The Daily Index — Wednesday, June 14, 2023 · TLDR Index

Across today’s newsletters

Today’s Index

TLDR

BLACKOUT INDEFINITELY

Moderators of many Reddit communities are pledging to keep their subreddits private or restricted indefinitely. The majority of subreddits were to resume on Wednesday, but a thread on the r/ModCoord subreddit indicates that a growing number will continue the protest. Not all subreddits will be able to go dark indefinitely for various reasons. More than 8,400 subreddits have gone dark. Reddit briefly crashed on Monday due to the protest.

theverge.com · 2 min

TLDR Web Dev

FUNCTION CALLING AND OTHER API UPDATES

OpenAI has released new updates to the gpt-3.5-turbo and gpt-4 APIs. These updates introduce function calling capabilities, a new way to more reliably connect GPT's capabilities with external tools and APIs. The updates also include a 75% cost reduction of embeddings and a 25% cost reduction on input tokens for gpt-3.5-turbo. gpt-3.5-turbo now has a 16k context version.

openai.com · 4 min

TLDR

AMD REVEALS NEW A.I. CHIP TO CHALLENGE NVIDIA'S DOMINANCE

AMD's MI300X GPU for artificial intelligence will be available for sampling later this Fall and start shipping in greater volumes next year. Nvidia currently dominates the AI chip market with an over 80% market share. While AMD hasn't disclosed a price for the chip yet, its release could put pressure on Nvidia's GPUs, which can cost $30,000 or more. Lower priced GPUs could help drive down the costs of AI applications.

cnbc.com · 3 min

TLDR

FLEXIBLE BRAIN IMPLANT TESTED IN PEOPLE FOR THE FIRST TIME

Precision Neuroscience, a startup co-founded by a founding member of Neuralink, has tested its safe, easy-to-place brain implant in people for the first time. The implant is made out of a flexible film and is placed into the space between the brain and skull through an incision less than a millimeter wide. It contains 10 times as many electrodes per square centimeter as a standard brain implant without the need for highly invasive surgery. The implant was able to read, record, and map the brain's electrical activity when tested on humans. Precision Neuroscience has yet to test its implantation procedure on people, but it has worked on miniature pigs.

freethink.com · 4 min

TLDR

THE SATELLITE RENAISSANCE

There are now over 7,000 active satellites in orbit. Thanks to companies like SpaceX, private enterprises are able to launch machines into space. Many aspects of our world will change as the number of satellites and space-based services continues to grow. This article looks at what life might be like in the future and the opportunities that the Satellite Renaissance brings.

every.to · 17 min

TLDR

OPENAI ROLLS OUT BIG CHATBOT API UPGRADES FOR DEVELOPERS

OpenAI has announced a sizable update to its large language model API offerings. A 16,000 context window version of gpt-3.5-turbo is now available, allowing developers to process around 20 pages of text in a single request. A new feature called function calling allows developers to more easily build chatbots capable of calling external tools, convert natural language into external API calls, or make database queries. The offerings update includes many price reductions. Some models will soon be deprecated.

arstechnica.com · 3 min

TLDR

HOW TO MAKE A QR CODE WITH STABLE DIFFUSION

A Reddit user recently posted a series of artistic QR codes created with a custom-trained ControlNet model. The Stable Diffusion community has figured out how to make the QR codes without a custom model. This article walks readers through the process of generating artistic QR codes.

stable-diffusion-art.com · 4 min

TLDR

REVOLTED

Christian Selig's Reddit client Apollo has become the central figure in the latest protest over the new terms for Reddit's API. The new pricing for access to the API will mean that many third-party developers will have to close their apps or run at a loss. Thousands of subreddits have gone dark to protest the policy as the change will affect tools that many users rely on. Selig plans to shut down Apollo on June 30. This article features an interview with Selig where he talks about what he wants from Reddit, why he still believes in the platform, and whether he thinks there's any chance of keeping Apollo alive.

theverge.com · 16 min

TLDR

TWO VISIONS OF THE FUTURE

Generative AI and AR/VR headsets present two distinctly different visions of the future. AI removes UI and assists humans naturally, while AR/VR headsets introduce new UIs and immerse people into virtual worlds. Both are extraordinary technologies and may coexist in the future, but they are radically different takes on where things are headed.

world.hey.com · 2 min