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WHAT ELSE COULD MEMECOINS BE?

More positive-sum versions of the memecoin concept include charity coins and Robin Hood games.

GIT AS DEBUGGING TOOL

This article covers useful concepts and tools for developers to use to extract debugging information using Git.

A MICROCOSM OF THE INTERACTIONS IN OPEN SOURCE PROJECTS

The xz/liblzma vulnerability was introduced by an attacker who offered to help a struggling solo maintainer following community pressure to implement changes.

HOW GITHUB REPLACED SOURCEFORGE AS THE DOMINANT CODE HOSTING PLATFORM

This article looks at how GitHub entered the market, what existed before, and what gap GitHub filled.

GROK 1.5

xAI announced its next model, with 128k context length and improved reasoning capabilities. It excels at retrieval and programming.

MICROSOFT AND OPENAI PLANNING $100B SUPERCOMPUTER

IN ONE KEY A.I. METRIC, CHINA PULLS AHEAD OF THE U.S.: TALENT

China is now producing almost half of the world’s top AI researchers, surpassing the US, with 18% coming from US undergrad institutions. Despite pioneering AI breakthroughs, the US relies heavily on Chinese-born researchers, with Chinese talent making up 38% of top US-based AI professionals. The trend of Chinese researchers staying in China rather than moving to the US could impact global AI leadership dynamics.

BUILDING EVALS FOR BUSINESS PROBLEMS

Data, evals, and compute are essential for strong performing AI. This is especially true in enterprises. Evals may be one key moat that allows organizations to improve their AI products.

CAPTIONING OUTDOOR SCENES

Researchers have introduced a new approach to understanding outdoor environments, overcoming obstacles like the varying conditions and lack of data that have previously limited advancements.

MAKING LANE-CHANGES SAFER IN BUSY TRAFFIC

This paper introduces a control framework that combines AI and predictive models to facilitate smooth and safe lane changes in dense traffic, emphasizing cooperation with nearby drivers.

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VOICECRAFT CLONING AND TTS

Zero shot voice cloning and speech generation capabilities in a powerful 700m parameter model.

INTERRUPTING COW

In natural conversation, people sometimes interrupt or talk over one another. This can be key to quickly coming to a consensus. This AI assistant predicts tokens while the person is talking and if it predicts enough in a row it will interrupt.

TESTING THE CODING ABILITIES OF LLMS WITH A NEW CODE BENCHMARK

EvoEval is a new benchmark suite that tests the coding abilities of Large Language Models more rigorously than ever before.

QWEN MOE

Qwen MoE is equivalent in performance to a strong 7B model with 1⁄3 of the activated parameters.

HOW AUTONOMOUS RACING IS PUSHING SELF-DRIVING CARS FORWARD

Autonomous racing is advancing AI and machine learning in high-stress conditions, with competitions like the Indy Autonomous Challenge accelerating innovation in vehicle safety. Researchers and students use platforms like F1tenth for algorithm development, pushing the limits of autonomous vehicle capabilities on actual racetracks. These high-speed challenges contribute to a better understanding of machine perception, decision-making, and control systems for real-world traffic applications.

“THE KING IS DEAD” — CLAUDE 3 SURPASSES GPT-4 ON CHATBOT ARENA FOR THE FIRST TIME

Anthropic's Claude 3 Opus has surpassed OpenAI's GPT-4 for the first time on Chatbot Arena. Chatbot Arena is a leaderboard run by the Large Model Systems Organization, a research organization dedicated to open models. Its site allows visitors to rate outputs from various models, enabling it to calculate the best models in aggregate. While Claude's rise is notable, GPT-4 is now over a year old.

DOES AI NEED A “BODY” TO BECOME TRULY INTELLIGENT?

The embodiment hypothesis argues true intelligence necessitates physical interaction, prompting advancements in AI through simulations and real-world testing, despite challenges like the "sim-to-real gap," leading to the cautious deployment of AI robots in industries.

MICROSOFT COPILOT AI WILL SOON RUN LOCALLY ON PCS

Microsoft's Copilot AI will soon run locally on PCs, requiring future AI PCs to have built-in neural processing units capable of over 40 TOPS.

AIRTABLE AI (PRODUCT)

Harness the power of AI and incorporate it directly into your workflows.

WHY Q1 INVESTMENTS WERE SO HOT AND HOW IT COMPARES TO PREVIOUS BULL MARKETS

The crypto venture capital landscape saw a significant uptick in Q1 2024, with $2.52 billion raised across the sector. Competitiveness among VCs has created a founder-friendly environment, leading to higher valuations and more favorable terms for startups. While the market is expected to remain bullish throughout 2024, regulatory uncertainty and the absence of large deployers of capital from the previous bull market may prevent funding levels from reaching the heights seen in 2021 and 2022.

ANALYSIS OF RECENT EVENTS IN SEC V. COINBASE

Head of Legal at the Blockchain Association, Marisa Coppel, shares her insight into recent Coinbase case developments for the industry. With the SEC’s claim that the Coinbase Wallet is an unregistered broker being dismissed, developers can rest assured that peer-to-peer technology does not fall under the oversight of the SEC. Though the rest of the case still stands, this is not unexpected, as the court must take all claims by the SEC as fact until the upcoming discovery period.

CRYPTO TRADER COBIE LAUNCHES BETA FOR ANGEL INVESTOR PLATFORM ECHO

Crypto influencer Cobie has begun beta-testing Echo, his platform for crypto angel investing. The company hopes to tackle the currently fragmented market for startup investments and provide a marketplace for qualified investors to make collective investments. The platform is invite-only and subject to local restrictions around sophisticated investors.

BITCOIN RUNES COMING TO MAGIC EDEN AFTER ORDINALS BET PAYS OFF

After seeing success with Bitcoin Ordinals trading, NFT marketplace Magic Eden has announced that it will support Bitcoin’s Runes fungible token standard upon its April 20th release. Ordinals trading has helped Magic Eden capture a large portion of NFT trading volume, taking 52% across all chains over the past 24 hours, with 69% coming from Ordinals. Magic Eden currently has a Diamonds rewards program, incentivizing traders to use the platform in anticipation of a future token.

OVERVIEW OF MODULAR VS MONOLITHIC BLOCKCHAINS

Monolithic blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum integrate all functions — execution, data availability, consensus, and settlement — within a single chain, which offers simplicity and security but struggles with scalability and flexibility. On the other hand, modular blockchains distribute these functions across multiple layers or components, allowing for a customizable and scalable system. This architectural evolution aims to balance security, scalability, and decentralization, offering solutions like Celestia for data availability and the Fuel Network for independent modular protocols, despite the complexity and potential interoperability issues that come with modular designs.

WHAT ELSE COULD MEMECOINS BE?

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin provides his take on the current state of the memecoin market, opining how memecoins can be positive-sum and more than a tool for speculation. He argues for integrating memecoins with a specific initiative or charity but notes potential limitations with a simple partnership. His main point centers on memecoins tied to fun, engaging games that leave lower-income players better off while still being enjoyable for those playing without monetary incentives – “World of Warcraft on the blockchain.” Buterin concludes by expressing disdain for the racist or derogatory memecoins but hopes that the positive ones could have a significant societal impact.

AN ARGUMENT AGAINST BITTENSOR’S $TAO

Taproot Wizard’s Eric Wall explained why he believes the $10 billion protocol is significantly overvalued in a post that took Crypto Twitter by storm this weekend. In the post, he expressed frustration at the redundancy of the model computations and how they are incentivized to give extremely similar results or otherwise not be rewarded tokens. Wall also noted that the models have similar content filters to ChatGPT and thus offer no benefits over centralized solutions.

PUNK 6529 ON NATIONAL TAX POLICIES FOR CRYPTO ASSETS

This thread presents a view on how to implement effective tax policies for crypto assets with the goal of treating them fairly vs other assets and making crypto holders’ lives easier. For example, it describes giving crypto assets capital gains treatment, but exceptions under $5,000 to avoid forcing taxpayers to track tiny capital gains for gas spent on transactions.

A PERSONAL RECOUNT OF THE SBF TRIAL

A story from the perspective of one of the twenty attendees in SBF’s trial that covers anecdotes from the courtroom proceedings, in particular the damning testimonial from Nishad Singh, the third-largest FTX shareholder and the company's previous Director of Engineering.

A DEEPER DIVE INTO THE NORTH KOREAN HACKERS WHO ATTACKED MUNCHABLES

North Korean developers were hired by the Munchables team, leading to a ~$63m hack - four developers who recommended each other and were hired by Munchables appear to actually be the same person.

DN404 FORMALIZED INTO ETHEREUM ERC DRAFT

DN404, a recently created standard to bring liquidity to NFTs, has been formalized into an Ethereum spec titled ERC-7631: Dual Nature Token Pair.

FORMER JUMP TRADING EMPLOYEE TAKES THE STAND IN TERRAFORM LABS TRIAL

Former Jump Trading employee James Hunsaker filed an SEC whistleblower complaint against Jump before UST and Terra’s $40 billion collapse.

WHATSAPP CONFIRMS NEW NAVIGATION BAR AT BOTTOM OF SCREEN FOR ANDROID USERS

WhatsApp’s new swipeable bottom bar navigation is designed to be closer to users' thumbs and, therefore, easier to reach. This makes it easier to switch between tabs without moving the thumb to the top of the device when users want to switch between chats, calls, and other options.

VIZCOM SECURES $20M SERIES A TO REDEFINE INDUSTRIAL DESIGN WITH AI

Vizcom has closed a $20 million Series A round of financing to continue expanding its AI-powered industrial design platform and growing its team. Through the platform, designers can transform sketches into photorealistic renderings and explore countless design variations while collaborating with other team members in real time. Rather than replacing designers, Vizcom's user-centric approach empowers them with an intuitive user interface that allows them to import sketches, draw directly within the application, and refine designs using natural language commands.

LAMBORGHINI REDESIGNS BULL AND SHIELD LOGO AFTER TWENTY YEARS

Lamborghini has rebranded for the first time in two decades as part of a broader shift towards sustainability and decarbonization. The Italian automaker followed the trend of flat, simplified logos but kept the iconic bull logo at the center of a shield and introduced a broader, thinner typeface.

DESIGN IS POLITICS

The design process is more than hiding in isolation and revealing your masterpiece after some time. You are usually expected to work with others while producing your work, communicating effectively, de-escalating arguments, making and explaining decisions, organizing projects, etc. In reality, refusing to "participate in the organization's politics" will likely hurt your odds of being successful.

ON CANVA'S SURPRISE AFFINITY ACQUISITION — WHAT EVEN IS AN APP ANYMORE?

Canva acquired the Affinity suite to compete with Adobe's Creative Suite, potentially leveraging its payment model as a strategic advantage. Unlike Adobe's subscription-based model, the Affinity suite distinguishes itself with its excellent mobile compatibility and the option to download apps for free, with a one-time payment for ownership.

DIARY STUDIES: UNDERSTANDING LONG-TERM USER BEHAVIOR AND EXPERIENCES

Diary studies yield extensive qualitative data over time. Before delving into insights, designers should reassess their research questions to examine behavior evolution and influences. They should also analyze the entire customer journey if their study focuses on a product or service relationship.

STACKBLITZ

Improve developer experience, drive design system adoption, and remove the barriers to contribution.

SPECTRUM (FIGMA PLUGIN)

Generate beautiful color palettes and apply them instantly to illustrations, images, interfaces, and anything on the canvas with a click.

BEZI AI

Design 3D apps and games faster than ever.

LEVEL UP: EXPLORING THE ARTISTIC SIDE OF VIDEO GAME DESIGN

Video games are increasingly using illustration and painterly art to make mesmerizing and charming visual experiences, elevating them to the status of art, as evidenced by museum exhibits in places like the V&A and MoMA. Artistry in game design usually comes from independent productions that push the medium's creative limits. These edgy approaches have inspired bigger studios and publishers to move away from photorealism and towards unique art styles.

ADOBE SHARES SNEAK PEEKS OF WHAT ITS FUTURE GENERATIVE AI PRODUCTS COULD LOOK LIKE

Adobe gave a sneak peek of its latest experiments during the latest Adobe Summit. Two of them were particularly impressive. By leveraging AI, Project Brand Slam ensures that all branding materials adhere to the brand's guidelines, including logos, images, text, and formatting. In Project Infograph, users enter a dataset and short text descriptions of the main messages they want to convey, and the tool returns color palettes, graphics, and charts.

THE FUTURE OF USER RESEARCH: EXPERT INSIGHTS AND KEY TRENDS

Based on responses from over 1,200 product professionals, Maze’s Future of User Research Report uncovers how product teams research to inform decision-making and build successful products. The top three trends identified are: the demand for user research is growing, research democratization empowers more robust decision-making, and AI allows product teams to scale research significantly.

REDESIGNING NAVIGATION WITH A USER-CENTRIC APPROACH

A case study on redesigning complex navigation by using iterative feedback loops, continuously gathering user input, and implementing improvements to create a navigation system that was more intuitive and efficient.

THE ARTIST BEHIND AN ICONIC BEATLES ALBUM COVER MADE THIS NEW BUDWEISER CAN

Peter Blake, the artist behind the Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover, designed a new limited-edition Budweiser can.

STOP, LOOK & THINK: GET “DRAWN” INTO CRAIG FRAZIER’S ILLUSTRATIONS

Craig Frazier's illustration career started in 1978 with a design philosophy emphasizing approachability, simplicity, and the importance of narrative elements in his work.

FTX’S SAM BANKMAN-FRIED SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for orchestrating one of the largest financial frauds in history, involving the theft of over $8 billion from customers. The sentence falls significantly below the maximum of 110 years he faced but exceeds the leniency his defense sought. The collapse of FTX represents a monumental failure in the startup world, surpassing even the Theranos scandal in scale. It has had a profound chilling effect on venture investing in the crypto sector, though recent data suggests a tentative recovery in crypto-related investments.

WHEN A BILLION DOLLAR OUTCOME ISN’T ENOUGH

This article discusses the challenging expectations venture funds have for startups, noting that a $1 billion exit might not suffice for large funds due to the power law of returns, which says that a significant portion of returns comes from a small number of investments. The article further delves into the importance of understanding revenue multiples, efficiency benchmarks like CAC Payback Period, the Rule of 40, Revenue per Employee, and the impact of operating expenditures on a company's financial health, highlighting the need for startups to align their growth and valuation expectations with investors' requirements for substantial returns.