SCALE by Spectral Compute is a GPGPU (General-Purpose computing on Graphics Processing Units) programming toolkit enabling native compilation of CUDA applications for AMD GPUs without modifying the original CUDA code or build system.
SCALE acts as a drop-in replacement for NVIDIA's nvcc compiler, allowing seamless integration with existing build tools and scripts, and supports various open-source CUDA projects like NVIDIA Thrust and Blender Cycles.
Currently, SCALE supports AMD GPUs such as gfx1030 (Navi 21, RDNA 2.0) and gfx1100 (Navi 31, RDNA 3.0), with ongoing development for additional GPU architectures.
The discussion centers on the feasibility and implications of running CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture) on AMD GPUs, highlighting technical and legal challenges.
Some argue that supporting translation layers for CUDA on AMD GPUs is impractical and suggest focusing on open-source projects like PyTorch instead.
HIP (Heterogeneous-Compute Interface for Portability) is mentioned as a potential low-effort solution for porting CUDA code to AMD GPUs, though it is not entirely zero-effort.
Firefox's latest version now collects user data by default, introducing Privacy-Preserving Attribution (PPA) for anonymized ad measurement, which has sparked controversy.
Critics argue that this default data collection undermines user trust and suspect Mozilla's intention to boost revenue, challenging Firefox's reputation for privacy.
The PPA uses an aggregation server to anonymize data, but concerns persist about data leaving users' computers and potential future access by advertisers.
Exo allows users to create an AI cluster at home using everyday devices like iPhones, iPads, Androids, Macs, and Linux systems, eliminating the need for expensive NVIDIA GPUs.
Key features include wide model support (e.g., LLaMA), dynamic model partitioning, automatic device discovery, and a ChatGPT-compatible API, all using a peer-to-peer connection without a master-worker architecture.
Exo is experimental software, so users should expect early bugs and are encouraged to report issues and contribute to the community.
Exo allows users to run their own AI clusters at home using everyday devices, providing an alternative to cloud-based AI compute.
The project supports various hardware, including old phones and laptops, and aims to offer privacy, customization, and offline access for AI models.
Discussions highlight the trade-offs between local and cloud AI models, including cost, performance, and privacy, with some users preferring local setups for personal or sensitive data.
James, a 17-year-old full-stack engineer from Canada, has developed Horizon Pics, a file hosting service focused on security, privacy, and user needs, without ads or data selling.
Recently, Horizon Pics underwent a rebrand and launched a new desktop app called Alpine, which auto-uploads screen captures and clipboard content, offering features like auto-deletion and end-to-end encryption.
The app is built with modern technologies such as Tauri, TypeScript, SvelteKit, Sass, and Rust, and Horizon Pics offers both free and paid plans with varying storage limits.
Horizon Pics, developed by a 17-year-old full-stack engineer from Canada, is a private alternative to Imgur, offering ad-free and secure file hosting.
The service recently launched a rebrand, including a new desktop app called Alpine, which auto-uploads screen captures and clipboards with privacy options.
Horizon Pics provides both a free plan with limited storage and a paid plan with higher limits, aiming to attract users seeking privacy-focused file hosting solutions.
The FTC's new report exposes how a few healthcare conglomerates, likened to a mafia, control 4% of all U.S. money through pharmaceutical pricing.
Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) are identified as key players inflating drug prices by controlling pricing and redirecting funds to themselves.
The FTC's actions and potential legislative changes aim to address the monopolization of pharmaceutical pricing by PBMs, which has led to significantly inflated costs.
The post discusses unethical practices in the pharmaceutical industry, particularly involving Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) and drug companies.
Key issues include the sale of prescription data, legal "rebates" that function as kickbacks, and the influence of financial incentives on medical diagnoses and prescriptions.
The conversation highlights the need for transparency and regulation to address market distortions and protect patients from unethical behavior and inflated drug prices.
The document, "The Engineer’s Guide To Deep Learning," provides a comprehensive guide to understanding the Transformer model, a significant AI breakthrough introduced in 2017.
It includes fundamental concepts of neural networks, RNNs (Recurrent Neural Networks), NLP (Natural Language Processing), and attention mechanisms, with working Python code examples and references for further exploration.
Released on May 21, 2024, it is free for educational and noncommercial use, authored by Hironobu SUZUKI, a seasoned software programmer and AI enthusiast.
The post discusses various resources for understanding the Transformer model in deep learning, highlighting free and paid options.
Recommendations include "The Annotated Transformer," "Transformers from Scratch," Andrej Karpathy's series, and 3Blue1Brown's visual introductions.
There is a debate on the relevance of Keras, with some users noting its decline in academia and industry favoring JAX, while others mention Keras 3's support for multiple backends.
On July 16, 2024, Mistral AI introduced Codestral Mamba, a new architecture developed with Albert Gu and Tri Dao, offering linear time inference and the ability to model infinite-length sequences.
Codestral Mamba is efficient for code productivity, performs comparably to state-of-the-art (SOTA) transformer models, and supports in-context retrieval up to 256k tokens.
The model is deployable via various SDKs, with raw weights available on HuggingFace, and is free under the Apache 2.0 license, while Codestral 22B has commercial and community licenses.
Peter Buxtun, the whistleblower who exposed the unethical Tuskegee syphilis study, has passed away at 86.
Buxtun's revelation led to the termination of the study in 1972, congressional hearings, and a $10 million settlement for the victims.
His comparison of the study to Nazi medical experiments prompted new government research regulations, highlighting his significant impact on ethical standards in medical research.
Peter Buxtun, the whistleblower who exposed the unethical Tuskegee syphilis study, has passed away.
Buxtun's concerns about the study, which withheld treatment from African American men with syphilis, were ignored for six years before gaining attention.
The Tuskegee study has had lasting impacts, including contributing to vaccine hesitancy in African American communities and highlighting systemic racism in medical research.
Justin St. Germain explores the blurred lines between memory, memoir, and myth through his experience with a polygraph test during a job application with Customs and Border Protection.
He argues that the polygraph, often seen as a lie detector, actually creates rather than detects truth, drawing parallels to memoir writing.
Germain discusses the polygraph's controversial history, its use in coercing confessions, and its symbolic role in asserting state power, highlighting its flaws and the American obsession with a simple, detectable truth.
The author experimented with installing Linux on a Surface Pro 4, originally purchased in 2016, to explore its viability for various use cases like internet browsing, media consumption, and sketching.
Installation of Linux was straightforward using EndeavourOS and Fedora Workstation 40, but tablet functionality was problematic, with issues like ghost touch, poor palm rejection, and significant battery drain during sleep.
Due to these issues, the author reverted to Windows 10, finding it more functional for their needs, but may reconsider Linux after Windows 10's end of life next year.
A review of running Linux on a Surface Pro 4 has sparked significant discussion, highlighting various user experiences with Linux on different hardware.
Many users compare their experiences with Linux on other devices, such as Dell XPS and ThinkPads, noting issues like sleep, power management, and hardware integration.
The conversation underscores the challenges of achieving seamless hardware-software integration on Linux, similar to macOS on MacBooks, due to device driver development complexities.
Gary Williams of Mastermelt manages the burning of commercial waste to reclaim precious metals, with jewellers collecting every particle of gold dust from their workshops for processing.
The process involves heating materials to 2,000C to recover metals like gold and platinum, with advanced techniques and technology aiding in capturing more waste.
Trust between jewellers and refiners is crucial, and the industry continually refines methods to maximize the recovery of precious metals.
Jewellers employ meticulous methods to capture every particle of gold dust, including upgrading windows, on-site laundry, and tearing up floors.
These practices are reminiscent of historical efforts, such as the Manhattan Project's silver reclamation from floors and equipment.
Jewellers in cities like Sydney and New York recover gold from workshop floors and sidewalks, emphasizing the industry's resourcefulness and minimal material loss.
Open Collaboration Tools is an open-source project aimed at enhancing remote teamwork through live-sharing of Integrated Development Environment (IDE) contents.
Key features include extensions for VS Code and Eclipse Theia, a server application for authentication and collaboration, and an open protocol with end-to-end encryption.
The project addresses gaps in existing tools by offering no vendor lock-in, absolute extensibility, flexible deployment options, and open-source licensing under the MIT License.
Open Collaboration Tools by TypeFox is gaining attention, especially among users of openvscode-server and Eclipse Theia, due to its potential for improved remote collaboration.
TypeFox's tools, including Sprotty, Langium, and Theia, are being highlighted, with speculation that Theia might replace openvscode-server if it fulfills its promises.
The discussion includes interest in the scalability and readiness of a YJS provider for collaborative editing, and comparisons to other collaboration methods like screen sharing and VS Live Share.
OpenAI whistleblowers have filed a complaint with the SEC, alleging the company illegally restricted employees from warning regulators about the risks of its technology.
The complaint claims OpenAI's employment agreements violated federal laws by requiring staff to waive whistleblower compensation rights and seek company consent before disclosing information to authorities.
OpenAI has stated it supports protected disclosures and has revised its policies, while the SEC has acknowledged the complaint but hasn't confirmed an investigation.
Whistleblowers claim OpenAI restricted staff from discussing safety risks, raising concerns about the company's use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).
Critics argue that OpenAI's emphasis on "safety risks" may be more about marketing and regulatory strategies than genuine threats, paralleling tactics used by other tech companies.
The debate extends to the ethical implications of AI development, including the use of biased models and the broader impact of AI regulation.
KUtrace is a low-overhead Linux kernel tracing tool designed to analyze performance by tracking kernel-user transitions.
It produces detailed per-CPU-core timelines that can be zoomed to the nanosecond, aiding in solving performance issues in datacenters and real-time autonomous driving.
The tool supports x86 and ARM processors, is open-sourced under various licenses, and includes files from the book "Understanding Software Dynamics" by Richard L. Sites.
KUtrace is a low-overhead Linux kernel tracing facility designed to help understand performance bottlenecks, particularly in multi-machine systems.
Unlike eBPF tools, KUtrace requires kernel patches and root access, necessitating active maintenance.
The tool is praised for its effectiveness, with recommendations for the book "Understanding Software Dynamics" by its author, Dick Sites, for further insights into system performance.
Andrej Karpathy is starting an AI+Education company, sparking discussions on the role of AI in education.
Opinions vary on AI's potential, with some arguing it can assist but not replace teachers, while others believe AI can enhance and personalize learning experiences.
The debate highlights the evolving landscape of education technology, emphasizing the need for innovative solutions to improve teaching and learning.