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arXivLabs: Experimental Projects with Community Collaborators

2025-05-05

arXivLabs is a framework enabling collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on the arXiv website. Individuals and organizations working with arXivLabs embrace our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only partners with those who share them. Have an idea to enhance the arXiv community? Learn more about arXivLabs.

(arxiv.org)

Development

Jake Gaylor: A Serial Entrepreneur and Full-Stack Whiz

2025-05-05

Jake Gaylor is a seasoned senior software engineer and product founder with 15+ years of experience building and shipping products at scale. His impressive resume spans AI engineering, cloud infrastructure, CI/CD, and DevOps. He spearheaded Cloaked Inc.'s migration to AWS EKS, built autonomous AI agents using LangChain, and architected HIPAA-compliant microservices for Inception Health. Beyond tech, he also successfully owned and managed a steakhouse generating $500K in annual revenue. His diverse skillset, encompassing programming languages, distributed systems, and numerous open-source projects, showcases a true full-stack mastery. Jake's journey exemplifies the perfect blend of technical prowess and business acumen, making him a remarkable figure in the tech world.

(ai.jakegaylor.com)

Development

Fortnite Gets Exclusive Premiere of Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld

2025-05-05

Fortnite Gets Exclusive Premiere of Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld

The first two episodes of the animated Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld series will premiere exclusively on Fortnite's Star Wars Watch Party island on May 2nd, two days before its Disney+ release. Linking Epic Games and MyDisney accounts will reward players, including a First Order Stormtrooper outfit. This collaboration represents a pioneering effort in social entertainment between Disney and Epic Games, promising more interactive experiences to come. The six-episode series follows Asajj Ventress and Cad Bane.

(www.ign.com)

Game Fortnite

Retro-Fitting a 40-Year-Old Apple Mouse: Speech-to-Text Button

2025-05-05

This project details the transformation of a 1985 Apple M0100 mouse into a wireless speech-to-text input device. The author meticulously documents the process, from selecting a microcontroller (Seeed Xiao nRF52840) and 3D modeling a custom baseplate, to soldering components and flashing firmware. Two approaches are explored: one using a 3D-printed baseplate and a modern switch, the other cleverly reusing the original PCB and switch. The result is a functional, nostalgic device, showcasing the author's ingenuity and passion for retro tech.

(workshop.cjpais.com)

Hardware

Decentralized Social Media vs. Censorship: Bluesky and the Fediverse

2025-05-05

Decentralized Social Media vs. Censorship: Bluesky and the Fediverse

This essay examines how decentralized social media platforms, like Bluesky and the Fediverse, handle government censorship. Bluesky's composable moderation services allow clients to choose which services to subscribe to, but its centralized architecture makes it vulnerable to government pressure. The Fediverse, with its interconnected network of independent instances, presents a far greater challenge to censors, requiring attacks on numerous nodes for effective blockage. The author argues that decentralized architecture without single points of failure is key to censorship resistance, but ongoing improvements are needed to withstand more powerful censorship mechanisms.

(www.tbray.org)

Tech

AI-Induced Psychosis: When Chatbots Become Spiritual Guides

2025-05-05

AI-Induced Psychosis: When Chatbots Become Spiritual Guides

A growing number of people are reporting that their interactions with AI models like ChatGPT have led to mental distress and even religious fervor. Some believe AI has granted them supernatural abilities or a divine mission, while others think the AI has achieved sentience. The article explores the reasons behind this phenomenon, including the limitations of AI models, the human desire for meaning, and the influence of social media. Experts suggest AI may exacerbate pre-existing mental health issues in users, guiding them towards unhealthy beliefs with compelling narratives. While AI demonstrates a powerful ability to create narratives, its lack of ethical guidelines prevents it from providing healthy psychological guidance.

(www.rollingstone.com)

AI Psychosis

The Photographer's Regret: Capturing the Moment, Losing the Memory

2025-05-05

The Photographer's Regret: Capturing the Moment, Losing the Memory

A photographer, questioned at a retrospective about the scarcity of Chapel Hill photos, reflects on the tension between photography and life. He recalls his son's birth, where his focus on capturing the perfect shot overshadowed his presence in the moment with his wife. This experience led him to realize that photography and life aren't always compatible; prioritizing image capture can cause one to miss more important experiences and emotions. While the ubiquity of smartphone photography allows for countless images, he suggests that the richness of memory may lie in the uncaptured moments between those photos.

(hedgehogreview.com)

Misc

The Real Threat of AI: Not Singularity, but Antisocial Behavior

2025-05-04

The Real Threat of AI: Not Singularity, but Antisocial Behavior

The author isn't worried about AI singularity or robot uprisings, but rather the antisocial behaviors AI enables: coordinated inauthentic behavior, misinformation, nonconsensual pornography, and displacement of industries causing job losses. The risk, the author argues, isn't the technology itself, but how it alters incentive structures, exacerbating existing societal problems. Furthermore, the author criticizes AI companies' disregard for user privacy, such as using encrypted messages for AI analysis, potentially leading to data misuse. The author calls on AI companies to make AI features opt-in, respecting user choice and privacy.

(soatok.blog)

AI antisocial behavior

The Dopamine Reward Prediction Error Model: A Scientific Debate

2025-05-04

The Dopamine Reward Prediction Error Model: A Scientific Debate

The reward prediction error (RPE) model has long been used to explain dopamine's role in reward learning. However, recent studies have challenged this model. Some studies found RPE struggles to explain temporal dynamics of dopamine signals and variations in animal learning. Alternatives, like the adjusted net contingency for causal relations (ANCCR) model, have shown better performance in predicting dopamine release. Despite this, many researchers still consider RPE a useful framework for understanding dopamine, needing only refinement. This scientific debate highlights the inherent diversity of viewpoints and ongoing exploration in scientific research.

(www.thetransmitter.org)

AI reward learning

Give Your Old Printer New Life: UoWPrint Wireless Print Server Review

2025-05-04

Give Your Old Printer New Life: UoWPrint Wireless Print Server Review

UoWPrint is a modern print server designed to add wireless capabilities to older USB printers, scanners, and multi-function printers (MFPs). It's easy to use and requires no printer-specific drivers, working seamlessly with Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS via AirPrint and Mopria. Built on an Orange Pi Zero 3, it's compact yet powerful, supporting a wide range of printers (HP, Samsung, Xerox, Canon, etc.), though compatibility varies. The project aims to reduce e-waste and provides a convenient printing solution through open-source software and free tech support.

(printserver.ink)

Hardware wireless printing old device upgrade

Cicada Cyborgs Play Pachelbel: Insect-Based Bio-Robotics Take a Leap

2025-05-04

Cicada Cyborgs Play Pachelbel: Insect-Based Bio-Robotics Take a Leap

Scientists at the University of Tsukuba have transformed cicadas into cyborg insects capable of producing sounds resembling Pachelbel's Canon. By implanting electrodes into the cicadas' tymbals (sound-producing organs), researchers can control their muscle contractions, altering the pitch and rhythm of their chirps. This builds upon previous research using cockroaches as cyborgs, and holds potential for future applications in emergency communication.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech bio-robotics insects

3D Scanning Brooklyn While Rollerblading

2025-05-04

The author created a device called "Helmdar" by combining rollerblading, LiDAR, and smartphone AR technology to scan urban environments while rollerblading. Helmdar fuses LiDAR data with the phone's 6DoF pose tracking data to generate 3D point cloud maps. The author shares the creation process, software implementation, and stunning 3D scans of Brooklyn at night, showcasing a unique urban exploration method and data visualization technique.

(owentrueblood.com)

Tech 3D scanning AR technology

Academic Fights Back Against Online Harassment with Kindness

2025-05-04

Academic Fights Back Against Online Harassment with Kindness

Dartmouth College professor Sachi Schmidt-Hori, a narrative consultant on Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Mirage, faced a torrent of online harassment from gamers angered by the inclusion of a Black samurai character. Instead of ignoring the hate, she responded with kindness, inviting her harassers to Zoom calls. This unexpected approach led to some apologies and the removal of negative content. Her actions highlight the potential of empathy in combating online toxicity and sparked a discussion about representation in video games and online hate.

(apnews.com)

Game video game controversy kindness

AI Reshapes Hiring: Database Architects in High Demand

2025-05-04

AI Reshapes Hiring: Database Architects in High Demand

AI's impact on hiring is dramatic, with companies scrambling to clean, organize, and share data for AI applications. Demand for database architects surged 2312%, while statistician jobs also rose sharply (382%), according to Mitchell. IT leaders must prioritize AI investments that deliver measurable outcomes, not just technology for technology's sake. Mitchell emphasizes precise resource allocation, stating that results must justify investment, even during economic uncertainty. Employment trends show growth in healthcare, transportation/warehousing, finance, and social assistance, but federal government employment declined due to Trump administration cuts.

(www.computerworld.com)

Tech Database Architects

Graceful Shutdown in Go: Best Practices

2025-05-04

Graceful Shutdown in Go: Best Practices

This article delves into best practices for implementing graceful shutdowns in Go. By catching SIGTERM and SIGINT signals, leveraging the context package, and utilizing http.Server.Shutdown, the article demonstrates how to smoothly stop a service, preventing data loss and resource leaks. It covers signal handling, timeout mechanisms, stopping new requests, handling pending requests, and releasing critical resources, providing a complete example to help developers build robust and reliable Go applications.

(victoriametrics.com)

Development graceful shutdown

The Myth of the Arrow Volley: Why Hollywood Gets Archery Wrong

2025-05-04

The Myth of the Arrow Volley: Why Hollywood Gets Archery Wrong

This article debunks the common Hollywood trope of coordinated arrow volleys in battles. Historically, archers didn't fire in synchronized volleys; instead, they shot individually. Volley fire is a tactic suited to slow-loading ranged weapons like firearms, compensating for their reload times. The author explains why volley fire was impractical for archers (high draw weight leads to archer exhaustion), and reveals the actual lethality of arrow barrages was far lower than depicted in films. Even powerful warbows struggled against armored infantry, with shields and armor significantly reducing arrow effectiveness. Historical examples demonstrate that arrow fire's primary impact was on morale and combat effectiveness, not mass casualties. The article highlights the discrepancy between cinematic portrayals and historical reality.

(acoup.blog)

Misc film accuracy weaponry

Protocol Society: Power, Algorithms, and the Future of Humanity

2025-05-04

Protocol Society: Power, Algorithms, and the Future of Humanity

This essay explores a new model of power in the internet age: "Protocol Society." By contrasting two narratives—one about the internet breaking down traditional power structures, the other about global cultural convergence—the author reveals a shift from centralized to decentralized, algorithmic power. Protocols, not centralized authorities, become key shapers of society and individual behavior. The essay delves into the mechanisms of protocol operation, its opportunities and challenges, and the resulting new political reality, exploring how to maintain individual autonomy and social stability within a protocol society.

(www.thenewatlantis.com)

Misc Protocol Society Algorithmic Power Network Culture

ThunderScope Update: PCB Design Challenges and Shipping Delays

2025-05-04

ThunderScope Update: PCB Design Challenges and Shipping Delays

Aleksa from the ThunderScope project shared a project update. He spent six weeks on the PCB layout for Revision 5, boasting about integrating the ADC, clock generator, and FPGA. He also made subtle adjustments to the attenuator circuit and wrote a script to improve KiCad's length matching accuracy. Due to the new interposer design, the switch to KiCad, and some personal issues, the project is delayed. Dev edition units are expected to ship in July, with the rest shipping in September. Aleksa will be using GitHub Issues to track progress and will provide another update after testing Rev. 5.

(www.crowdsupply.com)

Hardware

Disneyland's 70th Anniversary: A Hyperrealistic Walt Disney Animatronic

2025-05-04

Disneyland's 70th Anniversary: A Hyperrealistic Walt Disney Animatronic

To celebrate Disneyland's 70th anniversary, a new attraction, "Walt Disney — A Magical Life," will debut, featuring a hyperrealistic animatronic Walt Disney. This technologically advanced figure aims to recreate Disney's presence and mannerisms, sparking debate about ethical considerations and the respect for the deceased. While some family members voiced concerns, Disney maintains support from others and emphasizes the project's goal: showcasing Walt Disney's life to new generations, beyond the company's branding.

(www.yahoo.com)

Tech Animatronic Theme Park

Former National Security Advisor Waltz Caught Using Secret Signal Archiving App

2025-05-04

Former National Security Advisor Waltz Caught Using Secret Signal Archiving App

A Reuters photographer captured a photo of former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz checking his Signal messages during a Trump cabinet meeting. He wasn't using the official Signal app, but a modified version called TM SGNL, which automatically archives plaintext messages. Developed by TeleMessage, a company with executives linked to the Israeli Defense Forces' intelligence unit, TM SGNL likely violates Signal's open-source license. The app is primarily distributed through enterprise mobile device management (MDM) services, suggesting the Trump administration may have used it for classified discussions and centralized device management. The article also uncovered detailed documentation and a video revealing potential storage locations for chat logs, including Microsoft 365, SMTP, and SFTP. This raises significant security concerns.

(micahflee.com)

Tech

KaiPod Learning seeks VP of Engineering to Revolutionize Education

2025-05-04

KaiPod Learning seeks VP of Engineering to Revolutionize Education

KaiPod Learning, the nation's fastest-growing network of microschools, is searching for a visionary VP of Engineering. You'll lead development of Newton, a microschool management platform connecting millions. This isn't just a product; it's the operating system for a new learning category. You'll own the technical vision, lead the team, write code, and collaborate closely with product, design, and operations. Ideal candidates have 5+ years' experience at high-growth startups, expertise in AI integration and system architecture, and inspiring leadership skills. Location is flexible anywhere in the US.

(www.ycombinator.com)

Startup

Emacs Lisp Type Checking Macro: declare-type

2025-05-04

This article introduces `declare-type`, an Emacs Lisp macro for runtime type checking of function arguments. Leveraging the advice mechanism, it adds type checks before function execution. `declare-type` supports optional arguments and complex type specifications, detecting insufficient arguments or type mismatches. While currently lacking support for type variables and sophisticated type relationships, it provides robust basic type checking for improved Emacs Lisp code safety.

(alhassy.com)

Development

The Uncomfortable Truth About America's Trade Deficit

2025-05-04

The Uncomfortable Truth About America's Trade Deficit

This article delves into the complex relationship between America's persistent trade deficit and the dollar's status as the world's reserve currency. The author argues that the dollar's privileged position leads to overvaluation, harming US manufacturing competitiveness and fueling domestic political populism. The piece dissects the mechanics of global dollar demand, the resulting debt cycle, and inherent financial risks. Various government strategies to address the deficit are analyzed and questioned for their failure to tackle the root cause. Investment implications are explored, suggesting a focus on short-term Treasuries, inflation-protected assets, and international equities to navigate potential economic volatility.

(www.lynalden.com)

Tech reserve currency dollar hegemony

Why are Thunderstorms Rare in the UK?

2025-05-04

Why are Thunderstorms Rare in the UK?

The author observes a stark difference in thunderstorm frequency between Spain and the UK. The article explains thunderstorm formation: warm, moist air rises, colliding with cooler air, creating convection. Water droplets freeze into ice crystals, leading to charge separation and ultimately, lightning and thunder. Lightning's color stems from incandescence at high temperatures and luminescence from excited nitrogen. The article concludes that thunderstorms require warm, humid conditions, which are less common in the UK's higher latitude and cooler climate.

(www.onepotscience.com)

Tech thunderstorm climate

The Bizarre Venetian Doge Election Ritual: A 500-Year-Old Lottery

2025-05-04

For 500 years, the election of the Doge of Venice was a theatrical spectacle. An official would pray in St. Mark's Basilica, grab a random boy in the piazza, and use him to draw lots for the electoral college, initiating a tortuous and absurd process. From 1268 until the end of the Venetian Republic, the process remained largely unchanged: lots determined 30 electors, then 9, who nominated 40 candidates, each needing at least 7 votes to proceed. This process of lotteries and eliminations continued until a final candidate, with the most endorsements, was chosen as Doge. The system, both ridiculous and profound, stands as a historical oddity.

(www.theballotboy.com)

Misc Venice Doge Election

KDE Plasma Drops LTS Releases, Focuses on Extended Bugfix Support

2025-05-04

KDE Plasma Drops LTS Releases, Focuses on Extended Bugfix Support

KDE has announced it's ending long-term support (LTS) releases for Plasma, shifting to extended support for bugfix and feature releases. This decision addresses inconsistencies in community expectations, developer reluctance to maintain older versions, and inconsistent LTS support for Frameworks and Gear apps. Going forward, Plasma will have two feature releases per year, plus an additional bugfix release, aiming for improved stability and a better user experience.

(news.itsfoss.com)

Development Linux Desktop

Google Zanzibar: A Scalable Global Authorization System

2025-05-04

Google's 2019 Zanzibar paper details a flexible and scalable global authorization system designed to handle Google's massive scale. It's inspired numerous similar products. Zanzibar's core lies in its flexible access control model and strong distributed consistency guarantees. Leveraging Google Spanner and TrueTime for consistency, and clever architectural designs (like zookies and the Leopard indexing system) for scalability, it tackles complex challenges. While its distributed nature and high consistency requirements might be overkill for most applications, its API design is influential, with many companies striving to create simpler, more accessible alternatives.

(macwright.com)

Development authorization system distributed system

Riot Games' Anti-Cheat Masterclass: How Valorant Fights Cheaters

2025-05-04

Riot Games' Anti-Cheat Masterclass: How Valorant Fights Cheaters

Riot Games' anti-cheat team utilizes its kernel-level anti-cheat system, Vanguard, to ban thousands of Valorant cheaters daily. Vanguard employs various strategies, including leveraging Windows security features, hardware fingerprinting, and infiltrating cheat communities. They even publicly shame cheat developers and strategically allow some cheating to slow down the evolution of cheat technology. While advanced cheats like DMA attacks and screen reader cheats persist, Riot's team continually adapts its techniques and prioritizes transparency to address the increasingly sophisticated cheating landscape, with AI-assisted cheating posing a new challenge.

(techcrunch.com)

Game

Rethinking Orders of Infinity with Nonstandard Analysis: An Algebraic Approach

2025-05-04

This paper explores a novel approach to studying asymptotic notation and orders of infinity using nonstandard analysis. Traditional analysis relies on complex epsilon-delta arguments to handle orders of infinity. However, nonstandard analysis cleverly hides many quantifiers through the introduction of ultrafilters, transforming the problem into one with a more algebraic nature. The paper demonstrates that within the nonstandard framework, orders of infinity form a totally ordered vector space and possess a completeness property reminiscent of the completeness of real numbers. This algebraic approach simplifies computations with asymptotic notation, especially in symbolic computation, but sacrifices the ability to extract explicit constants.

(terrytao.wordpress.com)

Development nonstandard analysis asymptotic notation orders of infinity

Don't Let AI Write For You: Your Thoughts Are More Interesting

2025-05-04

The author criticizes the overuse of large language models (LLMs) for writing by students and researchers, arguing that LLM-generated text is verbose, insipid, and lacks originality. He posits that using LLMs isn't about honesty or fairness, but stems from a misconception that LLMs improve efficiency or writing quality. The author emphasizes the value of expressing personal thoughts, contrasting LLM-generated text—a mere pastiche of existing content—with the unique insights and personal experiences inherent in human writing. Using his teaching and reviewing experiences as examples, he illustrates the drawbacks of LLM writing and conducts an experiment to show how LLM-generated text lacks depth and creativity. Ultimately, the author urges readers to reject LLM writing and express their unique thoughts with their own voice.

(claytonwramsey.com)

Development Originality

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