Tech
- Apple AI researchers say they found no evidence of formal reasoning in language models and their behavior is better explained by sophisticated pattern matching (Gary Marcus/Marcus on AI)
Gary Marcus / Marcus on AI: Apple AI researchers say they found no evidence of formal reasoning in language models and their behavior is better explained by sophisticated pattern matching — Important new study from Apple — A superb new article on LLMs from six AI researchers at Apple who were brave enough …
- Matt Mullenweg's feud with WP Engine not only presents a significant conflict of interest but has also dragged the WordPress community into a legal mess (Mathew Ingram/The Torment Nexus)
Mathew Ingram / The Torment Nexus: Matt Mullenweg's feud with WP Engine not only presents a significant conflict of interest but has also dragged the WordPress community into a legal mess — Hi everyone! Mathew Ingram here. This is The Torment Nexus (you can find out more about me and this newsletter — and why I chose to call it that — in my inaugural post.)
- The bleak online discourse about hurricanes Milton and Helene revealed not just a misinformation crisis in the US but a cultural assault on reality itself (Charlie Warzel/The Atlantic)
Charlie Warzel / The Atlantic: The bleak online discourse about hurricanes Milton and Helene revealed not just a misinformation crisis in the US but a cultural assault on reality itself — The truth is, it's getting harder to describe the extent to which a meaningful percentage of Americans have dissociated from reality.
- Adobe expects US BNPL spending to grow 11.4% YoY to $18.5B in Q4 2024; the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia says most BNPL users make their payments on time (Hannah Lang/Reuters)
Hannah Lang / Reuters: Adobe expects US BNPL spending to grow 11.4% YoY to $18.5B in Q4 2024; the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia says most BNPL users make their payments on time — As Amazon's Prime Day kicked off the holiday shopping season this week, U.S. consumers are expected to spend a record $18.5 billion using buy …
- PitchBook: VCs in the US invested $37.5B via 2,794 deals in Q3 2024, down 32% QoQ, despite some big AI rounds, as a lack of exits restricts new deal activity (Dan Primack/Axios)
Dan Primack / Axios: PitchBook: VCs in the US invested $37.5B via 2,794 deals in Q3 2024, down 32% QoQ, despite some big AI rounds, as a lack of exits restricts new deal activity — Venture capital's lack of exits is restricting new deal activity, according to the latest PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor.
- An interview with Waymo co-CEO Dmitri Dolgov on Tesla fans' claims that Waymo's software relies on hand-coded rules, can't handle freeway driving, and more (Timothy B Lee/Understanding AI)
Timothy B Lee / Understanding AI: An interview with Waymo co-CEO Dmitri Dolgov on Tesla fans' claims that Waymo's software relies on hand-coded rules, can't handle freeway driving, and more — I talked to Dmitri Dolgov, co-CEO of Waymo. — This evening, Elon Musk will take the stage in Los Angeles for an event titled “We Robot.”
- An essay on what a "powerful AI" may look like and how it could positively transform the world in biology, neuroscience, economic development, work, and more (Dario Amodei)
Dario Amodei: An essay on what a “powerful AI” may look like and how it could positively transform the world in biology, neuroscience, economic development, work, and more — How AI Could Transform the World for the Better — I think and talk a lot about the risks of powerful AI.
- TikTok is laying off hundreds of employees globally, including less than 500 in Malaysia, as it shifts focus towards a greater use of AI in content moderation (Rozanna Latiff/Reuters)
Rozanna Latiff / Reuters: TikTok is laying off hundreds of employees globally, including less than 500 in Malaysia, as it shifts focus towards a greater use of AI in content moderation — Social media platform TikTok is laying off hundreds of employees from its global workforce, including a large number of staff in Malaysia …
- Investigation: Uber and Lyft lockouts for 800+ NYC drivers occurred almost every hour of every day, saving the companies hundreds of millions of dollars in pay (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg: Investigation: Uber and Lyft lockouts for 800+ NYC drivers occurred almost every hour of every day, saving the companies hundreds of millions of dollars in pay — One August morning in south Brooklyn, Mohamed Mohamed did what he's done almost every day for nine years: He woke up at 5 a.m. …
- Filing: in OpenAI's $6.6B round, Khosla Ventures invested $405M; the majority, or possibly all, was pooled from other investors via a special purpose vehicle (Marina Temkin/TechCrunch)
Marina Temkin / TechCrunch: Filing: in OpenAI's $6.6B round, Khosla Ventures invested $405M; the majority, or possibly all, was pooled from other investors via a special purpose vehicle — Khosla Ventures has raised $405 million for OpenAI, according to a regulatory filing. — Based on the filing alone …