TLDR 2025-01-20

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TIKTOK BEGINS RESTORING SERVICE FOR U.S. USERS AFTER TRUMP COMMENTS

TikTok is restoring service to US users after Trump posted to Truth Social calling for it to remain available so he can broadcast his inauguration. Trump said that he will issue an executive order to extend the period of time before the law banning the platform takes effect so that his administration can make a deal to protect US national security. There will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark. Some Republicans have made statements that appear to contradict Trump on how things might play out, saying that he will try to force a true divestiture of the social media platform.

PERPLEXITY AI MAKES A BID TO MERGE WITH TIKTOK U.S.

Perplexity AI has submitted a bid to ByteDance to create a new merged entity that will combine Perplexity AI, TikTok US, and new capital partners. The new structure would allow for most of ByteDance's existing investors to retain their equity stakes. Any potential transaction between Perplexity AI and ByteDance will likely take months to complete. ByteDance has publicly implied that it will not sell TikTok US, but Perplexity AI believes that it might be interested in a merger.

OPENAI IS TRYING TO EXTEND HUMAN LIFE, WITH HELP FROM A LONGEVITY STARTUP

OpenAI trained a new AI model called GPT-4b micro with a longevity science startup called Retro Biosciences. Retro, which is backed by Sam Altman, is trying to extend the human lifespan by 10 years. The GPT-4b micro model tries to re-engineer proteins that can turn human skin cells into young-seeming stem cells. It is the first model by OpenAI custom-built for biological research. OpenAI and Retro plan to release research on the model and its outputs.

BEHIND THE CURTAIN — COMING SOON: PH.D.-LEVEL SUPER-AGENTS

There are rumors that a top AI company will be announcing Ph.D.-level super-agents in the coming week. OpenAI's Sam Altman has scheduled a closed-door briefing with US government officials on January 30. The developments may explain why top AI developers have been talking publicly about AI replacing mid-level software engineers and other human jobs this year. A super-agent breakthrough could turn generative AI into a true replacement for human workers. While the AI world is full of hype, sources say that the coming advancement is significant.

SO YOU WANT TO BUILD YOUR OWN DATA CENTER

This post discusses how Railway built out its physical infrastructure. Railway used Google Cloud when it started, but the platform caused a multitude of problems that posed an existential risk to its business, so Railway decided to build its own data centers. The Railway Metal project kicked off last year with its first site in California. The company is currently building three more data center regions.

EVOLVING GITHUB ISSUES (PUBLIC PREVIEW)

GitHub has released sub-issues, issue types, and advanced search for issues to everyone. It has also updated the issues frontend to enable developers to work faster. Sub-issues allow developers to break down and organize issues within a parent-child hierarchy. Issue types let developers classify and manage issues with a shared and consistent language across all repositories in an organization. Advanced search enables complex filters so that developers can find the exact set of issues they are looking for.

WHY TECH COMPANIES LIKE AMAZON, GOOGLE, AND TSMC ARE FLOCKING TO PHOENIX

Phoenix has been growing into an innovation hub over the past several decades. It has become the epicenter for semiconductor manufacturing and testing self-driving cars and drones. The city offers a favorable business environment, an ecosystem of companies, a close proximity to a university with a strong engineering program, and plenty of available talent. Technology companies are flocking to the city to capitalize on its perks.

BALANCE OF POWER SHIFTS BACK TOWARD BOSSES

While the job market looks as strong as ever, big companies are tightening remote-work policies, shrinking travel budgets, and cutting back on benefits. The balance of power between employers and employees has shifted as the labor market has gone from white-hot to merely solid. The power shift is evident across most of the labor market, but it is most prominent in white-collar roles. While the shift in leverage was displayed in layoffs and wage cuts in the past, it is now more subtle, often seen through changes to working conditions.

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GOOGLE BEGINS REQUIRING JAVASCRIPT FOR GOOGLE SEARCH

Google is requiring users to turn on JavaScript because it claims it helps the search engine better protect them against malicious activity and improve the overall experience.

META ANNOUNCES A NEW CAPCUT RIVAL CALLED EDITS

Meta's Edits, set to launch next month on iOS (with an Android version following later), will come with a suite of creative video editing tools.

THOUGHTS ON A MONTH WITH DEVIN

Devin, a fully autonomous AI software engineer, has a polished UI, but it rarely works.

LET'S TALK ABOUT AI AND END-TO-END ENCRYPTION

Governments may be able to access the AI agents that we will eventually have on our phones.

INTEL SHARES JUMP ON REPORT IT'S AN ACQUISITION TARGET

There are rumors that a mystery company is planning to acquire Intel whole.

BROADER IMPLICATIONS OF THE OPENAI-FRONTIERMATH DEBACLE

OpenAI had complete access to most of the problems and solutions for FrontierMath, so it could have, in theory, trained its models to solve them.