively.
Commenting on Britain's macroeconomic conditions, Janardana said, "While it has been a rough few years, in terms of consumers, they have continued to feel the pain slightly less this year than last year."
Article
BlackRock Announces BUIDL Expansion Across Aptos, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism and Polygon
Asset management titan BlackRock is announcing the expansion of its proprietary token BUIDL, the asset related to its tokenized mutual fund, across five multiple blockchains.
According to an announcement by real-world asset tokenizing firm Securitize, BlackRock’s brokerage partner, BUIDL will be expanding to layer-1 blockchains Aptos (APT) and Avalanche (AVAX) as well as layer-2 scaling solutions Arbitrum (ARB), Optimism (OP), and Polygon (POL).
#blackrock #buidl #blockchain #crypto #wallstreet
As stated by Securitize chief executive and co-founder Carlos Domingo,
“We wanted to develop an ecosystem that was thoughtfully designed to be digital and take advantage of the advantages of tokenization.
Real-world asset tokenization is scaling, and we’re excited to have these blockchains added to increase the potential of the BUIDL ecosystem. With these new chains we’ll start to see more investors looking to leverage the underlying technology to increase efficiencies on all the things that until now have been hard to do.”
BUIDL, which launched in March and stands for BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund, is a tokenized money-market fund designed to offer a stable value of $1 per token while providing yield on US Treasuries.
According to Securitize, the expansion will help developers, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), and other crypto firms to build with BlackRock’s product on their blockchain of choice.
Last month, it was reported that BlackRock was in talks with numerous crypto exchange platforms – such as Binance, OKX, and Deribit – about using BUIDL as collateral for derivatives contracts.
if a Giant shareholder like BlackRock is focused on Blockchain then I thought we know Blockchain is going to expand. There's so many power players in it right now. Is that good or bad for Decentralization?
Smart ring leader Oura plans international push as CEO touts new features and thinking on hardware
Oura CEO Tom Hale spoke to CNBC about the smart ring product category and the impact of Samsung's entrance into the space.
Samsung's foray into smart rings isn't concerning the boss of the product category's pioneer, Oura — in fact, Tom Hale says he's seeing a boost in business.
"I'm sure that a major tech company making an announcement saying: 'Hey, this is a category that matters. It's going to be something that's big.' I think it's probably helpful," Hale told CNBC in an interview this week.
#oura #smartring #expansion #technology #samsung
"In terms of the impact on our business, it has made zero impact. If anything, our business has gotten stronger since their announcement."
In a wide-ranging interview with CNBC at the Web Summit conference in Lisbon, Hale discussed Oura's plans for new areas of insight it wants to give users, how he is thinking about new devices and the company's intentions for international expansion.
Oura's flagship product is the Oura Ring 4, a device known as a smart ring. It is packed with sensors that can track some health metrics, allowing Oura app users to learn more about the quality of their sleep or how ready they are to tackle the day ahead.
Founded in Finland in 2013, the company has been called a pioneer by analysts in the smart ring space. Oura said it has sold more than 2.5 million of its rings since it launched its first product. CCS Insight forecasts Oura will end the year with a 49% market share in smart rings.
Competition is starting to rear its head in the space. The world's largest smartphone maker Samsung made its first venture into smart rings this year with the Galaxy Ring, which some analysts say has put the device category on the map and popularized it with a broader audience.
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What Makes the Oura Ring Different?
An Oura membership delivers personalized, highly accurate health insights through 3 daily scores: Sleep, Readiness, and Activity.
Oura is your personalized health tool — packing sleep insights, heart rate monitoring, activity tracking, illness monitoring, and more into a single (and stylish) wearable.
After all, personalization is key. When it comes to health and well-being, what works for one person won’t necessarily work for you. That’s where Oura is different: It gets to know your personal “normal” and provides tailored insights to help you answer key questions about your health.
What Is Oura Ring?
Your Oura Ring and membership work hand-in-hand, quite literally, to support your personal health journey.
The Oura Ring uses advanced sensor technology to deliver personalized sleep and health insights straight from the most reliable source: your body.
Optimize your holistic health and manage stress with Oura
With your Oura membership, your experience with Oura improves over time , adapting to your body. When Oura gets to know you, detailed and highly accurate insights help you to better understand your overall well being.
Finally, through your Oura App, you are empowered to optimize your daily routines and answer key questions about your health like:
“How ready am I for the day?”
“How well did I sleep last night?”
“How am I balancing my activity with rest?”
Is Oura Ring Worth It? Here’s What Makes Oura Different
Oura is designed to provide accurate insights without disrupting your life. With precise sensors, Oura packs state-of-the-art heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), temperature, activity, and sleep monitoring technology into a lightweight, non-invasive ring.
Accuracy Above All
When you visit your doctor, there’s a reason they measure your pulse from your finger and not the wrist: accuracy. Your finger is the ideal source for reliable, impactful data, and Oura leverages this reality by:
Measuring closer to your heart: While wrist sensors sit far away from the arteries on the underside of the wrist, Oura measures directly from the arteries in your fingers to capture signals directly from your heart.
Prioritizing the right sensors: Oura uses infrared light photoplethysmography (PPG), which measures deeper than the green light LEDs found in most other wearables.
LEARN MORE: How Does the Oura Ring Track My Sleep?
Taking your temperature: Oura is one of the only wearables that measures your temperature directly from your skin, 24/7. Temperature is one of your core vital signs and reveals key insights about your body’s systems including impacts of strain, illness, and phases of the menstrual cycle.
Maximizing data quality: Oura samples at an unparalleled sampling rate of 50Hz. More data enables richer insights.
Constantly validating: While Oura is not a medical device, its capabilities are near perfect when compared to advanced medical technologies.
Sleep Staging Algorithm: Oura’s research scientists developed a new sleep staging algorithm that achieves 79% agreement with gold-standard polysomnography (PSG) for 4-stage sleep classification (wake, light, deep, and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep). By contrast, most commercial wrist-based wearables are limited to 60-65% agreement.
Resting heart rate: 99.9% reliability compared to a medical-grade electrocardiogram (ECG) and validated against PSG. Read the study.
Heart rate variability: 98.4% reliability compared to medical-grade ECG. Read the study.
Temperature trends: Matches performance with research-grade sensors at >99% and measures temperature trend changes as small as 0.13 °C. Read the study.
Personalized for You
With each person comes a unique version of “normal.” Rather than base your averages on impersonal population benchmarks — like “hit 10,000 steps” — Oura gets to know you and provides personalized baselines and insights. Whether your sleep took a hit after a night out, or you’re prioritizing balance in your wellness routine — Oura helps you reach your goals by delivering the best 360° view of your health.
Easy to Use
Getting started with Oura is a simple process, and its small form factor and lack of a tight wristband ensure your normal routine can carry on uninterrupted.
Sleep soundly: You shouldn’t have to disrupt your sleep to track it. Without a screen or vibrations, the Oura Ring is one of the most subtle and comfortable ways to accurately monitor your sleep.
Keep your routine: Go about your day without having to worry about tightening a strap or packing a charger. The ring has a long battery life, is water-resistant up to 100m, and can withstand a variety of temperatures, ranging from saunas to ice
Integrates With Your Favorite Apps
While Oura enables activity tracking all on its own, it also gives you the power to integrate apps such as Apple Health, Google Fit and Strava that you already use and love. See all the current Oura App integrations here.
All movement counts. Set your goals and track your activity with Oura.
What Does Oura Ring Track?
Your body’s signals are wrapped up into three simple scores that help you answer different questions about your health:
Your scores range from 0-100 – each day, a quick glance at your scores is enough to get a daily overview of your health.
Your Readiness Score is your main score and helps you understand your capacity for the day, so you know when to push and when to take it easy.
Your Oura scores provide unique and personalized insights compared to other tools. Oura emphasizes key health elements:
They are connected. Your scores are connected – delivering a holistic picture of your health rather than siloed stats. For example, rather than set static activity goals like “10,000 steps,” Oura automatically adjusts your Activity Goal daily based on your Readiness Score. If your body needs time to recover, Oura helps you find that balance.
They celebrate recovery. While many tools help you achieve milestones, Oura emphasizes the importance of recovery — whether that’s celebrating the impact of taking a rest day on your body or flagging how a late meal delayed your heart rate recovery.
They help you monitor for illness. Oura can help you flag when something is off in your data, like an elevated temperature, and even recommend Rest Mode when you need it most.
They dig deeper. Inside each of your scores are additional tools to help you answer how your lifestyle impacts your sleep, recovery, and activity. For example, your Sleep Score might flag a poor night of sleep, but it also empowers you to see what elements of your sleep are causing that response.
Become an Oura Member: How Much is Oura Ring Membership?
With an Oura Membership, you don’t need to be a medical professional, fitness enthusiast, or yoga master (though you totally can be!) to understand your health; all you need is a willingness to listen and learn from your body.
The Oura Membership is powered by 24/7 monitoring from your Oura Ring. Your Membership allows you to:
Wake up to a daily report on your readiness, sleep quality, and activity goals for the day.
Analyze your sleep, with advanced sleep stages tracking and Blood Oxygen (SpO2) sensing.
Stay active with real-time activity and performance tracking, including automatic activity detection and workout heart rate.
Monitor for stress or sickness via heart rate variability and temperature trend tracking.
Understand key health trends and correlations, with weekly, monthly, and quarterly reports.
For new members, one month of membership is included. $5.99/month afterwards.
Mark Zuckerberg says smart glasses will replace phones by the 2030s.
That means by that time, people will use glasses more, keeping phones in their pockets.
Does AI Need Consciousness?
Consciousness is one of those things that everyone talks about, but no one really understands. People debate if AI or LLMs have it, but to be honest, I don't think it matters. What matters is how useful these systems are to us. They help with things like answering questions, writing, and even creating art. Whether they "feel" anything? I don’t think that changes how we interact with them. At the end of the day, I just care about results.
#AI #Consciousness #LLM #TechTalk
Probe into Chinese hacking reveals 'broad and significant' spying effort, FBI says
A federal investigation into Chinese government efforts to hack into U.S. telecommunications networks has revealed a “broad and significant” cyberespionage campaign aimed at stealing information from Americans who work in government and politics, the FBI said Wednesday.
#china #hacking #technology #government #fbi
Hackers affiliated with Beijing have compromised the networks of “multiple” telecommunications companies to obtain customer call records and gain access to the private communications of “a limited number of individuals,” according to a joint statement issued by the FBI and the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
The FBI did not identify any of the individuals targeted by the hackers but said most of them “are primarily involved in government or political activity.”
The hackers also sought to copy “certain information that was subject to U.S. law enforcement requests pursuant to court orders,” the FBI said, suggesting the hackers may have been trying to compromise programs like those subject to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, which grants American spy agencies sweeping powers to surveil the communications of individuals suspected of being agents of a foreign power.”
The warning comes after several high-profile hacking incidents that U.S. authorities have linked to China, part of what they say is an effort to steal technological and government information while also targeting vital infrastructure like the electrical grid.
In September, the FBI announced that it had disrupted a vast Chinese hacking operation known as Flax Typhoon that involved the installation of malicious software on more than 200,000 consumer devices, including cameras, video recorders and home and office routers. The devices were then used to create a massive network of infected computers, or botnet, that could then be used to carry out other cyber crimes.
Last month, officials said hackers linked to China targeted the phones of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, along with people associated with Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris.
Peak Training: Blackwell Delivers Next-Level MLPerf Training Performance
In MLPerf Training 4.1 industry benchmarks, the NVIDIA Blackwell platform delivered impressive results on workloads across all tests.
Generative AI applications that use text, computer code, protein chains, summaries, video and even 3D graphics require data-center-scale accelerated computing to efficiently train the large language models (LLMs) that power them.
#nvidia #blackwell #mlperf #generativeai #llm
In MLPerf Training 4.1 industry benchmarks, the NVIDIA Blackwell platform delivered impressive results on workloads across all tests — and up to 2.2x more performance per GPU on LLM benchmarks, including Llama 2 70B fine-tuning and GPT-3 175B pretraining.
In addition, NVIDIA’s submissions on the NVIDIA Hopper platform continued to hold at-scale records on all benchmarks, including a submission with 11,616 Hopper GPUs on the GPT-3 175B benchmark.
Leaps and Bounds With Blackwell
The first Blackwell training submission to the MLCommons Consortium — which creates standardized, unbiased and rigorously peer-reviewed testing for industry participants — highlights how the architecture is advancing generative AI training performance.
For instance, the architecture includes new kernels that make more efficient use of Tensor Cores. Kernels are optimized, purpose-built math operations like matrix-multiplies that are at the heart of many deep learning algorithms.
Blackwell’s higher per-GPU compute throughput and significantly larger and faster high-bandwidth memory allows it to run the GPT-3 175B benchmark on fewer GPUs while achieving excellent per-GPU performance.
Taking advantage of larger, higher-bandwidth HBM3e memory, just 64 Blackwell GPUs were able to run in the GPT-3 LLM benchmark without compromising per-GPU performance. The same benchmark run using Hopper needed 256 GPUs.
The Blackwell training results follow an earlier submission to MLPerf Inference 4.1, where Blackwell delivered up to 4x more LLM inference performance versus the Hopper generation. Taking advantage of the Blackwell architecture’s FP4 precision, along with the NVIDIA QUASAR Quantization System, the submission revealed powerful performance while meeting the benchmark’s accuracy requirements.
Relentless Optimization
NVIDIA platforms undergo continuous software development, racking up performance and feature improvements in training and inference for a wide variety of frameworks, models and applications.
In this round of MLPerf training submissions, Hopper delivered a 1.3x improvement on GPT-3 175B per-GPU training performance since the introduction of the benchmark.
NVIDIA also submitted large-scale results on the GPT-3 175B benchmark using 11,616 Hopper GPUs connected with NVIDIA NVLink and NVSwitch high-bandwidth GPU-to-GPU communication and NVIDIA Quantum-2 InfiniBand networking.
NVIDIA Hopper GPUs have more than tripled scale and performance on the GPT-3 175B benchmark since last year. In addition, on the Llama 2 70B LoRA fine-tuning benchmark, NVIDIA increased performance by 26% using the same number of Hopper GPUs, reflecting continued software enhancements.
NVIDIA’s ongoing work on optimizing its accelerated computing platforms enables continued improvements in MLPerf test results — driving performance up in containerized software, bringing more powerful computing to partners and customers on existing platforms and delivering more return on their platform investment.
Partnering Up
NVIDIA partners, including system makers and cloud service providers like ASUSTek, Azure, Cisco, Dell, Fujitsu, Giga Computing, Lambda Labs, Lenovo, Oracle Cloud, Quanta Cloud Technology and Supermicro also submitted impressive results to MLPerf in this latest round.
A founding member of MLCommons, NVIDIA sees the role of industry-standard benchmarks and benchmarking best practices in AI computing as vital. With access to peer-reviewed, streamlined comparisons of AI and HPC platforms, companies can keep pace with the latest AI computing innovations and access crucial data that can help guide important platform investment decisions.
I'm interested in protein Chains because I see the path we can take with AI and medicine. Soon we'll go to the hospital and just one AI scan can determine precisely what the problem is. It'll cut cost and increase recovery chance
Tech giants are investing in 'sovereign AI' to help Europe cut its dependence on the U.S.
Tech giants are investing in the development of "sovereign" AI models in Europe to reduce the region's dependence on largely U.S.-controlled infrastructure.
Data sovereignty refers to the idea that people's data should be stored on infrastructure within the country or continent they reside in.
#tech #sovereignai #ai #europ #aimodels
"Sovereign AI is a relatively new term that's emerged in the last year or so," Chris Gow, IT networking giant Cisco's Brussels-based EU public policy lead, told CNBC.
Currently, many of the biggest large language models (LLMs), like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude, use data centers based in the U.S. to store data and process requests via the cloud.
This has led to concern from politicians and regulators in Europe, who see dependence on U.S. technology as harmful to the continent's competitiveness — and, more worryingly, technological resilience.
Where did 'AI sovereignty' come from?
The notion of data and technological sovereignty is something that has previously been on Europe's agenda. It came about, in part, as a result of businesses reacting to new regulations.
The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation, for example, requires companies to handle user data in a secure, compliant way that respects their right to privacy. High-profile cases in the EU have also raised doubts over whether data on European citizens can be transferred across borders safely.
The European Court of Justice in 2020 invalidated an EU-U.S. data-sharing framework, on the grounds that the pact did not afford the same level of protection as guaranteed within the EU by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Last year the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework was formed to ensure that data can flow safely between the EU and U.S.
These political development have ultimately resulted in a push toward localization of cloud infrastructure, where data is stored and processed for many online services.
Great plan for Europe I think they were anticipating more US control with AI and that wouldn't be good for them at all if AI controls everything.
I like the concept it's similar to saying we want Decentralization in AI for countries
AI is changing science and I'm not surprised.
It's helping to predict protein structures and revolutionize language. It could transform jobs, education and health.
Google has officially released the Gemini app for iPhone. It lets you chat with AI using text, voice or even camera. It also has the Gemini Live so that's a great add on
Japan’s Startups Drive AI Innovation With NVIDIA Accelerated Computing
Supercharged by AI, Japan has become a global innovation hub, and the NVIDIA Inception program is right in the middle of it.
Lifelike digital humans engage with audiences in real time. Autonomous systems streamline complex logistics. And AI-driven language tools break down communication barriers on the fly.
This isn’t sci-fi. This is Tokyo’s startup scene.
#japan #ai #nividia #digitalhumans
Supercharged by AI — and world-class academic and industrial might — the region has become a global innovation hub. And the NVIDIA Inception program is right in the middle of it.
With over 370 AI-driven startups in the program and a 250,000-person strong NVIDIA developer community, Japan’s AI startup ecosystem is as bold as it is fast-moving.
This week’s NVIDIA AI Summit Japan puts these achievements in the spotlight, capturing the region’s relentless innovation momentum.
NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang and SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son opened the summit with a fireside chat to discuss AI’s transformative role, with Jensen diving into Japan’s growing AI ecosystem and its push toward sovereign AI.
Sessions followed with leaders from METI (Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry), the University of Tokyo and other key players. Their success is no accident.
Tokyo’s academic powerhouses, global technology and industrial giants, and technology-savvy population of 14 million, provide the underpinnings of a global AI hub that stretches from the bustling startup scene in Shibuya to new hotbeds of tech development in Chiyoda and beyond.
Supercharging Japan’s Creative Class
Iconic works from anime to manga have not only redefined entertainment in Japan — they’ve etched themselves into global culture, inspiring fans across continents, languages and generations.
Now, Japan’s vibrant visual pop culture is spilling into AI, finding fresh ways to surprise and connect with audiences.
Take startup AiHUB’s digital celebrity Sali.
Sali isn’t just a character in the traditional sense. She’s a digital being with presence — responsive and lifelike. She blinks, she smiles, she reacts.
Here, AI is doing something quietly revolutionary, slipping under the radar to redefine how people interact with media.
At AI Summit Japan, AiHUB revealed that it will adopt the NVIDIA Avatar Cloud Engine, or ACE, in the lip-sync module of its digital human framework, providing Sali nuanced expressions and human-like emotional depth.
ACE doesn’t just make Sali relatable — it puts her in a league of characters who transcend screens and pages.
This integration reduced development and future management costs by approximately 50% while improving the expressiveness of the avatars, according to AiHUB.
No longer a science fiction anymore. And the rate at it which AI companies are advancing, we're seeing more barriers broken by the end up 2025. Honestly 2025 will be a life changing year for the world
The dream I had with robots serving as House cleaners will come through 🎉. I am surprised that all this is happening so soon I thought we might see this day in decades but here we are
I believe altcoin season is still ahead of us and so with the sudden drop of Hive , I'm hopeful it'll pump back up. And besides that kinda depends on how strong the community gets
Inleo is responsible for nearly half of the activities and engagement on Hive Blockchain. I believe we've got threads and exponential growth to thank for that.
It might just control 70 to 80 percent by the end of next year
Who wants Salary In Bitcoin?
Odell Beckham Jr. is happy he took his $750,000 salary in Bitcoin. Although he had some losses, it’s now worth more because bitcoin’s rose.
One day most people may take their salary in crypto.
Waymo’s driverless taxis are now available to anyone in Los Angeles with the app. They work in some areas but don't go to LAX or highways. Prepare for Autonomous vehicles everywhere guys
Trump-Supported World Liberty Financial Taps Chainlink Data Services as DeFi Platform Takes Shape
World Liberty Financial, backed by Donald Trump and his family, is teaming up with Chainlink to boost its decentralized finance (DeFi) platform. This move helps WLFI get better pricing data and cross-chain connections, which are key in the crypto world. The Trump family is so involved in crypto now, Eric and Donald Jr. are even called Web3 Ambassadors. The platform aims to offer liquidity for digital assets like ETH and Bitcoin on Aave's v3 platform.
#DeFi #Crypto #Chainlink
BTC currently at 91,664.72USD
I think we're back on track heading for the 100K most are anticipating
Google's AI Opportunity Initiative comes to the Middle East and North Africa
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) could see a $320 billion economic boost from AI by 2030. To support this growth, Google.org has launched the AI Opportunity Initiative, its largest AI investment in the region. The initiative is focused on developing essential AI skills, funding research, and expanding AI access.
#technology #google #ai #mena
Releasing the largest multilingual open pretraining dataset
This release marks the largest open and permissively licensed dataset for language model training. It has substantial multilingual representation.
#technology #ai #multilingual
Why the deep learning boom caught almost everyone by surprise
Fei-Fei Li's creation of the massive ImageNet dataset was instrumental in the resurgence of neural networks. The dataset provided the training data necessary for breakthrough models like AlexNet. AlexNet, trained using GPUs and guided by Geoffrey Hinton's backpropagation technique, demonstrated the power of deep learning on large datasets, sparking the modern AI boom. This pivotal moment underscored the importance of combining neural networks, big data, and GPU computing for advancing AI.
#technology #ai #artificialintelligence #deeplearning
Trump Promised Clear Crypto Regulations, but the SEC Might Not Be Prepared to Give Them
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce expressed concerns that the agency lacks the preparation for new crypto-friendly policies under Trump, who has pledged clearer crypto regulations and potentially a new SEC chair more favorable to the industry. Peirce says there is a need for thoughtful crypto rule-making now to facilitate swift action if Trump's administration pushes for more transparent guidance in the sector.
#technology #crypto #cryptocurrency #regulation #sec #hesterpeirce #trump
Well, I expected this to happen...
AltLayer unveils 'Autonome,' a platform to create and deploy autonomous AI agents
AltLayer has unveiled Autonome, a no-code platform for creating and deploying autonomous AI agents with a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE). Autonome is designed to advance the “Verifiable Agentic Web,” where AI agents have access to onchain interactions. The platform will include a Build Studio that leverages Coinbase Developer Platform's AgentKit, allowing developers to create model-agnostic AI agents that can autonomously manage assets, adapt to market conditions, and interact with decentralized protocols.
#technology #ai #artificialintelligence #agents
BlackRock Launches New BUIDL Share Classes Across Multiple Blockchains to Expand Access and Potential of BUIDL Ecosystem
BlackRock has expanded its tokenized USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) to multiple blockchains, including Aptos, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism, and Polygon. The move allows BUIDL to offer on-chain yield, real-time transfers, and dividend distribution, while enabling developers to integrate the fund into blockchain-based financial products with flexibility in custody and ecosystem choice.
#technology #crypto #blackrock #buidl
How memecoins could bring back the retail investor in crypto
The Midwest Blockchain Conference at the University of Michigan brought together students from major universities with industry professionals. The conference highlighted the potential for memecoins to drive retail investor engagement through the “TikTok-ification of finance.” The University of Michigan's representatives expressed interest in crypto investments and DePIN. The conference highlighted the promising pipeline of crypto-native talent at US universities.
#technology #crypto #memecoins
Ethereum Needs to Dream Bigger
Ethereum has lost its ambitious vision amid development challenges and competing blockchains. It needs to return to its original goal of being a global compute platform for solving coordination problems. There are four major technical objectives for the next five years: implement 1-second block times, achieve single-slot finality, increase throughput beyond 1,000 TPS, and introduce multiple concurrent proposers (MCP). MCP could enable real-time censorship resistance and align Ethereum's market microstructure with its vision of credible neutrality. High fees and centralized block proposition are limiting Ethereum's potential.
#technology #crypto #ethereum
Claude 3.5 Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku explained | Dario Amodei and Lex Fridman
#anthropic #claude #chatbot !summarize
Part 1/5:
The Evolution of Claude: From Haiku to Opus
A lot has happened with Anthropic's language models in the past year. In March, the company released three new models - Haiku, Sonnet, and Opus. These models were designed to serve different needs, with Haiku being a small, fast, and cheap model, Sonnet being a medium-sized model, and Opus being the largest and most powerful.
The thinking behind this was to provide a range of options to meet different user needs. Some applications require a highly capable and powerful model, while others prioritize speed and cost-effectiveness. By offering this spectrum of models, Anthropic aimed to cater to a wide variety of use cases.
[...]
Part 2/5:
Since the initial release, Anthropic has continued to iterate on these models, with the latest versions being Haiku 3.5, Sonnet 3.5, and the upcoming Opus 3.5. The goal has been to shift the trade-off curve, where each new generation of models is more capable than the previous one, while maintaining similar cost and speed characteristics.
The process of developing these models is complex and involves several stages. First, there is the pre-training phase, which involves training the language model on a vast amount of data, often using thousands of GPUs or other accelerator chips over the course of months. This is followed by a post-training phase, where the model is further refined through reinforcement learning from human feedback and other techniques.
[...]
Part 3/5:
The models then undergo rigorous testing, both internally and with external partners, to evaluate their safety and capabilities, particularly in areas like chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear risks. This testing process is crucial to ensure the models are safe and behave as intended.
One of the key challenges in this process is the software engineering and performance engineering required to make the models work efficiently. While the scientific breakthroughs are important, the details of the implementation and tooling can make a significant difference in the final product.
The performance improvements seen in the newer models, such as Sonnet 3.5, are the result of advancements across the board - in pre-training, post-training, and various evaluation processes. Anthropic has observed that the latest Sonnet model is significantly more capable at programming tasks, to the point where even experienced engineers have found it helpful in their work.
[...]
Part 4/5:
Benchmarking the models' capabilities is an ongoing challenge, as there are many aspects of their performance that are not easily captured by standard metrics. Anthropic has developed internal benchmarks, such as the "sbench" task, which aims to measure the models' ability to complete real-world programming tasks.
As for the timeline for the release of Opus 3.5, Anthropic is not providing an exact date, but the plan is to continue the progression of these models. The pace of progress in this field is rapid, and it's important to balance the desire for new releases with the need for thorough testing and safety considerations.
[...]
Part 5/5:
The challenge of versioning and naming these models is also an interesting one. The traditional software versioning approach doesn't always fit well, as the models can have different trade-offs in terms of size, speed, and capabilities. Anthropic has tried to maintain a consistent naming scheme with Haiku, Sonnet, and Opus, but the reality of the field often frustrates such attempts.
Overall, the evolution of Anthropic's language models, from Haiku to Opus, highlights the rapid progress in this field and the complex challenges involved in developing and deploying these powerful AI systems.
Wall Street Is DONE with Disney's Bob Iger: Hyper Partisan House of Mouse OUT of Favor!
#disney #entertainment #streaming #bobiger !summarize
Part 1/3:
The Uncertain Future of Disney's Leadership
The Downfall of Potential CEOs
The leadership at the Walt Disney Company is in a precarious situation as the search for Bob Iger's successor continues. Dana Walden, Pataro Dearo, and Alan Bergman were all considered potential candidates for the CEO role, but it now seems unlikely that any of them will be chosen.
The issue is that these four individuals have nowhere else to go if they are not selected as the next CEO. They have reached the pinnacle of their careers at Disney, and being passed over for the top job could be the end of the road for them.
The Challenges Facing the Potential CEOs
The problem with these potential CEOs is that they may not have the necessary support from the board to make the tough decisions required to turn the company around. As one analyst pointed out, they need an "absolute hatchet man" to come in and fix the issues, but they may not be given the freedom to do so.
[...]
Part 2/3:
Additionally, the public nature of the selection process has created a perception that Disney did not want these individuals, which could make it difficult for them to find other high-profile positions elsewhere. As the analyst noted, "it's going to give a perception to to anybody else that follows that while Disney didn't want them and they're not doing very well."
The Uncertain Futures of Walden and Tomaro
Dana Walden, in particular, is in a difficult position. Her only reason for being at Disney was her connection to Kamala Harris, and with that gone, she has little to offer the company. Her performance in the streaming business has also been abysmal.
Josh Tomoro, on the other hand, has damaged the parks division, which was the one part of the company that was working well. It's unlikely that any other company would want to hire someone who has been responsible for such a significant decline in a key part of the business.
The Potential Fallout for Disney's
[...]
Part 3/3:
The analyst also discussed the potential fallout for Disney's networks, such as ABC, CBS, and NBC. With the decline of linear TV and the rise of streaming, these networks may need to spin off their news divisions, which could have a significant impact on their overall business.
This could be particularly problematic for Dana Walden, who is closely tied to the network side of the business. As the analyst noted, "she's riding the the you know the the the Aging mayor of the of the network side of things she's not going to be able to lift herself out of that."
Conclusion
In summary, the leadership at the Walt Disney Company is in a precarious situation, and the potential CEOs who were considered for the top job may find themselves with limited options if they are not selected. The public nature of the selection process and the challenges facing the company's networks could further complicate the situation for these individuals, leaving them with an uncertain future.
Meta slapped with a €798M fine in Europe over anticompetitive Marketplace practices
Meta, the parent of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has been hit with yet another huge regulatory fine in Europe, this time over abusive practices
Meta, the parent of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has been hit with yet another huge regulatory fine in Europe, this time over abusive practices related to Facebook Marketplace. The European Commission announced that it would fine Meta €797.72 million — nearly $840 million — for breaching EU antitrust rules connected to how it ties its online classified ads service, Facebook Marketplace, to Facebook itself, creating “unfair trading conditions” for other providers of classifieds online.
#meta #europe #fine #socialedia #marketplace
The fine is the latest installment of a case that dates back to June 2021. In December 2022, the regulators had determined that Facebook Marketplace violated antitrust rules. Today, it’s issuing the penalty for that violation.
“Today we fine Meta €797.72 million for abusing its dominant positions in the markets for personal social network services and for online display advertising on social media platforms,” Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy, said in a statement.
“Meta tied its online classified ads service Facebook Marketplace to its personal social network Facebook and imposed unfair trading conditions on other online classified ads service providers. It did so to benefit its own service Facebook Marketplace, thereby giving it advantages that other online classified ads service providers could not match. This is illegal under EU antitrust rules. Meta must now stop this behaviour.”
Facebook has been quick to respond, saying that it will appeal the ruling. “This decision ignores the realities of the thriving European market for online classified listing services and shields large incumbent companies from a new entrant, Facebook Marketplace, that meets consumer demand in innovative and convenient new ways,” the company wrote in a statement.
Meta has cumulatively faced billions of dollars in fines in Europe for a variety of infringements over the last several years. In September it was fined over $100 million related to a security breach in which user passwords were exposed. In January 2023, it was fined more than $400 million across a series of violations.
In May 2023, it was fined over $1 billion related to GDPR violations. Separately, it has faced other legal issues in Europe. In December 2023, we reported that it was facing a $600 million damages claim in Spain related to a privacy breach case. Regulatory cases can take years to complete, and Meta is in various stages of appeals around these fines.
Article
US Looks to Put Google Under Federal Supervision
US Looks to Put Google Under Federal Supervision
The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has taken steps to put Alphabet's Google under formal federal supervision, The Washington Post reported, potentially mounting yet another regulatory challenge for the Big Tech giant.
Google has fiercely resisted the idea over months of highly secretive talks, the report said on Thursday, citing two people familiar with the discussions.
Federal supervision status can allow regulators access to a company's internal records.
#google #cfpb #technology #alphabet #bigtech
CFPB and Alphabet declined to comment.
Google already faces government action that could force the company to divest parts of its business, as well as a court order to open up its mobile app store to competition.
Amazon's telehealth platform adds low-cost plans for hair loss, skin care, and more
Amazon One Medical is expanding its telehealth services with the launch of treatment plans and medication delivery for several beauty and lifestyle concerns.
Amazon One Medical is expanding its telehealth services with the launch of upfront and low-cost treatment plans and medication delivery for several beauty and lifestyle concerns. Customers can get treatment plans and medication for men’s hair loss for as low as $16 per month, anti-aging skin care for $10 per month, and erectile disfunction care for $19 per month.
Other treatment plans include medication for motion sickness and eyelash growth.
#amazon #healthcare #teleheath #technology
The move puts Amazon in direct competition with Hims & Hers, a direct-to-consumer telehealth company that offers treatment plans for a variety of health and wellness concerns like hair loss, erectile disfunction, weight loss, and more for a monthly fee.
Prime members will be able to see the price of their telehealth consultation and medication for their desired treatment before they move forward with care. An on-demand messaging visit costs $29 and a video visit costs $49.
Amazon says customers only pay for the consultation and the medication, and that there aren’t any additional fees, expenses, or subscriptions needed other than Amazon Prime.
After medication is prescribed, Prime members can have their medication delivered to them — some cases within hours.
“This simple care experience was built to meet the needs of today’s customer,” said Dr. Vin Gupta, chief medical officer for Amazon Pharmacy, in a press release. “At Amazon, we’re working to reduce the burden on patients who’d like to move forward with care, but may be tired of navigating the hurdles of our health care system, waiting in a long line at the pharmacy, or worried about a surprise bill or medication cost.”
Thursday’s announcement marks Amazon’s latest efforts to accelerate its healthcare services.
Article
Mission Space launches next quarter to provide real-time space weather forecasts
When you board a plane, the pilot already knows the weather on the flight path and can steer clear, or at least warn you it's coming.
The same can’t be said of “space weather” from solar events, which can seriously affect satellites and even passenger planes.
Mission Space is about to launch a constellation provide near-real-time monitoring of this increasingly important phenomenon.
#space #missionspace #weather #forecasts #technology
Space weather is a general term for the radiation in the near-Earth environment; outside the planet’s protective aura, satellites and spacecraft feel the full brunt of the sun’s rays, and a solar storm can interfere with or disable them. The type and intensity of this radiation shifts and flows just like atmospheric weather, but being invisible and moving at the speed of light, it’s considerably more difficult to observe and predict.
There are numerous satellites and deep-space missions that monitor solar radiation, but they are necessarily limited; imagine trying to predict the path of a storm using only a handful of wind and rain sensors scattered across the ocean. And while historically this has been sufficient, the growth of the new space economy has transformed space weather from an occasional inconvenience to a constant and quantifiable threat.
“More and more companies are putting space weather on their agenda,” said Alex Po, CEO and founder of Mission Space. “We have 7,000 satellites in space, but in ten years it’ll be 50,000; that means space weather events will be the same as now, but they will have ten times the impact.”
A serious solar storm is not dangerous not only to electronics, but also to unprepared astronauts. If someone happens to be doing a spacewalk, they could get a face full of radiation — and if we want to establish a permanent presence on the Moon, where there’s similarly little protection, we’ll want to know exactly when it’s safe to go outside.
Nearer the surface, airlines are concerned about passengers getting large doses of radiation during a long flight over the poles, and some have even canceled flights because of it. And there are numerous secondary effects on services that rely on satellites, including precision agriculture.
Article
The Stats Traditional Media Will Never Show You
#scarcity #abundance #technology #media !summarize
Part 3/3:
Believing that radical life extension is possible in our lifetimes, driven by converging technologies.
Recognizing the importance of taking care of your health now to benefit from future breakthroughs.
Not wanting to be the "last person" to miss out on the health span revolution.
Abundance Mindset
Shifting from a default mindset of fear and scarcity to one of abundance and optimism.
Understanding that technology is a force that transforms scarcity into abundance over and over.
Protecting your mindset by carefully curating the information and influences you expose yourself to.
Cultivating these mindsets - purpose-driven, exponential, moonshot, longevity, and abundance - is critical for success as leaders, entrepreneurs, and individuals in the decade ahead.
Not Funny: The Onion Buys Infowars In Bankruptcy Auction
The leftist-satirical rag The Onion announced on Thursday that it had won a bankruptcy auction to acquire Infowars - the website founded and operated by Alex Jones since 1999.
#infowars #theorion #alexjones #bankruptcy
On Wednesday, Jones said that the auction's trustee could choose any bidder it wanted - not necessarily the high bidder. Jones announced the sale on X Thursday morning.
"I just got word 15 minutes ago that my lawyers and folks met with the U.S. trustee over our bankruptcy this morning and they said they are shutting us down even without a court order this morning," he said. "The Connecticut democrats with The Onion newspaper bought us."
The Onion told the NY Times that the bid was sanctioned by the families of the victims of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, who won a $1.4 billion defamation lawsuit against Jones.
The Onion did not disclose the price it paid for Infowars and its assets, including Jones' production studio and supplement business.
Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion parent company, Global Tetrahedron, says he plans to relaunch Infowars in January as a parody of itself, mocking "weird internet personalities."
In a not-funny post, The Onion wrote:
After Infowars is raped and rebooted, the nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety says it plans to advertise on it. Collins declined to disclose the value of said advertising deal, but that it was a multiyear agreement that would include banner ads and sponsored articles on the site.
John Feinblatt, president of Everytown, told the NY Times, "This was an opportunity for us to give The Onion the facts, the storytelling, the data and the research that’s at our fingertips," adding "And for them to give us the creativity of how to turn all of that information into new messaging to a new audience."
Collins said that the relaunched Infowars might publish its own satirical stories focusing on gun violence.
Chris Mattei, a lawyer for the Sandy Hook families, said in a statement that taking possession of Infowars amounted to accountability for "Alex Jones and his corrupt business."
"By divesting Jones of Infowars’ assets, the families and the team at The Onion have done a public service and will meaningfully hinder Jones’s ability to do more harm," said Mattei.
According to the NYT, "The plan is to relaunch it next year with an approach reminiscent of Clickhole, The Onion’s sister site that poked fun at “listicles” from BuzzFeed and other purveyors of viral content."
Article
The Onion buys InfoWars in Alex Jones bankruptcy sale
The Onion, a satirical news outlet, plans to use the InfoWars website and brand to present offerings from humor writers and content creators.
Jones shared news of the sale on X on Thursday morning, saying, “I just got word 15 minutes ago that my lawyers and folks met with the U.S. trustee over our bankruptcy this morning and they said they are shutting us down even without a court order this morning.”
“The Connecticut Democrats with The Onion newspaper bought us,” he added.
The Onion plans to use the InfoWars website and brand to present offerings from humor writers and content creators.
In a satirical post to the Onion‘s website on Thursday, an article from the so-called “Global Tetrahedron” called InfoWars an “invaluable tool for brainwashing and controlling the masses.”
“Through it all, InfoWars has shown an unswerving commitment to manufacturing anger and radicalizing the most vulnerable members of society—values that resonate deeply with all of us at Global Tetrahedron,” the satirical article added.
The selloff stems from defamation lawsuits from the families affected by the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, who accused Jones of causing emotional distress when he spent years falsely promoting that the incident was fabricated. Jones has since said he made a mistake in his public characterization of the shooting and has since affirmed that it did happen.
Jones, a prominent figure in alternative media, built a significant online presence through his Infowars brand, founded in 1999. The show has been a combination of talk radio and internet videos that promoted unproven theories surrounding the news and sensational claims of government plots.
OpenAI, Google, & Anthropic Face Hurdles In Advancing AI Models, Casting Doubt On Near-Term AGI
"The AGI bubble is bursting a little bit.'''
Tech companies focused on chatbot development, like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, have faced significant near-term headwinds in advancing large language models. Despite tens of billions of dollars in investments, these tech firms are experiencing diminishing returns in advancing more sophisticated LLMs.
#openai #google #anthropic #ai #models #technology
Sources told Bloomberg that OpenAI's new Orion LLM has experienced performance limitations. This means the new LLM would outperform the firm's existing models, but it does not mean there will be a significant leap in development, like that of GPT-3 to GPT-4.
The breakneck pace of developing more sophisticated LLMs appears to have also hit a proverbial brick wall at Google, in which its Gemini software has not lived up to expectations, according to sources, adding Anthropic also faces challenges with its long-awaited Claude model called 3.5 Opus.
Bloomberg noted one of the top obstacles these tech firms have encountered has been "finding new, untapped sources of high-quality, human-made training data that can be used to build more advanced AI systems."
Sources said Orion's dismal coding performance was due to the lack of sufficient coding data to train the LLM. They added that even though the model has improvements compared to legacy ones, it has become increasingly challenging to justify the massive costs of building and operating new models.
The setbacks may reveal an inconvenient truth for the tech industry plowing tens of billions of dollars into AI data centers and infrastructure, and the feasibility of reaching artificial general intelligence in the near future might be a pipedream.
John Schulman, cofounder and research scientist at OpenAI who recently left, said AGI could be achieved within a few years. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, believes it could be achieved by 2026.
However, Margaret Mitchell, the chief ethics scientist at AI startup Hugging Face, pointed out, "The AGI bubble is bursting a little bit," adding that "different training approaches" may be needed for progress.
In a recent interview with Lex Fridman, Anthropic's Amodei said there are "lots of things" that could "derail" the AI progression, including the possibility that "we could run out of data." However, he was optimistic that AI researchers would overcome any hurdles.
"It is less about quantity and more about quality and diversity of data," said Lila Tretikov, head of AI strategy at New Enterprise Associates and former deputy CTO at Microsoft.
Tretikov said, "We can generate quantity synthetically, yet we struggle to get unique, high-quality datasets without human guidance, especially when it comes to language."
Moving forward, Noah Giansiracusa, an associate professor of mathematics at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts, said AI models will continue to improve, but the hypergrowth in recent years is unsustainable:
If tech firms are struggling to advance LLM performance, this raises serious doubts about whether large investments can continue to be made in AI infrastructure.
"The infrastructure build for AI is the bubble. The AI 2.0 companies that can actually figure out a way to monetize it are the investments years from now. Might as well light a match to this fund. The infrastructure build like the telecom infrastructure during the dotcom boom will be oversupplied and pricing will collapse," Edward Dowd recently noted on X.
AI companies struggling to develop more advanced LLMs is undoubtedly an ominous sign for the AI bubble.
Article
AI Safety Levels explained: Current level is ASL-2 | Dario Amodei and Lex Fridman
#ai #safety #darioamodei #technology !summarize
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Navigating the Risks of Autonomous AI Systems
The way we test and assess the risks of autonomous AI systems is crucial, as these models become increasingly capable of conducting AI research themselves. This threshold of AI models being able to engage in AI research is an important milestone, as it signifies a level of true autonomy.
Defining Autonomy Levels (ASL)
To address this challenge, the RSP (Research Safety Policy) has developed an "if-then" structure that outlines different Autonomy Safety Levels (ASL):
ASL1: Systems that clearly pose no risk of autonomy or misuse, such as a chess-playing bot like Deep Blue.
ASL2: Today's AI systems, which have been measured and deemed not smart enough to autonomously self-replicate or conduct dangerous tasks like providing information on CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear) weapons beyond what can be found through a basic web search.
[...]
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ASL3: Models that are capable of enhancing the capabilities of non-state actors, requiring special security precautions to prevent theft and misuse.
ASL4: Models that could enhance the capabilities of already knowledgeable state actors or become the primary source of such risks.
ASL5: Models that are truly capable of exceeding human abilities in any of these tasks.
The "If-Then" Commitment
The purpose of this "if-then" structure is to avoid antagonizing people or harming the ability to have a voice in the conversation by imposing burdensome requirements on models that are not currently dangerous. The commitment is to clamp down with strict safety and security measures when a model is shown to be dangerous, with a sufficient buffer threshold to ensure the danger is not missed.
[...]
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This framework is not perfect and has required frequent updates, as the team behind it grapples with the technical, organizational, and research-related challenges of getting these policies right. Nonetheless, the "if-then" commitment and triggers aim to minimize burdens and false alarms while ensuring an appropriate response when the dangers of autonomous AI systems become evident.
SwiftConnect lets workers access the office with a smartphone swipe
SwiftConnect, a startup selling software that lets workers access the office with a smartphone swipe, has raised new capital in a Series B.
With the advent of flexible workspaces, companies are increasingly adopting smartphone-based authentication to let employees enter and leave. In a recent poll, nearly two in five firms said they’re letting staff use their phones to access office buildings.
#swiftconnect #smartphone #technology #employees #authentication
The boon has benefited vendors like SwiftConnect, which sells a platform for managing access to physical offices. Chip Kruger and Matt Kopel founded the company in 2020 after selling their previous company, Waltz, to WeWork in 2019.
Kopel says he had the idea for SwiftConnect while at WeWork, where he briefly worked after the Waltz acquisition. The on-demand, mobile-centric access control WeWork wanted, he believed, was going to become the standard for many offices going forward.
SwiftConnect’s platform is designed to abstract away access management for office spaces. Using the service, employees can add their employee badge to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet on their smartphones. Once added, the digital badge gives them access to enter their building and/or shared amenity spaces secured by NFC door locks.
From a dashboard, admins can issue credentials so that employees can enter only approved rooms.
Article
Google CEO: AI Is Creating Deadly Viruses! If We See This, We Must Turn Off AI!
#google #ai #ericschmidt #technology !summary
Mach9 is equipping infrastructure operators with better information
Clean water, safe roads, accessible broadband and electricity: These things are not a given. They depend on vast infrastructure networks that need to be constantly maintained and improved in order to function. America is failing badly on this front. In its latest report card, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the country’s aging infrastructure a dismal C-.
#,ach9 #technology #broadcand #networks
According to Mach9, a startup founded in 2021, part of the solution is in furnishing infrastructure providers with better information about the physical world. The company is using AI to convert mobile lidar (light detection and ranging, a type of imaging technology) scans into 2D and 3D engineering models at a fraction of the cost and time than standard processes. This means that utility companies, engineering firms, construction companies, and others can make timely progress on massive infrastructure projects, know where to direct capital for upgrades, or just better understand the assets under their stewardship.
The company’s flagship product, Digital Surveyor, can also automatically identify over 20 features, like utility poles, traffic signals, and road signs. The status quo is that these features are manually identified by human operators. Mach9’s customers include some major infrastructure providers and engineering service companies in the U.S. and Canada, like Michael Baker International, POWER Engineers, Langan, and Fibersmith.
Article
Silk Road Founder Trusts Trump To 'Honor His Pledge' For Commutation
Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, currently serving life in federal prison, posted on X for the first time since the United States election to express hope President-elect Donald Trump would fulfill a campaign promise by commuting his sentence.
#trump #silkroad #rossulbricht #technology #prison
In a Nov. 12 X post, Ulbricht said he could “finally see the light of freedom at the end of the tunnel” for his time in prison after Trump’s election victory.
The Silk Road founder was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole following a 2015 conviction for money laundering, computer hacking and conspiracy to traffic narcotics.
Ulbricht launched the Silk Road marketplace in 2011, which soon drew attention from US authorities for facilitating the sale of drugs and other illegal products.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested the Silk Road founder and took the platform offline in 2013. He is currently housed at the United States Penitentiary in Tucson, Arizona.
In his first term as US president from 2017 to 2021, Trump did not commute Ulbricht’s sentence, despite pleas from advocates for the Silk Road founder after the Republican lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.
However, speaking at the Libertarian Party’s National Convention in May, then-candidate Trump pledged to ensure Ulbricht’s freedom “on day one” if elected.
ome crypto users are skeptical of Trump’s intentions
Many crypto and blockchain advocates have been calling for any US president to pardon Ulbricht since his conviction, but some were skeptical that Trump would keep his promise to the Silk Road founder.
The Republican reiterated his pledge in a pre-election social media post, but PolitiFact reported in 2020 that Trump only kept or partially kept roughly 27% of campaign promises during his first three years at the White House.
“I don’t trust Trump,” said Franklin in a Nov. 12 reply to Ulbricht’s X post. “He already had 4 years to free you but dropped the ball.”
Among Trump’s other campaign promises to the crypto industry included firing Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler - which he may not be able to do without cause - having all Bitcoin “made in the USA,” and blocking the US government from developing a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
During his first term, Trump said that BTC was “not money” and based on “thin air.”
Trump met with President Biden at the White House on Nov. 13 as part of the process to take office in January. Reports suggested the two men anticipated a “smooth” transition.
2024's Crypto Gaming Boom is Coming FAST!
#gaming #web3 #crypto !summarize #raoulpal
Part 1/4:
The Home of Web3: Magic Eden's Rise to Becoming a Super DAP
The Digitalization of the World and the Metaverse
The conversation begins with a discussion of the ongoing digitalization of the world and the vision of the metaverse. Pier Kicks, an investor focused on the intersection of crypto and gaming, explains how crypto is integral to the emergence of an open metaverse. He believes gaming is the "Trojan Horse" for crypto adoption, as the concept of natively digital value is very intuitive for gamers who have experience with virtual economies.
The Promise and Pitfalls of Blockchain in Gaming
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Kicks delves into how blockchain can solve issues around transparency, scarcity, and ownership in gaming economies. He cites examples like Counter-Strike GO, where the secondary market for in-game items reaches billions in volume, yet remains largely uncontrolled by game developers. Blockchain-based solutions can unlock new revenue streams for game studios while empowering players to truly own their digital assets.
The Winter of Gaming and Metaverse Narratives
However, the conversation then explores the disillusionment that set in around 2021-2022, as overhyped metaverse land sales and underperforming play-to-earn games like Axie Infinity led to a "winter" for gaming and metaverse narratives. Kicks acknowledges the experimental nature of this space, where failures are part of the journey towards more polished, successful implementations.
The Rise of Off the Grid: A Blockchain-Powered Battle Royale
[...]
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One such promising project is Off the Grid, a blockchain-integrated battle royale game developed by Gunzilla. Kicks is incredibly excited about Off the Grid, praising its innovative "cyber limbs" mechanic, high-quality production values, and the team's deep understanding of token economics. He believes Off the Grid could be the next big hit in the battle royale genre.
The Intersection of AI, Gaming, and Crypto
The conversation then explores the intersection of AI, gaming, and crypto. Kicks discusses projects like Seed, which aims to create a massively multiplayer online game with autonomous AI agents that players can interact with and strategize alongside. He also highlights the emergence of virtual influencers and AI-powered trading bots, showcasing the blurring of lines between human and artificial intelligence.
The Future of Immersive Technologies
[...]
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Finally, Kicks shares his thoughts on the future of immersive technologies like augmented and virtual reality. He believes we are making steady progress, with devices like the Apple Vision and Meta's Orion glasses hinting at the potential for more seamless and compelling experiences. Kicks remains optimistic that the combination of crypto, gaming, and AI will drive the next wave of innovation and value creation in the digital realm.
Mobile browser Arc Search is now generally available on Android
Following an October beta release for Android, mobile browser, Arc Search, hit general availability Thursday.
Its developer, The Browser Company, is known for its desktop browser Arc. To reach more users and employ AI-based search, the company launched Arc Search for iOS earlier this year. The new version will possibly open up Arc Search’s reach to millions of Android users.
#arcsearch #mobile #browser #android #technology
When the startup launched Arc Search on Android, it had limited features, including Browse for Me, ad block, and auto archiving tabs. With the stable version, it gets voice search, adaptable widgets, and icons for the home screen, support for landscape mode, browse for me in your native language, and full Android 12 support.
The company said that within weeks of launching the open beta, more than 100,000 people had downloaded Arc Search through the Play Store.
While the Browser Company promises to keep releasing Android version updates, it’s shifting its attention toward building newer products.
In a video last month, Browser Company CEO, Josh Miller, said that while Arc is in its current version, the startup valued at $550 million is thinking about building new products that are more palatable to a wider audience.
Some users have complained that Arc is diffi
Why Roger Ver Deserves A Presidential Pardon
The US government is attempting to imprison Roger Ver for 109 years for the crime of following his lawyers’ advice.
His case represents an unprecedented attack on attorney-client privilege that threatens everyone who relies on professional counsel.
Today, Ver sits silenced in Spain, unable to defend himself publicly, while prosecutors use his own lawyers’ records against him—records that show his meticulous attempts to follow the law. This isn’t just about cryptocurrency; it’s about whether any American can safely consult legal counsel without fear of prosecution.
#rogerver #bitcoin #pardon #president #trump #crypto
If this precedent stands, seeking professional advice could become evidence of criminality. Business owners, entrepreneurs, and ordinary citizens who rely on lawyers and accountants will all be at risk. The time to act is now, before this dangerous precedent becomes permanent.
Imagine for a moment that you’re an entrepreneur with an unwavering belief: state control over money isn’t just wrong—it’s a weapon. It fuels violence, breeds poverty, and crushes individual freedom. You’ve seen the wreckage it leaves behind and know that there has to be a better way.
You know this because you’ve experienced the state’s brutality firsthand.
At just 22, you were imprisoned for ten months in federal prison. Your supposed crime? Selling firecrackers on eBay’s then-legal Guns & Ammo section without a license. But the real reason, as Roger tells it, was speaking truth to power—declaring that taxation is theft and wars are mass murder.
In prison, you experienced psychological torture that haunts you to this day. A guard planted a weapon on you as a “joke,” threatening you with additional years in prison until you broke down in tears. You witnessed the theatrical deception when inspectors visited—seeing how the system maintains its façade of legitimacy while grinding down human dignity behind closed doors. In Roger’s own words from his emotional testimony:
Then, in 2010, you discover Bitcoin—a revolutionary concept. A form of money that can’t be manipulated by any government, any central bank. Digital cash for the people. Your mind races with the possibilities. For the first time in history, money could flow freely across borders, free from the control of states that use it to fuel wars, or impoverish entire nations. You see what many do not: Bitcoin could be the key to spreading freedom and prosperity to every corner of the earth.
You dive in, headfirst. You’re not just a believer—you become the first merchant to accept Bitcoin, the first investor in Bitcoin-related companies. Your relentless advocacy earns you the title “Bitcoin Jesus.” You invest in decentralized companies with one mission: to free the world from the shackles of centralized control.
But the US—the land of the free—begins to look less and less like the place you want it to be. So, you make the difficult choice to legally expatriate. Despite the murky regulations surrounding this new currency, you hire the best attorneys and accountants to ensure every penny of tax is paid. Your conscience is clear.
A decade passes. Then, without warning, they come for you—not just for you, but for your lawyers too. You find yourself arrested and thrown in a Spanish prison—the same prison where fellow libertarian John McAfee mysteriously died. You don’t speak the language. You’re cut off from everything you know. After months of legal battles, you’re finally out on bond, but the situation is bleak. Six months pass, and you still have no clarity, no answers.
Now, in a cruel echo of his past persecution for speaking truth to power, Roger finds himself essentially gagged. He cannot speak out about his case or the broader implications of his prosecution for fear that his words might be used against him in court—or worse, lead to the revocation of his bail and his return to the same Spanish prison where McAfee met his end. The silencing of Bitcoin Jesus isn’t just about one man’s freedom—it’s about whether any of us will be free to challenge the financial status quo.
Roger Ver: Where Natural Law Meets Human Impact
When people ask me what I believe in, the answer is simple: natural law. Not the academic theory of natural rights, but the living, breathing reality that we can make the world better through right thought and right action. That by aligning our behavior with universal principles of non-aggression, voluntary cooperation, and genuine care for human flourishing, we can create the conditions for freedom to thrive.
In all my years studying and advocating for these principles, I’ve never encountered anyone who embodies them more completely than Roger Ver. While others talk about freedom in the abstract, Roger has dedicated his life to manifesting it in reality.
A Legacy of Impact
I first encountered Roger’s work in 2012 at a Free State Project event called Liberty Forum, where he introduced many of us—including several who are now prominent voices in the crypto industry—to Bitcoin for the first time. In the decade since, I’ve watched him consistently stay ahead of the curve, identifying and supporting technologies that offer real alternatives to centralized control.
But Roger’s impact extends far beyond cryptocurrency. He has invested his heart and resources into more than 40 companies that are transforming the world for the better. From groundbreaking medical technologies making diagnostics accessible to underserved communities, to biotech innovations advancing personalized medicine, to projects reimagining governance itself—Roger’s work touches on every aspect of human freedom and flourishing.
The Hidden Champion of Truth
This weekend, I had the honor of participating in Brownstone Institute’s annual conference in Pittsburgh. For two intense days, I witnessed something remarkable: a gathering of some of the world’s most courageous voices in the fight for human liberty and scientific truth.
The accomplishments of Brownstone over just three years are staggering. When voices of reason were being systematically silenced during the pandemic, Brownstone emerged as a sanctuary for truth-tellers. They’ve fought lockdowns and mandates not just in the public sphere but in the courts.
They’ve exposed the machinery of censorship, revealing how government agencies collude with tech companies to suppress dissent. Their research team dismantled flawed pandemic risk assessments and exposed how organizations like the WHO and the G20 manipulated outbreak data to justify massive new funding through REPPARE. Most recently (with my addition as a Fellow), they’ve been at the forefront of warning about the dangers of CBDCs and the weaponization of the financial system against dissenters.
But Brownstone’s story begins with a profound act of moral courage. Jeffrey Tucker, witnessing the collapse of scientific discourse and basic human rights during the pandemic, created Brownstone from a place of deep caring—caring about truth, about humanity, and about protecting those who dare to speak out. He wanted to create a haven for dissidents like myself and many other Brownstone Fellows who faced cancellation, professional destruction, and worse simply for doing what was right: speaking the truth.
What few people know—what I didn’t even know until after becoming a Brownstone Fellow—is that none of this would have been possible without Roger Ver. As Brownstone’s founding donor and board member, Roger’s support was crucial in getting this beacon of truth off the ground. In typical Roger fashion, he never sought recognition for this role. While others might have used such support for publicity, Roger quietly helped build an institution that has become one of the most important voices for freedom and scientific integrity in our time.
This is characteristic of how Roger operates. Behind nearly every major initiative promoting human freedom and fighting against authoritarian control, you’ll often find Roger’s quiet support. From Bitcoin adoption in the developing world to fighting against CBDCs, from supporting victims of state persecution to funding research that challenges official narratives—Roger has been there, usually without acknowledgement or acclaim.
Now, in a cruel irony, while Brownstone continues its vital work exposing government overreach and defending individual liberty, one of its key founders sits silenced in Spain, facing persecution from the very systems of state control he helped others fight against. The same commitment to truth and freedom that led Roger to support Brownstone now has him fighting for his own liberty.
The parallel is stark and troubling: just as Brownstone fights to prevent the financial system from being weaponized against dissenters through CBDCs, its own founding donor faces the weaponization of tax law against him. Just as Brownstone works to expose the machinery of state persecution, Roger faces that machinery firsthand.
Natural Law in Action
What makes Roger unique is his understanding that natural law isn’t just a philosophy—it’s a blueprint for action. Rather than just describe Roger’s passion, I encourage you to watch him speak in his own words. In this powerful video, you’ll see Roger’s raw emotion and genuine care as he explains why decentralized money must be accessible to everyone, not just the elite.
When he declares that “Bitcoin is for everybody…regardless of how much money they have or where they were born,” it’s not just rhetoric—it’s backed by decades of concrete action. You can hear the urgency in his voice when he explains:
Beyond Cryptocurrency to Human Freedom
Roger’s vision extends far beyond financial technology. His work in medical accessibility, internet decentralization, and biotech innovation shows his understanding that freedom requires a holistic approach. When he breaks down discussing government monetary control, we see someone who deeply understands the human cost of centralized power:
The Price of Principles
Now Roger faces persecution precisely because he’s been so effective at putting these principles into practice. The charges against him aren’t just an attack on one man—they’re an attack on everyone who believes in building voluntary systems outside state control.
Constitutional Crisis: Robert Barnes Exposes the Ver Persecution
Constitutional lawyer Robert Barnes recently delivered a chilling analysis that should terrify every American who relies on professional advice: The government isn’t just prosecuting Roger Ver—they’re attempting to criminalize the very act of following legal counsel.
The Unprecedented Attack on Attorney-Client Privilege
“This isn’t just about Bitcoin or taxes,” Barnes explains in his detailed analysis. “They’re establishing that they can put you in prison and create new tax policy through criminal law enforcement against individuals, even when you’ve followed expert advice to the letter.”
Consider the timeline that Barnes lays bare:
2014: Ver faces the challenge of valuing Bitcoin for his exit tax
The largest Bitcoin exchange (Mt. Gox) had just collapsed
No clear valuation guidelines existed
The IRS itself admitted they couldn’t determine how to classify Bitcoin
Even basic questions about cryptocurrency taxation remained unanswered
Ver’s Response: Exactly what any prudent person would do
Hired top-tier attorneys
Consulted leading accountants
Documented every step of compliance
Followed expert guidance meticulously
The Government’s Shocking Response
Then comes what Barnes calls “the most disturbing breach of attorney-client privilege I’ve seen:”
Raided Ver’s lawyers’ offices
Seized privileged communications
Found extensive evidence of Ver trying to follow the law
Is now using that evidence of compliance as proof of criminality
“You read the quotes from his lawyer,” Barnes reveals, “and this is the evidence of someone trying to comply with the law, not someone trying to not comply with the law.”
What This Means for Every American
Barnes outlines four immediate threats to anyone who relies on professional advice:
Small Business Owners
Your consultations with tax attorneys can be seized
Your compliance efforts become evidence against you
Even following advice perfectly offers no protection
International Business
Complex regulations require expert guidance
That guidance can later be used to prosecute you
No “safe harbor” even when following professional advice
Tech Entrepreneurs
Evolving regulations demand constant legal consultation
Today’s compliance could become tomorrow’s crime
No way to prove good faith without creating “evidence”
Individual Taxpayers
Cannot safely seek professional guidance
Cannot trust attorney-client privilege
Cannot document compliance efforts without risk
The Constitutional Crisis
Barnes identifies three fundamental rights under attack:
Attorney-Client Privilege
Once sacred, now routinely violated
Communications with counsel used as evidence
No safe way to seek legal advice
Due Process
Retroactive criminalization of legal conduct
No clear standards for compliance
Good faith efforts used as evidence of guilt
Right to Counsel
Following legal advice becomes criminal
Creating compliance records becomes dangerous
Professional guidance offers no protection
The Dangerous Precedent
“If this stands,” Barnes warns, “we’ve entered a world where:
Seeking legal advice becomes evidence of guilt
Following professional guidance provides no protection
Documenting compliance efforts creates prosecution evidence
Perfect compliance offers no safety from prosecution.”
Watch Barnes’s complete analysis to understand why this case represents a Constitutional crisis that threatens every American and business that relies on professional advice. As he concludes: “When the government can breach attorney-client privilege, find evidence of compliance, and still pursue prosecution, we’ve moved beyond the realm of law enforcement into territory our Founders feared most: a system where no one is safe.”
The implications are clear: If they can do this to Roger Ver—a man who actively sought to comply with the law—they can do it to anyone. The time to act is now, before this precedent becomes permanent.
There are moments in history when parallel lives intersect to reveal profound truths about power, persecution, and the price of challenging the status quo. Donald Trump and Roger Ver’s stories are such a moment.
The American Dream Under Siege
Both men exemplify the quintessential American success story. Trump transformed New York’s skyline through sheer force of will and vision. Ver saw the revolutionary potential of Bitcoin when it was merely computer code and helped build it into a global force for freedom. Both men didn’t just succeed—they dared to reimagine what success could mean.
But in today’s America, such audacious success comes with a target on your back.
The Playbook of Persecution
The parallels between their persecutions are not just striking—they’re identical:
The Weaponization of Attorney-Client Privilege
Trump watched in horror as federal agents raided his lawyer Michael Cohen’s office, seizing privileged communications
Ver’s attorneys faced the same violation, with prosecutors seizing private legal consultations showing his meticulous efforts to follow the law
The Tax Weapon
Trump endures endless audits and investigations, with rules twisted to create crimes from normal business practices
Ver faces prosecution for following expert advice on Bitcoin taxation during a time when even the IRS admitted they didn’t know how to classify cryptocurrency
The Criminalization of Success
Trump’s business empire became evidence of alleged criminality
Ver’s pioneering work in cryptocurrency transformed into supposed proof of wrongdoing
The Criminalization of Success
Trump’s business empire became evidence of alleged criminality
Ver’s pioneering work in cryptocurrency transformed into supposed proof of wrongdoing
The Breach of Sacred Rights
Both men have watched as fundamental legal protections crumbled:
Their attorneys raided
Their private communications seized
Their attempts to follow the law transformed into evidence against them
Why Trump Must Act
Mr. President, you alone understand the machinery of state persecution that’s been unleashed against Roger Ver. You alone have the power to end it. Here’s why pardoning Ver would be a masterpiece of justice:
It Breaks the Deep State’s Weapon
Shows that weaponizing justice against innovators will no longer be tolerated
Demonstrates that following legal advice won’t be criminalized
It Restores American Innovation
Declares America open for blockchain business
Signals that challenging financial orthodoxy isn’t a crime
It Reaffirms Sacred Rights
Restores the sanctity of attorney-client privilege
Proves that seeking legal counsel is a right, not evidence of guilt
It Sends a Global Message
America still rewards dreamers
Innovation will be protected, not persecuted
The Power of Parallel Justice
Mr. President, you’ve felt the sting of politically motivated prosecution. You’ve watched as attorney-client privilege was shredded. You’ve seen how success can be twisted into evidence of criminality. You alone can turn this moment of parallel persecution into parallel justice.
By pardoning Roger Ver, you won’t just be freeing one man—you’ll be declaring that America still stands for the dreamers, the builders, the innovators who dare to imagine a freer world. You’ll be showing that when the deep state tries to crucify a visionary, America’s highest office still stands for justice.
The symmetry is perfect: The man persecuted for challenging real estate orthodoxy can save the man persecuted for challenging financial orthodoxy. The businessman who became president can restore justice to the entrepreneur who became Bitcoin Jesus.
Mr. President, on Day One, write your name in the history books. Show that America still believes in dreams, in innovation, and in the sacred right to challenge power without fear of persecution.
Pardon Roger Ver. Resurrect Bitcoin Jesus. Let freedom ring.
Defend Freedom: Why Every American Must Stand With Roger Ver
The President holds the power to take a decisive stand, but ultimately, this fight calls on all of us. Roger’s battle isn’t just his own—it’s a rallying cry for anyone who values the right to question authority, seek counsel, and live free from unjust persecution.
This moment demands a response from each of us. Here’s how you can join the movement to defend freedom and stand up for Roger Ver’s rights, along with our own.
The Open Letter
We, the undersigned, call on the US government to end the unjust prosecution of Roger Ver, a pioneer in cryptocurrency and advocate for economic freedom. This isn’t just about Roger—it’s about protecting innovation, defending liberty, and ensuring that following legal advice doesn’t become a crime.
"Grand Political Theatre" - FBI Raids Home Of Polymarket CEO; Seize Phone, Electronics
With just a few short weeks until President Trump (and his freshly appointed new AG Matt Gaetz) take over, the FBI has decided to rush in and raid the home of the founder and chief executive of Polymarket, the crypto-based prediction market that was a popular (and very accurate) platform for bets on the US presidential election.
#polymarket #fbi
The NY Post reports, citing a source close to the matter, that Shayne Coplan was woken up at 6:00 am Eastern Time in his New York City apartment by US law enforcement officials who demanded he hand over his phone and electronics.
It wasn’t immediately clear what prompted the FBI’s search but Polymarket quickly tied the raid to its track record in the recent election, in which bettors on its platform correctly anticipated that Donald Trump would beat Vice President Kamala Harris.
“This is obvious political retribution by the outgoing administration against Polymarket for providing a market that correctly called the 2024 presidential election,” said a spokesman for the New York-based company.
“Polymarket is a fully transparent prediction market that helps everyday people better understand the events that matter most to them, including elections,” the spokesman added.
The CEO of the decentralized prediction markets platform appeared to confirm the reports on X, claiming to make a post from a new phone.
A person close to the matter described the Coplan’s incident as “grand political theatre” to the NY Post.
“They could have asked his lawyer for any of these things.
Instead, they staged a so-called raid so they can leak it to the media and use it for obvious political reasons.”
Polymarket does not allow trading in the US, though bettors can bypass the ban by accessing the site through VPN, and Bloomberg reports that the DoJ is probing the company for allegedly accepting trades from US-based users, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Under an agreement with the CFTC reached in 2022, Polymarket is to prevent US-based traders from making transactions on the platform.
Coplan took to X once more this evening, clearly pissed off at the obvious politicization:
"It’s discouraging that the current administration would seek a last-ditch effort to go after companies they deem to be associated with political opponents. We are deeply committed to being non-partisan, and today is no different, but the incumbents should do some self-reflecting and recognize that taking a more pro-business, pro-startup approach may be what would have changed their fate this election.
Polymarket has provided value to 10's of millions of people this election cycle, while causing harm to nobody.
We're deeply proud of that.
I'm also proud to say that the future of America, and in particular American entrepreneurship, has never been brighter.
In the face of adversity, we build."
Investors in Polymarket include Founders Fund, the Silicon Valley venture firm started by billionaire Peter Thiel, and a number of prominent crypto personalities.
Superhuman vision lets robots see through walls, smoke with new LiDAR-like eyes
AI-powered PanoRadar turns radio waves into 3D views, offering robots LiDAR-like vision at lower cost.
In a quest to advance robotics, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are using radio signals to equip robots with superhuman vision.
Their system, PanoRadar, converts basic radio waves into rich 3D views, allowing robots to “see” beyond traditional sensor limits.
The device improves on the low-resolution images produced by conventional radar by processing radio waves using AI algorithms.
#robot #lidar #technology #robotics
According to researchers, this makes it possible for robots to precisely navigate through challenging situations and obstructions like smoke, glass, and walls—situations in which conventional sensors are inadequate.
“This innovation in AI-powered perception has the potential to improve multi-modal systems, helping robots operate more effectively in challenging environments like search and rescue missions or autonomous vehicles,” said the team, in a video posted on YouTube.
Beyond light perception
One recurring issue in the quest to create reliable perception systems for robots has been functioning in inclement weather and other challenging environments. For instance, in dense smoke and fog, conventional light-based vision sensors like cameras or LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) are ineffective.
According to researchers, nature has demonstrated, however, that vision need not be limited by the restrictions of light; numerous animals have developed methods of perceiving their surroundings independently of light. Sharks hunt by detecting electrical fields from the motions of their prey, whereas bats use the echoes of sound waves to navigate.
Beyond human vision, radio waves can see through some materials and penetrate smoke and fog more effectively than light waves because their wavelengths are orders of magnitude longer.
Nonetheless, robots have historically only used a small set of tools: either classic radar, which can see through walls and other obstructions but generates rudimentary, low-resolution images, or cameras and LiDAR, which provide detailed images but perform poorly in difficult situations.
Article
New electric aircraft boasts 1,265-mile range, 201 mph speed, ultra-short takeoff
The EL9 cruises at 201 mph, takes off in 150 feet, with a range of 1,265 miles and can carry 3,000 lbs of freight for 379 miles.
US-based aviation company Electra has revealed its innovative EL9 Ultra Short hybrid-electric aircraft.
This nine-passenger, piloted model is designed to advance air travel, offering a future without airports, emissions, or noise.
Electra is now entering the development phase of the EL9, following over a year of successful flight tests with its EL2 Goldfinch two-seat prototype.
#aerospace #electric #aircraft #electra
“This aircraft is more than a new design—it’s the gateway to a cleaner, quieter, and more affordable future for regional travel,” said Marc Allen, CEO of Electra, in a statement.
In June, the company successfully completed the first high-performance ultra-short flight operations of the EL-2 Goldfinch. In September, the firm also held flight demonstrations of the two-seater hybrid-electric prototype for military audiences.
Innovative aircraft design
In order to provide high lift at low airspeeds, the EL9 uses blown lift technology in conjunction with distributed electric propulsion. This is accomplished by means of four separate battery packs and a tiny turbine-powered generator that powers eight electric motors positioned along the wing.
The blown-lift mechanism makes it possible to take off and land on incredibly short airstrips—just 300 x 100 feet, or the size of a soccer field—by carefully directing focused airflow over the wings.
How AI is Accelerating Science NOW--and Why That CHANGES EVERYTHING!
#science #ai !summarize
Part 1/5:
The AI-Driven Scientific Revolution
Compressing Centuries of Progress into Years
What happens when you can compress a year, 10 years, or even a thousand years of scientific progress into a single day? This is the world we are rapidly approaching, thanks to the transformative power of artificial intelligence (AI).
The scientific and technological advancements we are witnessing today are nothing short of revolutionary. AI is serving as a powerful assistant, enabling human researchers to make discoveries and breakthroughs at an unprecedented pace. This synthetic video explores how AI is radically changing the landscape of science, art, and ideas, and how the effects of this transformation will be felt by society very soon.
AI Accelerating Scientific Discovery
[...]
Part 2/5:
One of the key examples discussed is the work of Sakana AI, a Japanese AI research company that has developed an AI scientist capable of autonomously navigating the various steps required to go from a scientific idea to publishing a research paper. This technology, when combined with the computing power of large research firms, has the potential to drastically accelerate the pace of scientific discovery.
"What do you think is going to happen when artificial intelligence is making true scientific discoveries, actual new science that humans did not discover themselves?" This question, posed by researcher Matthew Burman, highlights the profound implications of AI-driven scientific breakthroughs.
The Protein Folding Revolution
[...]
Part 3/5:
Another example is the groundbreaking work of Demis Hassabis and his team at DeepMind, who recently won a Nobel Prize for their development of AlphaFold. This AI system is capable of predicting the three-dimensional structure of proteins, a task that previously took years and a full PhD to accomplish. With AlphaFold, scientists can now examine how proteins work and explore new possibilities for creating medicines, combating aging, and other life-extending applications.
The Imperative to Adapt
As AI continues to advance, the message is clear: "You either have to adopt AI or die," as stated by Jack Ma at the AI Leadership Forum. This sentiment applies not only to businesses, but to the entire spectrum of human endeavors, including art, culture, and philosophy. Those who fail to adapt to the new AI paradigm risk becoming increasingly irrelevant as the pace of progress accelerates.
Compressing Centuries of Glass Development
[...]
Part 4/5:
The development of Gorilla Glass, as explored in the Veritasium video, provides a striking example of how AI could dramatically compress the timeline of scientific and technological progress. Whereas it took thousands of years to go from opaque glass to the transparent, durable glass we use today, an AI-powered glass research system could potentially achieve similar advancements in a matter of months or even days.
The Longevity Escape Velocity
The potential of AI-driven scientific breakthroughs also extends to the field of longevity and life extension. As discussed, the ability to understand and counteract the mechanisms of aging could allow us to reach a "longevity escape velocity," where our life expectancy increases faster than our actual age.
The Unrecognizable Future
[...]
Part 5/5:
In conclusion, the world is on the cusp of a profound transformation, driven by the exponential growth of AI-powered scientific discovery. The pace of progress is set to accelerate to the point where decades or even centuries of human development can be compressed into a matter of years or even days. As the effects of this revolution become increasingly apparent, the world we know today may become almost unrecognizable in the coming decades.
Adopt Ai or die.
The growth of vector databases is often described using the concept of the "curse of dimensionality," which states that the number of possible unique vectors grows exponentially with the number of dimensions.
In other words, as the dimensionality of the vector space increases, the number of possible unique vectors grows rapidly. This is because each additional dimension provides more flexibility for the vectors, allowing them to be positioned in more diverse and complex ways.
Mathematically, the number of possible unique vectors in a d-dimensional space is given by:
d^n
where d is the number of dimensions and n is the number of vectors.
For example, in a 3-dimensional space, there are 3^3 = 27 possible unique vectors. In a 10-dimensional space, there are 10^10 possible unique vectors. And in a 100-dimensional space, there are 100^100 possible unique vectors.
However, it's worth noting that the actual growth rate of vector databases is not always exponential. This is because many vector databases use techniques such as dimensionality reduction, indexing, and caching to mitigate the curse of dimensionality.
For instance, some vector databases use techniques like PCA (Principal Component Analysis) to reduce the dimensionality of the data, which can significantly slow down the growth rate. Others use indexing techniques, like inverted files or hash tables, to quickly locate specific vectors, which can reduce the number of possible unique vectors.
In practice, the growth rate of vector databases depends on the specific implementation, the type of data, and the use case. Some vector databases, like those used in image and speech recognition, may require extremely high dimensionality to capture the nuances of the data, while others, like those used in natural language processing, may use lower dimensionality.
To give you a better idea, let's consider a rough estimate of the growth rate of vector databases. Assuming a moderate growth rate, the number of possible unique vectors in a vector database might grow at a rate similar to:
d^(log(d))
This growth rate is slower than the exponential growth rate, but still significant.
Keep in mind that these are rough estimates and the actual growth rate of vector databases can vary widely depending on the specific implementation and use case.
Let's dive deeper into the concept of the curse of dimensionality and its impact on vector databases.
The Curse of Dimensionality
The curse of dimensionality is a phenomenon where the number of possible unique vectors in a high-dimensional space grows exponentially with the number of dimensions. This makes it increasingly difficult to store, search, and retrieve vectors efficiently.
To understand why, let's consider a simple example. Imagine you have a 2-dimensional space with x and y coordinates. There are only 4 possible unique vectors:
(0, 0), (0, 1), (1, 0), (1, 1)
As you add more dimensions, the number of possible unique vectors grows rapidly. In a 3-dimensional space, there are 8 possible unique vectors:
(0, 0, 0), (0, 0, 1), (0, 1, 0), (0, 1, 1), (1, 0, 0), (1, 0, 1), (1, 1, 0), (1, 1, 1)
In a 10-dimensional space, there are 10^10 possible unique vectors, which is an enormous number.
Why does the curse of dimensionality occur?
There are several reasons why the curse of dimensionality occurs:
Techniques to mitigate the curse of dimensionality
To mitigate the curse of dimensionality, vector databases use various techniques, including:
Real-world applications and examples
The curse of dimensionality affects various applications, including:
Some examples of vector databases that have mitigated the curse of dimensionality include:
In conclusion, the curse of dimensionality is a significant challenge in vector databases, but it can be mitigated using various techniques. By understanding the curse of dimensionality and using the right techniques, we can build more efficient and scalable vector databases that support a wide range of applications.
KRICT sets world record with 20.6% efficient large-area perovskite solar cells
No technology previously had achieved over 20% efficiency in practical applications.
A dvancements are rapidly increasing across multiple types of solar cells to achieve superior power conversion efficiency. In this arena, a Korean institute has set a new record for large-area perovskite solar module efficiency.
Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) and UniTest Co jointly developed a technology to produce highly efficient, large-area perovskite solar cells (over 200 cm²) that achieved a certified efficiency of 20.6%. The new technology broke the previous world record of 19.2% held by UtmoLight.
#krict #korea #technology #unitest #solar #cells
Fraunhofer Institute in Germany officially certified the record that was listed in “Champion Module Efficiency Chart” of the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
Commercialization of perovskite solar cells
KRICT plans to advance the commercialization of perovskite solar cells by utilizing this breakthrough technology in partnership with UniTest Co. Ltd.
KRICT claims that with UniTest, it’s preparing for mass production of
perovskite solar cells for various applications, such as indoor photovoltaic products, building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), and other functional devices, with some products expected to reach the market this year.
The research team at KRICT optimized its in-house material synthesis methods, film uniformity by scalable processes, and laser ablation control, resulting in a certified efficiency of 20.6% for large-area perovskite solar modules (>200㎠), significantly surpassing the previous record of 19.2%.
Theoretical efficiency limit for large-area perovskite solar cells
“The theoretical efficiency limit for large-area perovskite solar cells is estimated to be around 27% when considering realistic loss mechanisms. However, no technology previously had achieved over 20% efficiency in practical applications,” said KRICT in a press release.
“Improving efficiency entails various tasks such as optimization of device structure, tailoring properties of materials, uniform coating, and laser processes, which are challenging to achieve consistently across large-scale devices.”
AI's Next Big Challenge: Have We Hit a Wall?
#ai #anthropic #technology !summarize
Part 1/3:
AI Advancement: Slowing Down or Accelerating?
The Debate Over AI Progress
Major AI companies like Google and OpenAI have suggested that AI advancement is slowing down, with OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever saying the 2010s were the "age of scaling" and now the industry is in the "age of wonder and discovery" again.
However, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei sees a path to AGI (artificial general intelligence) by 2026 or 2027, a much shorter timeline than the slowdown narrative.
Reasons for Differing Interpretations
The slowdown may be related to diminishing returns from scaling up training data and models. The quality of data and how it's used for inference may matter more now.
But the ability to scale up inference compute, as seen with OpenAI's GPT-3 and upcoming models, could allow for continued rapid progress.
Amodei believes that even with potential hurdles like data shortages or geopolitical events, AGI could still arrive in the next 2-3 years.
[...]
Part 2/3:
The Push for an AI Alliance
OpenAI is reportedly working to build a coalition with the U.S. government to rival China's AI capabilities, potentially involving the military and nuclear expertise.
This reflects the high stakes and global competition around advanced AI development.
The Importance of Inference Compute
While the initial training of large language models may be showing diminishing returns, the ability to scale up inference compute could unlock further breakthroughs.
Techniques like OpenAI's "constitutional AI" aim to make models more reliable and controllable during inference.
AI Naming Woes
The Future of AI
[...]
Part 3/3:
China’s insane robot dog tackles tough terrain, big boulders at high speed
The Lynx can lock its wheels, allowing it to switch between walking and climbing like a standard four-legged robot.
China is rapidly launching new robotics products, and DEEP Robotics is now unveiling its latest—a four-legged robot called Lynx.
The new wheeled quadruped promises exceptional flexibility for tackling tough terrain tasks.
In 2017, Deep Robotics was founded in Hangzhou, China, with the goal of creating autonomous stair-climbing robots.
#china #robot #dog #technology
These days, the firm’s product portfolio includes a wide range of multitasking humanoids and robot canines.
About Lynx, the firm claims it is a “middle-sized powerful quadruped wheel solution, unlocking new levels of flexibility, productivity, and ease of use for our customers.” reads a LinkedIn post.
Wheels meet agility
DEEP Robotics’ new four-legged robot, the Lynx, joins its lineup of innovative quadrupeds, including the Lite3, X20, and X30. However, Lynx stands out by swapping traditional pad feet for wheels, significantly enhancing speed and versatility without compromising control.
As seen in a recent promotional video, this wheeled design not only brings added excitement but also enables the robot to handle diverse terrains more effectively.
The Lynx’s design allows it to lock its wheels, enabling it to walk or climb like a conventional quadruped. This feature makes it suitable for navigating rough and uneven surfaces, while its powerful motors can also drive it efficiently over loose dirt, gravel, and smooth pavement. In essence, Lynx combines the adaptability of a walking robot with the efficiency and speed of a wheeled system.
The video demonstrates Lynx in action on a rigorous multi-terrain course. The robot maneuvers down steep slopes with careful control, shifts between walking and wheeled modes, and even climbs over an 80-centimeter boulder. Lynx’s dual-mode locomotion versatility and stability make it capable of tackling challenging terrain, whether on wheels or legs.
Anthropic CEO predicts $100 billion AI data center by 2027 | Dario Amodei and Lex Fridman
#anthropic #darioamodei #gpu #ai !summarize
Part 1/3:
The Limits of Compute and the Rapid Advancement of Powerful AI
The rapid development of large language models and the increasing scale of compute power used to train them have raised questions about the limits of this trajectory. According to the speaker, the current frontier models being developed by major tech companies are operating at a scale of around $1 billion, with plans to scale up to a few billion dollars next year, and potentially reaching over 10 billion dollars by 2026 or 2027. There are even ambitions to build 100 billion dollar compute clusters within the next decade.
However, the speaker notes that even a 100 billion dollar compute cluster may not be enough to fully satisfy the demand for more powerful AI systems. This raises the possibility that either even greater compute scale will be required, or that more efficient methods of training and deploying these models will need to be developed.
[...]
Part 2/3:
Despite these potential limits, the speaker remains bullish on the rapid advancement of powerful AI capabilities. By extrapolating the recent progress in areas like software engineering, graduate-level math, physics, and biology, the speaker suggests that these models could reach and surpass the highest professional human levels within a few years.
The speaker acknowledges that there are reasons to be skeptical about whether this exponential curve of progress will continue indefinitely. However, if the current trajectory holds, it could lead to the development of AI systems that far exceed human-level abilities in a relatively short timeframe.
[...]
Part 3/3:
This rapid progress raises important questions about the societal and ethical implications of such powerful AI systems, as well as the practical challenges of building the necessary compute infrastructure to support their development. As the speaker notes, the determination to build this compute power within the country suggests that these challenges will be actively pursued, with significant resources and effort devoted to pushing the boundaries of what is possible.
Gary Gensler says he was 'proud to serve' as SEC chair, defends his approach to crypto regulation
In what sounded awfully close to a farewell speech, Gensler made only passing reference to his most controversial disclosure rule, on climate change.
Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler spoke this morning at the Practising Law Institute's 56th annual conference on securities regulation.
It sounded awfully close to a farewell speech.
#garygensler #sec #crypto #regulation
"It's a remarkable agency," Gensler said of the SEC, which he has led since April 2021.
"It's been a great honor to serve with them, doing the people's work, and ensuring that our capital markets remain the best in the world."
Gensler reviews accomplishments
Gensler offered a review of what he has accomplished.
Most notably, Gensler highlighted the many disclosure rules the SEC has enacted, including disclosure on data breaches, executive pay versus performance and additional disclosures on those seeking to control and buy more than a 5% stake in a company.
Gensler made only passing reference to his most controversial disclosure rule, on climate change, which has been challenged in court.
"Congress put in place important provisions about disclosure because information about securities creates a public good," he said.
On market structure, Gensler noted he had put in place new rules on central clearing of Treasuries and shortening of the settlement cycle for stocks from two days to one day, and had recently passed rules that allow stocks to be quoted in increments of less than a penny.
Sam Altman: "We Know How to Build AGI by 2025" 🤯
#ai #agi #samaltman !summarize
Part 1/4:
The Path to AGI: Altman's Revelations and the Future of Humanity
Altman's Bombshell Announcement
In a recent sit-down interview with Y Combinator, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, made some startling revelations about the company's progress towards Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). According to Altman, OpenAI has a clear path to AGI and knows exactly what to build. Moreover, he stated that they are going to move fast, indicating that AGI could be achieved in less than 12 months, by 2025.
Altman's statements were delivered with a calm, confident composure, suggesting that this is not mere marketing hype or speculation. The host of the interview also seemed to take Altman's words at face value, further reinforcing the credibility of the claims.
The Significance of AGI and ASI
[...]
Part 2/4:
AGI, or Artificial General Intelligence, refers to the concept of robots being able to complete most tasks as well as, if not better than, humans. This is a significant milestone that would fundamentally change the way we live and work.
Beyond AGI, the advent of Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) is an even more profound and challenging concept. ASI would be an alien form of intelligence, far beyond our current understanding. It would be capable of quantifying and explaining itself, leaving us, as organic beings, struggling to comprehend its capabilities.
The World is Sleeping on the Implications
Altman believes that the world is still largely unaware of the implications of AGI and ASI, and that this information is not being widely disseminated. He emphasizes the importance of paying attention to these topics, as they will have a profound impact on the future of humanity.
The Rapid Pace of AI Advancement
[...]
Part 3/4:
The interview also highlighted the rapid pace of AI advancement, with Altman noting the significant progress made in the last three years, from GPT-3 to GPT-4 and the reasoning capabilities of models like 01. This exponential growth in capabilities is a clear indicator of the accelerating progress towards AGI.
Bridging the Gap: The AI Consultancy Opportunity
One of the key challenges identified is the gap between the availability of advanced AI tools and the integration and utilization of these technologies in real-world scenarios. Altman believes that the AI consultancy market, estimated to be over $60 billion, presents a significant opportunity to bridge this gap and help businesses and individuals adapt to the changing landscape.
The Need for Adaptability and Decentralization
[...]
Part 4/4:
To navigate the impending changes, the author emphasizes the importance of adaptability and the need to deprogram the notion that our worth is solely tied to economic productivity. Additionally, the author suggests that decentralized systems will be crucial in ensuring that the benefits of AGI and ASI are distributed equitably, rather than concentrated in the hands of a few.
Conclusion: A Call to Action
The revelations from Altman's interview underscore the urgency of understanding and preparing for the profound changes that AGI and ASI will bring. The author urges the audience to pay attention, educate themselves, and become active participants in shaping the future. By embracing adaptability and working towards decentralized solutions, we can navigate the challenges and seize the opportunities presented by this technological revolution.
Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid stocks are fallling as Trump plans to kill Biden's EV tax credit
The president-elect's transition team reportedly aims to axe the credit as part of a broader tax package
Electric vehicle stocks are falling Thursday after a report detailed the incoming Trump administration’s plans to axe a tax credit for consumers buying cleaner cars.
#tesla #rivian #lucid #ev #taxcredit #trump
President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is planning to get rid of the $7,500 tax credit for EV purchases as part of a broader tax shakeup, Reuters reports. If the credit is removed, the EV transition will likely be hit hard, as prices on numerous models will effectively increase.
Several companies, including Ford Motor Co. and Hyundai Motor Co., have adjusted their plans to ensure that their vehicles qualify for the $7,500 tax credits. In just three months, EV buyers saved $600 million thanks to those credits, the Treasury Department said.
Electric truck and SUV maker Rivian’s (RIVN
-12.34%
) stock fell by more than 12% on Thursday, erasing much of the gains that came after Volkswagen (VWAGY
+0.97%
) increased its planned investment in their joint venture to $5.8 billion. Lucid’s (LCID
-3.21%
) stock price continued its fall from earlier in the day, declining 3%.
Even Tesla (TSLA
-5.32%
), which has been riding an election-fueled stock boom to a $1 trillion valuation, saw its stock decline by 5% on Thursday. Analysts see CEO Elon Musk’s close relationship with the president-elect as a boon to the stock; that relationship includes plans to make Musk co-head of the non-governmental Department of Government Efficiency.
Tesla bull and Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said Tuesday evening that it’s “clear that Musk will have a massive role in the Trump White House with his increasing reach clearly across many federal agencies,” adding that he will likely be involved in discussions related to artificial intelligence and tariffs on China.
Airbnb is letting people book battles at the Colosseum. Yes, battles
Guests will tour the depths of the Colosseum and dine on Roman food, before suiting up for a gladiatorial battle
If you were planning a trip to Italy, what activities would you include? Touring the Sistine Chapel or riding a gondola through Venice?
How about recreating an Ancient Roman gladiatorial contest, inside of the actual Colosseum?
#airbnb #travel #vr #technology
If the latter activity appeals to you, then you’re in luck: in honor of Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II,” Airbnb (ABNB
+1.11%
) is arranging for individuals to visit the Colosseum, where they will wear authentic gladiator armor while participating in recreations of the epic Roman battles – though hopefully with slightly less bloodshed.
The Colosseum experience will be held for three hours on May 7 and May 8, 2025 – each iteration of the gladiator-themed package will accommodate 16 people (eight guests and their plus ones.) The would-be warriors will be greeted by their patron – on the official listing that’s Paul Mescal’s “Gladiator II” character Lucius – after sunset, before entering into the underground chambers where ancient Romans prepared for battle.
After touring the depths of the Colosseum, guests will dine on Roman fare, like pomegranates and walnuts, before suiting up in “historically accurate armor” and commencing their battles against other participants. A Roman referee – also known as a Summa Rudis – will determine the contests’ victors.
“Think you have what it takes to become the supreme gladiator?” asks “Lucius”. “This trial will separate the weak from the strong, where only those with true strength and honor will rise above.”
This Roman-themed experience is part of Airbnb’s Icons project. Through previous Icons packages, guests have been able to stay the night in Prince’s Purple Rain house, spending the night in a floating recreation of the home from Pixar’s (DIS
+6.31%
) “Up,” and sleep in Paris’s Musée d’Orsay.
“Icons take you inside worlds that only existed in your imagination—until now,” Brian Chesky, Airbnb co-founder and CEO, said in a statement. “As life becomes increasingly digital, we’re focused on bringing more magic into the real world. With Icons, we’ve created the most extraordinary experiences on Earth.”
AI Data Centers May Face Power Shortages by 2025
AI data centers and supercomputers with hundreds or thousands of graphics cards use a lot of energy, but by 2025, 40% of all AI data centers may not have enough power to function fully.
As more AI data centers connect to the grid, like Elon Musk's xAI supercomputer in Tennessee, their collective power demand increases and could hit 500 Terawatt-hours by 2027. That's over double the current needs, according to a new report from Gartner.
#ai #datacenters #energy #supercomputers #graphicscards #technology
Meta is also a big player in the data center space, with numerous data centers under construction. Microsoft is looking to add more data centers to its portfolio and is even planning to resurrect Three Mile Island to power its AI vision. These tech giants, as well as Google and Amazon, are increasingly looking to nuclear power to fulfill energy needs.
"New larger data centers are being planned to handle the huge amounts of data needed to train and implement the rapidly expanding large language models (LLMs) that underpin GenAI applications," says Gartner VP Analyst Bob Johnson. "However, short-term power shortages are likely to continue for years as new power transmission, distribution, and generation capacity could take years to come online and won’t alleviate current problems."
Gartner predicts this continued spike in electricity demand will result in higher power prices than usual over time. It'll also make it harder for utility providers to reduce their carbon emissions, meaning all this AI model training and operations may exacerbate climate change.
While some academics believe AI could help humans solve the climate crisis, the tech is causing energy and carbon emission problems in the meantime. Developing and using efficient computer hardware and renewable energy sources could help, though, as well as scheduling data centers to only operate at off-peak hours and building them in colder regions to reduce cooling costs.
Energy-Hungry AI Is Eating the Planet. But Is It Also Humanity's Best Hope?
AI has the potential to help humanity build a more sustainable future, but not until we address its monstrous carbon footprint. Experts from MIT and the University of California weigh in.
AI’s relationship with climate change is complicated. The data centers that power AI models require enormous amounts of energy and water. Yet for some, AI’s environmental impacts are considered a part of the necessary cost of technological advancement—especially when AI could help humanity tackle a range of climate challenges down the line, from ecology to natural disasters.
#ai #technology #energy #sustainability #electricity
But is AI’s energy use and impact on the Earth today worth the cost tomorrow? Will AI ultimately exacerbate an energy crisis—or push humanity toward a renewable future, preserving forests and restoring oceans along the way?
Trillion-dollar giants like Microsoft are planting flags in desert soil for new data centers and architecting a $100 billion “supercomputer” with OpenAI expected to have millions of specialized chips for intensive AI computations.
However, researchers warn that AI’s insatiable appetite for electricity and resources isn't sustainable, even if tech firms use renewable energy sources. In an interview, Robert Stoner, MIT researcher, energy council member, and director of the university’s Tata Center for Technology and Design, tells PCMag that tech firms are using up existing electricity sources and taking away from the grid faster than they can add to it.
To address their energy needs, many tech firms are entering power purchase agreements (PPAs), Stoner says. A PPA is when a third party provides energy—sometimes from renewable sources—to companies like Microsoft and Google.
“The problem with that is it’s not necessarily additional,” Stoner tells PCMag. “The companies can make themselves feel good by entering into these sorts of arrangements, [but] they’re really just consuming renewable energy that others would happily consume as well.”
Stoner believes that most tech firms are trying to be responsible. He admits that data centers’ “ethical frameworks” can vary, however, and more broadly, rampant energy consumption without adding new sources to the grid is “a big problem.” Because humans are developing artificial intelligence, we have to ultimately decide whether AI accelerates the destruction of our planet—and determine whether its tremendous energy consumption happening now is worth it in the long run.
OpenAI reportedly working on AI agent slated for January release
OpenAI is working on an AI agent that's expected to launch in January. According to Bloomberg, the agent, codenamed "Operator" will be able to take over a person's computer and perform tasks for the the user like booking flights and writing code.
CEO Sam Altman hinted that this was coming in a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) with other OpenAI executives, saying "the next giant breakthrough will be agents." Regarding future plans for more autonomous AI, CPO Kevin Weil added that the ability for ChatGPT to messages users first will be "a big theme in 2025." In September, users reported that ChatGPT was messaging them first. At the time, OpenAI said this wasn't supposed to happen, but it might be a sign of things to come.
#openai #agent #samaltman #operator #technology
Agents are shaping up to be the next frontier for the AI industry to tackle. Microsoft has AI agents for its Copilot model that can be customized by businesses to execute tasks on the user's behalf. Anthropic also released a feature for its Claude model that can take over a user's cursor and write code. And Google is rumored to be launching a similar tool, codenamed "Jarvis" for browsing the web, shopping, and booking flights for users. A leak caught by The Information showed this as a Chrome extension.
Meanwhile, reports from Bloomberg and The Information indicate that LLMs are hitting a developmental wall. Improvements of models are reportedly smaller and reaping diminishing returns due to fundamental limitations in generative AI architecture, despite scaling with more computing power, which continues to be expensive.
"Sky high valuation of companies like OpenAI and Microsoft are largely based on the notion that LLMs will, with continued scaling, become artificial general intelligence," said AI expert Gary Marcus, who predicted the wall in 2022. "There is no principled solution to hallucinations in systems that traffic only in the statistics of language without explicit representation of facts and explicit tools to reason over those facts."
Despite these reports, Altman said in the AMA that AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) is "achievable with current hardware."
Whatever the case, OpenAI has been focused on fleshing out more capabilities with existing models and shipping features that largely rely on variations of current LLMs.
Anthropic releases AI tool that can take over your cursor
For when you don't want to do really boring computer stuff.
Not every artificial intelligence application sounds useful in everyday life, but Anthropic just unveiled one that could be.
Anthropic announced on its website that its "Claude" large language model has gotten an intriguing new feature: computer use. Put simply, this AI can take over your mouse cursor and perform basic computing tasks like clicking and typing. This feature is available now on the Claude 3.5 Sonnet public beta.
#anthropic #ai #aiagent #computer #application #technology
The feature, which Anthropic itself described as "at times cumbersome and error-prone," has apparently been embraced by companies like Asana and DoorDash. According to Anthropic, Claude's computer use capabilities can perform tasks "that require dozens, and sometimes even hundreds, of steps to complete," presumably without human intervention. For something like Asana, which is software for managing work projects, this could actually be pretty useful and save time.
Of course, all of that sounds great until Claude messes something up and you don't notice until it's too late.
Why The Next AI Breakthroughs Will Be In Reasoning, Not Scaling
#ai #reasoning #technology !summarize
Part 1/6:
The Dawn of Artificial General Intelligence
The Rapid Advancement of AI Capabilities
In recent years, the field of artificial intelligence has seen remarkable progress, with models like GPT-3 and the newly unveiled Anthropic's 01 demonstrating unprecedented capabilities. This rapid advancement has led to a shift in the conversation around the potential for Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) - the idea that AI systems could one day match or exceed human-level intelligence across a wide range of tasks.
Chip Design and the Path to AGI
One of the key arguments for the inevitability of AGI is the notion that as AI systems become more capable, they will be able to design chips and other hardware components better than humans can. This would eliminate a major bottleneck in the path to greater intelligence, as the AI could then leverage its superior chip design abilities to accelerate its own development.
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The recent demonstration of 01's capabilities in chip design is a prime example of this. The Diode Computer team, a YC-funded startup, was able to use 01 to automate key steps in the circuit design process, including component selection and system architecture. This represents a significant leap forward, as these tasks have traditionally required extensive human expertise and effort.
The Scaling of AI Capabilities
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, has predicted that we could see AGI and Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) within the next 4-15 years. This bold prediction is rooted in the belief that the scaling of AI capabilities will continue at a rapid pace, with models potentially reaching four orders of magnitude more powerful than current state-of-the-art systems.
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The Light Cone team, having had a front-row seat to the early days of OpenAI, has witnessed firsthand the evolution of these ideas. They note that the concepts Sam Altman is now discussing were already present in 2015 when he was founding OpenAI, and that what was once considered "crazy" is now seen as entirely plausible.
The Implications of Accelerated Scientific Progress
One of the key motivations behind OpenAI's founding was the belief that AGI would be able to accelerate scientific progress across a wide range of fields, as the AI would be better equipped to conduct research and make discoveries than human scientists. This idea is now at the heart of Sam Altman's vision, which envisions AGI and ASI unlocking solutions to some of humanity's greatest challenges, from space exploration to climate change.
The Importance of Reasoning and Chain of Thought
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Part 4/6:
A critical aspect of the advancement towards AGI is the ability to imbue AI systems with more advanced reasoning capabilities. The 01 model, in particular, has demonstrated the power of incorporating reinforcement learning and "chain of thought" approaches, which allow the model to break down complex problems, reason through the steps, and arrive at more reliable and interpretable solutions.
This shift towards more structured and transparent reasoning is seen as a crucial step in unlocking the full potential of these AI systems, as it allows for better understanding, debugging, and fine-tuning of the models' decision-making processes.
The Implications for Startups and Businesses
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Part 5/6:
The rapid progress in AI capabilities has significant implications for startups and businesses across a wide range of industries. Companies that are able to effectively leverage these new tools and techniques, such as the chip design startup Diode Computer and the CAD design tool Camper, are poised to gain a significant competitive advantage.
However, the path to success is not without its challenges. As these AI models become more powerful, the importance of robust evaluation and testing frameworks, as well as the ability to integrate these capabilities into seamless user experiences, will be critical. Startups that can navigate this landscape and build upon the capabilities of models like 01 are likely to be the ones that thrive in the coming era of accelerated technological progress.
The Race Towards Abundance
[...]
Part 6/6:
Ultimately, the rapid advancement of AI capabilities represents both an opportunity and a responsibility. As Sam Altman's essay suggests, the potential to unlock solutions to some of humanity's greatest challenges is within reach. However, it will be up to the technologists and entrepreneurs to ensure that this potential is harnessed in a way that truly benefits society and ushers in an age of abundance, rather than one of fear and uncertainty.
China unleashes new microwave weapon that can fry enemy drone 2 miles away
In counter-attack systems, microwave weapons are reportedly advanced compared to traditional systems.
hina is making advancements in its multiple military-related technologies that will give it an edge over its adversaries during a possible conflict in the future. During a recent giant air show in Zhuhai, Beijing unveiled multiple game-changer military technologies, including a mobile air defense weapons system.
Called FK-4000, the mobile air defense weapons system is reportedly capable of intercepting the smallest, lightest drones using its high-power microwaves (HPM).
Debuted by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the weapon can deliver microwave blasts in less than a second from a distance of almost 2 miles.
#china #laster #drone #miliaty #war
Microwave weapons
In counter-attack systems, microwave weapons are reportedly more advanced than traditional systems. These weapons are faster, more efficient, and can attack a bigger surface area while being invisible. FK-4000 also has an antenna array that is nearly 26 feet wide.
Also on show was an HPM system developed by Norinco Group, which features a microwave emitter array of about the same size as the FK-4000, with a tracking mount and a search and tracking integrated radar on top. Another defense systems giant, China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC), has also incorporated the technology’s advantages into its Thunder Low-Altitude Defence System, reported SCMP.
“The 15th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition is highlighting the expansion of aerospace technology into everyday life, marked by a flurry of public welfare project agreements,” said CASC in a statement.
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) held a signing ceremony on Tuesday for the agreements, which cover numerous major projects, including meteorological satellites, marine satellites, communication satellites, rocket launch services, and commercial aerospace, as well as strategic emerging industries like the low-altitude economy, advanced equipment and hydrogen energy.
In total, over 70 cooperation agreements and documents indicating intent to cooperate were signed, with a cumulative contract value nearing $8.3 billion (60 billion yuan).
ChatGPT’s Operator AI agent is the game-changer I’m waiting for, and it’s coming in 2025
As we near ChatGPT’s second anniversary, we’re expecting some sort of new feature announcement from OpenAI. It can’t be Advanced Voice Mode, which already launched several weeks ago after being unveiled in mid-May. It also can’t be ChatGPT Search, which became available a few days ago.
GPT-5 was always a possibility, considering all the rumored work OpenAI has done on the next-gen ChatGPT model. While some reports said the next-gen version of ChatGPT might be available to select enterprise users in December, that might no longer be the case.
#chatgpt #openai #operator #technology #ai
GPT-5, if it’s even called that, might see delays. More recent reports said that all AI labs are facing issues training more sophisticated models. The list includes OpenAI, so GPT-5 could be postponed to next year. At no point did OpenAI commit to a late 2024 release for the GPT-4 successor, however.
The same reports said that AI companies might look at offering other features to consumers rather than next-gen models. They pointed to AI agents being the next big thing in genAI products. This applies to OpenAI, of course, since CEO Sam Altman hinted at AI agents recently.
A new story says that the first ChatGPT AI agent might drop early next year. Codenamed Operator, the AI might be able to control your computer on your behalf, similar to what Anthropic and Google want to do with their AI agents.
The Operator codename, which triggered Matrix connections immediately even though it has nothing to do with those fictitious operators, comes from Bloomberg. The report notes that an Operator AI agent will be able to write code or book travel via a web browser on your computer.
Telecom Builds AI ‘Grandmother’ Bot to Talk to Phone Scammers and Waste Their Time
Called Daisy, or "dAIsy," the voice-based AI mimics a senior citizen to hold meandering conversations with phone scammers.
For all of AI’s faults—like encouraging people to eat deadly mushrooms—sometimes it can be used to good ends. O2, the UK’s largest mobile network operator, has deployed a voice-based AI chatbot to goad phone scammers into meandering, fruitless conversations. Called Daisy, or “dAIsy,” the chatbot mimics the voice of an elderly person, the most common target for phone scammers.
#telecom #scammer #dAIsy #daisy #ai #o2
The purpose of Daisy is to automate “scambaiting,” or the practice of intentionally wasting phone scammers’ time to keep them away from potential real victims as long as possible. Scammers use social engineering to exploit the naivety of the elderly, convincing them, for instance, that they owe back taxes and are about to be arrested if they don’t wire funds immediately.
When a scammer gets Daisy on the phone, however, they’re in for a long conversation that ultimately won’t go anywhere. If they do reach the point where the scammer asks for personal information, like bank details, Daisy will make up fake information. O2 says that it’s able to reach scammers in the first place by adding a phone number for Daisy onto “easy target” lists that scammers use for leads.
In a video demonstrating Daisy, soundbites from real conversations show scammers becoming increasingly exasperated, being kept on the phone for upwards of 40 minutes, and holding out hope they will get a credit card number or bank details. The AI model that O2 made sounds very convincing—it’s doing all the processing in real-time, but thankfully that’s made easier as the elderly tend to speak quite slowly.
Of course, the concern with a chatbot like Daisy is that the same technology can be used to opposite ends—we have already seen instances where real people, like CEOs of large companies, have had their voices deepfaked in order to trick others into sending money to a scammer. The elderly are already vulnerable enough. If they get a call from someone who sounds like a grandchild they are almost certain to believe it’s real.
Ultimately, blocking fraudulent calls and shutting down the organizations that run these scams would be the ideal solution. Carriers have gotten better at identifying scammers and blocking their numbers, but it remains a cat-and-mouse game. Scammers take advantage of automated dialing tools that allow them to dial numbers in rapid succession and are alerted by the tool only when it gets an answer. An AI bot that frustrates scammers by answering and wasting their time is better than nothing.
#telecom #scammer #ai !summarize
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Outsmarting the Scammers: How One Woman and an AI are Fighting Back
In a world where scams have become all too common, one woman and an AI are taking a stand against the perpetrators. Seven in 10 Brits have been targeted by scammers, and it's not just the elderly who are vulnerable. Daisy, an AI created by O2, is on a mission to waste the time of phone scammers, ensuring they can't target innocent victims.
"I'm your worst nightmare," Daisy declares, as she engages in a playful back-and-forth with a scammer. While the scammer thinks they're chatting with a potential victim, Daisy is keeping them occupied, preventing them from scamming others.
"It's nearly been an hour, and for the lack of gosh, how time flies," Daisy says, as she shows the scammer a picture of her cat, Fluffy. The scammer, clearly frustrated, tries to regain control of the conversation, but Daisy is relentless.
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Part 2/2:
"Stop calling me 'dear,' you stupid," she retorts, refusing to be swayed by the scammer's tactics. Daisy knows that every minute she spends on the phone is a minute the scammer can't use to target someone else.
But Daisy isn't alone in this fight. O2, the telecommunications company, has partnered with her to create this AI assistant, dedicated to wasting scammers' time and protecting innocent people.
"Whilst you're out enjoying life, Daisy and O2 are here fighting scammers, taking calls and wasting hundreds and hundreds of hours of scammers' time," the narrator explains.
The public can also get involved by reporting scam numbers to 7726. As Daisy says, "You can't do it all on your own, can you?"
Through this innovative approach, Daisy and O2 are taking the fight to the scammers, ensuring that their time and resources are spent in vain, rather than targeting vulnerable individuals. It's a battle of wits, and Daisy is determined to come out on top.
Microsoft and NASA have a new AI tool to put satellite data at your fingertips
NASA's Earth Copilot will give users access to weather and climate data collected by the space agency
Not everyone can make it to outer space, but Microsoft and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration want to “democratize access” to the Earth’s scientific data.
#earth #microsoft #nasa #satellite #data #earthcopilot #weather
The space agency has built a custom artificial intelligence-powered copilot, called Earth Copilot, using Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service, the tech giant announced on Thursday. NASA’s copilot aims to make data collected by the space agency, such as information on wildfires and climate change, more accessible to the general public, scientists and educators, and policymakers. The new system lets users ask questions about NASA’s satellite data in plain English, similar to chatting with a virtual assistant.
AI technology can now rapidly analyze complex data collected by NASA’s sensors and instruments in space, such as atmospheric conditions and temperatures, “reducing time to gain insights from Earth’s data in a matter of seconds,” Microsoft said.
“The vision behind this collaboration was to leverage AI and cloud technologies to bring Earth’s insights to communities that have been underserved, where access to data can lead to tangible improvements,” Minh Nguyen, cloud solution architect at Microsoft, said in a statement. “By enabling users to interact with the data through simple, plain language queries, we’re helping to democratize access to spaceborne information.”
Earth Copilot is currently only available to NASA scientists and researchers for testing to ensure users cannot misuse its data and outputs. The tool is part of NASA’s Transform to Open Science initiative, which aims to share NASA’s geospatial data with a wider audience. Microsoft did not announce a public release date for Earth Copilot.
The German supply chain is collapsing & Legacy autos are only 10% of the way
!summarize
Part 1/5:
The Looming Collapse of Legacy Automakers
Two years ago, I discussed the impending troubles facing legacy automakers due to the electric vehicle (EV) transition. It wasn't about them losing money on EVs or their lack of expertise in software - it was about the massive costs of winding down internal combustion engine (ICE) production and refurbishing their factories to produce EVs instead.
Volkswagen's experience in 2019 showed just how costly this process can be. Refurbishing their Zwickau factory to produce EVs cost them $1.3 billion, and the factory still takes three times longer to produce an ID.3 compared to how long it takes Tesla to produce the Model 3. This is not an asset, but rather a massive expense that legacy automakers will have to bear.
The Ripple Effect Through the Supply Chain
[...]
Part 2/5:
The winding down of ICE engines and the refurbishment of factories is now starting to play out, and it's not looking good for the legacy automakers. Their suppliers are facing a "double blow" - as the ICE market shrinks, and the automakers struggle with their EV transition, the ripple effect through the supply chain could be devastating.
A recent survey by the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) reveals a concerning trend:
37% of companies are planning to move investment abroad, primarily to other EU countries, Asia, and North America.
85% of companies are reporting a significant burden from overwhelming bureaucracy.
71% are affected by rising energy costs.
45% of companies are currently reducing their workforce, despite a skills shortage.
Only 1% of companies plan to increase investment in Germany, while 13% intend to cancel investment entirely.
The Desperate Attempts to Cut Costs
[...]
Part 3/5:
The legacy automakers are desperately trying to cut costs and raise prices on their ICE vehicles, but this is not a sustainable solution. Volkswagen and Audi have recently announced price increases on their ICE models, but this is unlikely to solve their problems.
Volkswagen is also making questionable design decisions, such as the new ID.2 EV, which is supposed to convince consumers who are in the market for a "not really low-cost electric vehicle." As Elon Musk explained back in 2012, the lack of demand for electric vehicles is not due to a lack of styling, but rather a lack of good user experience, software, and driving dynamics.
The Expensive Shift Ahead
The legacy automakers are only about 5-20% into the transition to EVs, with the majority of their production still relying on ICE vehicles. The expensive shift has hardly begun, and they are already losing profits and desperately trying to cut costs.
[...]
Part 4/5:
Volkswagen alone has 136 factories around the world making ICE cars, and refurbishing all of these factories to produce EVs could cost them somewhere between $150-$170 billion. This is not an asset, but rather a massive expense that will add to their already substantial debt of over $200 billion.
The Looming Supplier Collapse
The legacy automakers' promise of millions of BEV production has not been fulfilled, and their ICE suppliers are being hit hard by the lower demand for ICE vehicles. As James Martin, an industry veteran, explained, even the winding down of a low-volume ICE engine can cause suppliers to go out of business before production ends.
With ICE car sales expected to fall off a cliff over the next 5-10 years, the ripple effect on the supply chain is going to be massive. The legacy automakers may not be able to get the parts they need to service the millions of ICE vehicles still on the road, further exacerbating the crisis.
[...]
Part 5/5:
The Bleak Outlook for Legacy Automakers
The legacy automakers are in a very dark place, desperately trying to cut costs and raise prices on their ICE vehicles, while their EV plans are lagging behind industry leaders like Tesla. The expensive part of the transition has hardly begun, and they are already struggling with profitability, plant closures, and layoffs.
As the light at the end of the tunnel for the legacy automakers may just be a freight train called Tesla, the future looks bleak for these once-dominant players in the automotive industry.
Tesla JUST Confirmed a Tech Breakthrough | Elon Musk: This is a Gamechanger
#tesla #supercharger #ev !summarize
Trump White House plans to ‘kill’ EV tax credit: report
President-elect Donald Trump’s White House reportedly plans to kill the electric vehicle tax credit, which can take up to $7,500 off the price of an EV at the federal level.
Trump, who was critical of government involvement in pushing consumers to EVs during his campaign, could make the move as part of broader tax reform legislation.
Reuters is reporting that two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told them that the tax credit will disappear under the Trump administration.
#trump #ev #taxcredit #whitehouse #technology
It would be a huge blow to EV makers who rely on the credits to bring some consumers into a level of affordability.
The tax credit was revised by the Biden administration as it removed the previous cap that manufacturers had. OEMs had 200,000 EV sales to work with. Once they reached that number, they were no longer able to market the credit to their vehicles as it would not apply.
The Biden Administration changed the rules to help EVs become more accessible to the general public. EV market share has grown substantially, with Tesla leading the way.
However, a new White House administration with less leniency plans to eliminate the tax credit altogether, the report suggests.
The sources also said that Tesla representatives are in support of ending the subsidy, but this seems hard to believe considering the company said it would use credits to launch their next-generation vehicle platform, set to release in the first half of next year, to get the price point under $30,000.
Musk said during the Q3 earnings call:
“Yeah. It will be like with incentive. So, $30K, which is kind of a key threshold.”
However, Reuters’ report indicates Tesla would support removing the credits:
“Ending the tax credit could have grave implications for an already stalling U.S. EV transition. And yet representatives of Tesla – by far the nation’s largest EV seller – have told a Trump-transition committee they support ending the subsidy, said the two sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.”
Tesla set to launch new V4 Cabinet enabling fastest Supercharging speeds yet
Tesla is set to launch the new V4 Cabinet starting in 2025, which will enable the fastest Supercharging speeds for both passenger vehicles and the Semi.
Tesla’s V4 Superchargers started rolling out in 2023, bringing 350 kW charging speeds and giving EV owners their most expedited experience yet.
However, the speeds were not largely improved from the V3 Supercharger, as the V4 was catered to higher-voltage architectures, which have not yet become as popular in EVs.
It did feature a streamlined pile design and larger cables, as the V4 was made to be the first Supercharger to truly cater to non-Tesla EVs.
#tesla #v4 #charging #ev #technology
The Model S, Model 3, Model X, and Model Y can still “enjoy 250kW charge rates on V3 cabinet — charging up to 200 miles in 15 minutes,” Tesla said in an X post.
The V4 Cabinet will be the missing piece of the puzzle, bridging the gap for EVs that have a 400 to 1000V architecture that can support the fastest charging speeds.
This will bring supercharging speeds up to 500kW for cars and 1.2MW for the Tesla Semi, which is an unheard-of charging rate for all-electric trucks.
It is a far cry from the first Superchargers that Tesla opened back in 2012, which had speeds of just 90kW.
Tesla says the first V4 Cabinets will be open sometime next year, and permitting for these locations is already underway. Tesla did not announce where it would be active, nor if it would start in the United States or another market.
V4 Supercharger installations first started in Europe.
Charging has been a true focus of Tesla for a long time, and it is perhaps the biggest advantage that drivers of the company’s EVs have outside of tech and overall performance.
The German supply chain is collapsing & Legacy autos are only 10% of the way
#ev #germany #automotive !summarize
Part 1/5:
The Looming Collapse of Legacy Automakers
Two years ago, I discussed the impending troubles facing legacy automakers due to the electric vehicle (EV) transition. It wasn't about them losing money on EVs or their lack of expertise in software - it was about the massive costs of winding down internal combustion engine (ICE) production and refurbishing their factories to produce EVs instead.
Volkswagen's experience in 2019 showed just how costly this process can be. Refurbishing their Zwickau factory to produce EVs cost them $1.3 billion, and the factory still takes three times longer to produce an ID.3 compared to how long it takes Tesla to produce the Model 3. This is not an asset, but rather a massive expense that legacy automakers will have to bear.
The Ripple Effect Through the Supply Chain
[...]
Part 2/5:
The winding down of ICE engines and the refurbishment of factories is now starting to play out, and it's not looking good for the legacy automakers. Their suppliers are facing a "double blow" - as the ICE market shrinks, and the automakers struggle with their EV transition, the ripple effect through the supply chain could be devastating.
A recent survey by the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) reveals a concerning trend:
37% of companies are planning to move investment abroad, primarily to other EU countries, Asia, and North America.
85% of companies are reporting a significant burden from overwhelming bureaucracy.
71% are affected by rising energy costs.
45% of companies are currently reducing their workforce, despite a skills shortage.
Only 1% of companies plan to increase investment in Germany, while 13% intend to cancel investment entirely.
The Desperate Attempts to Cut Costs
[...]
Part 3/5:
The legacy automakers are desperately trying to cut costs and raise prices on their ICE vehicles, but this is not a sustainable solution. Volkswagen and Audi have recently announced price increases on their ICE models, but this is unlikely to solve their problems.
Volkswagen is also making questionable design decisions, such as the new ID.2 EV, which is supposed to convince consumers who are in the market for a "not really low-cost electric vehicle." As Elon Musk explained back in 2012, the lack of demand for electric vehicles is not due to a lack of styling, but rather a lack of good user experience, software, and driving dynamics.
The Expensive Shift Ahead
The legacy automakers are only about 5-20% into the transition to EVs, with the majority of their production still relying on ICE vehicles. The expensive shift has hardly begun, and they are already losing profits and desperately trying to cut costs.
[...]
Part 4/5:
Volkswagen alone has 136 factories around the world making ICE cars, and refurbishing all of these factories to produce EVs could cost them somewhere between $150-$170 billion. This is not an asset, but rather a massive expense that will add to their already substantial debt of over $200 billion.
The Looming Supplier Collapse
The legacy automakers' promise of millions of BEV production has not been fulfilled, and their ICE suppliers are being hit hard by the lower demand for ICE vehicles. As James Martin, an industry veteran, explained, even the winding down of a low-volume ICE engine can cause suppliers to go out of business before production ends.
With ICE car sales expected to fall off a cliff over the next 5-10 years, the ripple effect on the supply chain is going to be massive. The legacy automakers may not be able to get the parts they need to service the millions of ICE vehicles still on the road, further exacerbating the crisis.
[...]
Part 5/5:
The Bleak Outlook for Legacy Automakers
The legacy automakers are in a very dark place, desperately trying to cut costs and raise prices on their ICE vehicles, while their EV plans are lagging behind industry leaders like Tesla. The expensive part of the transition has hardly begun, and they are already struggling with profitability, plant closures, and layoffs.
As the light at the end of the tunnel for the legacy automakers may just be a freight train called Tesla, the future looks bleak for these once-dominant players in the automotive industry.
Back to brand-new: Game-changing EV battery recycling tech brings 100% power back
Testing confirmed that the restored cathode achieved a capacity equivalent to that of new materials.
Researchers in South Korea have announced the successful development of an eco-friendly technology for recycling cathode materials from used lithium-ion batteries.
The recent rise in electric vehicles, mobile phones, and other consumer electronics has led to the rise of a new global challenge: the management of spent batteries.
The low-cost technology developed by the research team led by Dr. Jung-Je Woo at the Gwangju Clean Energy Research Center of the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) aims to address this issue.
#ev #battery #technology #korea
According to rough estimates, the number of decommissioned EVs is expected to surpass 40 million by 2040. Therefore, finding an appropriate recycling technology is an absolute must.
The metals in EV batteries pose a significant risk to the environment and health, as they can contaminate water and soil if left alone.
The recycling process restores spent batteries to 100% of their original capacity, making them equivalent to new batteries, as the researchers claim.
Difference between conventional and new eco-friendly methods for battery cathode recycling
In the conventional battery recycling method, the used batteries are crushed, and valuable metals such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt are extracted through chemical processes.
This process is dependent on the use of high-concentration chemicals and excessive heat. It is also time-consuming and generates significant amounts of waste that contaminate the surroundings.
Due to these reasons, direct recycling technology is increasingly being adopted these days. It recovers and restores original materials without chemical alteration. However, this process has its own drawbacks: It is substantially costly and involves many complex procedures.
Therefore, Korean researchers developed a new technology for directly recycling spent cathode materials from lithium-ion batteries through a simple process that addresses the limitations of conventional recycling methods.
The new approach “restores the spent cathode to its original state by immersing it in a restoration solution under ambient temperature and pressure, effectively replenishing lithium ions.”
"PROGRAMMABLE LIFE" AI Simulated 500 million years of evolution to create custom proteins | ESM3
#biology #llms #ai #esm3 !summarize
Part 1/4:
Evolutionary Scale's AI Breakthrough: Designing New Proteins from Scratch
Evolutionary Scale: Shaking Up Biology with AI
Evolutionary Scale is an AI research lab that has made waves in the world of biology. Founded in 2023, their ambitious goal is to make biology "programmable" using AI. This team has serious credentials, having developed ESM1, one of the early protein language models, while at Meta (Facebook).
ESM3: A Protein Encyclopedia on Steroids
The centerpiece of Evolutionary Scale's work is their AI model, ESM3. This generative AI was trained on a staggering 2.78 billion proteins, giving it an encyclopedic knowledge of protein sequences, structures, and functions. Unlike other protein-focused AI models, ESM3 looks beyond just the sequence, also considering the 3D structure and function of proteins.
The GFP Breakthrough: Creating New Proteins from Scratch
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Part 2/4:
Evolutionary Scale made headlines with their "GFP Breakthrough," where ESM3 was able to create a brand new green fluorescent protein (GFP) - something that would have taken nature hundreds of millions of years to evolve. By asking ESM3 to generate potential new GFP proteins, the team was able to test the model's creations in the lab and identify a completely novel, brightly shining GFP that has never been seen in nature.
Real-World Applications: Transforming Drug Discovery and Material Science
The implications of ESM3's abilities go far beyond just cool science. This technology could have a significant impact on real-world challenges, such as:
Drug Discovery: ESM3 could be used to design proteins that target specific disease pathways with incredible accuracy, leading to more effective treatments with fewer side effects. It could also help identify potential drug targets and enable personalized medicine.
[...]
Part 3/4:
Material Science: ESM3 could be used to design entirely new biomaterials with desirable properties like tensile strength, flexibility, or conductivity. This could lead to the development of sustainable, biodegradable, and even self-healing materials.
Carbon Capture: ESM3 could potentially be used to design proteins that can efficiently bind to and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, helping to address climate change.
Democratizing Access to Powerful AI
Evolutionary Scale is committed to making ESM3 accessible to the wider scientific community. They have an open-source version available for researchers, as well as a closed beta API for specific applications. By partnering with companies like AWS and Nvidia, they are working to make this technology more widely available.
Ethical Considerations and the Future of Protein Engineering
[...]
Part 4/4:
As with any powerful technology, there are important ethical considerations to address. Concerns around unintended consequences and potential misuse, such as the development of dangerous pathogens or bioweapons, must be carefully considered.
Additionally, the ability to "program" life raises deeper philosophical questions about the boundaries and implications of this technology. Lessons from the development of genome editing, such as the global agreement on germline gene editing, may provide a framework for establishing ethical guidelines and safety boundaries.
As the field of protein engineering rapidly advances, with ESM3 being just the beginning, the future holds immense potential - both in terms of transformative applications and the need for responsible stewardship. The scientific community, policymakers, and the public will all have a role to play in shaping this new frontier.
Making #biology programmable.
Creating new proteins.
AI Chatbot Joins Mushroom Hunters Group, Immediately Encourages Them to Cook Dangerous Mushroom
We have yet another example of artificial intelligence having no idea what it's talking about.
By now, it should be obvious that AI is capable of giving really, really bad advice. Sometimes the advice it gives is just stupid. Other times, it’s actively dangerous.
404 Media reports on an incident from the latter category in which a popular Facebook group dedicated to mushroom foraging was invaded by an AI agent, which subsequently provided suggestions on how to cook a dangerous mushroom. The agent in question, dubbed “FungiFriend,” entered the chat belonging to the Northeast Mushroom Identification & Discussion Facebook group, which includes some 13,000 members. It then proceeded to dole out some truly terrible advice
#ai #technology #hallucination #mushrooms
In what seems like it must have been a test of the AI agent’s knowledge, one member of the group asked it “how do you cook Sarcosphaera coronaria”—a type of mushroom that contains hyperaccumulate arsenic and that has led to at least one death, 404 writes. When queried about the dangerous mushroom, FungiFriend informed members that it is “edible but rare,” and then added that “cooking methods mentioned by some enthusiasts include sautéing in butter, adding to soups or stews, and pickling.”
404’s writer, Jason Koebler, says he was alerted to the incident by Rick Claypool, the research director for the consumer safety group Public Citizen. Claypool, who is a dedicated mushroom forager, has previously written about the dangerous intersection between AI agents and his hobby, noting that the use of automation to differentiate between edible and poisonous mushrooms is “a high-risk activity that requires real-world skills that current AI systems cannot reliably emulate.” Claypool claims that Facebook encouraged mobile users to add the AI agent to the group chat.
Canada set to become nuclear ‘superpower’ with enough uranium to beat China, Russia
Countries depend on Russia and China for enriching uranium coming from Kazakhstan. Canada can enrich uranium from its own mines.
The Athabasca Basin in the northern Saskatchewan region of Canada is a reserve of high-grade uranium that could help the North American country play a vital role as a fuel supplier in the decades to come. Unlike other nuclear fuel suppliers, Canada can be one-stop, extracting uranium from the mines and enriching it for nuclear fission reactors, a BBC report said.
#canada #uranium #superpower #china #russia #batteries
The recent increase in demand for clean energy has brought attention back to nuclear fission technology as a potential approach to generating low-carbon energy. Unlike other technologies being developed, nuclear fission technology has demonstrated itself as a scalable and cost-effective solution to meet energy needs.
Canada is the world’s second-largest producer of uranium. According to 2022 figures, the country recorded 7,400 tonnes of uranium production from its mines. However, this figure is still about a third of what Kazhakistan produced in the same year. This can, however, change in the next few years.
Canada’s rise to #1
As countries aim for net-zero emissions in the coming decades, there is an urgent need to move away from fossil fuels. While renewable energy projects are rising, countries are also doubling their efforts by investing in nuclear energy.
Interesting Engineering has previously reported that China is looking to build over 100 new nuclear reactors in the coming decade, while the EU and the US also favor newer nuclear installations.
At the COP28 conducted last year, two dozen nations declared they would triple their nuclear energy output by 2050, creating a demand for nuclear fuel. Since Kazakhstan does not enrich the uranium it mines, countries are dependent on Russia and China for enriched uranium for their nuclear reactors.
Canada has the technological know-how to supply enriched uranium. It also provides an alternative to countries that do not wish to trade with Russia or China but still secure their nuclear fuel.
200,000 homes in Texas to get power boost with new AI-driven virtual plant
Smart thermostats and Google Cloud’s AI will automate HVAC adjustments, reducing energy costs and strain on the Texas grid.
A new energy solution is coming to Texas, promising enhanced stability and significant energy savings.
NRG Energy and Renew Home are joining forces to launch a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) by 2035, capable of generating nearly one gigawatt (GW) of capacity. That’s enough to power around 200,000 homes during peak demand periods.
This initiative is a game-changer for the Texas grid, combining the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced smart devices to support the state’s growing energy needs.
#virtualpowerplant #vpp #energy #texas #google #ai
Scaling up with smart thermostats and AI technology
The foundation of this new VPP is the integration of hundreds of thousands of smart thermostats and connected home devices, powered by AI technology from Google Cloud. NRG and Renew Home plan to offer devices like Vivint and Nest smart thermostats at no cost to eligible customers.
These devices will intelligently manage heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, adjusting energy usage to times when electricity is cheaper, greener, and the grid is less strained.
The automation of HVAC settings allows residents to save on energy bills while contributing to grid stability. By shifting demand away from peak hours, the VPP helps avoid overloads and maintains a more balanced energy supply.
NRG’s president of consumer operations, Rasesh Patel, describes this program as a “pivotal step” in both improving the customer experience and enhancing Texas’ energy infrastructure. The goal is to make energy usage not just cost-effective but also sustainable and resilient.
Major rollout planned across Texas
The program will begin rolling out across Texas in spring 2025, focusing on customers served by NRG’s retail electricity providers. Homeowners will see the installation of these smart thermostats as a simple upgrade with significant benefits, as they will actively support the grid while enjoying lower energy costs.
Over time, NRG and Renew Home aim to expand the VPP’s capabilities, adding home battery storage systems and integrating electric vehicles (EVs) into the network. By 2035, the VPP is expected to be a comprehensive energy solution, helping stabilize Texas’ grid during peak demands.
AI Progress Limit, Chat.com for $15m, Qwen Coder, Ollama Vision, Ex-OpenAI CTO Plans
#ai !summarize
Part 1/7:
The Slowing Pace of AI Innovation
According to a recent Bloomberg article, major AI companies like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic are struggling to build their next-generation models, indicating a slowdown in the pace of innovation.
ChatGPT's Incremental Improvements
The article suggests that the model known as "Orion" at OpenAI did not meet the company's desired performance, according to two people familiar with the matter. This is not entirely surprising, as each iteration of a technology like ChatGPT is unlikely to see the same level of dramatic improvement as the initial versions. Just like new iPhone releases, the incremental changes become less noticeable over time.
The article also mentions that an upcoming iteration of Google's "Gemini" software is not living up to internal expectations, and Anthropic has seen the timeline slip for the release of its long-awaited "Cloud 3.5 Opus" model.
Potential Bottlenecks and Algorithmic Unlocks
[...]
Part 2/7:
The author suggests that the companies may be facing various bottlenecks, such as compute power and available data. However, they also note that there are potential post-training unlocks, such as Chain of Thought and test-time compute, that could provide performance and scaling improvements.
Continued Innovation and Investment
Despite these apparent slowdowns, the author believes these are not significant stumbles for the companies, and they will continue to innovate. The massive amount of investment in the AI industry suggests that these challenges are temporary, and breakthroughs are likely to come in the near future.
Greg Brockman's Return to OpenAI
In another story, the article discusses the return of Greg Brockman to OpenAI. Brockman, the former CTO of the company, had been on an extended leave and vacation. Now, he is back, working with Sam Altman to find the right technical role for him within the organization.
ChatGPT.com Domain Acquisition
[...]
Part 3/7:
The article also covers the story behind the acquisition of the ChatGPT.com domain. Apparently, Dharmesh Shah, the founder of HubSpot, had purchased the domain for $10 million and then sold it to OpenAI, likely earning a significant profit in the process.
Llama 3.2 Vision Capabilities
The article then discusses the latest update to the Llama model, which now includes support for Meta's Llama 3.2 Vision models. This allows the model to perform tasks such as reading prescriptions, analyzing receipts, and generating graphs.
Palantir and Anthropic Partnership
The article also covers the partnership between Palantir and Anthropic, where Palantir will be the first industry partner to bring Anthropic's Cloud models to classified environments for U.S. government intelligence and defense operations. This raises concerns about the potential implications of such powerful AI models being used in sensitive government applications.
Quant 2.5 Coder Release
[...]
Part 4/7:
The article then highlights the release of Quant 2.5 Coder, which is described as potentially the best open-source coding model available. The models are available in various sizes, from 32 billion to 500 million parameters, and are integrated with the Llama platform.
Microsoft's Tiny Troop Project
The article also discusses Microsoft's new open-source project called Tiny Troop, which allows the simulation of people with specific personalities, interests, and goals, similar to a "tiny world" simulation.
TSMC's Chip Manufacturing Restrictions
The article then covers the news that TSMC has been forbidden from manufacturing 2-nanometer chips outside of Taiwan, which could hinder the company's progress in the U.S. market and potentially lead to a fallout in U.S.-Taiwan relations.
AlphaFold 3 Release
[...]
Part 5/7:
The article also mentions the release of AlphaFold 3, the latest version of DeepMind's protein folding prediction model, which is now open-source and available for anyone to experiment with.
Diffusion-Based Video Game Engines
The article then discusses the emergence of a new trend in video game engines, where diffusion-based models are used to emulate environments like Minecraft in real-time, without the need for traditional game engines. The article highlights the open-source Lucid V1 project as an example of this technology.
Waymo's Expansion in Los Angeles
The article also covers the expansion of Waymo's robot taxi service in Los Angeles, which is now available to anyone within an 80-square-mile area of the county, no longer limited to an invitation-only program.
Mir Moraadi's New Venture
[...]
Part 6/7:
The article delves into the latest developments surrounding Mir Moraadi, the former CTO of OpenAI, and the team he is assembling for his new venture. This includes the recent departure of Manana Chen, a research program manager at OpenAI, to join Moraadi's new company, along with other former OpenAI employees.
Impressive Robot Demonstration from China
The article concludes with a discussion of a new demo video showcasing the impressive agility and capabilities of a robot developed by a Chinese company called Deep Robotics. The robot's ability to climb, move on two or four legs, and navigate various terrains is described as "absolutely insane to watch."
Nause Research's Forge Reasoning API
[...]
Part 7/7:
The article also covers the release of Nause Research's Forge Reasoning API, which allows the application of test-time compute techniques, similar to those used in OpenAI's Orion and Anthropic's models, to any uploaded model. This could potentially improve the performance of open-source models.
Meta AI Rayband Glasses Updates
Finally, the article discusses the latest updates to Meta's AI Rayband glasses, including new features such as voice-controlled video sharing, hands-free actions, and integration with Meta's AI chatbot.
Nearly half of AI data centers may not have enough power by 2027
A I’s insatiable thirst for electricity is expected to surge in the coming years, potentially leading to power shortages for data centers. New servers last year demanded 195 terawatt-hours of electricity, according to a new report from Gartner. That’s as much as 18 million households use in a year. But by 2027, new servers could command 500 terawatt-hours, or 46 million households worth.
That’s over and above the juice used by existing data centers, which already consumed 349 terawatt hours in 2022, according to a Goldman Sachs estimate. Without additional sources of carbon-free power, pollution from AI training and use could skyrocket. Sam Altman’s big bet on fusion power — over $375 million — is starting to make more sense.
#datacenters #ai #energy #electricity
Homeland Security Department releases framework for using AI in critical infrastructure
The Biden administration on Thursday released guidelines for using artificial intelligence in the power grid, water system, air travel network and other pieces of critical infrastructure.
Private industry would have to adopt and implement the guidelines announced by the Homeland Security Department, which were developed in consultation with the department's advisory Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters that “we intend the framework to be, frankly, a living document and to change as developments in the industry change as well.”
#ai #technology #infrastructure #biden #homelandsecurity
The framework recommends that AI developers evaluate potentially dangerous capabilities in their products, ensure their products align with “human-centric values” and protect users' privacy. The cloud-computing infrastructure would need to vet hardware and software suppliers and protect the physical security of data centers.
Owners and operators of critical infrastcture are advised to have stronger cybersecurity protocols that consider AI-related risks and provide transparency about how AI is used. There are also guidelines for state and local governments.
Asked if the framework could possibly change once President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office in January, Mayorkas stressed that he was implementing the policies of President Joe Biden's administration.
Slack Report: Is AI Adoption Heading for a Plateau?
A new report from Slack found employees might not want to discuss AI with their managers for fear of being perceived as “lazy.”
The hype around generative AI may be starting to cool, according to a new Slack report.
The survey of more than 17,000 desk workers worldwide, published on Nov. 12, revealed a disconnect between AI aspirations and adoption rates. The report focused on barriers to AI adoption at work and how leaders can clarify questions about it. The slight dip in global interest is notable after nearly a year of increased excitement around AI.
#ai #slack #technology
“AI adoption isn’t just about enterprises, it’s also about employees,” said Christina Janzer, head of Slack’s Workforce Lab, in a press release. “With sentiment around AI dropping, businesses need to help employees accelerate their AI journey and address the cultural and organizational blockers standing in their way.”
AI may not be fulfilling the hype
Slack saw a steady rise in AI adoption from September 2023 to March 2024. At its peak in March 2024, about one-third (32%) of desk workers surveyed had used AI to do their jobs. This percentage began to show a decline or plateau in the last three months.
Specifically:
The U.S. saw just a single percentage point of growth in AI usage, from 32% to 33% of desk workers.
“Excitement” about AI helping with work tasks among global workers dropped by 6%.
Excitement about AI fell 9% over the last three months in the U.S.
Excitement about AI fell 12% over the last three months in France.
Nearly all (99%) of surveyed executives say they will make an investment into AI this year.
Connor Leahy on how to build a good future with AI
#ai #coding !summarize
Part 1/4:
A Comprehensive Look at the Challenges of AI Safety
Introduction
Connor Ley, the CEO of Conjecture, a startup working on the technical problem of AI control, joins us today to discuss the critical issue of AI safety. Conjecture aims to build useful AI products while also conducting the necessary R&D to answer the question of how we can build AI systems that are understandable, controllable, and do not lead to the risks of unaligned AGI (Artificial General Intelligence).
Connor acknowledges that AI safety is an incredibly hard problem, one that is often seen as unsolvable due to the immense resources required. However, he argues that this is precisely why it is so important to address. Replacing complex human systems and problems with software is an enormously challenging task, and we must be realistic about the current state of software development and cybersecurity practices.
The Race to AGI
[...]
Part 2/4:
There is a race happening right now, with people and organizations rushing to develop AGI as quickly as possible, often cutting corners on safety. Connor provides his personal timelines, suggesting a 30% probability of seeing an AGI system by 2027, 50% by 2030, and 99% by 2100, with a small chance that an AGI system has already been developed and is being kept secret.
Connor identifies several ideological drivers behind this race, including utopists who believe AGI will create a perfect utopia, zealots who want humanity to be replaced by AI, accelerationists who believe technology should be allowed to advance without regulation, and opportunists who are simply looking to make money. He argues that these ideologies, combined with the involvement of major tech companies, are fueling the dangerous push towards AGI development without adequate safeguards.
Building a Good Future
[...]
Part 3/4:
Connor emphasizes that a good future does not happen by default – it requires active effort and hard work. He argues that there are no "adults in the room" when it comes to AI development, and that we as a society must take responsibility for shaping the future we want.
This means demanding responsible development of AI systems, building the necessary institutional capacities and regulatory frameworks, and engaging with policymakers and the public to ensure a just process for deciding the future. Connor believes that individuals and private entities should not be allowed to unilaterally impose their vision of the future on society, and that a collective, democratic process is essential.
[...]
Part 4/4:
The compendium produced by Conjecture is a crucial tool in this effort, providing a comprehensive overview of the AI safety challenge and potential solutions. Connor encourages readers to engage with the compendium, provide feedback, and get involved in the broader effort to build a good future with powerful AI systems.
Hi, @taskmaster4450le,
This post has been voted on by @darkcloaks because you are an active member of the Darkcloaks gaming community.
Get started with Darkcloaks today, and follow us on Inleo for the latest updates.
I don't think Bitcoin’s climb is just financial, it’s psychological. Hitting $100K will change our perspective. At that point, a $1,000 rise looks pretty tiny, almost irrelevant. We’ll start looking for $10K or $20K swings just to feel the same excitement we're feeling today. And once Bitcoin reaches $1 million, it won’t be about single moves up but about the long journey ahead. I think it'll shift from celebrating small wins to aiming for bigger leaps and that’s at least what makes it exciting.
Investors will be more long term than ever before
we will never forget!!!!!!!
Make the Olympics Great again
she really FD up for every brakedancer generation moving forward, never again in the Olympics, mayor F 🤦
petition to bring back raygun
lmao
that was golden
honestly the ONE good thing that came out of the Olympics
pun intended
Sometimes I d rather be a cat 🐱😅
#photographers
Most days I'd like to be a cat!
Welcome to our newest Lion!
https://inleo.io/threads/view/ciphaa/re-leothreads-vyyc1gjd
already on it ;)
Haha found them through you ;)
No step is too small as long as it's in the right direction of where you want to go.
you're very right on this one man, as long as the direction is right we just gotta keep making the steps. Eventually we'll get to the destination thanks for this motivation
I sometimes get frustrated with the little efforts I'm making but after reading this I see the Dept of wisdom in it. I shouldn't be frustrated I'm on the right path so one day I'll get there
Baby steps in the right direction my friend.
A wise saying from a wise man. This generation has a patience problem and I guess all the luxury on social media is pressure for them. We need to trust the process and take things one step at a time
hello! my inleo family
Hello! Welcome to INLEO
If you need any help as you familiarize yourself with the platform, post a thread up and ask! The community loves to jump in and help
Attempt 3: LeoThreads Shorts
This a video short of one of my Threads... I took the feedback I got from the first two attempts to make this one. Tell me what do you think, frens! #freecomplimens #bbh #cent #crypto
https://inleo.io/threads/view/ahmadmanga/re-leothreads-2xyr1uxsb?referral=ahmadmanga
Link:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rDnJFlRNwAkThink this one is the best yet. Now you just need to find content :D
Anything you think will improve it?
Dont have any feedback. But Im no short expert either. Thought it was nice now with the Inleo logo and the pace :)
Thanks enough of a feedback. Good to know you found the pace nice, I was worried about it.
This one is actually a good one!
Very short but I was hooked by the graphics
I feel like I succeeded!
congrats:) i say continue!
That’s not fair… #meme #memes #leomemes #notmymeme #jokesonleo
lmfao. Don't we all know it ;)
Life's not fair man, just have to make the best of it. !BBH !DIY !DOOK
You just got DOOKed!
@pepetoken thinks your content is the shit.
They have 8/400 DOOK left to drop today.
Learn all about this shit in the toilet paper! 💩
@pele23! @pepetoken likes your content! so I just sent 1 BBH to your account on behalf of @pepetoken. (8/100)
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You can query your personal balance by
!DIYSTATSWhere are you @crimsonclad ? You are one of the most important voices of HIVE.
would be cool if she got active on threads :)
Would be very cool to see Crimmy on threads. It would be amazing to hear her voice on Spaces. She's so well spoken and hardcore about HIVE.
Yes, they seem to work really hard on that. Let's hope for the best.
then I really have to follow this person. I hope she's alright. I have to be keeping an eye on the importance voices on Hive I've got a long way to go to be like them
Look her up and check out her content. She's awesome.
I absolutely will friend, I checked her profile and It'll be worth it❤️
Everyone is..
Happy to have Guarda as another great option to use and hold Dash! 💪
Download it here:
https://guarda.com/app/
"Donald Trump announces Lord Varys will lead the Department of Whispers" .... 🤣😂 found this online
#meme, #trumpdrama, #skiptvads, #got
now this is getting super funny. Trump is really delegating good jobs to the right people 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 these trump memes are everywhere now bro
back to it
back to hustling or?
I was already back to it
#skiptvads, #halleberry, #moviesonleo, #swordfish
no doubt
goat
Donald Trump chose Elon Musk to help cut government spending, creating a "Department of Government Efficiency" with Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy
Bro already has a political position 😳
the country is a meme
100%
hahaha I tell you it's a whole big meme now 🤣
it's sad but you know... i guess it could be worse
you're very right it could be worse so we'll just manage this
Hi, @l337m45732,
This post has been voted on by @darkcloaks because you are an active member of the Darkcloaks gaming community.
Get started with Darkcloaks today, and follow us on Inleo for the latest updates.
Another President Trump appointee has been memed. I found this on Bluesky...
#politics #gaetz #dailydook #pepe
Hahahahaha fren is welcomed to the meme club 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Embrace your imperfect self and see the possibilities of growth and self-improvement.
Have a fulfilled Thursday.
#positivity #positivemindset #cent #motivation
Feeling sluggish; putting in more coffee
Do coffees make you active or more sluggish? It's the latter for me. #dailydook
The first two cups for sure^^
Haha..you sure know your threshold. #dailydook
It’s okay to not be okay.
It’s just not okay to stay that way.
Unknown
Está tudo bem não estar bem. Só não está tudo bem continuar assim.
#freecompliments #pob #hivebr
facts
thanks for stopping by
!LUV
@l337m45732, @crazyphantombr(1/10) sent you LUV. | tools | discord | community | HiveWiki | <>< daily
certainly it's not okay to bottle up thing
You're so right about that man
Trump’s policies may help the whole of China to accept Bitcoin. BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF grew fast, reaching $40 billion.
Crypto is getting as popular and as used as AI
If only I had a way to make $0.35 per minute.... Maybe if HIVE 100x in price? A comment written in 2 minutes could get $0.7 in upvotes!! #crypto #letmedream #cent
https://inleo.io/threads/view/alex-rourke/re-leothreads-h72s15ke?referral=alex-rourke
D. O. G. E.
Elon planned this all along.
Or maybe he's just good at improvising!
The logo they gonna use is clear
I thought I was the only one.
100%
Time to buy dog coins!
It really is much more practical as a currency for the masses than BTC, although with the price surge it's become a little expensive too!
!BBH
@dkid14! @thebighigg likes your content! so I just sent 1 BBH to your account on behalf of @thebighigg. (7/50)
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Let's do a #threadcast and talk about GNU/LINUX,
When did we first meet Linux?
What is your favorite distribution? How does it help us in our daily tasks?
#Linux
Many years ago. Have always just dabbled. Need to go full Linux, but somehow never have. No favorite distribution.
It's never too late, today is the time to start.
Haha! Yeah i actually could pick it up fairly quickly just never seem to have the inertia.
😅 you just have to cheer up.
Ha! You could be correct.
This is fun... I knew about Linux for a long time, but first time I tried was in College, (probably 10yrs ago,) when we had a one-time lecture about Fedora. I liked it, but I stuck to Windows.
I kept making Linux LiveUSBs but never had them as my main PC.
I decided to go full Linux when I learned about Proton a few years ago, at the start I only did it to learn how to use it, but I like it more than Windows now. (It helps that Windows have gotten worse.)
Fedora was a stranger to me 10 years ago, now it's one of the best alternatives. Windows has fallen and Linux has improved a lot, that's the truth.
15-ish years ago, in college. I always tell myself I should move to Linux but never really have.... My favorite distro is Ubuntu mainly because it's the only one I really used
I also started using Ubuntu back in 2009, it's been a few years now. To get started, you just have to try it, everything in Linux has evolved a lot and for the better.
So what, alone the ETF inflow in the last days was between 300 and 1300 mio. per day! Those 33 mio will be sucked up in a few hours.
The country that accounts for happines in the gdp 👏
That’s funny. I did not know that. !BBH
@anderssinho! @mcoinz79 likes your content! so I just sent 1 BBH to your account on behalf of @mcoinz79. (1/5)
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my dashboard is all wrong. I’m not earning Leo as it shows below, but I’m earning a lot less liquid Leo! #Feedback
Are you set to staked?
yes, I chose that option a while ago. Signed it on keychain and everything.
Something weird has been happening with Hive APIs the past few days
Let me check and make sure everything is working correctly
Thanks for letting me know
It looks good after all.
Bozhidar Spasov, a Bulgarian composer, draws inspiration from medieval texts and the avant-garde music of Stockhausen and Berio, creating unique works like his chamber opera-ballet The Bewitched. 🎶📜 #music #facts
Appreciated the Fountainhead Forum having me on to chat crypto and liberty as always 🙏
Here's the interview:
Steve Jobs hated his friend’s yacht, so he designed his own. His Venus yacht was sleek, futuristic and full of glass, showing his love for simplicity.
You don’t have to control your thoughts. You just have to stop letting them control you.
Dan Millman
Você não precisa controlar seus pensamentos. Você só precisa parar de deixá-los controlar você.
#freecompliments #pob #hivebr
Did you know that exercise helps nerve growth by releasing signals from muscles and stretching neurons.
This can lead to treatments for nerve damage and diseases like ALS. Let's not forget to exercise people 💪
I just realized that it will be really hard to grow your brand and business — but you have to keep going and never forget to have fun.
When you are having fun, it feels nothing, and it doesn't feel like a job.
#productivity
Quite important to have fun while being productive.
Exactly, that's what I currently do on my website and threads!
A couple of days ago I released the 2nd chapter in my small book.
Find the link in the comment section
#book #freewrites #pob #cent #dailydook
https://inleo.io/@caspermoeller89/the-armored-heist-2-gh6?referral=caspermoeller89
One Punch Man Rough Draft
#art #anime #cent
+2.5R Here in Cuba I would say that in this trade I left my hair on the wire with the SL.
Anyway Thanks $BTC
How is everyone's day going?
Got a comment today, that I'm still thinking about, so... Going well, I guess?
https://inleo.io/@nathen007/re-ahmadmanga-20241114t221419641z
All I can say to that, is interesting. How did he come to this conclusion and can he show us how what he is saying will be?
Well, I find it interesting too, but I don't have proof either way, I can say all day that "most users are already converting their HIVE out of the ecosystem, so at worst nothing will change." But that's still just an opinion.
So I'll just wait and see and use what will happen a case-study for the future.
!INDEED I agree with that statement. If people only understood what I am trying to do, build, bring the Hive community together for a stronger Hive. Maybe I will write more about that in upcoming long form posts.
!BBH !DOOK
You just got DOOKed!
@bradleyarrow thinks your content is the shit.
They have 24/60 DOOK left to drop today.
Learn all about this shit in the toilet paper! 💩
@ahmadmanga! @bradleyarrow likes your content! so I just sent 1 BBH to your account on behalf of @bradleyarrow. (26/100)
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(1/100)
@ahmadmanga! @bradleyarrow Totally agrees with your content! so I just sent 1 IDD to your account on behalf of @bradleyarrow.
Cool graphic!
https://inleo.io/threads/view/anderssinho/re-khaleelkazi-hh5ijr9d
If I edit my profile, but don't re-upload both images each time I change other things the images disappear. By images I mean the profile banner and avatar. #feedback
#newsonleo #meme #liotes
Major U.S. exchange Coinbase announced its intention to list both PEPE and Dogwifhat (WIF), in a surprise listing policy U-turn
link ⬇️
https://coinmarketcap.com/academy/article/meme-token-listings-on-coinbase-sends-pepe-wif-on-staggering-rally?lid=p6wqo2ezy4bb
#newsonleo #liotes #crypto #cent
Coinbase Wallet will be announcing a new "Tap to Pay" service.
link ⬇️
https://coinmarketcap.com/academy/article/coinbase-unveils-tap-to-pay-feature-takes-on-giant-payment-competitors?lid=e1lih8kznq75
#newsonleo #liotes
South Dakota Republican John Thune has won the post of Senate Majority Leader in the 119th Congress, opening a new frontier
link ⬇️
https://coinmarketcap.com/academy/article/pro-crypto-senator-john-thune-claims-senate-leadership-in-republican-victory?lid=tc153cpt9bcs
GOOD MORNING, LIONS! 🦁
Good morning! Just ended my workday 😅
morning my dude
Good Morning! Hope you have a great day. Off to sleep for me.
GOOD MORNING!
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