Links for 2023-12-16
Just in case you missed it yesterday: DeepMind AI outdoes human mathematicians on unsolved problem. Seems like a big deal: “The FunSearch paper by DeepMind that was used to discover new mathematics is an example of searching through generative patterns and employing evolutionary methods to creatively conjure up new solutions. This is a very general principle that lies at the core of creativity.” https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-04043-w
Modeling Complex Mathematical Reasoning via Large Language Model based MathAgent https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.08926
Various techniques can improve the performance of models after training, with minimal additional computational expense. This paper explores them and introduces the concept of Compute-Equivalent Gains. https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.07413
Steering at the Frontier: Extending the Power of Prompting https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/steering-at-the-frontier-extending-the-power-of-prompting/
GlitchBench: Can large multimodal models detect video game glitches? https://glitchbench.github.io/
Meta’s AI for Ray-Ban smart glasses can identify objects and translate languages https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/12/23998780/ray-ban-smart-glasses-hey-meta-multimodal-ai-features
Meet Ashley, the world's first AI-powered political campaign caller https://www.reuters.com/technology/meet-ashley-worlds-first-ai-powered-political-campaign-caller-2023-12-12/
ByteDance announces StemGen: A music generation model that listens https://huggingface.co/papers/2312.08723
Limits to the Energy Efficiency of CMOS Microprocessors https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.08595
“A new study zoomed in on data that our Cassini spacecraft gathered about the ocean beneath the icy shell of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, and found evidence of a key ingredient for life – and a supercharged source of energy to fuel it.” https://www.nasa.gov/missions/cassini/nasa-study-finds-life-sparking-energy-source-and-molecule-at-enceladus/
GE’s Breakthrough In ‘Detonating’ Hypersonic Propulsion Is A Big Deal https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/ges-breakthrough-in-detonating-hypersonic-propulsion-is-a-big-deal
Political links:
"the max. period of risk of the Chinese military attempting to blockade or invade Taiwan or key disputed territories [is] 2026–2028. Very problematic Chinese capabilities will be largely mature & fielded, but many of the US answers will not be ready yet…In the event of...a military confrontation with China in the mid-to-late 2020s Russia will have a strong incentive to take a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to break NATO...By 2026–28, Russian industry will have been at full-scale mil production for years" https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/europe-must-urgently-prepare-deter-russia-without-large-scale-us-support
"Beijing has poured hundreds of billions of dollars into the Chinese shipbuilding and maritime industries, consolidating power at state-owned enterprises along the way... Unlike the modern Chinese shipyards, America’s facilities look decrepit." https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/12/america-needs-a-bipartisan-shipbuilding-deal/ [https://archive.is/VCi4t]
“The current challenge is to be realistic about Russian capacity in Ukraine without being fatalistic about Ukraine's prospects. This short 24-page paper by Estonia's defence ministry is a welcome effort at setting out a potential strategy.” https://kaitseministeerium.ee/sites/default/files/setting_transatlantic_defence_up_for_success_0.pdf
"Ukraine signs 'dozens' of joint production deals with Western defence firms…Domestic defence output has tripled in 2023, according to the strategic industries ministry, and is expected to increase six times more in 2024." https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/ukraine-signs-dozens-joint-production-deals-with-western-defence-firms-2023-12-15/ [https://archive.is/jY76A]