Links for 2023-08-17
“Why does RL need large-scale computing resources? Spoiler: it can get by with a lot less! Stanford's Madrona project is an ECS-based game engine that runs 10,000s of environments in parallel on a single GPU, reducing training from hours to minutes.” https://madrona-engine.github.io/
“New research from Meta AI — Shepherd is a language model specifically tuned to critique model responses & suggest refinements. It goes beyond the capabilities of untuned models to identify diverse errors & suggest improvements.” https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.04592
“Just like the microchip brought the marginal cost of compute to zero, and the Internet brought the marginal cost of distribution to zero, generative AI promises to bring the marginal cost of creation to zero” https://a16z.com/2023/08/03/the-economic-case-for-generative-ai-and-foundation-models/
How AI is helping airlines mitigate the climate impact of contrails https://blog.google/technology/ai/ai-airlines-contrails-climate-change/
Google launches Project IDX, a new AI-enabled browser-based development environment https://idx.dev/
“The greatest irony in science is that peer review would not survive peer review.” https://twitter.com/mbeisen/status/1687589984445071360
“A new study of ~170 replication attempts of psychology studies. About 50% replicated, and particularly NOT those in social psychology. A joke field with rampant political bias, and less than 50% chance of what you are reading is even true to begin with.” — Emil O W Kirkegaard https://psyarxiv.com/dpyn6
“Investigations suggest that, in some fields, at least one-quarter of clinical trials might be problematic or even entirely made up, warn some researchers. They urge stronger scrutiny.” https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02299-w
Of course it matters whether group differences are genetic in origin https://www.emilkirkegaard.com/p/of-course-it-matters-whether-group
Crime is so bad near San Francisco Federal building that employees are told to work from home. https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/drugs-crime-nancy-pelosi-federal-building-18292237.php
“China started to build a runway on Triton, the closest to Vietnam of all Chinese outposts in SCS. China seized the island from South Vietnam in 1974. Triton is closer to Vietnam's coast than China's Hainan Island coast.” https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/runway-being-built-on-chinas-closest-island-outpost-to-vietnam
Secretive Taiwanese Cruise Missile Able To Strike Deep In China May Have Broken Cover https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/secretive-taiwanese-cruise-missile-able-to-strike-deep-in-china-may-have-broken-cover
Emergency department visits and hospitalizations for suicide and suicidal ideation for kids are highly seasonal. For many kids, school is bad enough that they actually want to die.
Source: https://twitter.com/cremieuxrecueil/status/1691637825018462657
Ukraine links:
180,000 Tungsten balls hit a Russian training ground (at 1:16) https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1691832218258202872
"Russian Colonel Shuvalov discussing the effect of the Ukrainian cluster munitions and how the Russian equivalents are not nearly as good if exist at all, showing how Shoygu's threats are empty." https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1692075250308022555
“Look at the massive disparity in visually confirmed artillery losses. Seeing it plotted on the map really adds further emphasis, rather than just in list format. Ukrainian counter fire is significantly more effective.” https://twitter.com/ColbyBadhwar/status/1691936947244081197
“…the Clinton administration’s approach is even blunter: Washington will not discuss anything with Kyiv until Ukraine gives up its Soviet-inherited nuclear arsenal: 176 intercontinental ballistic missiles, able to carry 1,272 nuclear warheads and 2,500 tactical nuclear weapons. True, Ukraine cannot actually fire them: all the control systems are located in Russia. But Clinton and his diplomats echo the same mantra: any economic aid to Ukraine is contingent on all nuclear weapons being relocated to Russia. Kravchuk tries to resist, demanding compensation and security guarantees, in return. In the end, Kravchuk gets the promises he wants.” https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2023/08/war-and-punishment.html
“What a lot of people don't seem to understand: Ukraine has made the choice to go "heads on" with the Russian military: Biggest protected axes, no surprise anymore, Russia knows where they are... And still Ukraine is gaining ground...” https://twitter.com/GeoConfirmed/status/1691818302442529222
“When the sun sets and the air cools, sappers launch drones with thermal imaging. They immediately notice the mines scattered by the occupiers. Immediately after that, they are blown up with special projectiles.” https://twitter.com/front_ukrainian/status/1691486569520148484