Pentagon is building a vast network of AI drones, and autonomous systems https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/pentagon-plans-vast-ai-fleet-to-counter-china-threat-4186a186 [https://archive.ph/W3OVR]
Leveraging vision-language models for segmenting images at any desired granularity https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.03179
AI systems can be deceptive. For example, Meta's AI that plays Diplomacy was designed to build trust and cooperate with humans, but deception emerged as an subgoal instead. https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.14752
“Music Creation Has Never Been Easier: Explore a vast library of 100+ AI voice models and create song covers with your favorite AI vocals in just one click. Spark your imaginative flair and ignite your passion for music creation.” https://singify.fineshare.com/
Cognitive Architectures for Language Agents https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.02427
High-Dimensional Data Analysis: The Curses and Blessings of Dimensionality https://dl.icdst.org/pdfs/files/236e636d7629c1a53e6ed4cce1019b6e.pdf (“The "curse of dimensionality" has turned out to be a misnomer, as neural networks are trainable only due to the counterintuitive behavior of billion-dimensional spaces. Maybe time to be renamed to "gift of dimensionality".” — Greg Brockman)
Lockheed Martin's DRACO nuclear thermal rocket: A demonstration flight is set for 2027. Eventually, it will propel missions to the Moon and Mars. https://youtu.be/LSIlLUKiiGE
Device offers long-distance, low-power underwater communication https://news.mit.edu/2023/devices-offers-battery-free-underwater-communication-0906
“We're not talking enough about how much China is benefitting from the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. The US is going to lose to China, very badly, if American leaders continue to make national security decisions based on emotion and domestic political considerations.” https://twitter.com/SimoneLedeen/status/1679877315163987973
The Slow and Steady Demise of South Africa — “Opulent Art Deco facades are crumbling while homeless people are living in abandoned offices and skyscrapers, cooking over open fires…Large sections of the city lie in complete darkness at night, the result of widespread power outages and because the streetlights on major arterials have all been stripped of anything of value. Hundreds of trains sit motionless outside the train station, rusting away. Rail travel in the city has collapsed.” https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/gangs-corruption-and-collapse-the-slow-and-steady-demise-of-south-africa-a-7ed1fcd1-a2e8-446a-9ff9-074718215281
Boiteux's reactor fleet (plus a few more units after his retirement) cost about $150 billion. Compare this to Germany spending about $500 billion on their mess of an "energy transition" which requires them to keep almost all of their coal and gas plants in service.
— Mark Nelson, https://twitter.com/energybants/status/1700882584287223909
Ukraine links:
“Ukrainian forces are cracking the Russian defense lines step by step. They drive a chisel into the lines and then widen the rift by moving into the flanks. This might not look fast, but it is how you break defense networks and it is working. This is, however, not even the most important news.” https://twitter.com/Tendar/status/1700943531982876803
Germany strapped in for the long haul: “Brigadier General Christian Freuding gives a clear message on his visit to Ukraine: We are ready and prepared for a long-lasting war. The aid to Ukraine is already financially secured until 2032!” https://twitter.com/deaidua/status/1700890207543755208
“I would like to congratulate the RU 1430th mobilized regiment on their new T-55 tanks.” https://twitter.com/DefMon3/status/1700996350429868067
Gen. Mark Milley on seeing through the fog of war in Ukraine https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gen-mark-milley-on-seeing-through-the-fog-of-war-in-ukraine/
Mossad director David Barnea says Iran had intentions to provide Russia with short and long-range missiles in addition to the UAVs that it sold. This was foiled, he says. "They have intentions to sell other weapons that will also be foiled. Our fear is that the Russians will transfer advanced weapons to the Iranians in return, which will certainly endanger our peace and maybe even our existence here." https://twitter.com/manniefabian/status/1700870510517624990
“Russia has in no way abandoned its initial plan to install a pro-Russian government in Kyiv…Russia wants to enlist the West to force Kyiv to accept the so-called “peace for territory” swap and to coerce Ukrainians to resign themselves to the amputation of their country. The real scenario in the minds of Russia’s leaders is not the Korean one: for them, a part of Ukraine integrated into the West is unacceptable. The real scenario that inspires them is the Georgian scenario of 2008-9: it consisted in stirring up the bitterness felt by Georgians after the “betrayal” of the West, in twisting the knife in the wound, so as to demoralize them, make them lose heart, make them plunge back into the corruption and cynicism characteristic of the “Russian world” and finally resign themselves to electing a new government that we now know was a government of collaboration.” https://en.desk-russie.eu/2023/09/06/the-second-front.html
On the "Space Race Vs Seattle Race to Build Bus and Bike Lane," perceived existential threats have a way of sharpening the mind. Perhaps we could achieve greater speed and efficiency in public infrastructure construction by making city councils and mayors thinks they are in prestige contests with other metropolitan centers:
"First, I believe that this [city] should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of [building a bus and bike lane from Main to 97th Street]. No single [infrastructure] project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range goal of [getting people from Point A to Point B]; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish. We propose to accelerate the [planning] . We propose to develop [designs] , much [more extensive] than any now being developed, until certain which is superior. We propose additional funds for [grading and concrete laying] which are particularly important for one purpose which this [city] will never overlook: the [ability of a commuter to get from downtown to uptown in one continuous trip without the need for a transfer] . But in a very real sense, it will not be one [one commuter making the trip] -if we make this judgment affirmatively, it will be an entire [city]. For all of us must work to put him there.