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THE DAILY INDEX

Technology, AI, software, security, crypto and business

GENERAL

TLDR Web Dev

HOW ARE IMAGES REALLY STORED?

This article explains how images are stored, starting with the fundamental concept that pixels are the smallest units of color. Grayscale images store one byte per pixel, while color images use RGB (or RGBA) triplets, which require three or four bytes per pixel. Image formats like GIF use palettes to reduce storage by indexing colors, while PNG employs Deflate compression after applying filters to minimize pixel differences before compression. JPEG achieves high compression ratios through chroma subsampling (reducing color information) and the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT), which exploit the human eye's lower sensitivity to color detail.

EVERYONE KNOWS YOUR LOCATION: TRACKING MYSELF DOWN THROUGH IN-APP ADS

This author investigated the geolocation data leak from Gravy Analytics and found several apps on his phone secretly transmitting his location data without consent. He then attempted to purchase his own location data from data brokers but found the cost too high. The author discovered that even with location services disabled, his location and IP address were still being shared with numerous ad platforms and companies. His investigation revealed that this data is collected and resold through a complex system that involves supply-side platforms like Unity Ads and demand-side platforms like Moloco Ads.

CHATBOT SOFTWARE BEGINS TO FACE FUNDAMENTAL LIMITATIONS

LLMs are showing fundamental limitations in solving complex, multi-step reasoning problems, particularly those requiring compositional tasks. Research shows that LLMs struggle with these tasks because their underlying transformer architecture has inherent mathematical limits on their ability to handle increasingly complex computations. While techniques like chain-of-thought prompting and embedding tricks can improve performance on some tasks, these are essentially workarounds, not solutions to the core limitations.

LIFE IS MORE THAN AN ENGINEERING PROBLEM

Science fiction author Ted Chiang explores his work's influence on scientists and engineers, especially in the context of AI. Chiang's focus stems from philosophical questions, often using speculative scenarios to dramatize them, and he views science fiction as the ideal medium for this exploration. He's skeptical about current AI implementations, arguing that while impressive, they lack genuine understanding and could be misused.

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