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USING VECTORIZE TO BUILD AN UNREASONABLY GOOD SEARCH ENGINE IN 160 LINES OF CODE

Creating a semantic search engine involves using an embedding model to convert text into vectors, storing these vectors in a vector database, and then querying the database using the embedding of the user's search query to find semantically similar documents. This article is a step-by-step guide on setting this up.

HAS IT BEEN 50 YEARS OF SQL ALREADY?

SQL has become the dominant language for interacting with relational databases in the last 50 years. It faced competition from other query languages like QUEL, but its adoption by IBM's Db2 and subsequent endorsement by standards bodies cemented its position as the industry standard. SQL has evolved a lot since then to stay relevant.

WORKING AS UNEXPECTED

A security vulnerability in GitHub's branch protection feature allows for protected credential exfiltration. This occurs when a wildcard branch protection rule is used, as it immediately protects any newly created branches, making them eligible to access secrets restricted to protected branches. This can be exploited to exfiltrate sensitive information, such as signing keys, by creating a new branch and setting up a workflow to access the secret.

WHATSAPP, DISCORD, AND THE SECRET TO HANDLING MILLIONS OF CONCURRENT USERS

Erlang and Elixir, built on the Erlang Virtual Machine (BEAM), are powerful tools for creating scalable, reliable real-time applications, such as WhatsApp and Discord, due to their fault tolerance, scalability, distribution capabilities, responsiveness, and ability to handle live code updates.

10 MODERN NODE.JS RUNTIME FEATURES TO START USING IN 2024

Bun now provides compatible Node.js APIs and the Node.js runtime has a more comprehensive standard library.

OPTIMIZING NEXT.JS 13+ PERFORMANCE

Next.js can be optimized by using next/image, dynamic imports, and Static Generation.

INSTAGRAM CONFIRMS TEST OF ‘UNSKIPPABLE' ADS

Instagram is testing unskippable ads. The ads display a countdown timer and stop users from being able to browse through more content on the app until they view the ad. Instagram has shifted over the years to become more of a video-sharing network, so it makes sense that it is considering becoming more like YouTube. The majority of reactions to the feature have been negative.

THE OPAQUE INVESTMENT EMPIRE MAKING OPENAI'S SAM ALTMAN RICH

Sam Altman is one of Silicon Valley's most prolific and aggressive individual investors. He manages an investment empire with holdings worth at least $2.8 billion as of early this year. Much of the portfolio isn't widely known. This article takes readers through what's known about Altman's investments.

MALE BIRTH CONTROL GEL IS SAFE AND EFFECTIVE, NEW TRIAL FINDINGS SHOW

A birth control gel for males, which contains testosterone and a synthetic hormone called Nestorone that reduces sperm production, is showing promise in clinical trials. Researchers recently presented encouraging phase 2 trial results on the hormonal gel. The second part of the two-part trial is still underway, but initial findings have found that the contraceptive works faster than expected. On average, the time for effective contraception was eight weeks. This article also covers some other types of male birth control currently under development.

FUSION TECH FINDS GEOTHERMAL ENERGY APPLICATION

Quaise Energy plans to deploy gyrotron drills to vaporize rocks using powerful microwaves to dramatically reduce the costs and timelines of drilling to fantastic depths. Gyrotrons use high-power linear-beam vacuum tubes to generate millimeter-length electromagnetic waves. The technology is used in nuclear fusion research to heat and control plasma. It could make technologies like geothermal energy viable in more areas of the planet.

MESOP

Mesop is a Python-based UI framework that allows developers to rapidly build web and internal apps. It allows developers to write UI in idiomatic Python code without writing JavaScript, CSS, or HTML. Mesop features ready-to-use components, hot reload, rich IDE support, and more. A demo gallery built in pure Mesop is available.

ANNOUNCING BRIOCHE!

Brioche is a package manager and build tool designed to be flexible and easy to use. It leverages TypeScript for fancy type-checking and autocompletion. Brioche is currently in Technical Preview and limited to x86-64 Linux. This post includes an example Brioche project file to help developers get started.

SEEING LIKE A DATA STRUCTURE

Technology has become entangled with the structure of society and we can no longer see the world around us without it. Our data-centric way of seeing the world isn't serving us well. Tools are controlled by human users, whereas machines only do what their designers want. Technologists should build tools rather than machines. Seeing like a data structure is a choice and there are different paths we can take.

THE END OF SOFTWARE

Media behaved very differently before the internet. It was expensive to create and distribute. The internet reduced the cost of creating content to zero, allowing a lot of user generated content to be created as creating content didn't cost anything anymore. Content behaved differently once it no longer had to make money. Software is expensive because developers are expensive. Large language models could drive the cost of creating software to zero - this will likely result in a Cambrian explosion of software, similar to what happened with content.

WHY I RETIRED FROM THE TECH CRUSADES

It's possible to attract people who aren't happy with their current circumstances to give an alternative a chance if you simply show how it works and allow them to conclude by themselves what the better choice is.

INTEL DETAILS NEW LUNAR LAKE CPUS TO FIGHT OFF AMD, QUALCOMM, AND APPLE

Intel's Lunar Lake CPUs will feature a neural processing unit that meets Microsoft's Copilot+ PC requirements, upgraded architectures for its P-cores and E-cores, next-generation GPU architectures, and some packaging changes.

SYNTHETIC PLUGS COULD REDUCE NEED FOR TOTAL KNEE REPLACEMENTS

Synthetic cartilage-capped regenerative osteochondral plugs can be implanted with existing surgical tools and protocols, do not require pre-loading with cells or growth factors to induce healing, and provide immediate support for joint function once implanted.

WHY YC WENT TO DC

Y Combinator president Garry Tan went to DC to start engaging policymakers and to be the voice of little tech.

PALMER LUCKEY IS NOW SELLING PIXEL-PERFECT ULTRABRIGHT MAGNESIUM GAME BOYS FOR $199

The ModRetro Chromatic features a magnesium alloy case, sapphire crystal cover glass, PBT buttons, a pixel-perfect IPS screen, and a screen capable of well over a thousand nits of brightness.

IN DEFENSE OF THE NEW

Technology gives individuals choice and control - it is enabling people to move to more attractive places and create entirely new communities.

AMD UNVEILS NEW AI CHIPS TO COMPETE WITH NVIDIA

AMD unveiled its latest AI processors, including the MI325X accelerator due in Q4 2024, at the Computex trade show. It also detailed plans to compete with Nvidia by releasing new AI chips annually. The MI350 series, expected in 2025, promises a 35-fold performance increase in inference compared to the MI300 series. The MI400 series is set for a 2026 release.

CLAUDE 3 OPUS AVAILABLE ON VERTEX AI

Google Cloud now offers Claude 3 Opus with tool use along with the smaller models as part of its Vertex AI offering.

MAMBA-2

Mambda is a powerful state space model. Its team has released a second version along with a long and detailed explanation of the model and the improvements.

FINEWEB: HIGHEST QUALITY WEB SCALE TEXT DATASET

Training a language model requires trillions of high quality tokens. Much of the information regarding the construction of these datasets is not published. This stellar blog post discusses different strategies for dataset cleaning and filtering. Its authors have released many of the best datasets out there for language model training.

LLMS IN HEALTHCARE

InvariantSelectPR is a method designed to improve the adaptability of Large Multimodal Models (LMMs) in domain-specific areas like healthcare.

IMPROVING LLM PERFORMANCE IN DATA-SCARCE DOMAINS

TrainAllInfAttn is a method that enhances the performance of large language models in specialized domains with limited data.

PORTRAIT ANIMATION WITH RAW DRIVING VIDEOS

MegActor is a new model that leverages raw driving videos for more realistic portrait animation. It achieves impressive results using a novel data generation framework and background encoding techniques by addressing identity leakage and background interference.

3D MESH GENERATION

MeshXL is a new model that generates high-quality 3D meshes.

FULLY LOCAL CODING ASSISTANT WITH OLLAMA AND CONTINUE

You can now run auto complete and chat fully on device with recent powerful improvements in coding with a number of open models.

AI WEATHER FORECASTING IS ALREADY MAKING HUGE STRIDES

The weather forecasting community is undergoing a revolution with AI models like WindBorne's WeatherMesh, which uses the rich ERA5 dataset to outperform traditional models while requiring significantly less computing power.

HANDWRITTEN MATH RECOGNITION

Implicit Character-Aided Learning (ICAL) improves handwritten mathematical expression recognition.

AI'S COMMUNICATION REVOLUTION

AI is leading to a revolution in communication spurred by OpenAI's GPT-4o, which integrates audio, vision, and text in real time. This shift enables more natural interactions with AI, transforming human-to-AI communication into a central mode of digital interaction and potentially leading to significant societal changes and new startups focused on AI-centric communication.

AMAZON'S PROJECT PI AI LOOKS FOR PRODUCT DEFECTS BEFORE THEY SHIP

Amazon's Project PI uses AI and computer vision to detect product defects or incorrect specifications before shipping, improving quality control and reducing returns.

BESTEVER (PRODUCT)

A powerful new creative AI suite to make ads.

ANOMALY DETECTION IN CHEST X-RAYS

This study explores the use of CLIP-based methods for anomaly detection in chest X-rays.

creditguild.org [4] | Discord [5] | Twitter

BINANCE TO ENFORCE MICA STABLECOIN LAWS

Beginning on June 30, Binance will implement phased restrictions on "Unauthorized Stablecoins" for European Economic Area (EEA) users to comply with new MiCA stablecoin regulations. Binance will transition these users towards "Regulated Stablecoins" as they become available to ensure compliance and to minimize market disruption.

SOLANA SEES ~500K TOKENS LAUNCHED IN MAY

About half a million tokens were launched on Solana in May, driven by the increasing popularity of memecoins and facilitated by intuitive, user-friendly platforms like Pump.fun. This surge is a reflection of Solana's high throughput and low transaction costs, thus positioning it as a leading blockchain for new token initiatives.

COINBASE WALLET INTRODUCES TEXT-TO-SEND TOKENS

Coinbase Wallet has introduced a feature to send tokens via text to kick off its Onchain Summer initiative. Recipient phone numbers will receive a link to claim the tokens, which will be returned to the sender if not claimed in 2 weeks.

DYNAMIC ETHEREUM ROADMAP

This website provides up-to-date information on Ethereum's roadmap. It breaks down the sections into the Merge, Surge, Scourge, Verge, and Purge categories, explaining each milestone with additional learning resources. Other valuable information is also available, including network health, key Ethereum organizations, and upcoming hard forks.

A FEW THINGS HAPPENING IN JUNE

The Taiko, Blast, zkSync, and AO airdrops are confirmed to occur this month. Coinbase will release its smart wallet on June 5, and the FET, AGIX, and OCEAN tokens will merge into ASI on June 13. Macroeconomic news includes the unemployment rate on June 7, inflation numbers and an interest rate decision on June 12, and the presidential debate on June 27.

BEST MOMENTS OF GAVIN WOOD X VITALIK BUTERIN

Gavin Wood's new JAM initiative takes a different approach to blockchain scaling by admitting that a base layer does not need to split computation between different sources. He believes Ethereum's strength comes from moderate governance and a lack of internal strife. Both Ethereum co-founders agree that the base layer should be minimal and opinionless. To build an ecosystem, focus on the intersection of community and tech, specifically tech that supports multiple approaches to doing something.

ETH ETF EXPLORATION

Experts predict varying levels of inflows into the anticipated Ethereum ETFs, with estimates suggesting inflows could range from $1 billion to 50% of Bitcoin ETF inflows during the first four months. This increased market participation is expected to significantly impact Ethereum's price, potentially increasing it more substantially per billion invested compared to Bitcoin, due to factors like its smaller market size and deflationary supply dynamics since the Merge.

RISKS USING KAMINO FINANCE

Concerns are growing about the risks associated with Kamino Finance's Multiply product, particularly after the launch of JupSOL and the promotion of its seemingly attractive 40% APY with no depeg risk. Despite the high user influx, the sustainability of these returns is questionable, as the effectiveness of Multiply depends on the borrowing interest rate for SOL being lower than the APY on the staked tokens, a balance threatened by increasing SOL pool utilization which could lead to negative APYs and potential liquidations for users.