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ADVERSARIAL ATTACKS ON NAVIGATION AGENTS

This repository introduces a new attack method for embodied navigation agents that attaches transparent patches with learnable textures to target objects.

GRAPH ANOMALY DETECTION: A SURVEY

This paper offers an in-depth review of deep learning methods, particularly graph neural networks (GNNs), for detecting anomalies in graph data. Researchers introduce a novel taxonomy of approaches, analyzing GNN designs, proxy tasks, and anomaly measures.

SOCIALAI OFFERS A TWITTER-LIKE DIARY WHERE AI BOTS RESPOND TO YOUR POSTS

SocialAI, a new iOS app, offers a social media experience solely populated by AI-powered bots, eliminating human interaction. Users can share thoughts and receive endless, tailored AI-generated responses, choosing from categories like "supporters" or "critics." Founder Michael Sayman aims to provide a private, interactive space leveraging large language models for diverse feedback.

ACADEMIC TEXT PARSING

AceParse is a dataset designed to improve the parsing of structured texts in academic papers, including formulas, tables, and complex sentences.

JUMPING OVER AI'S UNCANNY VALLEY

This article explores the Uncanny Valley theory, which suggests that discomfort with almost-human AI could hinder its adoption. It examines recent advancements in AI that bring this psychological phenomenon into focus, questioning its potential impact on AI's future. The piece concludes by suggesting that AI's best use may be in a complementary role rather than as a human replacement.

WellSaid

MERCOR'S $30M SERIES A

Mercor raised $30M from Benchmark to build an AI recruiter.

CANCER DETECTION

SkinMamba is a hybrid model that combines CNN and Transformer techniques to improve skin lesion segmentation for early cancer detection.

AMAZON ALEXA CAN NOW BE CONTROLLED BY THOUGHT ALONE - THANKS TO THIS BRAIN IMPLANT

Synchron has enabled an ALS patient to control Amazon's Alexa with a brain implant, bypassing the need for voice or touch.

FINTECH GIANT REVOLUT SAID TO BE PLANNING STABLECOIN

Revolut, a fintech giant known for its crypto-friendly services, is reportedly working on launching its own stablecoin, aiming to expand its cryptocurrency offerings with a compliance-focused approach. This move would position Revolut alongside other stablecoin issuers like PayPal, Ripple, and BitGo as the sector continues to grow.

SEC CHARGES DEFI PLATFORM RARI CAPITAL AND ITS FOUNDERS WITH MISLEADING INVESTORS AND ACTING AS UNREGISTERED BROKERS

The SEC has charged Rari Capital, a DeFi platform, and its founders with misleading investors and engaging in unregistered broker activity, alleging that the platform falsely promoted features of its crypto investment products and conducted unregistered securities offerings. Rari Capital and its successors settled the charges, agreeing to penalties and legal restrictions without admitting or denying the allegations.

AI-POWERED PREDICTION MARKET ORACLES

Market maker and trading firm Wintermute has created a betting market focusing solely on the US election. It uses Chaos Labs' Edge Proof Oracles, which use LLMs to ensure data integrity, authenticity, and unbiased determination. Current prediction markets have issues with human-driven systems in ambiguous situations, like the 2024 Venezuela Election, where both sides claimed victory with data to support it.

P2P PIPES

Pipe Network, built by Permissionless Labs, aims to be the first permissionless content delivery network (CDN) built on Solana. The decentralized CDN (dCDN) concept promises lower latency, increased redundancy, and reduced costs by leveraging underutilized upload bandwidth. Pipe aims to build the world's fastest and largest CDN, with 3ms + speed of light response times. Its first public demo will be released next week at Solana's Breakpoint conference.

A CONTRARIAN BET ON ETHEREUM

Ethereum is currently facing challenges like regulatory uncertainty, competition from Solana, and declining revenues due to Layer 2 growth. However, despite these issues, Ethereum remains dominant in key sectors like DeFi, stablecoins, and corporate adoption, making it a contrarian bet with potential upside.

BRIDGING BITCOIN

Bitcoin's development has moved through significant technological and cultural evolutions, increasing its scalability and functionality through upgrades like SegWit and Taproot, which have facilitated innovations such as inscriptions and tokens. It now has the ability to support complex transactions and create tokens and other programmable financial instruments directly on its blockchain.

IS DATA AVAILABILITY A COMMODITY? DO DA LAYERS HAVE NETWORK EFFECTS?

This post presents numerous arguments about data availability. One view is that it is a commodity with no network effects since rollups don't benefit from other rollups sharing the same DA layer. Others argue that data availability sampling and plans for interoperability within DA layers like Avail, plus sequencing support, create strong network effects. The author argues that neither is true, as security trade-offs distinguish between providers, but a DA layer has little network effects and can be overburdened if there's a global throughput limit.

COINBASE'S BASE LAYER 2 SHATTERS TRANSACTION RECORDS WITH OVER 4.5 MILLION IN A SINGLE DAY

Base successfully handled over 4.5 million transactions this past Saturday. The L2 has been dominating over the past several months. Its popularity can be attributed to Coinbase's reputation and exchange integration, its focus on being consumer-ready, and the plethora of apps on the protocol.

TMR.NEWS: THE FIRST NATURAL LANGUAGE PREDICTION MARKET

This new prediction market from Smallbrain Games allows users to bet on the title of tomorrow's New York Time's headline and be rewarded based on semantic similarity to the actual title as judged by AI.

TETHER RESERVES EQUAL ~$118B

Tether's Q2 2024 audit shows it has ~$118B in reserves, $5.3B over its liabilities, ranking it as the 18th largest holder of U.S.

SKY LAUNCHES ON ETHEREUM

USDS and SKY are now active on Ethereum, with DeFi capabilities through the decentralized Sky Protocol.

ETHENA'S WEBSITE HACKED

Pocket Universe has detected a frontend hack on Etha Lab's official website that requests phishing transactions to steal tokens.

PAYPAL HAS A NEW LOGO THAT MAKES IT LOOK JUST LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE

PayPal's revamped logo, designed by Pentagram, replaces its previous dynamic, blue-toned logo with a plainer, black standalone wordmark. The company is aiming to differentiate itself from other fintech firms that predominantly use blue. The logo has been critiqued for following the trend of flattening logos, which often results in a less recognizable brand identity.

CREATORS CAN START UPLOADING TO FAB – THE NEW MARKETPLACE FOR UNREAL ENGINE AND UNITY

Epic Games is launching Fab.com, a unified marketplace combining Unreal Engine Marketplace, Sketchfab Store, Quixel, and ArtStation Marketplace, in mid-October. Fab will support multiple game engines, including Unreal Engine and Unity, offering creators a platform to buy, sell, and share various assets with an 88/12 revenue split.

LIONSGATE SIGNS DEAL TO TRAIN AI MODEL ON ITS MOVIES AND SHOWS

Runway, an AI startup, has entered a partnership with Lionsgate to develop a customized video generation model, enabling filmmakers to enhance their creative processes. This collaboration aims to create more cost-effective content creation opportunities for Lionsgate, a studio noted for its budget-conscious operations. Despite the potential benefits, concerns remain about how AI may affect employment in the film industry.

KARATE'S GOT NOTHING ON DANCING THE TWO-STEP

The challenges of collaboration are similar to martial arts and dance, both highlighting the importance of adapting to others rather than trying to control them. Drawing on the expertise of a former FBI hostage negotiator, this article introduces four key tools: calibrated questions, mirroring, summarizing, and creating a shared goal map. It emphasizes the significance of alignment and consensus, particularly for designers working in team settings.

HELVETICIZATION, COMIC CERNS, & CHANGE: A DESIGN ANTHROPOLOGIST ON “FONTROVERSY”

A presentation in 2012 at CERN on an incredible discovery in particle physicsa sparked a discussion due to its use of Comic Sans, reflecting growing interest in font-related controversies, or "fontroversies." Microsoft's 2024 switch from Calibri to Aptos received mixed reactions - it was seen by some as an unnecessary brand exercise with minimal differences between the fonts.

WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE FAB COMPONENTS

This "Design Notes" podcast features an interview with Bethany Fong, a design director at Meta and a pivotal figure in creating Material Design at Google. Fong discusses how the original Material components were designed, the ten-year impact of Material Design, and the role of intersectionality in design. A full transcript is available.

DESIGN LINT (FIGMA PLUGIN)

A tool that scans the layout automatically and flags errors, such as incorrect margins, style, or grid mismatches. This is an excellent tool for final review before submitting a project to developers.

A/B TEST RESULTS

A curated collection of A/B test results from best-in-class apps.

CONVERT BLOG POSTS INTO INFOGRAPHICS

Convert your complex blog posts into visually engaging infographics that simplify information, boost engagement, and skyrocket shares.

SMOOTH SAILING: STUDIO OKER'S WATERY, WAVY LOOK FOR CANOE REFLECTS THE JOY OF CREATIVE EXPLORATION

Studio Oker designed Canoe's identity, drawing inspiration from Norway's landscapes and the metaphor of exploration. It used deep blue and white colors with a custom wordmark to reflect water's fluidity. The minimalist brand assets, logo symbol, and Caslon Doric typeface emphasize joint exploration, warmth, and playful movement. The website design focuses on reducing CO2 emissions.

HOW DO GENERATIVE AI SYSTEMS WORK?

Generative AI systems like large language models (LLMs) predict word sequences based on statistical patterns in training data, rather than serving as fact databases. Built on neural networks, LLMs are trained on large datasets to learn word embeddings and refined using human feedback to align their outputs with expectations.

I TRIED ADOBE'S AI TEXT GENERATOR: THIS IS WHAT I THOUGHT

Generative AI is revolutionizing creative work by introducing new tools for image manipulation, 3D modeling, and video generation. However, the generation of coherent text within images remains challenging. Adobe's Firefly AI text generator, Text Effects for Adobe Express, addresses this by producing desired words in specific graphical styles for design projects. Testing during Typography Week revealed its capabilities and limitations.

INTER FONT UPDATE: DON'T RELY ON GOOGLE FONTS FOR HOSTING

Google Fonts updated Inter to version 4.0, causing text shifts due to new italics and spacing changes.

EXTRA UI FOR YOUR COMPUTER: THE CREATOR MICRO

Work Louder's Creator Micro is a $130 keypad with 12 customizable keys and two dials.

HOW AI IS CHANGING TYPOGRAPHY, ACCORDING TO INDUSTRY PROS

AI has impacted copywriting, illustration, and photography, and is now entering typography.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND NEWS FACT SHEET

54% of US adults obtain news from social media. Facebook and YouTube are the top sites for news consumption, each used regularly by about one-third of adults Instagram and TikTok follow at 20% and 17% respectively. Social media site-specific trends show that 59% of X and 57% of Truth Social users regularly get news from those platforms, compared to just 14% of LinkedIn users. News consumption on TikTok has surged to 52%, up from 22% in 2020.

HOW HARD IS IT TO FIND CONTENT OR MARKETING JOBS?

HOW IOS 18 WILL IMPACT EMAIL MARKETING: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Apple Intelligence is going to change how emails get sorted, summarized, and displayed. Copy is going to matter more than ever. Images might not be “readable” to the AI. Marketers should adjust their email strategy by auditing subject lines and preheader text for clear and engaging copy, use alt text for images, avoid all-image emails, and use tools like Email on Acid and Litmus to test emails across a variety of devices and light modes.

HOW WE 45X THIS EDTECH STARTUP'S REVENUE USING EMAILS IN 9 MONTHS

Zeneduc increased sales by 45 times in nine months through targeted email marketing, It improved open rates from 12% to 34% and click-through rates from 0.5% to 4%. The success was driven by segmentation, personalized content, and automated email sequences. As a byproduct, website traffic grew from 10 to 300 daily visitors, further solidifying Zeneduc's online presence.

7 RULES FOR HIGH-CONVERTING LANDING PAGES

To create high-converting landing pages, focus solely on a single CTA to minimize distractions. Craft a transformation-driven headline that clearly promises a compelling outcome, and address potential doubts with an objection-busting sentence in smaller, italicized text. Enhance the lead magnet's tangibility with a high-quality mockup image and give it a compelling name using frameworks like Hormozi's MAGIC formula. Incorporate tangible social proof with specific endorsements, and ensure the opt-in form is positioned above the fold for easy access on both desktop and mobile devices.

SEO INTERNATIONALIZATION IS NOT JUST ABOUT LANGUAGE AND CULTURE, IT'S ABOUT TECHNOLOGY TOO

Good internationalization of a website might require building a 'lighter' version of it to serve certain regions adequately. If the average internet connection is slow in the country you're targeting, you might see failing Core Web Vitals scores for your website. The post includes a chart showing the distribution of connection speeds for the top 50 countries on the internet.

COMPLIANCE AND ACCESSIBILITY BEST PRACTICES FOR HTML EMAIL TEMPLATES

This guide outlines international email regulations. Email compliance involves adhering to regulations like CAN-SPAM, GDPR, CASL, and CCPA. These regulations mandate clear consent mechanisms, honest subject lines, and accessible opt-out processes. Accessibility in email design includes using simple layouts, readable fonts, descriptive alt text for images, and clear, large buttons. Compliance with these standards avoids penalties and improves email performance.

SURPRISING LESSONS FROM 20,000 EXPERIMENTS ON WEBSITE CONVERSION

A review of 20,000 growth experiments found that removing elements like social proof, videos, and strikethrough pricing leads to higher conversions. Social proof often underperforms, with simpler alternatives like clear messaging delivering better results for B2B companies. Tests by brands like Spotify and Homebase reveal that removing distractions keeps users focused on the core action.

BUILDING DEMAND GEN FROM SCRATCH

Start building a demand gen program by focusing on a single ad type. CoLab initially used ads addressing pain points and solutions linked to use case landing pages to drive demo requests. Although it later incorporated other ad formats, the original method proved most effective for pipeline creation. The process involved selecting key use cases, interviewing customers, mapping solutions to pain points, and deploying targeted LinkedIn ads. This laid the foundation for future improvements and a better return on ad spend.

HOW HELP SCOUT GETS CUSTOMERS

Help Scout's VP of Marketing, Kristen Bryant Smith, details how the company reached $30M+ ARR through content marketing, customer support, and internal alignment. Help Scout set annual goals and plan tactics quarterly, with its 14-member team focusing on creating valuable content that drives organic growth. This approach has made content its top-performing channel. The customer support team plays a key role in embodying the brand and aligns closely with marketing to ensure a consistent customer experience.

WHAT'S THE MOST OVERLOOKED MARKETING CHANNEL RIGHT NOW THAT'S DRIVING REAL RESULTS FOR YOU? (REDDIT THREAD)

Marketers discuss channels that aren't getting as much attention but are actually delivering great results, such as direct mail, personalized IG messages, and events.

THE PSYCHOLOGY BEHIND MCDONALD'S $2 BILLION SELF-SERVE KIOSKS

Self-serve kiosks were designed to upsell larger portions and more premium food while also ensuring people indulge more than they would with a real cashier.

THE LINK IN BIO SOCIAL MEDIA COMPENSATION SURVEY (SURVEY)

This survey is collecting data on social media professionals (excluding content creators and influencers) to provide insights into compensation trends, aiming to promote salary transparency and help close wage gaps.