TLDR 2023-08-15

NETFLIX FINALLY STREAMS VIDEO GAMES, TOO

Netflix has started the first public tests of its cloud-streamed games. Subscribers in Canada and the UK will soon be able to stream Netflix games to select TVs, connected TV devices, and browsers. The two games currently available are Oxenfree and a new title called Molehew's Mining Adventure, a gem-mining arcade game. Players control games on their TVs using their smartphones. A list of compatible devices is available in the article.

APPARENT IMAGES & SPECS OF SAMSUNG HEADSET PROTOTYPE LEAK

Images and specs of a prototype Samsung headset have been leaked. The XR headset uses a new variant of Android. It will reportedly feature four tracking cameras, pancake lenses, dual RGB cameras for color passthrough, a depth sensor, OLED microdisplays, and Samsung's own Exynos 2200 chip. It doesn't have tracked controllers, using hand tracking and eye interaction instead. The headset will likely be in the $1,000-$2,000 range. The leaked images are available in the article.

TOWARDS A METAL-RICH ASTEROID IN OCTOBER

NASA's Psych mission is gearing up for an early October launch. The $985 million mission involves sending an orbiter to rendezvous with the 16 Psych asteroid, which is believed to hold approximately $10,000 quadrillion dollars worth of nickel and iron. It was discovered in 1852 and has a diameter of about 140 miles. If everything runs on schedule, the Psych spacecraft will arrive at the asteroid in around six years.

ALL

A New Zealand-based startup, Kimer Med, is trying to develop a broad-spectrum antiviral. Its current strategy involves targeting a factor in human cells to attack a wide variety of viruses. Kimer's technology triggers a process that kills targeted cells upon detection. While it has shown promise in the lab, the company still has to prove that it works in animals and humans. A broad-spectrum antiviral would save tens of millions of lives and trillions of dollars over the coming decades.

AI TOWN

AI Town is a virtual town where AI characters live and interact with each other. This repository contains a deployable starter kit for easily building and customizing a version of AI Town. The project was inspired by a research paper. It aims to provide a platform with a strong foundation that is meant to be extended.

OUTLINES

Outlines is a library for neural text generation. It helps developers guide text generation to build robust interfaces with external systems. Outlines is compatible with all models. It can be used as a more flexible replacement for the generate method in the transformers library.

INSIDE THE DECLINE OF STACK EXCHANGE

Stack Exchange's library of knowledge is under a Creative Commons license, which means that anyone can use it in any way, even for commercial purposes. A large chunk of its programming-specific data was ingested by AI models. This article looks at Stack Exchange usage and how the introduction of generative AI to the public has affected trends.

MY EVERYDAY LLM USES

This article looks at everyday uses for large language models outside of coding or professional work. The list includes using the models for sorting grocery lists, summarizing book notes, dictionary lookup, turning tasks into subtasks, and as an editor. The article also looks at some of the things that large language models aren't as useful for - generating names, brainstorming, and writing fiction novels.

PROVIDER

Rapottoni, a company that supplies multiple listing services to regional real estate groups nationwide in the US, was likely hit by a ransomware attack.

HERE'S WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY

This Reddit post contains a summary of important points from a conversation with a VP on the Microsoft team responsible for the development of the company's AI tools on AI technologies currently under development, the future of the job market, public policy surrounding AI, predictions for the future, and more.

NON-THOUGHTS ON THE OPEN SOURCE INITIATIVE

While the Open Source Initiative is uniquely positioned to guide discussions on open source and free software, the organization has ties to many companies and its behavior is centered around ease of use for multinational companies rather than developers.

Writing exposes gaps in knowledge that only become clear when explaining things to others.

WHAT EXACTLY ARE THE ECONOMICS OF AI?

This article takes a look at whether AI companies can be profitable and whether the astronomical valuations for generative AI companies are justified.

AS OCTOBER’S ECLIPSE

More details about Humane's mysterious Ai Pin, a device that can apparently replace a smartphone, will be announced on October 14.