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VIDEO-LANGUAGE MODELS WITH PLLAVA

Researchers have introduced a new model called PLLaVA, which stands out by adapting image-language AI models for video tasks using a unique pooling strategy.

TRACKGPT: OBJECT TRACKING WITH INSTRUCTION-BASED TECHNIQUE

TrackGPT integrates Large Vision-Language Model capabilities to transform object tracking. It understands implicit instructions for tracking, streamlining the process and enhancing performance, as shown in its impressive results on the new InsTrack benchmark and other challenging datasets.

Read the latest announcement from Orca ↗️

LUMINAL DEEP LEARNING FRAMEWORK

A fast deep learning framework built with speed and simplicity in mind.

TORCHTITAN

Pretraining framework for Llama models from Meta written entirely in PyTorch.

OPENLIT

OpenLIT is an OpenTelemetry-native GenAI and LLM Application Observability tool designed to make the integration process of observability into GenAI projects possible with just a single line of code.

LLAMAFILE 2X SPEED UPDATE

Llamafiles are self-contained executables that run models directly on any platform. It boasts a 2x speed up and substantial improvements to portability.

FRUGALGPT

FrugalGPT is a set of actions you can take to dramatically reduce LLM API costs. They include prompt compression, caching, and more.

LEARN UNSEEN THINGS

Researchers have developed a new method called AAPL that enhances the ability of AI models so that they can recognize unseen objects by using adversarial token embedding.

workshop on April 30

RUN AI TOWN COMPLETELY LOCALLY WITH LLAMA 3

AI town is a simulator of human interactions that can run entirely locally.

JENSEN HUANG AND SAM ALTMAN INVITED TO FEDERAL AI SAFETY BOARD

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has formed the Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board, which features leaders from major tech companies and various sectors, to advise on AI issues including national security and infrastructure, with quarterly meetings starting in May.

AI FLASHCARDS (PRODUCT)

Create personalized flashcards from any text or file using AI.

RUSSIA CONSIDERING BANNING CRYPTO EXCHANGES

Beribit clients have occupied the Russian crypto exchange's offices, demanding their funds amidst a financial discrepancy audit. Russian Duma is considering a bill that would ban crypto exchanges but allow transactions and mining by registered firms. This legislative move is being challenged as it could potentially affect national security interests due to cryptocurrencies' role in bypassing sanctions.

FRANKLIN TEMPLETON LISTS ETHEREUM ETF ON DTCC

Franklin Templeton has listed its Ether ETF on the DTCC, signaling its readiness for trading. However, this does not mean the SEC has approved it, given the official decision has been delayed until June 11.

RISC ZERO'S STEEL: A GAME-CHANGER FOR EVM DEVELOPERS

Steel is an Alloy-based proof library that, alongside RISC Zero's ZK Coprocessor, has access to Ethereum's entire state for viewing. It allows for complex contract execution for a fraction of the fees with trustless off-chain execution. The library is valuable for applications that need to access Ethereum's state in a trustless manner with only a few lines of code.

ARE BORED APES DEAD?

The Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection floor price is at 10 ETH – down 92% from its April 2022 all-time high. There were numerous reasons for the decline, including interest in other collections, the NFT market downturn, and a lack of cohesive strategy from creator Yuga Labs. Going forward, the launch of the Otherside metaverse, the return of Yuga's co-founder as the CEO, and the consolidation of Yuga's IP could revitalize the project.

A BRIEF EXPLANATION OF HEROGLYPHS

Heroglyphs is a new token protocol on Ethereum that only allows validators to mint tokens. This not only incentivizes decentralization, but also creates an aura of prestige around each token due to the commitment required to create one. Like Runes or Ordinals, Heroglyphs are created by inscribing data into a block, with minting rewards shared equally between all validators. Rights to mint and manage tokens can only be leased using a Herberger tax model, meaning anyone can pay more and take the ticker.

A BREAKDOWN OF SOLANA ONCHAIN METRICS

Despite claims that Solana's growth has peaked, data shows increased usage, particularly marked by a surge in priority fee usage (some of which comes from bots), stablecoin transactions that outpace other blockchains, and an average monthly DEX volume that is 18 times higher than previous years. Similarly, Solana's Total Value Locked (TVL) has risen from $210 million to $4 billion.

OFFCHAIN LABS FINDS TWO VULNERABILITIES IN OPTIMISM FRAUD PROOF SYSTEM

Offchain Labs, the company behind the Arbitrum L2, found two severe vulnerabilities in Optimism's fraud-proof system. The exploits, which have now been patched, allowed for fraudulent chain history to be accepted. Fortunately, the vulnerabilities were only on testnet and funds were never at risk.

MAKER IN THE ENDGAME ERA

As part of its Endgame plan, Maker will rebrand, launch its own chain, and create SubDAO protocols to further innovation and capture market share.

YUGA LAYS OFF STAFF AND REFOCUSES

Yuga plans to refocus on gaming efforts in the 3D Otherside.

ZKSNACKS RESTRICTS US USER ACCESS TO WASABI WALLET

zkSNACKs, the company behind Wasabi Wallet, has prohibited users in the U.S. from accessing its products, likely because of regulatory concerns highlighted by recent arrests related to crypto privacy (e.g., Samourai wallet).

STATE OF BLOCKCHAIN ECOSYSTEMS

Solana has captured innovation and memecoins, Bitcoin is entering an NFT and DeFi run like Ethereum in 2021, and Base is the main innovation hub for Ethereum.

HEADSPACE OVERHAULS VISUAL IDENTITY TO BECOME MENTAL HEALTH ALL-ROUNDER

The expansion of Headspace's mental health services comes with a new brand identity, evolved illustration style, and updated animations that aim to portray a more professional image. The rebrand was developed in-house in collaboration with Italic Studio. Colophon Foundry created a new proprietary typeface and changed the color scheme - orange still leads, but there is now a supporting palette that prioritizes accessibility.

REDDIT IS UPDATING ITS APP TO FOCUS MORE ON COMMENTS

The Reddit mobile app for iOS and Android has been updated to emphasize comments, remove hurdles, and reduce friction. Clicking on the comment icon on a post now loads comments faster and takes users straight to the top comment. A context bar with the original post and compressed text, image, or video content will appear at the top of the screen. A click on the thumbnail will take the user to the original post.

JUST ADD WATER: GROW YOUR OWN FURNITURE WITH THESE POP-UP SPONGE DESIGNS

A team of industrial designers has prototyped a furniture collection that dramatically transforms flat sheets into fully functional objects. Recognizing the high demand for online commerce and the inefficiency of shipping large furniture items, the team developed a line of collapsible stools, chairs, wine racks, and other products made from cellulose sponges. These products can be flattened and dried to fit into standard envelopes.

THE PROJECT THAT SHIFTED MY PERSPECTIVE AS A DESIGNER

Pinterest's Monetization team helps businesses connect with users while connecting them with the right commercial opportunity at the right time to help users realize their dreams. However, Frances Lee, a designer on the team and an end-user advocate, found it challenging to overcome her long-standing bias towards ads. With Quiz Ads, users can interact with advertisements for personalized recommendations or entertainment and discover unfamiliar brands.

SPEEDING UP C++ BUILD TIMES

Figma addressed C++ build time inefficiencies by removing unnecessary includes, utilizing a new DIWYDU tool, implementing forward declarations via Fwd.h files, and applying caching strategies. This comprehensive approach halved build times and prevents dozens of potential daily slowdowns, significantly boosting developer productivity.

MEET RITMO, MUSIXMATCH'S CROSS-PLATFORM DESIGN SYSTEM

Musixmatch's Ritmo design system ensures a consistent user experience across Web, iOS, and Android by establishing cross-platform standards and components using React Native for a unified codebase. Its design library in Figma centralizes specifications for consistent implementation across platforms, complemented by component swaps tailored to viewport size for optimal user experience.

YOUR AI-UX ASSISTANT

Leverage AI's power in your design process, generate wireframes and hi-fi UI designs, turn data into insight, and run design reviews.

MOOD CAMERA

This point-and-shoot camera app uses a custom ProRAW image processing pipeline to recreate the look and feel of film.

UNIPASTE (FIGMA PLUGIN)

Work with special characters in Figma and seamlessly insert symbols, characters, and glyphs into your design.

IS THE DEMOCRATIZATION OF UX RESEARCH A THREAT OR AN OPPORTUNITY?

The democratization of UX research aims to involve more individuals for quicker results, though concerns arise about maintaining research quality amid varied expertise levels. A mature design and research culture requires governance, quality standards, training, and tools to support collaboration and overcome resistance to change.

RETAIN DATA IN SENSITIVE CREDIT CARD FIELDS AFTER VALIDATION ERRORS

Even though reentering credit card information frustrates users, 34% of test sites don't keep credit card numbers when errors happen. Persisting card data saves time and allows users to review potentially incorrect input and find the error. Comply with PCI standards and mitigate user frustration by validating input field-by-field, splitting the checkout flow, and validating input in two stages.

3 WAYS TO REDUCE TIME TO MAGIC MOMENT

Time to the "Magic Moment" or activation moment can be reduced through mini magic moments in the early user experience. Otter.ai leverages social proof for trust on its registration page, while Loom tailors messaging for user needs. Canva and Otter.ai use imagery and social proof to highlight product benefits and use cases.

STUDIO THONIK'S SLANTED ART MUSEUM IDENTITY MIRRORS THE INSTITUTION'S ARCHITECTURE

The Almaty Museum of Arts in Kazakhstan's distinctive slanted walls, with one facing the city and the other the Alatu mountain range, influenced Studio Thonik's logo design, which features two bouncing capital A's, embodying the duality of the museum's architecture and creating a dynamic yet simple brand identity.

KEY TRENDS AND FORECASTS INFLUENCING THE GENAI MARKET IN 2024

The future of creativity will continue to be shaped by the intersection of technology, legal frameworks, and ethical considerations.

THIS ARTIST TRANSFORMS CITYSCAPES INTO FUNNY WHIMSICAL INSTALLATIONS

Street artist Frankey breathes life into everyday objects in Amsterdam, creating thought-provoking artwork that sparks whimsy.

Read more on the WorkOS blog ↗️

THE ECONOMICS OF GENERATIVE AI

The generative AI industry has seen a significant concentration of revenue and profits within the semiconductor layer, primarily driven by companies like Nvidia, which dominates the segment. As the industry evolves, there is an expectation that the value will gradually shift towards the application layer, mirroring trends observed in previous technological shifts such as mobile and cloud computing.

HOW TO PRICE AN EARLY STAGE B2B SOFTWARE PRODUCT

For early-stage B2B software start-ups, the focus should be on validating the product's desirability through customer payments, regardless of the amount, rather than perfecting the price point. It's crucial to understand the customer's perception of value, their budgeting processes, and purchasing behaviors to develop an effective pricing strategy and to keep pricing models simple in the initial stages of a start-up.

THE ROBOTICS RENAISSANCE

The robotics industry is experiencing a significant expansion driven by advancements in artificial intelligence, increased investment, and demographic shifts that necessitate automation to support aging populations. This growth is leading to the development of more adaptable and capable robots, which are being integrated into various sectors, potentially transforming the workforce and the global economy.

THE MIXED STATE OF STARTUP FUNDING IN 2024

Startup investors kept a tight hold on their wallets in the first quarter of 2024. Despite an overall cautious tone, early-stage funding grew, led by large Series B rounds in AI, EVs, and green energy. Andreessen Horowitz emerged as the most active investor. Web3 funding bounced back slightly, while cybersecurity funding proved resilient. Asia and Latin America saw declines, with some notable exceptions, while Europe held mostly steady.

WHEN TO HOST USER CONFERENCES FOR GROWTH

Conferences are an awesome way to get your advocates in the same room together, gather feedback, and let them know about any exciting product updates. They generate PR, drive sales, and help with brand positioning. However, they're expensive, time-consuming, and require a lot of work to get right. For the larger tech companies amongst you, this guide walks you through the key questions to ask yourself before you consider launching a user conference.

HOW TO BEAT THE MARCH GOOGLE UPDATE: DATA FROM 5,000 SITES

Despite dramatic headlines about the March 2024 Google update, an analysis of over 5,000 sites shows that the overall impact was minimal. The data revealed no significant trends based on site size or content type but highlighted the importance of maintaining a clear content focus. Sites that covered a broad range of topics saw a 26.4% drop in traffic, while focused sites saw a 6.2% increase on average.

SEEDCHECKS

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