跳至主要内容

2023-05-26

Everything you always wanted to know about mathematics (2013) [pdf]

Industry Reactions

  • 'Everything you always wanted to know about mathematics' is a math textbook used in a first-semester course for CS and math undergrads at Carnegie Mellon University.
  • The book includes an introduction to each chapter to make it more conversational in tone.
  • Commenters recommend various resources for studying math, including books, websites, and online courses, as well as offering tips for approaching the subject.

Whistleblower drops 100 GB of Tesla secrets to German news site

  • A whistleblower leaked over 23,000 internal files from Tesla to a German news outlet, revealing a pattern of dangerous Autopilot glitches allegedly ignored by the company.
  • The files contain more than 2,400 self-acceleration complaints and over 1,500 braking function problems, including phantom braking or unintended acceleration, with over 1,000 accident reports filed--mostly in the U.S. and Germany.
  • Handelsblatt confirmed the authenticity of the data with the Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology, which found no evidence of doctoring or fabrication. Tesla tried to block the story but Handelsblatt published it, citing the urgent matter of public interest under European Union law.

Industry Reactions

  • A whistleblower has leaked 100 GB of confidential Tesla documents revealing potential systematic failures in the company's self-driving software.
  • Tesla CEO Elon Musk's claim that self-driving cars will quintuple in value is disputed by investors, but some praise his success formula of overhype, delays, and eventual achievement.
  • Tesla's share of the overall automotive market is growing, but their share of the EV car market is shrinking, which could be a bad sign. Additionally, Tesla cars have expensive replacement parts leading to a rise in insurance costs, and critics argue Tesla behaves in a customer-hostile way, depriving customers of information.

AI Canon

  • The AI Canon is a collection of resources that cover the most important parts of modern AI.
  • It includes foundational learning material, practical guides, market analysis, and landmark research results.
  • Key papers cover transformer models, generative AI, and modern LLMs, including GPT-3.
  • Landmark research results include Google's LaMDA and OpenAI's GPT-4, among others.
  • Various models, including Stanford's and Facebook's, aim to improve LLM accuracy through information retrieval.
  • Constitutional AI proposes the idea of autonomous and harmless AI assistants, and various platforms enhance LLMs' forecasting abilities.
  • Generative agents from Google, Northeastern University, and Meta seek to improve LLMs' skills.
  • Research aims to develop techniques for generating code, videos, images, and audio.
  • Work from DeepMind and Med-PaLM aims to enhance the medical field through protein structure prediction and language models capable of answering USMLE style questions.

Industry Reactions

  • Venture capital firm a16z has released an "AI Canon," a list of the 50 best resources for understanding AI that covers distinct areas of AI and software and platforms that rely on AI to operate.
  • Hacker News readers criticize a16z's investment practices and past performance, with some expressing disapproval of its involvement in cryptocurrency, NFTs, and Web3.
  • Some readers offer additional resources on generative AI, including textbooks, while others discuss skepticism towards crypto and praise the AI Canon as a useful list of links.

How to Finetune GPT-Like Large Language Models on a Custom Dataset

  • Learn how to fine-tune large language models (LLMs) on a custom dataset using Lit-Parrot, a nanoGPT based implementation of the GPT-NeoX model that supports StableLM, Pythia, and RedPajama-INCITE model weights.
  • With the aid of Lit-Parrot, you can fine-tune the available high-quality open-source LLMs such as Open LLaMA, StableLM, and Pythia on a specific instruction dataset, such as training a chatbot to answer financial questions.
  • Lightning AI released Lit-Parrot to provide the AI/ML community with a clean, solid, and optimized implementation of large language models with pre-training and fine-tuning support using LoRA and Adapter, and this article guides the reader through the process of installing, downloading model weights, processing the dataset, and finetuning the model using the finetune_adapter.py and generate_adapter.py scripts.

Industry Reactions

  • Fine-tuning is a cost-effective and efficient way to improve LLM performance on narrow-use cases.
  • Using vector databases and embeddings can provide context, but fine-tuning can enhance LLMs' ability to provide accurate and relevant information.
  • However, fine-tuning models come with risks of contamination and overfitting.

Firefox displayed a pop-up ad for Mozilla VPN over an unrelated page

  • Firefox displayed a pop-up ad for Mozilla VPN on top of an unrelated page, disabling the rest of the Firefox UI until closed.
  • Multiple users have reported similar incidents, possibly related to bug 1834728.
  • Mozilla has acknowledged the issue and provided a workaround on their support page.

Industry Reactions

  • Mozilla faced backlash for displaying a pop-up ad for their VPN while browsing, which violated user consent
  • Users express dissatisfaction with Mozilla's direction, including its focus on ads and other unrelated products instead of improving Firefox's core browser experience
  • Some users suggest alternatives like LibreWolf, while others call for Mozilla to be more transparent and respectful of user privacy.

War Is a Racket (1935)

  • 'War Is a Racket' is a famous booklet by Major General Smedley Butler, an ex-high-ranking Marine.
  • Butler speaks about the nature and causes of war in simple language.
  • The booklet is relevant now, even though it was written in 1935.

Industry Reactions

  • The comments discuss the benefits and drawbacks of US military dominance and the role of military-industrial complex, with various viewpoints on efficiency and better allocation of resources.
  • The conversation also touches on specific conflicts like Afghanistan, Iraq, and Ukraine, with opinions varying widely on the effectiveness and morality of intervention.
  • The comment section reflects a range of opinions on political and social issues and serves as an example of how discussions can spiral into tangential topics.

Colorado repealed law limiting municipal internet

  • Colorado has repealed a law that limited municipal internet and required voters' permission to build advanced broadband internet service in their communities, making it easier for local governments to explore broadband options.
  • The law had been promoted by the cable industry as a way to prevent wasting taxpayer money on infrastructure projects like municipal internet, but it had become an obstacle for many Colorado towns and counties.
  • The repeal removes the need for a referendum and enables Colorado to be eligible for federal broadband funds, while some Colorado cities such as Pueblo are working on providing better broadband options to their residents.

Industry Reactions

  • Colorado repealed a law limiting municipal internet, citing the cable industry's interests in preventing taxpayer money from being wasted on infrastructure projects as the motivation behind the law.
  • Municipal internet has been successful in cities like Longmont and Chattanooga, providing reliable, affordable, and unconstrained internet access to residents.
  • Symmetric fiber internet, especially in areas where work from home has become the norm, is becoming increasingly essential.

Visual intuitive explanations of LLM concepts (LLM University)

  • LLM University has created visual and intuitive explanations of LLM concepts.
  • The platform allows users to access different modules from a dashboard.
  • The explanations are designed to simplify complex legal concepts and make them easier to understand.

Industry Reactions

  • LLM University has published a free course on large language models with visual and intuitive explanations, code examples, and video content.
  • The course emphasizes the application of LLMs rather than their theory or training and welcomes suggestions for future content.
  • Some users have raised concerns about the accessibility of the material, and there are papers available on LLM interpretability. Positive feedback has been received on related tech content by Jay Alammar.

Deno 1.34: Deno compile supports NPM packages

  • Deno 1.34 release focuses on improving compatibility with npm and Node.js, enhancing overall quality of life and developer experience, and establishing the foundation for future performance improvements.
  • Major features include support for deno compile with npm packages, glob support in deno task and CLI flags, and TLS certificates with IP addresses.
  • Other improvements include configuration file improvements, language server improvements, Deno API changes, improvements to npm and Node.js compatibility, and updates to V8 and TypeScript.

Industry Reactions

  • Deno 1.34 now supports NPM packages, leading to discussions about the project's direction and focus.
  • Concerns that NPM compatibility detracts from Deno's original vision, while others argue it's essential for wider adoption without necessarily harming pure Deno projects.
  • Stakeholders stress the importance of practicality and pragmatism in software development, which may involve trade-offs and compromises.

Implementing a distributed key-value store on top of implementing Raft in Go

  • A post explaining how to implement a distributed key-value store on top of implementing Raft in Go.
  • The post covers two key components of Raft: leader election and log replication, and also describes reconfiguration and snapshotting.
  • The post includes modeling with state machines and HTTP endpoint building, created for educational purposes only.

Industry Reactions

  • The article is praised for its coverage of advanced concepts and long-term project dedication
  • Technical interviews are criticized for being too simple or irrelevant in finding quality engineers
  • Developers discuss experiences with distributed databases and building Raft implementations, suggesting alternative scalability methods and learning resources.