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DoppelBot: Your CEO, Now an LLM

2025-02-04

DoppelBot: Your CEO, Now an LLM

Modal has created DoppelBot, a Slack bot that can replace your CEO (sort of!). It fine-tunes an OpenLLaMa model on your team's Slack messages to mimic your CEO's communication style. Built on Modal's serverless platform, the entire process—scraping, fine-tuning, inference, and Slack event handling—is streamlined and efficient. The open-source code allows for easy deployment and customization within your workspace. Using LoRA for efficient fine-tuning and supporting multiple workspaces, DoppelBot offers a novel approach to team collaboration and productivity enhancement. The article details its functionality and deployment steps.

(modal.com)

Development Slack Bot

Nvidia's Desktop AI Ambitions: Bringing Billion-Parameter Models Home

2025-01-16

Nvidia's Desktop AI Ambitions: Bringing Billion-Parameter Models Home

At CES, Nvidia unveiled 'Project Digits,' a desktop AI supercomputer based on its Grace Blackwell architecture. Priced at around $3,000, it can run 200-billion parameter AI models locally. This is seen as Nvidia's attempt to replicate its gaming success in the desktop AI market. While initially targeting data scientists and AI researchers, its affordable price and ease of use (supporting Windows and Mac) suggest a potential expansion to a broader consumer market. Nvidia's mature GPU ecosystem and hardware partnerships will aid in building a similar AI product line, but the maturity of the software ecosystem will be crucial to its success.

(www.theangle.com)

Tech

MIT Study: AI Chatbots Reduce Brain Activity, Impair Fact Retention

2025-06-19

MIT Study: AI Chatbots Reduce Brain Activity, Impair Fact Retention

A new preprint study from MIT reveals that using AI chatbots to complete tasks actually reduces brain activity and may lead to poorer fact retention. Researchers had three groups of students write essays: one without assistance, one using a search engine, and one using GPT-4. The LLM group showed the weakest brain activity and worst knowledge retention, performing poorly on subsequent tests. The study suggests that early reliance on AI may lead to shallow encoding and impaired learning, recommending delaying AI integration until sufficient self-driven cognitive effort has occurred.

(www.theregister.com)

AI Brain Activity

Apple's Secret Smart Glasses Chip Poised to Challenge Meta

2025-05-08

Apple's Secret Smart Glasses Chip Poised to Challenge Meta

Bloomberg reports that Apple is developing a new chip for its potential smart glasses, aiming to compete with Meta's Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. Based on Apple Watch technology but streamlined and optimized for multiple cameras, mass production is targeted for late 2026 or 2027, suggesting a similar timeframe for the glasses' release. Apple is also reportedly working on augmented reality glasses, mirroring Meta's efforts (though Meta's consumer-ready version is expected in 2027). Simultaneously, Apple is developing chips for camera-equipped Apple Watches and AirPods, alongside new M-series and dedicated AI server chips, all slated for around 2027.

(www.theverge.com)

Tech Smart Glasses

OpenFreeMap Hit by 3 Billion Requests in 24 Hours: A Collaborative Drawing Site's Unexpected Consequence

2025-08-09

OpenFreeMap Hit by 3 Billion Requests in 24 Hours: A Collaborative Drawing Site's Unexpected Consequence

OpenFreeMap, a free and open-source map tile service, faced a massive surge of 3 billion requests in just 24 hours, resulting in 215 TB of bandwidth usage. The culprit? A collaborative drawing website, Wplace.live, whose users bombarded the service with scripted requests. Despite OpenFreeMap's robust architecture and Cloudflare's bandwidth sponsorship, the incident highlighted the need for improved traffic control. The author contacted Wplace.live's developer and plans to implement Cloudflare rules to limit traffic and enhance server configuration to address missing tiles.

(blog.hyperknot.com)

Tech traffic surge

ICE's Social Media Surveillance Sparks Controversy

2025-02-14

ICE's Social Media Surveillance Sparks Controversy

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to monitor and locate "negative" social media discussions about the agency and its officials, using a new contract. This move has raised concerns about free speech and privacy. While ICE claims it's a response to increased threats against its personnel and facilities, critics argue it could sweep up constitutionally protected speech. The contract may involve digging into users' personal information, including social security numbers and addresses. This follows ICE's previous use of federal contractors for large-scale social media surveillance, fueling concerns about government overreach.

(theintercept.com)

Tech Social Media Surveillance

SUSE: From Four Students to a Public Company

2025-02-14

SUSE: From Four Students to a Public Company

In 1992, four German university students founded SUSE, initially focusing on localizing Slackware Linux into German. Fueled by passion and 100-hour workweeks, they sold CD-ROMs and floppies to fund the company, releasing their first SUSE Linux distribution in 1994. SUSE subsequently evolved, merging with Jurix, introducing the YaST installer and AutoBuild system, and partnering with IBM to enter the enterprise market. Navigating acquisitions, restructuring, and an IPO, SUSE ultimately became a globally recognized enterprise Linux powerhouse.

(www.abortretry.fail)

Tech

The Paranoid Style in American Politics: A Recurring Phenomenon

2025-08-08

The Paranoid Style in American Politics: A Recurring Phenomenon

This essay examines the recurring "paranoid style" in American politics, characterized by heated exaggeration, suspicion, and conspiratorial fantasy. Tracing its manifestations from late 18th-century anxieties about the Bavarian Illuminati to anti-Masonry, anti-Catholicism, and McCarthyism, the author argues this style isn't limited to the extreme right but is linked to movements of discontent. The essay delves into the psychological and social roots of this style, highlighting how paranoid thinking interprets history as the result of individual will and projects both ideal and unacceptable aspects of the self onto the enemy.

(harpers.org)

Misc political psychology conspiracy theories

Rust Reflection: The Tug-of-War Between Safety and Access Rules

2025-01-03

Rust lacks reflection, a feature many developers desire. This article delves into the safety challenges of implementing reflection in Rust. Due to Rust's memory safety guarantees, a reflection API must adhere to strict access rules, preventing arbitrary access to private fields to avoid memory safety vulnerabilities. The author explores how these limitations impact reflection API design, such as handling reflection failures and expressing complex reflection bounds. The trade-offs between safe and unsafe reflection APIs are also discussed, along with balancing functionality and security. Ultimately, creating a safe reflection mechanism in Rust is a complex and challenging problem requiring careful consideration of various factors.

(fractalfir.github.io)

Development Reflection

Tool Calling via REST API: A Step-by-Step Guide

2025-07-13

Tool Calling via REST API: A Step-by-Step Guide

This article demonstrates how to call tools via a REST API, enabling interaction between an LLM and external tools. Using the query "Do you have AirPods Pro in stock?" as an example, it outlines a two-step process: sending the prompt and tool definitions to the LLM provider's endpoint, and then receiving the LLM's response with the tool call. This showcases how LLMs can leverage external tools to expand their capabilities and handle more complex tasks.

(muthuishere.medium.com)

Development

FaunaDB Shuts Down, Going Open Source After $27M in Funding

2025-03-24

FaunaDB Shuts Down, Going Open Source After $27M in Funding

FaunaDB, a database startup that raised $27 million in funding, announced it will shut down its service at the end of May, transitioning to an open-source model. The company, boasting 25,000 developers using its serverless database which combined relational power and document flexibility, cited the capital-intensive nature of scaling a global database service and the current market environment as reasons for the shutdown. Existing customers will be transitioned off the service over the coming months. The open-source release will include the core database technology, supporting JSON documents with relational features like joins, foreign keys, and schema enforcement, along with its FQL query language. Some observers suggest that an open-source approach from the beginning might have led to greater success.

(www.theregister.com)

Development

Standard Model: The Universe's Winning Equation

2025-01-07

Standard Model: The Universe's Winning Equation

Quanta Magazine released a video explaining the Standard Model of particle physics—the most successful scientific theory ever. Cambridge physicist David Tong breaks down the equation piece by piece, showing how the fundamental building blocks of our universe interact. While incredibly successful in explaining experiments on Earth, the Standard Model fails to account for several features of the wider universe, including gravity at short distances and the presence of dark matter and dark energy. This pushes physicists towards more encompassing theories, while mathematicians need fresh perspectives on quantum field theory to solve physics' biggest mysteries.

(www.quantamagazine.org)

Tech Standard Model particle physics quantum field theory

Jules, the Gemini 2.5-Powered Code Assistant, Launches Publicly

2025-08-07

Jules, the Gemini 2.5-Powered Code Assistant, Launches Publicly

Google's code assistant, Jules, is officially out of beta and launching publicly, powered by Gemini 2.5. During beta testing, thousands of developers tackled tens of thousands of tasks, resulting in over 140,000 publicly shared code improvements. Based on developer feedback, Jules has seen UI improvements, hundreds of bug fixes, and new features like reusable setups for faster task execution, GitHub integration, and multimodal support. Now leveraging Gemini 2.5 Pro's advanced reasoning capabilities for code planning, Jules produces higher-quality code. New tiered access is also available, offering increased usage limits for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers.

(blog.google)

Development Code Assistant

Dune vs. Lawrence of Arabia: A Comparative Analysis

2025-03-04

Dune vs. Lawrence of Arabia: A Comparative Analysis

This article explores the similarities and differences between Frank Herbert's *Dune* and T.E. Lawrence's *Seven Pillars of Wisdom*. Both Paul Atreides and Lawrence function as outsiders who immerse themselves in desert cultures to lead indigenous populations against their oppressors. However, significant contrasts emerge in their portrayals of the Arabs and Fremen, their treatment of women and religion, and their emotional responses. Lawrence reveals profound self-doubt and guilt over his actions, while Paul displays excessive confidence and a ruthless pursuit of power. Furthermore, *Dune* features prominent female characters and a rich tapestry of religious themes, absent in Lawrence's largely male-centric and religiously understated narrative. While *Dune* draws inspiration from *Seven Pillars*, it ultimately forges a unique and compelling world of its own.

(reactormag.com)

Misc literary comparison Lawrence of Arabia

Mullvad VPN 2024 Year in Review: Enhanced Security and Privacy

2024-12-25

Mullvad VPN 2024 Year in Review: Enhanced Security and Privacy

Mullvad VPN's 2024 review highlights significant advancements in user privacy and security. Key achievements include migrating the support email inbox to self-hosted hardware, launching DAITA technology for enhanced traffic obfuscation, adding multi-hop connections and ShadowSocks support across all platforms, and completing multiple security audits of both VPN servers and apps. Additionally, Mullvad ran traditional outdoor advertising campaigns to raise awareness of mass surveillance.

(mullvad.net)

Tech

Reddit's 20-Year Rise: From Humble Beginnings to a $28 Billion Valuation

2025-05-13

Reddit's 20-Year Rise: From Humble Beginnings to a $28 Billion Valuation

Reddit, now valued at $28 billion, started as an idea from two University of Virginia graduates, Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian. Inspired by Digg and Slashdot, they created a platform based on user voting and discussion, quickly differentiating itself through unique subreddits. After overcoming early challenges like faking activity, competing with Digg, a Condé Nast acquisition, and infrastructure issues, Reddit exploded in popularity with the introduction of AMAs (Ask Me Anything) and subreddits. Despite facing content moderation and business model struggles, Reddit successfully went public, achieving profitability through advertising, premium memberships, and AI tools (like AI-powered moderation and search). It now sells content access to OpenAI and Google. Today, it's the ninth most popular website globally, influencing various sectors, yet its founders remain committed to its core value of 'real people, real opinions'.

(www.zdnet.com)

Tech Internet History

Breakthrough in Evaluating Large Language Models for Unit Test Generation

2024-12-30

Researchers conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the potential of Large Language Models (LLMs) in automating unit test generation. They compared the performance of five open-source LLMs against the closed-source GPT-4 and the traditional tool Evosuite across 17 Java projects, investigating the impact of different prompting strategies. The study found that open-source LLMs offer advantages in data privacy and outperform in certain tasks, but also revealed limitations in LLM-based unit test generation. This research provides valuable insights to guide future applications of LLMs in this area.

(arxiv.org)

Development Unit Testing

Replicating OpenBSD's pflog in Linux: nftables and ulogd2

2025-08-16

This article details how to replicate OpenBSD and FreeBSD's convenient pflog functionality on Linux using nftables and ulogd2 for network packet logging and analysis. By adding 'log group' statements to nftables rules and forwarding logs to different netlink sockets, you can use tcpdump for live monitoring and ulogd2 for disk logging. The article walks through configuring ulogd2, logging to pcap files, and notes limitations and alternatives to ulogd2.

(utcc.utoronto.ca)

Development

US Research Funding Cuts Drive Scientists to Consider Exiting the Country

2025-03-28

US Research Funding Cuts Drive Scientists to Consider Exiting the Country

Massive cuts to US research funding and the halting of federally funded science under the Trump administration have prompted a crisis for many US scientists. A Nature poll revealed that over 1200 scientists are considering leaving the US, with Europe and Canada being top destinations. Early-career researchers are particularly affected, with many graduate students and PhD candidates seeking opportunities abroad. Funding cuts, mass firings, and restrictions on academic freedom have created uncertainty, forcing scientists to seek opportunities elsewhere, posing a significant blow to US scientific progress.

(www.nature.com)

Tech brain drain

The Shameless Strategy: Winning in the Age of Information

2025-08-19

This article explores a strategy called "shamelessness," which involves using seemingly foolish or outrageous behavior to deceive opponents and ultimately achieve success. Using examples like the game Avalon and real-world figures such as Paris Hilton and Donald Trump, the author illustrates the core of this strategy: ignoring traditional rules and social norms, leveraging negative public perception to attract attention, and thus building new communities and influence. This strategy is particularly effective in the information age, as open online environments render traditional punishment mechanisms ineffective, instead serving as a signal to attract followers. The author cautions readers that, when faced with those deemed "shameless," instead of dismissing them, we should carefully examine their underlying strategy and impact.

(nadia.xyz)

Misc

GitHub Actions Deprecating Node.js 20, Migrating to Node.js 24

2025-09-20

GitHub Actions Deprecating Node.js 20, Migrating to Node.js 24

GitHub Actions is announcing the deprecation of Node.js 20, with end-of-life in April 2026. A migration to Node.js 24 is planned for Fall 2025. The latest GitHub runner already supports Node.js 24, and users can test it early by setting an environment variable. From March 4th, 2026, Node.js 24 will be the default. Users can temporarily continue using Node.js 20 by setting an environment variable until its complete removal in the summer. Note: Node.js 24 is incompatible with macOS 13.4 and below, and doesn't support ARM32 self-hosted runners.

(github.blog)

Development

Image Fulgurator: Secretly Embedding Images in Photos

2025-08-18

The Image Fulgurator is a device capable of seamlessly embedding images into other people's photographs in milliseconds. It cleverly utilizes feedback flash projection technology, projecting a pre-prepared color slide image onto the target object at the same time someone else is taking a picture. The process is discreet and undetectable, as it functions in reverse of a traditional camera: using a pre-exposed slide as a light source, a built-in sensor detects flashes from nearby cameras to synchronize the projection with the exact moment of exposure. The Image Fulgurator is housed in a standard SLR camera case, reusing many of the camera's original components.

(juliusvonbismarck.com)

Tech stealth technology

Tech Entrepreneur's £4 Million Island Fortress: From YouTube Video to Luxury Retreat

2025-08-09

Tech Entrepreneur's £4 Million Island Fortress: From YouTube Video to Luxury Retreat

British tech entrepreneur Mike Conner bought a 19th-century island fortress off the coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales, in 2017 for £500,000 after seeing a YouTube video. Four years and over £2 million later, the waterlogged, windowless ruin is now a luxury retreat sleeping 20, boasting a helipad, rooftop bar, games room, and sea-view office. The extensive renovation included a £300,000 investment in renewable energy, making the fortress completely self-sufficient. Now, this meticulously restored marvel is on the market for over £3 million, awaiting its next owner seeking secluded luxury.

(www.cnn.com)

Misc Island Fortress Property Renovation Sustainable Living

The Dark Side of Dutch Prosperity: A 17th-Century Mercantile Empire

2025-01-30

The Dark Side of Dutch Prosperity: A 17th-Century Mercantile Empire

The Dutch Republic, in the 17th century, was Europe's most powerful mercantile power. Its prosperity, as Julie Berger Hochstrasser notes, was built on the foundational elements of capitalism: rapacious resource extraction and privatization, exploitation of waged and unwaged labor, colonial theft, profit from trade, and the concealment of these exploitative practices. As Marx highlighted in *Capital*, the visible marketplace contrasts sharply with the hidden realities of production. Simon Schama's *The Embarrassment of Riches* showcases Amsterdam's opulent streets, filled with goods from around the world, while obscuring the suffering in plantations, ships, mines, and refineries that made this abundance possible.

(publicdomainreview.org)

Misc Dutch history capitalism colonialism

Running GUI Apps Directly in Containers: No Extra Software Needed

2025-02-27

Running GUI Apps Directly in Containers: No Extra Software Needed

This tutorial demonstrates how to run GUI applications directly within containers (like Docker and Podman) without installing extra software. By cleverly mapping the host's Wayland and PipeWire socket files and setting appropriate environment variables, GUI apps inside the container gain access to the host's display and audio. The tutorial provides detailed instructions on building Docker images for GUI applications, including complete launch scripts and Dockerfiles. This is handy for running untrusted apps, testing software, and running applications incompatible with your distribution.

(github.com)

Development

Water-Walking Robot Inspired by Ripple Bugs

2025-09-07

Water-Walking Robot Inspired by Ripple Bugs

Scientists have created a tiny robot called Rhagobot, inspired by Rhagovelia water striders (also known as ripple bugs). These semiaquatic insects glide effortlessly across water thanks to unique fan-like appendages on their middle legs. Rhagobot mimics this adaptation, using passively morphing structures that adjust to water flow for propulsion. The five-year study, published in Science, reveals the previously unknown intricate structure of the water strider's legs and provides insights into developing self-morphing artificial propellers for semi-aquatic robots.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech water striders

NATO Adopts Palantir's AI for Battlefield Operations

2025-04-14

NATO Adopts Palantir's AI for Battlefield Operations

NATO announced a contract with Palantir to implement its Maven Smart System for AI-powered battlefield operations. The system, Maven Smart System NATO, will enhance intelligence fusion, targeting, battlespace awareness, and decision-making through various AI applications, from LLMs to machine learning. This provides NATO with a common data-enabled warfighting capability, achieved in record time. While specific contract terms remain undisclosed, Palantir's stock rose 8% on the news. The deal comes amidst pressure on NATO from President Trump over member spending on collective defense.

(defensescoop.com)

Tech

Racket v8.17 Released: Performance Boosts and New Features

2025-05-17

Racket programming language version 8.17 is now available! This release boasts numerous improvements, including a slimmed-down DrRacket core package, Typed Racket support for treelists, an enhanced package manager, increased precision for numeric functions, and Windows terminal mouse event support. Additionally, the HTTP client, JSON handling, and Redex library have received optimizations. This update is a testament to the vibrant Racket community, with contributions from many developers.

(blog.racket-lang.org)

Development

Google Play 2024 Security Report: AI-Powered Defenses Protect Billions

2025-02-03

Google Play 2024 Security Report: AI-Powered Defenses Protect Billions

Google's 2024 Google Play security report highlights its commitment to user and developer safety. Leveraging AI-powered threat detection, strengthened privacy policies, and enhanced developer tools, Google Play prevented 2.36 million policy-violating apps from publication and banned over 158,000 malicious developer accounts. The report focuses on AI's role in proactively identifying malware, collaboration with developers to improve security and privacy (limiting access to sensitive data, enhanced data deletion options), and Google Play Protect's real-time scanning which identified over 13 million malicious apps from outside Google Play. New fraud protection features shield users from scams and malware. Google also collaborates with governments and industry partners to establish new app security assessment standards for a safer app ecosystem.

(security.googleblog.com)

Tech App Security

Can Design Save the World? A Look at Design's Ideals and Limitations

2025-06-29

Can Design Save the World? A Look at Design's Ideals and Limitations

This article explores the social responsibility and limitations of design. From its humble beginnings as decorative art to its current involvement in hardware, software, services, and infrastructure, design now carries increasingly significant responsibilities. The author reviews key figures and events in design history, such as Eva Zeisel, the Bauhaus school, and Steve Jobs, showcasing the evolution of design philosophy. However, the popularity of design thinking has also brought challenges. The case of Gainesville, Florida, illustrates how design thinking failed to effectively address deep-seated social issues. Ultimately, the article emphasizes that design can contribute to building a better society, but it must avoid detachment from political and social realities. Participatory design and collaboration with other fields are crucial to truly address 'wicked problems'.

(www.theatlantic.com)

Design design thinking

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