Amazon's Project Kuiper has successfully validated key technology that will increase throughput and reduce latency for its satellite internet service customers. Optical Inter-Satellite Links use infrared lasers to send data between spacecraft in orbit. The technology allows Kuiper's satellites to connect with many other spacecraft simultaneously to form a mesh network in space capable of moving data 30% faster than terrestrial fiber-optic cables running along an equivalent distance.
2023.12.15·techcrunch.com·2 min read·TLDR FunSearch is an AI system that can interact with a specially trained large language model to create short computer programs that generate solutions to math problems. The system checks to see whether these solutions are better than known ones, and if not, it provides feedback to the LLM so that it can improve in the next round. It was able to discover new solutions to an old problem. One important feature of FunSearch is that people can see the code created by the model and learn from it.
2023.12.15·nature.com·3 min read·TLDR An ongoing randomized vaccine trial involving 157 patients with high-risk stage III/IV melanoma is showing promising results. Those who received the vaccine were 49% less likely to die or have their cancer come back after three years than those who only received treatment with a cancer drug. Phase 3 trials of the vaccine have begun.
2023.12.15·cbsnews.com·3 min read·TLDR Sponsored
Vulnerability management in the cloud is no longer just about patches and fixes. In this latest report, the Wiz Security Research team put vulnerability management theory into practice using recently identified vulnerabilities as examples. You’ll learn:
PyApp is a wrapper for Python applications that bootstrap themselves at runtime. It can easily build standalone binaries for every platform with extremely configurable runtime behavior allowing for the targeting of different end users. PyApp provides optional management commands that allow for functionalities like self-updates.
2023.12.15·github.com·GitHub repository·TLDR SvelteKit is the official framework for building apps with Svelte. Version 2.0 adds support for Vite 5 and other small improvements. It also adds shallow routing, which allows developers to associate state with a history entry without causing navigation. Shallow routing is useful for creating modals that can be dismissed by swiping back or pop-up views of routes that don't require full navigation.
2023.12.15·svelte.dev·2 min read·TLDR This article looks at the advantages and disadvantages to adding screenshots to documentation and provides guidelines for using screenshots in documentation. Screenshots in documentation can be bad as outdated screenshots can cause customers to lose trust in the documentation accuracy, they make pages load more slowly, they make the documentation less accessible, and using them can cause writers to produce lower-quality instructions. However, they can be useful as they make it easier to find relevant parts of the content, provide a visual frame of reference for readers, and can supplement confusing task steps.
2023.12.15·thisisimportant.net·6 min read·TLDR OpenAI launched a superalignment program earlier this year to find a technical means to control a superintelligent AI system. It has devoted 20% of its compute to the effort and hopes to have solutions by 2027. The first preprint paper from the superalignment team tests whether a weaker AI (GPT-2) can supervise a stronger one (GPT-4). OpenAI is offering US $10 million in grants for work on a variety of alignment approaches.
2023.12.15·spectrum.ieee.org·4 min read·TLDR Cruise has laid off 900 mostly non-engineering employees as part of a plan to slash costs and attempt to revamp the company.
2023.12.15·techcrunch.com·3 min read·TLDR Mozilla has announced more than 450 new extensions for Firefox Android users.
2023.12.15·blog.mozilla.org·5 min read·TLDR MIT CSAIL's NeuralDisplay combines eye-tracking with machine learning to compensate for a user's investigation on the fly without additional optics.
2023.12.15·spectrum.ieee.org·3 min read·TLDR Gaudi3 is an artificial intelligence chip for generative AI software designed to compete with Nvidia's H100.
A list of things a CTO can do to destroy the productivity of a company slowly while maintaining a facade of plausibility and normalcy.
2023.12.15·erikbern.com·10 min read·TLDR SpaceX has been issued an experimental special temporary authorization to conduct a test that involves beaming data to unmodified smartphones in over two dozen locations across the US.
2023.12.15·pcmag.com·3 min read·TLDR of your codebase to explain, fix, and help you write code. Sourcegraph’s code graph [6] allows Cody to autocomplete, explain, and edit your code with much richer context [6].
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2023.12.15·sourcegraph.com·Sponsor·TLDR AI DeepMind published a paper in Nature about FunSearch, which uses LLM-guided function search to find solutions to open problems in mathematics and computer science. It tackled the capset problem and discovered some of the largest capsets to date.
2023.12.15·deepmind.google·12 min read·TLDR AI OpenAI is distributing a number of grants for students and researchers hoping to work on super alignment. Applications are due Feb 18th.
2023.12.15·openai.com·4 min read·TLDR AI Answer AI is a new lab that isn’t aiming to build new models, but instead trying to figure out truly productive and valuable uses for existing models. It aims to do fundamental research for organizations to help them unlock AI-enabled use cases.
2023.12.15·answer.ai·8 min read·TLDR AI This new result from the OpenAI super alignment team (with code) suggests that you can use much weaker supervisor models to steer or align a far more powerful model, an analog to weak humans aligning super intelligent models. They used GPT-2 to recover much of the alignment performance of GPT-4. One important point they note is that this method has a tractable path for dramatic improvement, unlike RLHF-like methods.
2023.12.15·openai.com·8 min read·TLDR AI A new research approach introduces object identifiers in Large Language Models to improve understanding and answer questions about 3D scenes. This method, which focuses on identifying and relating objects in a scene, has shown promising results in making AI more adept at interpreting complex spatial relationships.
2023.12.15·arxiv.org·16 min read·TLDR AI SwitchHead is a breakthrough in making AI models more efficient. It reduces the memory and computing needs of Transformers without losing performance.
2023.12.15·arxiv.org·18 min read·TLDR AI Sponsored
New Relic is pioneering AI observability with New Relic AI Monitoring (AIM) [13]. AIM makes it easier to troubleshoot and optimize AI applications for performance, quality, cost, and responsible use of AI. With these capabilities, engineers have unprecedented visibility and insights across the AI stack. Learn more about New Relic AI
2023.12.15·newrelic.com·Sponsor·TLDR AI A work-in-progress repository to help get up to speed on the latest innovations. It is mostly geared towards beginners and includes resources for learning Python, deep learning, and language modeling.
2023.12.15·github.com·6 min read·TLDR AI The study introduces LLF-LUT, a technique that enhances the quality of HDR photos by focusing on important image details.
2023.12.15·github.com·GitHub repository·TLDR AI Capybara is a new base model for language and Obsidian is the multimodal extension. It has 3B parameters and can run on edge devices like phones.
2023.12.15·sifted.eu·6 min read·TLDR AI Q* is unlikely to be the crucial breakthrough that leads to artificial general intelligence, but it might be an important step toward an AI with general reasoning abilities.
2023.12.15·understandingai.org·21 min read·TLDR AI From the Cerebral Valley AI Summit in November, this podcast combines two interviews with tech titans, gathering their views on the future of AI and its impact on society.
Samsung unveiled its generative AI model, Samsung Gauss, which is being used for employee productivity enhancement and will be expanded to product applications. The model includes modules for language processing, coding assistance, and image editing. Alongside this, Samsung is focusing on data privacy and secure AI usage.
2023.12.15·zdnet.com·2 min read·TLDR AI Review job applications 10x faster.
Several dapps using Ledger’s wallet connector kit faced security breaches yesterday. This included platforms like SushiSwap, Zapper, Phantom, Balancer, and Revoke.cash. Ledger later announced that the malicious code had been replaced with an updated, safe version of the code. Applications across the crypto ecosystem were vulnerable to this exploit, so it created quite a scare in the space. Fortunately, the attacker only got away with ~$600k in stolen funds, which were later frozen by Tether.
The SEC is reportedly reconsidering spot bitcoin ETF applications in light of recent court rulings, according to SEC Chair Gary Gensler. The reconsideration comes on the heels of a court order requiring a review of Grayscale Investment's bid for a spot bitcoin ETF. In addition to Grayscale, over a dozen applications from major firms like BlackRock and Fidelity are currently under review.
Solana has launched its ZK Anchor, a significant step in its path to Mainnet. It is an Anchor Language extension designed for ZK or Zero-Knowledge obfuscation. Features include a DSL with macros for zk-circuit generation, a command-line interface for building and testing private Solana programs, and an RPC node for interacting with Light Protocol.
Astria has introduced the Astria EVM, a symbolic virtual machine rollup powered by a shared sequencer network, aimed at serving as Celestia's activity center. Overcoming existing EVM limitations, it incorporates fast and reliable block production. Currently live on the Dusknet-2 devnet, the EVM has been integrated into Dora's multichain search engine. Astria is inviting developers to test the protocol out while on devnet.
This post discusses proposer-builder separation auctions, specifically comparing early auctions to just-in-time ones like MEV-Boost. Early auctions sell the right to produce a block prior to its creation. The post paints potential bidders as dominant CEX-DEX arbitrageurs due to high capital requirements, risk management, and less information during early auctions. The impact on users could be beneficial, with features like pre-confirmations, or potentially negative, with challenges like monopoly pricing. Ultimately though, the benefits of early auctions over JIT ones remain unclear.
2023.12.15·collective.flashbots.net·10 min read·TLDR Crypto This article lays out how current application builders in the crypto space are focusing on solutions that prioritize privacy as data breach concerns continue to grow. New app challengers are rising with privacy-first options, like encrypted messaging apps. The article also presents a detailed comparison among popular privacy technologies including Trusted Execution Environments, Zero Knowledge, Multi-party Computation, and Fully Homomorphic Encryption, each with its own pros and cons.
This article analyzes the impact of cryptographic technologies like ZK, FHE, MPC, and TEEs on the digital identity landscape. It delves into how the self-custody of personal data and attestation could change with these technologies. The piece also acknowledges challenges in standardizing these fast-developing technologies but envisions a future with decentralized control of digital identities. It concludes by highlighting research areas concerning digital identity, primarily privacy and inclusivity.
This post from Multicoin lays out the firm’s thesis on Pyth Network, an oracle protocol on Solana. While it focuses on Pyth, the analysis can be broadly applied to the oracle landscape in general. Its uniqueness lies within its first-party data, which is directly provided by market makers and trading desks instead of third-party aggregators. This results in less latent, high-quality data brought on-chain. Launched in 2021, Pyth currently delivers data to over 45 different chains and is responsible for securing over $1.7B in value across many prominent protocols in the crypto industry.
In the wake of yesterday’s Ledger exploit, many were left evaluating switching to alternative cold wallets. This post describes one novel solution, called Grid+.
This interview with Jimmy McNelis, aka j1mmy.eth, tells the story of a prolific NFT collector who played a big role in the on-chain PFP project and IP rights for holders movements. It also touches on his impressive NFT collecting history.
"Drainer'' phishing gangs like Angel Drainer emerged in 2022, executing sophisticated DNS hijacking attacks on platforms like Balancer and Galxe, stealing millions in assets. This group is suspected to have been connected to the Ledger exploit.
This post from Not Boring gives a good overview of LayerZero and the protocol’s history and roadmap.
As part of Google's 25th anniversary celebrations, it has created an interactive 'playground' that displays the top 25 searches throughout its history. The playground has over 1,700 characters and 25 unique searches to discover. Taylor Swift fans can participate in a hidden treasure hunt to "fill in the blank space." The game is free and easy to play.