1. Llama 2
Total comment counts : 106
Summary
The article introduces Llama 2, the next generation of an open-source language model. Llama 2 is available for free for research and commercial use. It includes pretrained and fine-tuned language models with different parameters. The models outperform other open-source language models on various benchmarks. Llama 2 was pretrained on publicly available online data sources and has received support from companies, cloud providers, researchers, and others who believe in an open approach to AI. The article also includes a statement of support for Meta’s open approach to AI and provides a download link for Llama 2.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The benchmark results show that the Llama models are approaching and sometimes surpassing GPT-3.5 in various tasks. In the AI2 Reasoning Challenge, Llama 2 achieved a score of 64.6 compared to GPT-3.5’s 85.2 and GPT-4’s 96.3. In the HellaSwag test, Llama 2 scored 85.9 while GPT-3.5 scored 85.3 and GPT-4 scored 95.3. In the MMLU test, Llama 2 scored 63.9 while GPT-3.5 scored 70.0 and GPT-4 scored 86.4. Finally, in the TruthfulQA test, Llama 2 achieved a score of 52.8 compared to GPT-3.5’s 47.0 and GPT-4’s 59.0.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses a key detail from a release, explaining that if the monthly active users for a product or service surpasses 700 million, the licensee must request a license from Meta. Meta has the discretion to grant this license, and until it is granted, the licensee is not authorized to exercise any rights under the agreement. This move is seen as an attempt to block out competitors and prevent them from benefiting from this product or service.
2. Firefox has surpassed Chrome on Speedometer
Total comment counts : 67
Summary
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Top 1 Comment Summary
The author praises Firefox for its superior functionality and performance under high load compared to Chromium. They note that Firefox used to be slower, but it has caught up in recent years. The author is happy to see Chromium making progress in the right direction.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author of the article expresses their positive opinion of Firefox as a browser and Mozilla as an organization. They use Firefox as their daily browser on all devices, except for their TV. They appreciate its speed and the compatibility of its plugins with mobile devices. The author also mentions their preference for rooting for the underdog, which makes them happy to support Firefox. They only occasionally need to use Chrome for certain websites, which they believe reflects poorly on those sites rather than on Firefox. The author acknowledges reports of scroll lag in the comments but suggests that they may be lucky or experiencing a misconfiguration in other users’ setups. They admit to mostly using Chrome for web development due to being accustomed to its excellent developer tools, despite Firefox and Firebug being pioneers in that area. The author appreciates separating their user browser (Firefox) from their dev browser (Chrome).
3. Stable Diffusion WebGPU demo
Total comment counts : 16
Summary
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Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the development of web-based tools by the MLC team. They created a working model called “web-stable-diffusion” back in March, which is available on GitHub. Additionally, the team provided support for several Large Language Models (LLMs) through the webllm.mlc.ai platform.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article highlights how modern web browsers have evolved to become powerful applications that consume a significant amount of system resources. Specifically, it mentions that certain activities on the web, such as loading a web page, can utilize 3.5GB of data and require 8GB of RAM. The author also reflects on how the advancement of web browsers has changed the role of operating systems, suggesting that the web has essentially taken over some of their functionalities.
4. A few things to know before stealing my 914 (2022)
Total comment counts : 30
Summary
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Top 1 Comment Summary
The author reminisces about their first car, which was from the 1990s. The transmission of the car had worn down synchros, making shifting difficult. Despite this, the car was in better overall condition compared to their current car. The author also mentions their current dream of finding another 914 car and converting it into an electric vehicle, as they feel that replacing the original components of the car would be preferable in this case.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the personal setup and configuration preferences of Emacs or Vim users. The author states that they are likely one of those users and warns potential thieves or others who may use their editor config to be aware of a few things beforehand.
5. Never waste a midlife crisis
Total comment counts : 45
Summary
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Top 1 Comment Summary
The author, a 36-year-old man experiencing a midlife crisis after a work-related burnout, offers advice based on his own experience. He advises that a midlife crisis takes a long time and that one should be prepared to go through significant changes. He suggests that if you find yourself in a midlife crisis, it means your previous life was not fulfilling, and going through the process will help you become a better person. The author also recommends seeking professional help for mental health during this phase, as it can be difficult for loved ones to understand the changes you’re going through. After three years, the author is starting to feel better, although he misses part of his previous life. He encourages embracing the opportunity to start over and create a better life for oneself.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author describes their midlife crisis at the age of 40 as more of a midlife epiphany. They moved from a beautiful city in the UK to a remote location in Devon, living in a shack in the woods with no running water, in order to be near the sea. They brought their two small children with them and downsized from a bustling city life to a quiet rural one. Originally intending to stay for a year, after two years they realized that their children were thriving in this new environment and decided to stay. They are still living in the country and by the sea, with their children now nearly grown up. While they may not be rich, they are a close-knit family unit and are enjoying their life. The author credits their wife for having the idea to make this drastic change and emphasizes the importance of taking leaps and doing things, even if they may seem crazy.
6. Generative AI space and the mental imagery of alien minds
Total comment counts : 24
Summary
The article discusses the concept of alien minds and how AI can provide insights into how they perceive the world. It explains how neural networks can be modified to create alien AI, and how these modified networks produce mental imagery that diverges from human perception. The article also explores the idea of interconcept space, where images that are statistically reasonable but not easily describable by humans are found. It provides examples of different images generated by AI, both familiar and abstract, and discusses the effects of modifying neural networks on the generated images.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author discusses their observations of an AI creating images and how it relates to the concept of dreaming. They describe the constantly changing and blended nature of the AI-generated images, noting that while they have become more cohesive and solid, they still maintain a dreamlike quality. Drawing from their personal experience with lucid dreaming, the author suggests that the images created by AI resemble a person who is dreaming but has some level of control over their dream. They explain that even in lucid dreaming, there is a sense of unconsciousness and the inability to fully control one’s thoughts. The AI’s current state is likened to this level of unconsciousness, although it has not yet reached a state of full wakefulness. The author acknowledges that AIs are currently incapable of waking up, highlighting the difference between the AI’s limitations and the wakefulness that follows a lucid dream.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the idea of applying the effects of psychedelics on the brain to generative models. It proposes that psychedelics disrupt the normal perceptual activity, causing new activations between cortical structures and prompting adjustments in the generative model to regain predictive efficacy. The author wonders if a similar “dynamic” generative mechanism can be implemented in artificial models. The article includes links to an online course on psychedelic neurochemistry and additional resources for further information.
7. How to be a consultant, a freelancer, or an independent contractor (2009)
Total comment counts : 17
Summary
The article is a guide to create and operate a successful consulting business. The author shares their experience running a consultancy business and provides advice on starting up. The guide is primarily focused on software consulting but aims to be applicable in different locations. The chapters are organized in a logical order, but readers are encouraged to skip sections they are already familiar with. The author welcomes feedback and comments.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article advises against setting a low consulting rate, as it tends to attract difficult and demanding clients. Clients who are willing to pay a higher rate are generally more reasonable and less price-focused. It is unlikely that clients who have a purchasing department will allow consultants to raise their rates later on. Consultants often overlook the additional benefits they offer, such as schedule flexibility and avoiding payroll taxes, which should be factored into their pricing. The article suggests that new consultants often underestimate their rates. If a client objects to the rate, it is better to negotiate on the scope of the project rather than lowering the rate. Lastly, the article advises against billing hourly as it is considered problematic.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses setting hourly rates as a consultant. It suggests that initially, it is advisable to offer a lower price, but not too low. The author found that asking for a rate that was fair for them proved beneficial for both parties. Additionally, the author regretted offering a lower rate as it affected their performance.
8. fMRI-to-image with contrastive learning and diffusion priors
Total comment counts : 17
Summary
The article discusses the release of a collaborative paper on MindEye, a state-of-the-art approach to reconstructing and retrieving images from fMRI brain activity. MindEye achieves high performance in image retrieval and reconstruction using a novel approach that combines contrastive learning and a diffusion prior. It can accurately identify the original image viewed by a participant and recreate the image based on fMRI activity. The paper also highlights the potential benefits of reconstructing perception from brain activity in clinical applications and brain-computer interfaces. However, there are limitations, including the need for extensive training data from each participant and the requirement for specific types of training images. The article emphasizes the importance of data protection and transparency in neuroscience research and showcases the open research approach used in developing MindEye. The authors invite interested readers to explore their ongoing projects and join their research community.
Top 1 Comment Summary
This article discusses a methodology that claims to reconstruct images from brain activity. However, a commenter on Hacker News raises doubts about the validity of the claims. The commenter suggests that the system may have simply overfitted the training images without actually reading images from the brain. The commenter provides evidence from the paper that supports this view. They conclude that the methodology may have cherry-picked coincidences or found similarities among subjects rather than accurately reconstructing images.
Top 2 Comment Summary
This article discusses the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to detect images in the brain and highlights some challenges and limitations in the process. The author suggests that detecting images is relatively easier than other tasks, such as determining the words someone is thinking of. The resolution of fMRI scans, both spatially and temporally, is mentioned as a significant issue. The study mentioned in the article used 1.8mm voxels for spatial resolution and did not specify the temporal frequency, but it showed images to subjects for 3 seconds at a time. The author also mentions that certain brain functions, like vision, are more clearly localized than others, making it easier to detect stimulus in those areas. However, scanning only part of the brain can improve resolution but is only useful for activity in that specific region. The author concludes by expressing excitement about the potential applications of fMRI technology, such as using it to draw people’s faces based on their mental imagery.
9. The Drivers Cooperative: New York’s driver-owned ride-hailing app
Total comment counts : 17
Summary
The article discusses The Drivers Cooperative, a driver-owned ride-hailing platform in New York City. The co-op is focused on putting drivers first and creating a more personal and supportive work environment compared to traditional ride-hailing companies. The Drivers Cooperative has recently launched a new app, become the official transportation partner for Juneteenth NY, and is on track to achieve its first annual profit. The co-op operates on a phased growth path and has focused on prescheduled trips, such as government-funded paratransit and non-emergency medical transportation, to establish its $30-an-hour minimum wage for drivers. The co-op currently has 9,000 members, accounting for approximately 15% of the ride-hailing platform driver workforce in NYC. With its driver-centric approach and financial flexibility, The Drivers Cooperative aims to compete with established ride-hailing giants.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article suggests that “digital” cooperatives, which involve small companies or individual operators using open source platforms, should be explored further. The inability of these entities to cooperate allows third parties to take over client intermediation and extract large rents. Small businesses and individuals pay high fees to digital platform owners, which far exceed the platform development costs. If independent entities cannot work together to develop digital infrastructure, someone else will do it for them and benefit from it. Reclaiming market ownership of digital tools may be challenging, but there is currently an opportunity for small entities to reclaim agency due to a stagnating phase in technical innovation.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The Namma Yatri app, developed by Juspay, a payments startup in Bengaluru, India, has gained popularity in the city. Endorsed by the Auto Rickshaw Drivers Union, the app has completed around 5 million rides since its launch in November 2022. Drivers using the app have earned around 9 million USD. Notably, the app, its backend, and protocol are completely open source, utilizing Haskell and Nix.
10. Computer memory prototype ditches 1s and 0s for denser data storage
Total comment counts : 12
Summary
Scientists at Cambridge University have developed a prototype for computer memory that could lead to faster chips capable of storing up to 100 times more data. The memory system, based on resistive switching memory, allows for a continuous range of states to store data, unlike conventional memory that only has two states. The researchers achieved this by using barium bridges between stacked thin films of hafnium oxide, creating a highly structured material that can encode data based on changes in electrical resistance. This type of memory could have promising applications in AI and machine learning. The prototype also has advantages in terms of self-assembly at low temperatures and compatibility with existing manufacturing techniques used in the semiconductor industry. Feasibility studies are underway to explore its potential scalability.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the implementation of the Intel 8087 math coprocessor in 1980. Due to the coprocessor having too much microcode to fit into a standard ROM, a special ROM was used that stored two bits per transistor, utilizing four different transistor sizes. This resulted in an increase in density and each value read from the ROM generated two output bits. The same technique was also employed in the iAPX 432’s I/O processor chip.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author argues that vinyl records, despite their lack of digital 0’s and 1’s, are not necessarily superior to Blu-ray. They point out that MLC NAND, which is used in digital storage, can represent more than just binary digits, ranging from 0 to 7 or 0 to 15. The author questions whether there is a genuine desire to work with analog data.