Links for 2024-01-04
AI:
A robot that can learn to autonomously complete complex mobile manipulation tasks with just 50 demonstrations! A huge step towards actually useful home robots! And it’s low-cost and open-source! https://mobile-aloha.github.io/
JPMorgan announces DocLLM: A layout-aware generative language model for multimodal document understanding https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.00908
No, GPT4 can't ace MIT https://flower-nutria-41d.notion.site/No-GPT4-can-t-ace-MIT-b27e6796ab5a48368127a98216c76864 [try this archived version if the site loads too slow: https://archive.is/dVmGL]
Stuxnet, not Skynet: Humanity's disempowerment by AI https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/tyE4orCtR8H9eTiEr/stuxnet-not-skynet-humanity-s-disempowerment-by-ai
aisafety.info — Answering questions about AI Safety https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ZqxP6pJe53xRnRb4j/aisafety-info-the-table-of-content
Roman Yampolskiy & Robin Hanson Discuss AI Risk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUfw7V_Wy4Y
Daniel Dennett agrees with Douglas Hofstadter, is “very distressed” by AI https://twitter.com/AISafetyMemes/status/1741562666794041732
P=NP Implies What About AI? AI Implies What About P=NP? https://rjlipton.wpcomstaging.com/2023/12/31/things-we-did-not-know-how-to-compute/
Science and Technology:
Mechanism decoded: how synapses are formed https://leibniz-fmp.de/newsroom/news/detail/mechanism-decoded-how-synapses-are-formed-1
Bats are the longest-lived mammal for their size. The energetic needs of having to fly means they can exert control over body metabolism and inflammation, with a resistance to diseases that also make them one of the biggest living reservoirs of viruses. https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7341951/
“Livers are pure magic. Despite being the organ with one of the highest proliferative capacities, liver cancer is *exceedingly* rare (relative to other organs) and unless you have cirhosis / steatosis.” https://twitter.com/LNuzhna/status/1742635316434096252
SpaceX Launches Starlink Direct to Phone Satellites https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/03/spacex-launches-first-batch-of-direct-to-cell-starlink-satellites-for-testing-this-year/
SpaceX is aiming to launch 12 launches per month this year. https://twitter.com/TurkeyBeaver/status/1742524679091269656
Miscellaneous:
Harvard CS50 (2023) – Full Computer Science University Course https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfaMVlDaQ24
The Internet is old enough now that we can learn how people experienced the unfolding of historical events. In this case the 2007–2008 financial crisis: “I am just starting to be scared so that I won't tell my wife what happened today...stocks down...bonds down...I'm down. Our retirement funds are sucking down the drain.” https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25126
Politics:
“We Were Once Masters of the Air: It’s High Time to Restore US Air Power.” https://www.vermilionchina.com/p/we-were-once-masters-of-the-air
Preparing for a Long War With China https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/united-states-big-one-krepinevich [https://archive.is/0Wo5G]
Revitalizing US Navy Shipbuilding: “A look at what makes for productive shipyards and what the US Navy can do to improve output within the current political constraints and without breaking the budget.” https://austinvernon.site/blog/navyshipbuilding.html
"Russia and China together have around 5,020 land-based air-defense missile systems, compared with around 3,200 fielded by the U.S., Europe and Japan combined, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies" https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/missiles-demand-threats-wait-to-buy-them-is-years-long-3332c151 [https://archive.is/8FXrT]
The NATO Support and Procurement Agency has awarded COMLOG, a joint venture between Raytheon & MBDA Germany, with a contract for up to 1000 Patriot GEM-T missiles. https://www.nspa.nato.int/news/2024/nspa-supports-a-coalition-of-nato-nations-with-contract-for-patriot-missiles
Container shipping rates spike as Red Sea crisis draws first blood https://www.freightwaves.com/news/container-shipping-rates-spike-as-red-sea-crisis-draws-first-blood
Ukraine:
19 years ago, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with a German newspaper that it would be absolutely fine for Ukraine to join NATO. https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/handelsblatt-interview-mit-aussenminister-lawrow-russland-oeffnet-ukraine-den-weg-in-die-nato/2460820.html
Putin in 2008 in an Interview with a German public broadcaster: “Crimea is not a disputed territory. There was no ethnic conflict there, unlike the conflict between South Ossetia and Georgia. Russia has long since recognized the current borders of what is now Ukraine.” https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/putininterview-ts-104.html
In 2014, John McCain predicted Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. https://twitter.com/P_Kallioniemi/status/1671537649876647938
US might scrap, at large expense to itself, ATACMS missiles that have reached expiry but could still be used by Ukraine to hit back at Russia. https://www.newsweek.com/us-atacms-missiles-cluster-munitions-expiry-date-1857108
Ukrainian SSO attacked a Russia ZALA command unit in occupied Tokmak, Zaporizhzia https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1742539870973690076
The White House on Wednesday said there is no more money to ship military support to Ukraine until Congress passes Biden’s spending plan. https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/ukraine-situation-report-u-s-aid-funds-have-run-out