AI Sparks Revolution, Disruption, and Data Wars
Embrace the thin wisps of tomorrow as you embark on a wild journey through AI's bargain basement, data battlegrounds, and the realm of lucid lies—all while sipping your favorite weekend libation.
The Thin Wisps of Tomorrow
AI's Bargain Basement. The cornerstone of AI lies in foundational models, which are becoming increasingly affordable to develop and operate with each passing minute. A novel model called JetMoE, created through a collaboration with Ivy League institutions, has achieved performance levels comparable to Meta’s LLaMA2 model at a training cost of less than $100,000.
AI Writes, AI Fights. Two sides of the same coin: AI is simultaneously revolutionizing and sabotaging the world of literature. While Claude AI effortlessly churns out entire novels from a single prompt, Google's book search engine finds itself besieged by a deluge of AI-generated spam. We are certainly living in an incredible time.
AI: Powerful Tool, Not Magic Bullet. While many companies are eager to harness the power of Large Language Models (LLMs), it's crucial to understand their capabilities and limitations. LLMs can generate reasonable responses to prompts, but accuracy isn't guaranteed, and workflows often need revamping to maximize their potential. As the technology evolves, businesses must navigate legal uncertainties and make strategic decisions to effectively integrate LLMs into their products without falling for the hype. Here’s a good starting point—and here is a good insight into how to get started with multi-agent flows (the latest and greatest in the land of AI).
AI’s Data Battleground. AI luminary Andrew Ng once quipped, "Data is the new oil" (with similar CO2 issues), and nowhere does this seem to be truer than in LLM training data. On one hand, Google cries foul that OpenAI allegedly trained its speech-to-text model Whisper on a million hours of video. On the other hand, the search juggernaut amended its T&Cs to allow it to harvest its vast trove of user-generated content to train its own models. Meanwhile, Meta is rumored to buy publishing house Simon & Schuster for the sole purpose of getting access to its copyrighted content. He who has data rules.
What We Are Reading
🧠 The Missing Link Between Strategy And Innovation In many companies, innovation teams operate in isolation, yielding creative ideas but limited growth due to a lack of alignment with overall strategy. True success lies in integrating innovation with strategic priorities and harnessing the organization’s strengths to outshine competitors. @Jane
🌀 The Cautionary Tale Of Wirecutter And The Internet’s Favorite Wok The Wirecutter effect is a phenomenon. Going viral isn’t always good for business, as it often results in frustrated owners, long lines, and waiting lists with hundreds of thousands of eager customers. @Mafe
🤔 Does Science Fiction Shape The Future? Science fiction definitely inspires the imagination, but it turns out sci-fi writers have a pretty critical take on the role their work has or hasn’t played in shaping the development of technology. @Jeffrey
🕰️ Productivity Gurus Through Time: A Match-up While you may be very familiar with the teachings of James Clear and others, gaining some historical perspective on how such lessons appeared about a century ago can provide a very different, motivating, and thought-provoking viewpoint. @Julian
🚪 ‘Era Of Mass Closures’: The Japanese Firms With No Successors Japan is facing a looming crisis as a significant number of small businesses, lacking successors, are at risk of closure. @Pedro
🔧 Our Tools Shape Our Selves Bernard Stiegler’s revolutionary philosophy unveils technology’s profound impact on the human experience through the lens of “technics.” @Pascal
Bits & Pixels
Decentralization: Foundational models are shrinking, bringing the power of LLMs to your fingertips (and your laptop without the need for a connection to the cloud). Opera browser's latest update unleashes a new era of accessible, local AI.
Deception: MDN's AI Help exposes the dark underbelly of large language models. Dive into the world of lucid lies, where biases and conflations in training data lead to inescapable dishonesty.
Disillusionment: Jon Stewart unveils the dark side of AI's glittering facade. Brace yourself for a thought-provoking (and, of course, funny) exposé that shatters the illusion of artificial intelligence.
Gamechanger: BYD's next-gen Blade battery promises to revolutionize the EV landscape. With longer range and lower costs, will this be the final blow in BYD's "liberation battle" against gas-powered vehicles (and Tesla)?
Innovation: Smart contact lenses may be more elusive than a truly exceptional pair of AR glasses, but a new development has emerged: Harnessing energy from your blinking action now appears to be achievable.
Matchmaker: Unlock the potential of AI with a single query. Discover the ultimate guide to finding the perfect AI tool for any task, courtesy of What AI Can Do Today.
Prescience: In a world where technology reigns supreme, laughter may be our last refuge. Dive into a comedic crystal ball and glimpse the absurdities that await us in the future.
Retrenchment: Saudi Arabia's $1.5 trillion dream city, Neom, faces a harsh reality check. As ambitions collide with financial constraints, the kingdom's transformative vision hangs in the balance.
Scaling: There is surprising power in simplicity when it comes to enhancing large language models. A recent paper shows how a sampling-and-voting method can unlock the potential of LLMs, scaling performance with the number of agents instantiated.
Speeding. Think the pace of change is already mind-boggling? On April 10th, three significant LLM releases came out within just 24 hours. And it's only accelerating from here.
Squinting. Scrolling through social media feeds is not only bad for your mental wellbeing, but it may be taking a toll on your eye health too. Discover the surprising connection between sustained scrolling, aerobic exercise, and oculomotor fatigue that researchers have uncovered.
Streamline: Still struggling to untangle the web of internal communications? Discover clarity with project management tool Basecamp's maker 37signals' Guide to Internal Communication.
Some Fun Stuff
Have you ever pondered this existential question: Which combination of driver, kart body, tires, and glider in Mario Kart 8 maximizes your chances of winning? Surprisingly, Vilfredo Pareto's principle applies not only in the realm of business but also in the competitive world of Mario Kart racing! 🍄🏎️🏁
Some random fun links:
The mayonnaise joke never gets old (and LLMs still seem to struggle):
