Links for 2024-02-08
AI:
“It is an amazing time to work in the cognitive science of language. Here are a few remarkable recent results, many of which highlight ways in which the critiques of LLMs (especially from generative linguistics!) have totally fallen to pieces.” https://x.com/spiantado/status/1755293775197548789
“Computer scientist Joon Sung Park introduces a new way of simulating human behavior called "generative agents." Like in the video game "The Sims," these agents — trained on AI to develop a stream of memories — notice each other, initiate conversations, form opinions and plan ahead. Park shows how these simulacra could open up new opportunities to study human behavior and test out things like social policies.” https://www.ted.com/talks/joon_sung_park_a_simulation_of_human_reality_powered_by_ai
“OpenAI developing software that operates devices, automates tasks: Microsoft-backed OpenAI is developing a type of agent software designed to automate complex tasks by taking control of a user's device. These tasks include web-based activities like collecting public data about companies, creating itineraries, or booking flight tickets. These new assistants, often referred to as "agents," are expected to handle more intricate personal and work-related tasks with minimal human supervision. As of now, OpenAI has not responded to requests for comment on this matter.” https://www.reuters.com/technology/openai-developing-software-that-operates-devices-automates-tasks-information-2024-02-07/ [https://archive.is/BtsCg]
Meta presents Diffusion World Model: DWM significantly surpasses one-step dynamics models with a 44% performance gain, and achieves SotA performance. https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.03570
Protein language models learn evolutionary statistics of interacting sequence motifs https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.01.30.577970v1
MobileDiffusion: Rapid text-to-image generation on-device https://blog.research.google/2024/01/mobilediffusion-rapid-text-to-image.html
Palantir shares rocket 30% after revenue beat, strong demand for AI https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/06/palantir-shares-rocket-25percent-after-revenue-beat-strong-demand-for-ai.html
P.S. In 2020, I asked whether Nvidia could become the most valuable company in the world: https://x.com/XiXiDu/status/1292482290103328768
Biosafety:
Engineering stringent genetic biocontainment of yeast with a protein stability switch https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-44988-8
Fail-safe genetic codes designed to intrinsically contain engineered organisms https://academic.oup.com/nar/article/47/19/10439/5568210
Psychology:
Group prejudice only arises when stakes get high: "perceived [infectious] disease risk was significantly lower from ingroup members than from outgroup members in high-risk conditions but did not significantly differ in low-risk conditions" https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/risa.14183
A Guide for the Hereditarian Revolution: How to win the elites and create a better world https://ncofnas.com/p/a-guide-for-the-hereditarian-revolution
“Some intelligence can be learnt, through useful and general patterns. Example: Intentional Hyper-correction” https://twitter.com/Gabe_cc/status/1753019675137413620
91.6% of Americans wear their seatbelt. 50% of car accident deaths are from the remaining 8.4% who don't wear their seatbelt. https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle-safety/seat-belts
Politics:
U.S. nears half of global stock market cap as Alibaba, Tencent falter. Chinese tech groups have fallen out of the world's 10 most valuable companies. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Markets/U.S.-nears-half-of-global-stock-market-cap-as-Alibaba-Tencent-falter
“Footage from Baghdad suggests the US drone strike that killed 3 people with Kataib Hezbollah hit precisely the car they were traveling in, on a busy Baghdad street, but caused no other damage.” https://twitter.com/LizSly/status/1755347980721283529
“Lankford: I had a popular commentator that told me flat out, if you try to move a bill that solves the border crisis during this presidential year, I will do whatever I can to destroy you. Because I do not want you to solve this during the presidential election.” https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1755297920847429720
You better start building your own nuclear triad ASAP. Many people like Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson are working hard to destroy Pax Americana. And, as a German, I strongly advise against trusting Germany to come to your aid.
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
Ukraine:
Ukraine's military faces a critical shortage of infantry, impacting morale as Russia intensifies attacks. Soldiers and commanders report severe personnel deficits, with some units having less than 40 infantry troops out of the required 200. President Zelenskyi considers replacing Commander-in-Chief Zaluzhnyi, amid disagreements over mobilizing new troops while financial constraints and stalled aid packages hinder recruitment efforts, causing concern among soldiers on the front line. Troop shortages lead to extended deployments, exhaustion, and diminished defenses against Russian advances. The debate on mobilization aggravates tensions and threatens the front's stability, WSJ writes. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/02/08/ukraine-soldiers-shortage-infantry-russia/ [https://archive.is/Iand1]
Ukraine On the Brink: Examining Ammo Shortages and the Overall Situation https://frontelligence.substack.com/p/on-the-brink-examining-ammo-shortages
A big explosion happened near the Russian city of Izhevsk. Close to Izhevsk is the Votkinsk Machine-Building plant that produces both oil and gas, machine tools and military equipment. The plant builds ballistic missiles for the Russian military, including RS-24 Yars ICBM and Bulava SLBM. https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1755287191268253914
Attacks on Russian Bilhorod https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1755279025209999620
A compilation of the lies that Putin has told over the years. https://twitter.com/Dennis_Le_mans/status/1620166894031618049
New Findings on Russia’s Devastation of Mariupol https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/02/08/ukraine-new-findings-russias-devastation-mariupol