1. Building end-to-end security for Messenger
Total comment counts : 52
Summary
The article announces that Facebook has started upgrading personal conversations on Messenger to use end-to-end encryption (E2EE) by default. The aim is to ensure that only the sender and intended recipients can access personal messages and to provide assurance that messages are from authentic senders. The implementation of E2EE on Messenger required rebuilding various aspects of the application protocols to improve privacy, security, and safety while maintaining popular features. The article also mentions that Messenger previously introduced end-to-end encrypted chats in 2016 through Secret Conversations. The ultimate goal is to protect people’s communications and allow them to feel safe expressing themselves with friends and loved ones. The piece then explains eight overlapping concepts that contribute to achieving meaningful E2EE, including secure transmission of message contents, user verification and management of endpoint devices, device-to-device functionality, confidentiality of message content, security challenges, and defining the boundaries of message content protection.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article contains links to two whitepapers. The first is about messaging and can be found at “https://engineering.fb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/MessengerEnd-to-EndEncryptionOverview_12-6-2023.pdf". The second whitepaper is about Labyrinth E2EE storage and can be accessed at “https://engineering.fb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/TheLabyrinthEncryptedMessageStorageProtocol_12-6-2023.pdf". There are also comments from Jon Millican, Matt Green, and Alec Muffet, which can be found at the respective links provided.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses Facebook’s plan to bring end-to-end encryption (E2EE) to its Messenger app. The author questions the motives behind this decision and suggests that it may lead to a loss of valuable data for advertisement purposes. The article also speculates on possible reasons, such as users migrating to more secure messaging apps like Signal or Telegram, legal pressures, issues related to child pornography, or the need for plausible deniability. Ultimately, the author expresses confusion about Facebook’s intentions and argues that users may not prioritize encryption as much as the company seems to believe.
2. Gemini “duck” demo was not done in realtime or with voice
Total comment counts : 70
Summary
The article is about a browser error message regarding JavaScript being disabled. It suggests enabling JavaScript or using a supported browser to continue using Twitter. It also mentions that more information can be found in the Help Center, and provides links to the Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, and Imprint. The article is from 2023 and is published by X Corp.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article highlights Google’s series of fumbles in various aspects of technology. Despite inventing transformers and creating Google Docs and self-driving technology earlier, Google seems to struggle and lag behind its competitors. Microsoft is gaining an upper hand in the market, Amazon and Microsoft are dominating the cloud industry, and Tesla is catching up in the race for self-driving technology. The article describes the number of fumbles made by Google as significant.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author raises concerns about Sundar’s model, noting that it prompts the model to report facts without distinguishing between true or false information. The benchmark figures published indicate only marginal improvements and do not address the issue of hallucination. The author believes that instances were cherry-picked to demonstrate correct information. However, the author acknowledges that multi-modal models are necessary for AI to understand phenomena across different modalities. They conclude by expressing the need for Sundar to provide convincing evidence that their architecture can model causality. Overall, the author criticizes the overselling of the model’s abilities but acknowledges it as a positive step forward.
3. Long context prompting for Claude 2.1
Total comment counts : 21
Summary
The article states that the website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. It mentions that certain actions could trigger a security block, such as submitting specific words or phrases, a SQL command, or malformed data. If blocked, users can contact the site owner and provide information about their actions and the Cloudflare Ray ID displayed on the page.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses an AI model’s response when asked about the most fun thing to do in San Francisco. The model failed to answer the question and stated that the essay does not provide a definitive answer. However, the article suggests that the best thing to do in San Francisco may not necessarily be fun, referencing eating a sandwich and sitting in Dolores Park on a sunny day as an example.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses how Claude tends to ignore non sequiturs in texts, much like how LLMs tend to ignore typos and bad grammar unless prompted to point them out specifically.
4. Lithium “shortage” bubble implodes again
Total comment counts : 25
Summary
The article discusses the recent collapse in the price of battery-grade lithium carbonate, which dropped 77% from its peak a year ago. The narrative supporting the high prices was a lithium shortage, but the increased production eventually led to a glut. Stardust Power, a startup company, announced plans to go public and build its first lithium refinery with funds from a SPAC merger. The demand for battery-grade lithium is high due to the global EV production boom, and the US has abundant lithium deposits. However, there are various challenges and permitting issues in starting up lithium production in the country. The article also mentions other companies and countries involved in lithium production.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the spot price of battery-grade lithium carbonate in Shanghai, which is used as a benchmark for global prices. In 2022, China was paying twice as much as the USA and Europe for lithium carbonate, leading to concerns of a bubble. However, global prices have since come down, and the Chinese price is now closer to that of the USA and Europe. A regional price index is provided as well.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the decreasing prices of lithium-ion battery packs despite recent price spikes in various components. BNEF’s annual survey reveals a 14% decrease in prices, although other surveys may show different results. The article explains that the price of a single component, even the lithium component, does not significantly impact the overall cost of the battery due to the small amount of lithium used and the potential for substitution with other components. Additionally, there is a possibility of substituting sodium for lithium in various applications. The article emphasizes that unlike oil, fluctuations in commodity prices of batteries and renewables are unlikely to disrupt entire economies as they provide a more stable foundation for economic growth.
5. Behind the scenes of Sound ID in Merlin – Identify birds using your phone (2021)
Total comment counts : 18
Summary
The article announces the introduction of Sound ID, a new feature in the Merlin Bird ID app. Sound ID allows users to listen to the birds around them and receive live predictions of which bird is singing. The app currently identifies 458 bird species in the U.S. and Canada, with more species and regions coming soon. Sound ID runs on the user’s device without needing a network connection. The app uses a computer vision model called a deep convolutional neural network, trained with audio clips of bird sounds and non-bird background noise. Sound ID experts from the Macaulay Library and the eBird community labeled the sounds with corresponding bird species to teach the model to predict species in audio recordings it hasn’t heard before. The article also mentions that the model’s performance is continuously evaluated and adjusted, and that previous models had coarser temporal resolution compared to Merlin’s Sound ID. The article concludes by mentioning that there are ongoing design decisions and improvements being made to maximize the accuracy of Merlin Sound ID’s predictions.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The Merlin app has had a significant impact on the author’s nature walks and sparked an interest in birds. The app helped the author become aware of the various unique bird species they were hearing while walking and aided in remembering the corresponding bird calls. The visual representation of bird calls in real-time through spectrograms enhanced the author’s listening experience. The app even influenced the author to purchase a birding lens for their camera, which was previously used for landscapes and cityscapes. The author highly recommends trying out the app.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses one of the lead researchers, Grant, involved in the Merlin Sound ID project. The author praises the team’s kindness and intelligence. They also appreciate the Cornell Lab and Macaulay Library for involving various people in the curation of their data. The article acknowledges the effort put into hand-tweaking parameters and emphasizes the hard work of everyone involved. The author commends the team for publishing more information about their internal process.
6. Researchers have discovered magnetic monopole quasi-particles
Total comment counts : 26
Summary
Researchers from the University of Cambridge have discovered magnetic monopoles in a material similar to rust, which could lead to advancements in computing technology. Using diamond quantum sensing, the team observed the emergence of magnetic monopoles through the collective behavior of many spins on the surface of hematite, a type of iron oxide. This is the first time naturally occurring magnetic monopoles have been observed experimentally, and it establishes a direct connection between swirling textures and magnetic charges in materials like hematite. The findings, reported in Nature Materials, have implications for next-generation logic and memory applications.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the author’s experience in the field of high-energy physics, specifically in the search for magnetic monopoles and their subsequent focus on supersymmetry and flavor physics. The author clarifies that the title of the article is misleading and may trigger negative emotions for those who have dedicated significant time to the study of magnetic monopoles. The author references a potential discovery of a magnetic monopole in the 1980s but emphasizes that it is not the groundbreaking and fundamental particle predicted by Dirac or grand unification theories. Furthermore, the author mentions that due to inflation, it is unlikely that we will be able to observe the true fundamental magnetic monopole. The article concludes by mentioning the existence of a separate conference for high-energy physics physicists and their lack of participation in another conference.
Top 2 Comment Summary
Scientists have discovered a new type of particle called “collective monopoles”, which are not individual particles but rather a collective behavior of many atoms. These monopoles have a stable state and emit a diverging magnetic field. Although they are not “real” monopoles, the discovery is still significant and has exciting potential applications.
7. Games Nintendo didn’t want you to play: Tengen (2022)
Total comment counts : 18
Summary
The article discusses the game company Tengen and its attempts to break the licensing rules set by Nintendo for the NES console. Tengen’s licensed period lasted less than a year before they decided to manufacture their own games independently. The article also explores the Nintendo lockout chip, which prevented unlicensed games from being played on the console. Tengen found a way to bypass the lockout chip using a clone chip called the “Rabbit” that communicated with the console side and tricked it into accepting the game as a regular Nintendo chip.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article questions whether the claim that low-quality games killed the Atari 2600 console is accurate or if it was just a narrative created by closed console makers. It points out that other platforms such as PCs and mobile devices have survived despite having many bad games available. The article also mentions that home computers like the C64 were successful even though they did not lock out bad games. It questions why the Atari 2600 was singled out as being destroyed because it was not sufficiently locked down.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article explains how Tengen, a video game company, was able to create a clone of Nintendo’s lockout chip by obtaining the source code through a lawsuit. Tengen planned to sue Nintendo for antitrust violations and saw this as an opportunity to create their own clone without having to reverse engineer the chip.
8. Purple Llama: Towards open trust and safety in generative AI
Total comment counts : 28
Summary
The article announces the launch of Purple Llama, an umbrella project aimed at building trust and safety in generative AI models. The project will bring together tools and evaluations to help the community develop responsibly with open generative AI models. The initial release includes tools for cybersecurity and input/output safeguards, and more tools will be added in the future. The cybersecurity evaluations aim to reduce the risks of insecure AI-generated code and malicious requests. The input/output safeguards provide a pretrained model called Llama Guard to help developers filter and check potentially risky outputs. The Purple Llama project takes a collaborative approach, involving both attack and defensive postures, and aims to create an open ecosystem for generative AI. The project has partnered with various organizations, including AI Alliance, AWS, Google Cloud, IBM, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The article concludes by mentioning a workshop at NeurIPs 2023 to share the tools and provide technical guidance.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article criticizes a new initiative to responsibly deploy generative AI models and experiences for not addressing the threat of prompt injection. The author finds it baffling that the issue is barely acknowledged in the Responsible Use Guide. They mention two research papers that only focus on related risks, such as generating insecure code and detecting toxic content, but fail to address prompt injection. The author argues that prompt injection is a significant challenge that needs to be overcome for the responsible deployment of applications built on large language models (LLMs), and highlights the risks associated with LLMs having access to private data and untrusted inputs. They criticize the AI safety announcement for not explicitly addressing the issue of prompt injection and suggest that Meta AI is hiding the biggest security threat to LLM systems.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author expresses both disappointment and delight in response to a statement about tools to evaluate Language Model Models (LLMs) in the context of cybersecurity. They are disappointed because generating “malicious” code for research or demonstration purposes is a legitimate use of LLMs. However, they are also delighted because as long as not all LLMs assist in cybersecurity-related requests, their job security as a security researcher is ensured.
9. 23andMe updates their TOS to force binding arbitration
Total comment counts : 32
Summary
This article discusses how 23andMe, a personal genomics and biotechnology company, is responding to a recent cybersecurity breach. Instead of enhancing security measures, 23andMe has chosen to implement binding arbitration for disputes as a legal shield. The company experienced multiple breaches, with the hacker claiming access to over 4 million genetic profile records initially and later confirming a total breach of 6.9 million users. Lawsuits were filed against 23andMe for negligence, and users criticized the company’s handling of the situation. To further complicate matters, 23andMe is now updating its Terms of Service to require binding arbitration for resolving disputes, preventing users from pursuing lawsuits or participating in class action suits. Users have a 30-day window to opt-out of these new terms. The article highlights concerns about bias against consumers in arbitration processes, as shown by a study conducted by the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author suggests that there should be a “common law” solution for terms of service (TOS) agreements. They propose predefined categories for software services with preset rules to prevent abuse. They compare this to the societal framework in brick-and-mortar retail where stores must operate within certain rules. The current system incentivizes corporations to claim as much legal ground as possible in TOS, which leads to a de facto corporate-controlled state. This undermines the rule of law culturally, as many terms in TOS may be unenforceable when challenged in court, putting users at a disadvantage.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The user is summarizing an email requesting to opt-out of the updated Terms of Service for the website 23andMe. The email includes the user’s name and associated email with their account, and formally requests to not consent to the terms outlined in the recent update. The user thanks the team for promptly processing their request.
10. SVG Tutorial
Total comment counts : 25
Summary
This article provides a step-by-step guide to learning how to code SVG images. It explains the basics of SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) and provides sample code and explanations to help readers understand how to create and manipulate SVG images. The article covers topics such as drawing shapes, adding colors and gradients, applying transformations, and working with text and animations. By following the steps outlined in the article, readers can gain the skills and knowledge needed to create their own SVG images.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author of the article believes that SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) + React is an underrated combination. They think that using SVG with React allows for powerful abstractions while rendering graphics instead of DOM elements. The author has used this combination for rendering graphs and charts and believes that it is superior to Canvas in certain use-cases, particularly when there is a need for interactivity without complex graphic manipulation. They mention that hover effects in Canvas require more work to determine which element the mouse is on, whereas SVG has built-in features like onmouseover for this purpose.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the author’s interest in using SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) for building interactive UIs. They mention using React and JSX to add interactivity to SVG elements and share their experience in building a React component called “Circle of Fifths” using SVG. The author also talks about their blog post that explains the process of building the Circle of Fifths with SVG. They mention using the blog post as a reference for their current project, a fretboard diagram generator. The article includes links to the React component and the blog post for further reference.