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Sunday, December 22, 2024

The Obtain: unpacking OpenAI Q* hype, and X’s monetary woes


That is right now’s version of The Obtain, our weekday publication that gives a every day dose of what’s occurring on the earth of expertise.

Unpacking the hype round OpenAI’s rumored new Q* mannequin

Ever since final week’s dramatic occasions at OpenAI, the rumor mill has been in overdrive about why the corporate’s board tried to oust CEO Sam Altman.

Whereas we nonetheless don’t know all the main points, there have been stories that researchers at OpenAI had made a “breakthrough” in AI that alarmed workers members. The declare is that they got here up with a brand new technique to make highly effective AI programs and had created a brand new mannequin, referred to as Q* (pronounced Q star), that was in a position to carry out grade-school stage math.

Some at OpenAI reportedly imagine this may very well be a breakthrough within the firm’s quest to construct synthetic basic intelligence, a much-hyped idea of an AI system that’s smarter than people.

So what’s really occurring? And why is grade-school math such a giant deal? Our senior AI reporter Melissa Heikkilä referred to as some consultants to learn how large of a deal any such breakthrough would actually be. Right here’s what they needed to say.

This story is from The Algorithm, our weekly publication providing you with the within monitor on all issues AI. Enroll to obtain it in your inbox each Monday.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the web to seek out you right now’s most enjoyable/essential/scary/fascinating tales about expertise.

1 X is hemorrhaging thousands and thousands in promoting income 
Inner paperwork present the corporate is in an excellent worse place than beforehand thought. (NYT $)
+ Misinformation ‘super-spreaders’ on X are reportedly eligible for payouts from its advert income sharing program. (The Verge)
It’s not simply you: tech billionaires actually have gotten extra insufferable. (The Guardian)
 
2 The brakes appear to now be off on AI growth 📈
With Sam Altman’s return to OpenAI, the ‘accelerationists’ have come out on high. (WSJ $)
Contained in the thoughts of OpenAI’s chief scientist, Ilya Sutskever. (MIT Know-how Assessment)
 
3 How Norway bought warmth pumps into two-thirds of its households
Principally by making it the cheaper alternative for folks. (The Guardian)
Every part you have to know in regards to the wild world of warmth pumps. (MIT Know-how Assessment)
 
4 How your social media feeds form the way you see the Israel-Gaza battle
Lots of content material are being pumped out, hardly ever with any nuance or historic understanding. (BBC)
China tried to maintain youngsters off social media. Now the aged are hooked. (Wired $)
 
5 US regulators have surprisingly little scope to implement Amazon’s security guidelines
As demonstrated by the measly $7,000 effective issued by Indiana after a employee was killed by warehouse equipment. (WP $)
 
6 How Ukraine is utilizing superior applied sciences on the battlefield 
The Pentagon is utilizing the battle as a testbed for a few of the 800-odd AI-based tasks it has in progress. (AP $)
Why enterprise is booming for navy AI startups. (MIT Know-how Assessment)
 
7 Shein is attempting to overtake its picture, with restricted success
Its merchandise appear too low-cost to be ethically sourced—and it doesn’t take kindly to folks pointing that out. (The Verge)
+ Why my bittersweet relationship with Shein needed to finish. (MIT Know-how Assessment)
 
8 Each app is usually a relationship app now 💑
As folks flip their backs on the standard apps, they’re discovering love in locations like Yelp, Duolingo and Strava. (WSJ $)
+ Job sharing apps are additionally gaining popularity. (BBC)
 
9 Individuals can’t get sufficient of labor livestreams on TikTok
It’s largely in regards to the weirdly hypnotic high quality of watching folks doing duties like manicures or frying eggs. (The Atlantic $)
 
10 A useful information to time journey within the motion pictures
Whether or not you prioritize scientific accuracy or leisure worth, this chart has bought you coated. (Ars Technica)

Quote of the day

“It’s within the AI trade’s curiosity to make folks suppose that solely the large gamers can do that—however it’s not true.”

—Ed Newton-Rex, who simply resigned as VP of audio at Stability.AI, says the concept that generative AI fashions can solely be constructed by scraping artists’ work is a delusion in an interview with The Subsequent Net

The large story

The YouTube baker combating again towards lethal “craft hacks”

rainbow glue coming out of a hotglue gun onto a toothbrush, surrounded by caution tape

STEPHANIE ARNETT/MITTR | ENVATO, GETTY

September 2022

Ann Reardon might be the final particular person you’d count on to be banned from YouTube. A former Australian youth employee and a mom of three, she’s been instructing thousands and thousands of subscribers how you can bake since 2011. 

Nevertheless, extra just lately, Reardon has been utilizing her platform to warn folks about harmful new “craft hacks” which can be sweeping YouTube, reminiscent of poaching eggs in a microwave, bleaching strawberries, and utilizing a Coke can and a flame to pop popcorn.

Reardon was banned as a result of she bought caught up in YouTube’s messy moderation insurance policies. In doing so, she uncovered a failing within the system: How can a warning about dangerous hacks be deemed harmful when the hack movies themselves should not? Learn the total story.

—Amelia Tait

We will nonetheless have good issues

A spot for consolation, enjoyable and distraction to brighten up your day. (Bought any concepts? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)

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