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Milwaukee Police Propose Controversial Facial Recognition Trade

2025-04-28

Milwaukee Police Propose Controversial Facial Recognition Trade

The Milwaukee Police Department is considering trading 2.5 million mugshots for access to Biometrica's facial recognition technology, aiming to boost crime-solving efficiency. While officials claim it won't be used alone for probable cause, activists and residents raise concerns about privacy violations, increased surveillance, and potential access by federal agencies. The department hasn't finalized any agreement and promises further public discussion. Debates center on the technology's inherent biases, potential misuse, and the lack of clear protections against federal access, despite assurances from the police. A commissioner even shared a personal anecdote of experiencing bias from facial recognition technology.

(www.jsonline.com)

Tech

Type-safe Packed Data in Haskell: A Library Approach

2025-04-28

This blog post summarizes a paper to be presented at ECOOP 2025, introducing a Haskell library for type-safe and portable support of packed data. The library uses Template Haskell to generate code for packing, unpacking, and traversing packed data without requiring compiler modifications. Benchmarks show some speed improvements, but also reveal computational overhead from the monadic approach. Future work focuses on generating C code for performance optimization.

(arthi-chaud.github.io)

Development packed data

The Amazing Art Forgeries in Basquiat

2025-04-28

The Amazing Art Forgeries in Basquiat

To accurately portray the artist's works, the production team of the film Basquiat went to great lengths. Julian Schnabel, actor Jeffrey Wright, and a scenic artist collaborated to create Basquiat's forgeries. Schnabel also donated many pieces from his own collection, including real Warhols. Most remarkably, they obtained permission from the Picasso family to create a painted copy of Guernica, which was subsequently destroyed according to the agreement, with video documentation provided to the Picasso estate. This demonstrates the production team's meticulous attention to artistic detail.

(www.vanityfair.com)

Misc Art Forgery Picasso

ChatGPT Adds Shopping: Personalized E-commerce Search

2025-04-28

ChatGPT Adds Shopping: Personalized E-commerce Search

OpenAI announced that ChatGPT will soon allow users to buy products directly through the chat interface. This feature, rolling out to all users regardless of login status, redirects shoppers to the merchant's website for checkout. Leveraging ChatGPT's memory of user preferences and web-sourced product reviews, the AI provides personalized recommendations. OpenAI emphasizes that results are organic, not ads or sponsored placements, offering a more conversational and personalized shopping experience based on understanding user reviews and discussions.

(www.wired.com)

Tech AI Shopping

Power Efficiency Showdown: Simulating Voltage Boosting Circuits

2025-04-28

Power Efficiency Showdown: Simulating Voltage Boosting Circuits

This post compares the power efficiency of several voltage boosting circuits using the Lush Projects circuit simulator. Circuits tested include a buck converter, parallel buck converter, serial buck converter, pulsed transformer, and Joule thief. All circuits boosted a 5V DC input to a stable 10V output, measured across a 1kΩ resistor load. The parallel buck converter proved most efficient (92.73%), followed by the serial (91.32%) and standard buck converter (88.43%). The pulsed transformer was least efficient (73.85%), while the Joule thief lagged far behind at only 22%. The author discusses component choices (capacitors, resistors, MOSFETs) and their impact on efficiency.

(blog.georgovassilis.com)

Hardware voltage boosting circuit simulation

ELK is Outdated? GreptimeDB: The Next-Gen Cloud-Native Log Storage Solution

2025-04-28

ELK is Outdated? GreptimeDB: The Next-Gen Cloud-Native Log Storage Solution

With the explosive growth of log data, the traditional ELK architecture reveals problems such as high storage costs, severe resource waste, and complex maintenance. This article introduces GreptimeDB, a cloud-native database that uses a storage-compute separation architecture, offering advantages such as high compression rates, lightweight design, and easy maintenance. It demonstrates the complete process of log collection, storage, parsing, and querying by combining it with Vector, providing a more modern solution for real-time log monitoring and data analysis.

(greptime.com)

Development log storage

Qwen3: A Multi-Lingual LLM with Switchable Thinking Modes

2025-04-28

Qwen3: A Multi-Lingual LLM with Switchable Thinking Modes

Alibaba DAMO Academy released Qwen3, its latest large language model, offering various model sizes with open-sourced weights. Qwen3 features switchable "thinking" and "non-thinking" modes, letting users control reasoning depth and speed based on task complexity. It supports 119 languages and dialects. Enhanced coding and agentic capabilities are also included, along with diverse deployment and development tools.

(qwenlm.github.io)

AI

OnlyFans Takes Down Widevine Decryption Project via DMCA

2025-04-28

Google's Widevine content protection system, used by major platforms like Netflix and OnlyFans, has long been a target for circumvention. OnlyFans recently filed a DMCA takedown notice with GitHub, resulting in the removal of a Widevine decryption project called CDRM-Project. The project contained code and instructions for bypassing Widevine DRM, allowing users to decrypt and play protected OnlyFans content. Despite GitHub's attempts to contact the developers, the entire project and its forks were removed at OnlyFans' request. This highlights the ongoing tension between DRM systems and digital rights protection, sparking debate about whether DRM excessively restricts legitimate users.

(torrentfreak.com)

Tech

DjangoCon EU 2025: Database Optimization and Best Practices

2025-04-28

DjangoCon EU 2025, held in Dublin, Ireland, covered database optimization, best practices, and useful tools. Key takeaways included using BigInt primary keys for performance, `select_for_update` for data consistency, optimizing Postgres indexes with conditional indexes, and `django-auto-prefetch` to reduce database queries. The conference also touched upon performance testing, code style enforcement, and security, such as using the MaxMind database to block malicious users. Attendees shared challenges and solutions encountered while developing with Django, including handling large database tables and designing efficient application architectures.

(www.zachbellay.com)

Development

Winning the Auction, Losing the Game: When to Trust (and When to Defy) the Crowd

2025-04-28

This article explores the interplay between individual decision-making and the wisdom of the crowds. Using the example of an auction for a box, it demonstrates that even with accurate individual judgment, winning a bid doesn't guarantee a correct decision, as you might have outbid a more risk-averse crowd. The author cites Galton's ox weight estimation experiment, highlighting the accuracy of average group judgment. However, individuals can outperform the crowd under specific conditions: possessing an informational advantage, differing preferences, or unique circumstances. The article concludes by emphasizing that decisions should consider both individual judgment and group behavior, cautioning against acting in isolation.

(www.withentropy.com)

Misc wisdom of crowds decision making

AI Co-design: Building a Super-Dense Electronic Music Compressor in a Day

2025-04-28

The author, who had long wanted to build a super-dense electronic music compressor, used the ChatGPT o3 model to design and prototype the entire system in just one day. Through iterative conversation, they designed a phase-aware spectrogram-based generative model that reconstructs spectrograms from a small number of reusable patterns and a sparse occurrence list. The key is that occurrences are represented by two unit complex numbers whose phases map to continuous coordinates, allowing patterns to be placed anywhere, achieving extremely high compression rates. This experiment demonstrates how AI can accelerate research, turning long-standing ideas into tangible results quickly.

(akuz.me)

Development AI-assisted design electronic music compression

Running Clojure in WASM: A Surprising Journey

2025-04-28

Running Clojure in WASM: A Surprising Journey

GraalVM v25 now supports a WASM backend for Java, enabling Clojure to run in the browser! While still early-stage (no threading or networking), single-threaded Clojure programs compile and run. This post showcases a simple "Hello, World!" example, analyzing WASM binary size and performance. Clojure's WASM output is larger and slower than Java's, but optimization improves speed. It also details Clojure-JavaScript interop using GraalVM's clever bridging techniques. The surprising finding? Native image execution often outperforms WASM.

(romanliutikov.com)

Development

The 'Incentives' Excuse: Why Blaming the System for Bad Science Won't Cut It

2025-04-28

The 'Incentives' Excuse: Why Blaming the System for Bad Science Won't Cut It

This article critiques the common practice in science of blaming 'incentives' for unethical behavior. The author argues that scientists often use 'incentives' as an excuse to avoid responsibility for actions like p-hacking and selective reporting. Nine arguments are presented against this justification, highlighting how it excuses any behavior, ignores moral and long-term responsibilities, and ultimately fails to change the system, potentially worsening the problem. The article concludes with a call for scientists to take responsibility, adopting a long-term perspective rather than sacrificing scientific integrity for personal gain.

(talyarkoni.org)

Tech scientific ethics research incentives

California High-Speed Rail: A Decade of Delays, a Future Uncertain

2025-04-28

California's high-speed rail project has been plagued by delays and controversies since its inception. Insufficient initial funding, coupled with shifting political priorities and bureaucratic hurdles, has led to slow progress and ballooning costs. While sections in the Central Valley are nearing completion, the extension to Los Angeles and San Francisco remains heavily reliant on securing substantial additional funding. The project's future hinges not only on engineering challenges but also on the political will and economic feasibility of completing this ambitious undertaking.

(asteriskmag.com)

Tech

From Bevy to Unity: A Game Dev's Engine Migration Tale

2025-04-28

From Bevy to Unity: A Game Dev's Engine Migration Tale

The author initially used Rust and the Bevy engine to develop the game "Architect of Ruin." However, due to challenges in collaboration, insufficient abstraction levels, high migration costs due to frequent engine updates, and low AI-assisted development efficiency, they eventually switched to Unity and C# in January 2025. After a three-day experimental port, they found that Unity offered significant advantages in collaboration, rapid iteration, and leveraging a mature ecosystem, leading to a full migration. Although the migration process was challenging, it ultimately significantly improved development efficiency and brought new momentum to game development.

(deadmoney.gg)

Game technology choice

Relational Graph Transformers: Unleashing AI's Potential in Relational Databases

2025-04-28

Relational Graph Transformers: Unleashing AI's Potential in Relational Databases

Traditional machine learning struggles to fully capture the valuable insights hidden in the complex relationships between tables within enterprise data. Relational Graph Transformers (RGTs) represent a breakthrough, treating relational databases as interconnected graphs, eliminating the need for extensive feature engineering and complex data pipelines. RGTs significantly improve the efficiency and accuracy of AI in extracting intelligence from business data, showing immense potential in applications like customer analytics, recommendation systems, fraud detection, and demand forecasting. They offer a powerful new tool for both data scientists and business leaders.

(kumo.ai)

AI Relational Graph Transformers Relational Databases

Why Momentum Really Works: A Deep Dive into Gradient Descent Acceleration

2025-04-28

Why Momentum Really Works: A Deep Dive into Gradient Descent Acceleration

This article delves into the mechanics of momentum in optimization algorithms. By analyzing convex quadratic functions, it reveals how momentum accelerates gradient descent and explains the underlying mathematical principles. The article also explores the limitations of momentum and its combination with stochastic gradient descent, offering insights into future research directions. Using clear language and concrete examples like polynomial regression and image colorization, the article provides a comprehensive understanding of momentum's principles and applications, suitable for readers interested in optimization algorithms.

(distill.pub)

Development momentum

GitHub Pages: The Best Platform for Free Open Source Software in 2025

2025-04-28

Want to share your software for free? The best approach in 2025 is deploying static HTML and JavaScript to GitHub Pages. WebAssembly now allows for client-side applications in languages like Python. GitHub Pages offers a free, stable platform with a 17+ year history of uninterrupted service, surpassing previously reliable options like Heroku, whose free tier was discontinued in 2022 by Salesforce. Choose an open-source license and provide an accessible link to ensure your work benefits everyone.

(simonwillison.net)

Development

Heart Rate Zone Tracker: Master Your Cardiovascular Training

2025-04-28

Heart Rate Zone Tracker: Master Your Cardiovascular Training

This isn't just another fitness tracker; it's a focused app designed to help you understand your cardiovascular training through heart rate zone analytics. Track your time spent in each heart rate zone daily, weekly, monthly, and more. Set personalized goals, choose from various scientifically-backed methods to calculate your maximum heart rate, and visualize your progress with intuitive charts. The app supports dark and light modes and prioritizes your privacy by keeping your health data securely on your device. Ideal for runners, cyclists, swimmers, and anyone training with heart rate zones.

(apps.apple.com)

Tech heart rate tracking cardiovascular training

Generating Mazes in Haskell with Inductive Graphs

2025-04-28

This article details how the author generates mazes using the Haskell programming language and inductive graphs. The author first introduces the maze generation algorithm, a randomized depth-first search (DFS), then explains how to represent and traverse graphs using inductive graphs in Haskell. The article thoroughly explains the concept and usage of inductive graphs, providing code examples using the fgl library to implement randomized DFS. Finally, the author shows how to draw the generated maze and suggests further improvements and extensions, such as using different graph algorithms or shapes to generate mazes.

(jelv.is)

Development Maze Generation

The Rise and Fall of AI-Powered Outbound Marketing

2025-04-28

AI-powered tools are revolutionizing outbound marketing, enabling hyper-personalized campaigns at scale. However, this very scalability could lead to user fatigue and diminishing returns. The author predicts that businesses with strong existing distribution channels and established user relationships will thrive. Word-of-mouth marketing and community building will become crucial competitive advantages, while reliance on AI-driven paid acquisition will wane.

(rnikhil.com)

Startup AI marketing outbound marketing user relationships

Startup Exploitation: 11 Months of Pain and Lessons Learned

2025-04-28

Startup Exploitation: 11 Months of Pain and Lessons Learned

A young developer's advisory role at a startup quickly turns into a cautionary tale of exploitation and disillusionment. Fixr, a car repair platform, had languished for three years with no traction, despite burning through funding. The author poured immense effort into the project, only to discover internal conflict, incompetent founders, and manipulative equity dealings. After 11 months, he left, gaining valuable lessons about startup red flags and the importance of due diligence.

(blog.jacobstechtavern.com)

Development Career

Revisiting Earthsea: A Stunning Illustrated Edition of a Classic Fantasy Series

2025-04-28

Revisiting Earthsea: A Stunning Illustrated Edition of a Classic Fantasy Series

The author rereads Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea cycle in a new, fully illustrated omnibus edition featuring art by the beloved Charles Vess. This massive volume includes all six novels, along with short stories and afterwords. While praising the beautiful artwork, the author expresses some reservations about its style compared to Vess's other works. The large page size and slightly small font size present minor reading inconveniences, but overall the experience is positive. The author finds the Earthsea books as compelling as ever, particularly highlighting the dark and brutal nature of *Tehanu*. This new edition offers a fresh appreciation for this classic fantasy world, showcasing Le Guin's masterful world-building and character development.

(lars.ingebrigtsen.no)

Game Fantasy Fiction Illustrated Edition

OpenAI's $125B Fantasy: A Warning Sign of a Tech Bubble

2025-04-28

OpenAI's $125B Fantasy: A Warning Sign of a Tech Bubble

This article challenges OpenAI's revenue projections, arguing that its $125 billion forecast is overly optimistic and lacks realistic grounding. The author points out that OpenAI's agent products are immature, and its revenue predictions rely on SoftBank's massive investment and yet-to-be-developed "new products." The author criticizes the media's blind optimism towards OpenAI and points out that the generative AI industry as a whole is poorly profitable, with market size far from expectations. The article also analyzes the decline of Google Search functionality and how the hype around generative AI masks its limitations, and predicts that the bubble is about to burst, potentially leading to massive layoffs and industry upheaval.

(www.wheresyoured.at)

Tech

Pale Blue Dot: Insignificance and Grandeur in the Cosmos

2025-04-28

Pale Blue Dot: Insignificance and Grandeur in the Cosmos

In 1990, Voyager 1 captured the iconic "Pale Blue Dot" image, showcasing Earth's insignificance in the vastness of space. This sparked reflection on humanity's existential meaning, contrasting with the awe-inspiring "Earthrise" photo from Apollo 8 in 1968. "Pale Blue Dot" evokes both wonder and a sense of cosmic insignificance, echoing Pascal's terror of the infinite silent spaces. The article explores the origins of this feeling, examining philosophical perspectives (like Pascal's ideas) and cognitive limitations of human perception. Ultimately, it argues that while Earth appears insignificant on a cosmic scale, the discovery of other conscious life in the universe could redefine its meaning.

(aeon.co)

Misc Perception

arXivLabs: Experimenting with Community Collaboration

2025-04-28

arXivLabs is a framework for developing and sharing new arXiv features directly on the website, fostering collaboration between individuals and organizations. All participants uphold arXiv's values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. Got an idea to improve the arXiv community? Learn more about arXivLabs.

(arxiv.org)

Development

Silicon Valley's Secret Power Plays: How Encrypted Group Chats Shaped American Politics

2025-04-28

Silicon Valley's Secret Power Plays: How Encrypted Group Chats Shaped American Politics

This article exposes a hidden network of power built by Silicon Valley elites through encrypted group chats (like Signal and WhatsApp), playing a crucial role in shaping American politics, particularly the alliance between the tech world and the right wing. Led by Marc Andreessen, tech moguls discuss politics, strategies, and even influence mainstream opinion in these private chats. These chats once propelled support for Trump, but internal rifts have emerged with shifting political landscapes, reflecting the complex dynamics of American politics and the tech sector.

(www.semafor.com)

Tech

Sim Studio: A Powerful Platform for Agentic Workflows

2025-04-28

Sim Studio: A Powerful Platform for Agentic Workflows

Sim Studio is a powerful, user-friendly platform for building, testing, and optimizing agentic workflows. It offers both cloud-hosted and self-hosting options. Self-hosting is supported via Docker, with detailed instructions provided for setup using Docker Compose. The platform also integrates with local models, offering options for CPU and GPU usage. Development is streamlined with VS Code Remote Containers and npm. The project is open-source under the Apache License 2.0 and welcomes contributions.

(github.com)

Development Agentic Workflows

operative.sh: Autonomous Web App Debugging with MCP Server

2025-04-28

operative.sh: Autonomous Web App Debugging with MCP Server

operative.sh introduces MCP Server, a tool leveraging a browser-based agent to autonomously debug web applications directly within your code editor. The 'Cursor agent' executes and debugs code, providing detailed reports including network traffic, console logs, and a chronological timeline. After installing and obtaining a free API key, developers can automate their debugging workflow, significantly boosting efficiency. Supports macOS, Linux, and Windows.

(github.com)

Development Automated Debugging Code Testing

China's Clinical Trial Boom: A Case Study in Regulatory Reform

2025-04-28

China's Clinical Trial Boom: A Case Study in Regulatory Reform

China's pharmaceutical industry is undergoing a dramatic transformation, with a massive surge in clinical trials in recent years. This explosion is attributed to government reforms that have lowered barriers to market entry, streamlined approval processes, and accelerated drug development. Compared to the U.S., China's clinical trials are faster and cheaper, attracting significant international investment and fueling a biotech boom. This success story offers valuable lessons for other countries, highlighting the crucial role of streamlined regulation and efficiency in driving pharmaceutical innovation.

(www.asimov.press)

Tech pharmaceutical development China reform

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