The Daily Index — Thursday, July 11, 2024 · TLDR Index

Across today’s newsletters

Today’s Index

TLDR

OPENAI BOARD SHAKE-UP: MICROSOFT OUT, APPLE BACKS AWAY AMID AI PARTNERSHIP SCRUTINY

Microsoft and Apple will no longer have representatives in non-voting observer roles on OpenAI's board. Microsoft withdrew from the role while Apple opted not to take the position. OpenAI plans to update business partners and investors through regular meetings instead of board representation. The changes are likely a reaction to regulators in the EU and US increasing their scrutiny of Big Tech's investments in AI startups due to concerns about stifling competition.

arstechnica.com · 2 min

TLDR AI

OPEN MATH OLYMPIAD MODEL RELEASED (HUGGING FACE HUB)

The Hugging Face team has released an extremely powerful and strong math model.

huggingface.co

TLDR Web Dev

SNEAKY REACT MEMORY LEAKS: HOW THE REACT COMPILER WON'T SAVE YOU

The new React compiler has some limitations in addressing memory leaks caused by closures, particularly in the context of memoization hooks. While the compiler effectively caches values that don't depend on state or props, it doesn't prevent the underlying issue of shared closure contexts that can lead to prolonged memory retention. The author demonstrates this with a code example where creating a new object dependent on state within a memoized function results in a memory leak despite the compiler's memoization.

schiener.io · 11 min

TLDR Crypto

GERMAN GOVERNMENT CONTINUES BITCOIN TRANSFERS, MOVES NEARLY $350 MILLION TO VARIOUS ENTITIES

The German state of Saxony's government's offloading of Bitcoin seized from a movie piracy website continues, with an additional 1,127 BTC transferred to exchanges on Wednesday. This brings the total sell volume to over $340 million. The state still holds over $1 billion in confiscated BTC. It is expected to continue selling, despite some criticism from government officials.

theblock.co · 2 min

TLDR Design

AFFINITY'S ADOBE-RIVALING CREATIVE SUITE IS NOW FREE FOR SIX MONTHS

Serif has introduced a six-month free trial for its Affinity creative suite, an alternative to Adobe's Mac, Windows, and iPad design apps. Despite concerns about pricing changes post-Canva acquisition, Affinity retains a one-time purchase pricing model starting at $69.99 per app. Affinity is committed to creating flexible, professional design solutions.

theverge.com · 1 min

TLDR

SAMSUNG LAUNCHES THE GALAXY RING — A FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND PRODUCT FOR THE TECH GIANT

Samsung has launched its first foray into smart rings. The Galaxy Ring is a lightweight ring equipped with sensors designed for health monitoring 24 hours a day. It uses AI software to offer a comprehensive picture of wearers' health. The ring, which weighs between 2.5 grams and 3 grams depending on the size, has a battery that can last up to seven days. It comes in three colors and will be available on July 24 starting from $399.99.

cnbc.com · 4 min

TLDR

MUSK SAYS NEXT NEURALINK BRAIN IMPLANT EXPECTED SOON, DESPITE ISSUES WITH THE FIRST PATIENT

Neuralink plans to implant its system into a second patient within the next few weeks. The company is aiming to implant its device in 'high single digits' of patients this year. While only around 15% of the channels in the first patient are still functional, the patient is still about to use the device to watch videos, read, and play chess or other video games, sometimes up to 70 hours per week. Neuralink will be making changes to address the hardware problems it encountered with its first participant, with a focus on mitigating retraction.

cnbc.com · 2 min

TLDR

NEW HIV PREVENTION DRUG SHOWS 100% EFFICACY IN CLINICAL TRIAL

A twice-yearly injection of a new pre-exposure prophylaxis drug was shown to provide young women total protection from HIV infection in a large clinical trial performed in South Africa and Uganda. The drug, lenacapavir, works by interfering with the protein shell that protects HIV's genetic material and the enzymes needed for replication. Gilead Sciences plans to submit the drug for approval with a number of country regulators within the next couple of months. It will offer licenses to companies that make generic drugs to help get prices down.

sciencealert.com · 7 min

TLDR

HOW TO INTERVIEW AND HIRE ML/AI ENGINEERS

Hiring well requires running effective interviews. Interview systems should be reliable, valid, and contain minimal noise. This article discusses how to interview candidates for machine learning and AI roles. It covers what technical and non-technical qualities to assess and how to calibrate phone screens, run the interview loop, and debrief. It also provides tips for interviews and hiring managers and looks at what traits make for a good hire.

eugeneyan.com · 21 min