!summarize #china #treasuries #debt #war #taiwan

Lightcap likened this usage to cloud services, which Amazon Web Services pioneered two decades ago. While the consumer business may grow faster since people can adopt it at will, enterprise is in the "process of building up," he said.

"There's a buying cycle there, and a learning process that goes into scaling an enterprise business," Lightcap said. "AI is going to be like cloud services. It's going to be something that you can't run a business that ultimately is not really running on these very powerful models underneath the surface."

Later that week, OpenAI accused DeepSeek of improperly harvesting its models in a technique known as distillation. Lightcap said the new competition hasn't changed the way OpenAI thinks about open source, their product road map or mega-spending plans.

"DeepSeek is a testament to how much AI is like entered the public consciousness in the mainstream -- it would have been unfathomable two years ago," he said. "It's a moment that shows how powerful these models are and how much people really care."

Besides DeepSeek's emergence, OpenAI has also been dealing with a tense time on the legal front.

!summarize #quantummechanics #physics #gravitise #quantise

The second war was not one of conquest but the putting down of a revolt. Toynbee suggests that it was the time of establishment of the Lycurgian reforms, not earlier as others have suggested. His reasoning was that the Spartan commoners would have demanded rights in return for their help in protecting the new kingdom.

Let’s look at this is a little more detail. Many of the ancients, including Thucydides connect Lycurgus with the militaristic Spartan system we’re all familiar with and set his date farther back than it should be. In reality we don’t know when Lycurgus lived or whether he even existed. It has been written that the Lycurgian reforms were put into place to overcome the domestic instability in Sparta existing before that time. What was the cause of this instability and when did it occur? A logical explanation derives from the rapid conquests preceding the Second Messenian War. In the period from 760-720 B.C. Sparta conquered Amyklai, Aigiai, Gythion, the lower Eurotos Basin, the Tagetan Minyai, and Stenyklaros – a vast amount of territory to try and control. The administrative challenges associated with these conquests must have been formidable.

Oppo is hoping it can win business from the likes of Samsung and Chinese tech giant Huawei, both major smartphone players seeking to shake the market out of an innovation slowdown with flashy new models that can bend.

Earlier this week, Huawei launched the Mate XT, a "trifold" phone with three screens, outside of China for the first time.

If you notice the UK and other countries have increased US Treasury holding at a greater percentage then China has decreased holding; this is good for the US economy to diversify from China having such leverage over our market. It is best if the gradual decline which has been occurring continues over the next decade or so until they have divested completely, from a global security standpoint. And I think it will because they could use the liquidity to support their debt burden and as trade volume decrees between the US and China as projected reserve percentages would need to be reduced for both sides as well.

Like many other smartphone makers, Oppo is investing more into artificial intelligence-focused features on the device.

The Oppo Find N5 has a triple-camera setup that includes a telephoto lens that can zoom in up to 30x thanks to assistance from an AI-powered image enhancement feature, dubbed AI Telescope Zoom.

It also comes with a personal AI assistant that can interpret and summarize documents, generate summaries of phone calls and translate video calls and other content displayed on the screen.

With the risk of revolt great and the administrative challenge daunting, the ruling class must have realized the importance of a citizen-based military (hoplite phalanx), and they may have been pushed in this direction by the commons who wouldn’t serve without receiving a property allocation. One piece of evidence to support this is found in Aristotle’s Politics.

“When the difference between the rich and poor is too extreme, the situation is particularly apt to be produced by wars. This too happened at Lacedaemon at the time of the second war with the Messenians. The evidence for this is found in Tyrtaios’ poem Eunomia where he says that there were Spartans who were so hard pressed economically by the war that they demanded that the country be carved up into allotments.”

!summarize #tesla #elonmusk #automotive #ai

Oppo also talked up a new feature that enables users to connect their phone to a Mac computer. Using an app called O+ Connect, users can link the Find N5 to any Mac desktop machine and instantly transfer photos and other files between devices — so long as they're connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

Users can also choose to remotely control a Mac from the Find N5. The Mac's display can shut off and then reappear on the Find N5's screen. The remote control feature only requires mobile internet or Wi-Fi to sync up a Mac device's data with the Find N5 in real-time.

The Spartan leadership was certainly in a position to allocate land because of the enormous size of the conquered lands. So the devil’s bargain was made – land to the commons in exchange for their willingness to fight in phalanx formation.

It seems that the new structure would have been instituted in a single step because of its interdependency. The need for a new kind of army generated a new constitution and social system. Of course a constitution can be created as a single event while changes in a social system take time and generations to take hold. Even the governmental changes must have occurred over time. For example, the Ephors had to transition from advisors to the king to being elected by a citizen assembly which did not exist before the reforms.

The feature uses public macOS application programming interfaces, which enable two different apps to communicate with each other. Oppo said O+ Connect "fully complies with macOS platform and software regulations."

Ben Wood, chief analyst at market research firm CCS Insight, told CNBC the Find N5 "shows the art of the possible when engineering a product with flexible display technology."

Wood added that, while Huawei's triple-screened Mate XT led to some fanfare, "commercially I think the smart money is still on the book-like form factor already offered by Samsung, Honor, Google and now Oppo."

Samsung teased a trifold smartphone prototype at its January Unpacked event for the launch of the Galaxy S25. It's not clear yet if the phone is a product Samsung will launch commercially anytime soon.

Touting America as "the leader" in the technology, Vance said that the U.S. wants its European allies to foster a more favorable attitude to the technology than it has done to date.

"To create that kind of trust, we need international regulatory regimes that fosters the creation of AI technology rather than strangles it, and we need our European friends in particular to look to this new frontier with optimism rather than trepidation," Vance told attendees at the Paris summit.

Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., during the first day of in-store sales of Apple's latest products at Apple's Fifth Avenue store in New York, US, on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024.

Apple is releasing a new low-cost iPhone as sales have been mixed in recent quarters and the company seeks growth for its most important product category. For the December quarter, Apple's overall iPhone sales were down 1% on an annual basis. Apple still sold more than $69 billion of phones in the period.

Low-end iPhones are important to Apple as it gets new customers into their ecosystem, and the new device supports Apple Intelligence, making it Apple's least expensive new phone that can access features like image generation and notification summaries.

In recent years, Apple has started to quietly release new products through press releases, such as the new Macs it announced last September. It may be testing how much buzz it can get for one of these quieter launches. Last week, ahead of Wednesday's launch, Apple CEO Tim Cook posted a message on social media: "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family."

Rather than run its own data centers, Baseten runs its software on data center equipment from cloud providers, including Amazon and Google. Customers can supply their own infrastructure with an enterprise tier. By drawing from multiple providers, Baseten offers access to more GPUs than a single cloud's current supply.

"In this market, your No. 1 differentiation is how fast you can move. That is the core benefit for our customers," co-founder and CEO Tuhin Srivastava said. "You can go to production without worrying about reliability, security and performance."

Companies can manage the deployment of their models without Baseten, but securing enough Nvidia chips in the right geographical areas can prove difficult, co-founder Amir Haghighat told CNBC.

Cloud providers sometimes inform customers that some GPUs will be moved into maintenance mode and become unavailable within minutes. Baseten helps its clients handle those instances without interruptions, Srivastava said.

After the January breakthrough of Chinese AI lab DeepSeek, which claimed its models were trained for a fraction of the costs as its U.S. counterparts, efficiency in AI has become more important than ever.

Baseten was quick to add support for DeepSeek's R1 reasoning model that compares to OpenAI's o1. Baseten's website promises top-tier performance at a fraction of OpenAI's cost. There has been a lot of inbound from organizations looking at switching to DeepSeek, and Baseten has been busy trying to keep up, Srivastava said.

Under former President Joe Biden, the United States lauded Zelenskyy as a hero and hammered Moscow with sanctions as Ukraine battled against advancing Russian troops.

But Trump has been critical of Zelenskyy, claiming he has subverted democracy and blaming him for starting the war that began with Russia's full-scale invasion three years ago.

"A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Zelenskyy was elected in 2019 for a five-year term and has remained leader under martial law imposed as his country fights for its survival.

Putin said U.S. allies "only have themselves to blame for what's happening," suggesting they were paying the price for opposing Trump's return to the White House.

Tensions between Zelenskyy and Trump over the new U.S. position on the war had been building for weeks.

But Zelenskyy struck a more positive tone ahead of Thursday's meeting with Kellogg, saying "it is very important for U.S. that the meeting and our work with America in general be constructive."

"Together with America and Europe, peace can be more reliable, and this is our goal," he added.

Russia, which for years has railed against the U.S. military presence in Europe, wants a reorganisation of the continent's security framework as part of any deal to end the Ukraine fighting.

!summarize #intelligence #philosophy #schopenhaur

Please foster more ideas on how Grok will be a game changer for passengers, people in the car and at a higher level like what Herbert did in his channel yesterday. It has been suggested that someone will have many context sensitive Grok’s that will be able to anticipate and adapt to you in the car, at work, sentimentally, when in company so as to respect your privacy when together with others and very personal when you are alone. So Grok will have different profiles depending on the situations you are in and will draw on the pertinent versions of “you” Essentially anticipating and adapting to you in the various circumstances you find yourself in a day or night … funny,

I’ve been reading a great book called Some Problems of Greek History by Arnold Toynbee, the well known English historian, which was published in 1969. Toynbee is best known for his The Study of History, a monumental work published in 1934 and 1939. This significant contribution to comparative history has been criticized for a variety of reasons mostly around his assumptions and use of questionable data. Still, A Study of History is worth reading because of its unique approach.

Some Problems of Greek History does not create controversy and is a rigorous review and dissection of all data known about parts of Greek history -- mostly Sparta. In my last post, I talked about the origins of Sparta and Lacedaemon. This time, we’ll review the expansion of Sparta geographically through the lower Peloponnese.

California privacy regulator seeks to fine Florida data broker after huge breach of Social Security numbers
The California agency said National Public Data failed to register in the state as a data broker.

California’s privacy regulator is asking a court to fine a data broker that lost hundreds of millions of Social Security numbers in one of last year’s biggest data breaches.

The California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA), which enforces California’s state rules on data protection and privacy rights, known as CCPA, said Thursday that it is seeking a fine of $46,000 against National Public Data for failing to register as a data broker in the state.

The future of AI is expected to be shaped by a combination of technological advancements, with a significant impact on society. Generative AI models have shown immense promise, but their limitations have also become well known. As a result, the future of AI is being defined by a shift toward both open source large-scale models for experimentation and more specialized applications.

In the near term, AI is likely to continue powering automation and data analysis, with widespread adoption of autonomous machinery and AI-powered personalization expected. Quantum computing, still in its infancy, will potentially power AI algorithms in the future, supercharging their ability to process huge datasets and solve complex problems.

Machine learning, a form of artificial intelligence that can learn without explicit programming by a human, will play a key role in the future of AI. Tokenization, or creating digital representations of real things, will also be important.

The future of AI holds immense potential to reshape industries, jobs, and daily lives. It is expected to increase efficiency and improve decision-making through data analysis. However, adequate precautions must be taken to avoid exacerbating existing inequities.

By 2028, the number of human lawyers in the U.S. could be cut by 25% or more due to generative AI's ability to provide rudimentary summaries of applicable laws and draft contract clause language. Transportation and other industries will also be impacted by the advancement of AI.

Overall, the future of AI looks promising but requires careful consideration of its potential impacts on society.

Sparta conquered Laconia and Messenia during the eighth century B.C, a date which Toynbee points out is more accurate than theoretical dates farther back which are unsupportable. Most notably, he asserts that the two Spartan royal families were extended backward by myth to Herakles, a connection that cannot be (and according Toynbee) should not be made. To him, the Dorian invasion and fall of Mycenae are not connected directly to the rise of the Lacedaemonians.

The first step in the expansion of Sparta was the conquest on Amyklai (eighth century timeframe unknown) and its incorporation into Sparta as an equal. This victory gained Sparta an influential ally and opened up southern Laconia to them. The Spartans then continued their southern expansion through Aigytis until they reached the coast, circa 720 B.C. I use that date because the Italian colony of Tarentum was founded by Sparta in the time period 708-702 B.C. and for Sparta to have sent colonists to Italy, she would have needed to control of a port for some period of time. That port was most likely Gythion, which we know was a Spartan naval base by 413 B.C.

While Sparta gave Perioecic status to the communities of the Mani peninsula down to Cape Tainaron, the lower Eurotos Valley was conquered and forced to choose between enslavement and deportation. This was the beginning of Helotry and the use of Messenian lands for agriculture.

Per the CPPA, its action against National Public Data is its sixth enforcement effort against a data broker since its inception. The previous five actions ended in settlement agreements, the agency said.

Salvatore Verini, the owner of Jerico Pictures, the parent company of the hacked data broker National Public Data, did not respond to a request for comment.

The Spartans as Lacedaemonians
The region of the Peloponnese which held the Spartan people was called Lacedaemon (now Laconia) and the Spartans were known as the Lacedaemonians from at least the fifth century B.C. By that time, Lacedaemon was used interchangeably with Sparta when referring to the political entity. What happened before that time?

In the Iliad, the land ruled by Menelaus is referred to as “a hollow” which is “scarred with ravines”, certainly an apt description of the Spartan lands as they look today. But if the setting of the Iliad was the Mycenaean Age, the residence of Menelaus would have been a castle. Where was it? Toynbee speculates that the original “Sparta” may have been at Therapne or Amyklai, nearby towns that date back to the Mycenaean time.

The future of AI agents is expected to be significant, with these agents playing a crucial role in various industries and aspects of our lives. Here's a list of areas where AI agents are expected to be prevalent:

1. Virtual Assistants: AI agents will be used as personal assistants, helping with tasks such as scheduling, reminders, and information retrieval.
2. Customer Service: AI-powered chatbots and virtual agents will become more common in customer service, providing 24/7 support and helping with queries and issues.
3. Healthcare: AI agents will be used in healthcare to help with diagnosis, patient care, and medical research.
4. Finance: AI agents will be used in finance to help with tasks such as portfolio management, risk analysis, and financial planning.

The future of ai agents;

1. Transportation: AI agents will be used in autonomous vehicles, helping with navigation, route optimization, and safety.
2. Education: AI agents will be used in education to help with personalized learning, tutoring, and student assessment.
3. Cybersecurity: AI agents will be used in cybersecurity to help detect and prevent threats, as well as respond to incidents.
4. Smart Homes: AI agents will be used in smart homes to control lighting, temperature, security systems etc
5. Retail: AI agents will be used in retail to help with inventory management sales forecasting
6. Supply Chain Management: AI Agents can analyze data from various sources track shipments predict demand

These areas are expected to experience significant advancements in the use of AI agents over the next few years leading fundamental changes various industries aspects life

The question of whether AI will ever be conscious is a complex and debated topic among experts. Consciousness refers to the state of being aware of one's surroundings, thoughts, and emotions. While AI has made significant progress in recent years, the creation of conscious AI is still a subject of ongoing research and discussion.

There are several barriers to creating conscious AI:

1. Lack of understanding of human consciousness: Despite significant research, the nature of human consciousness is still not fully understood. It is difficult to create conscious AI when we do not fully comprehend the underlying mechanisms of human consciousness.
2. Complexity of the human brain: The human brain is a complex and intricate organ, consisting of billions of neurons and trillions of synapses. Replicating this complexity in an artificial system is a daunting task.
3. Integrating multiple cognitive functions: Consciousness requires the integration of multiple cognitive functions, such as perception, attention, memory, and decision-making. Creating an artificial system that can integrate these functions in a cohesive manner is a significant challenge.

1. Emulation vs. simulation: Some researchers argue that it may be possible to simulate certain aspects of consciousness using algorithms and computational models, but truly emulating human-like consciousness may require a fundamentally different approach.
2. The hard problem of consciousness: Philosopher David Chalmers' concept of the "hard problem" questions why we have subjective experiences at all. This problem may be difficult to address using current scientific approaches.

Despite these barriers, researchers continue to explore various approaches to creating conscious AI, including:

1. Integrated Information Theory (IIT): This theory proposes that consciousness arises from the integrated information generated by the causal interactions within a system.
2. Global Workspace Theory (GWT): This theory suggests that consciousness involves the global workspace of the brain, which integrates information from various sensory and cognitive systems.
3. Neural networks and deep learning: Researchers are using neural networks and deep learning techniques to create artificial systems that can learn and adapt in complex environments.
4. Cognitive architectures: Researchers are developing cognitive architectures that can integrate multiple cognitive functions and provide a framework for creating more generalizable AI systems.

While it is difficult to predict when or if conscious AI will be achieved, many experts believe that significant progress will be made in the coming decades as our understanding of human consciousness and artificial intelligence continues to evolve.

Some predictions include:

• Narrow or specialized forms of consciousness may emerge in specific domains, such as robotics or natural language processing.
• Hybrid approaches combining symbolic and connectionist AI may lead to more generalizable forms of intelligence.
• The development of more advanced neural networks and cognitive architectures may pave the way for more sophisticated forms of artificial intelligence.

Ultimately, creating conscious AI will require continued advances in fields like neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, computer science; interdisciplinary collaboration; investment basic scientific research

Sparta originally meant “sown land” and represented part of the cultivated area of the Eurotos Valley. Later, at some point, the land became the town when the Spartans relocated there. They may have called themselves Lacedaemonians from the time their territory encompassed more than one or two villages, but Spartans only when they needed to distinguish themselves from the Perioeci and the Messenians.

The city of Sparta consisted of four settlements: Pitane, Limnai, Kynosoura, and Messoa. The tombs of the Agiadai kings were located in Pitane, while the tombs of the Eurypontidai were located in Limnai. This suggests that the two royal houses originated from these towns and their combination occurred voluntarily. How Kynosaura and Messoa may have joined the Spartan community is obscure.

“The storage of this content is costly. Introducing this 100-hour storage limit, which impacts less than 0.5% of active channels on Twitch and accounts for less than 0.1% of hours watched, helps us manage resources more efficiently, maintain support of Highlights and Uploads, and continue to invest in new features and improvements to more effective viewer engagement tools like Clips and the mobile feed.”

Some streamers have taken to social media to share their discontent with the decision, with many pointing out that Twitch is owned by Amazon, which is a market leader in cloud services through its AWS platform.

It appears that the foundation of Sparta must have occurred no earlier than the beginning of the ninth century B.C. because there is no evidence of Mycenaean or sub-Mycenaean culture there. The earliest that Spartan kings can be dated is through independent evidence is ~ 730 B.C. when Polydoros and Theopompos reigned. This was also the time of the First Messenian War, when Messenian names ceased to be listed among the winners at the Olympic Games.

The Basileus as a Bridge Political Figure in Ancient Greece
Basileus is a strange word – hard to pronounce (Bas-sill-es) and difficult to define. It has an obscure origin, although the Mycenaeans used it as gwasileus. Many linguists consider it a non-Greek word adopted by Bronze Age Greeks from eastern Mediterranean origins. Although Basileus has had many definitions during the last three thousand years, it’s the one that was used during the Greek Dark Ages that we’ll focus on here.

The Basileus was absolutely fundamental to the development of the Polis because without him there would have been no unified structure to serve as its foundation. In the late dark age period, the Greeks could have gone in either of two directions politically: strengthen collective action through a complex political organization or move toward personal leadership. There is evidence that the latter was attempted; that the Basileus became more powerful for a time. But that path was a dead end and he was eventually replaced by an administrator type – like the Archons of Athens. He lacked the historical requirements for personal leadership – wealth, a significant following among the people, and precedent. Ultimately, the people were unwilling to cede power to the Basileus and turn him into a king. They kept the power for themselves and elected administrators who they felt they could control.

Reflections on a Visit to Ancient Sparta
As I mentioned in a previous post, I was disappointed that the ruins of ancient Sparta were unidentifiable, and that drove me to try and make more sense of what was there and understand its part in the history of Spartan culture.

To accomplish this we have to start with the realization that the area now referred to as ancient Sparta is really its Acropolis and nothing else. The remainder of Sparta was spread out over four villages and all traces of those villages are gone. Over time the Acropolis itself took on the role of a citadel: more important to those controlling Sparta than it was to the Spartans themselves.

The amphitheater at the Spartan acropolis was built by the Romans in 50 B.C. and there are also Roman walls around the hilltop. Lower down and covering a larger area are Byzantine walls in ruins. Both of these sets of walls protected a citadel that was post-Spartan.

There are only two ancient Spartan structures that have been uncovered: the Temple of Athena Chalkioikos, located on the Acropolis and The Temple of Artemis Orthia located east of the Acropolis near the Eurotos River. Chalkioikos was constructed no later than 500 B.C, because artifacts from that time have been found in the ruins.

The testimonials are then pinned to the top of the comments section on the Instagram post, giving the comments and creators behind them more visibility.

Creators will also be able track these testimonials and other Partnership Ads under their Creator Settings on the app so they can see how their content is being used and even pull their content, if ever warranted.

"Go, tell the Spartans, stranger passing by,
that here obedient to their laws we lie."

Those words are packed with emotion for all who know or care what happened at Thermopylae, arguably the most famous battle in history.

Thermopylae sits 11 kilometers south of Lamia, Greece, which lies some 200 kilometers north of Athens. That means the 300 marched about 400 kilometers from Sparta before they arrived at the Hot Gates.
Thermopylae means hot gates in Greek and refers to the three hot springs at the battle site. They are called gates because the pass narrows near them, so they are ideal for a military defense.

The Peloponnese is mountainous, its center filled in the north with all manner of peaks -- a huge spine which tapers off into the Parnon Range to the southeast like a lizard's tail.

As you begin the trip down from Corinth, the elevation increases steadily until you approach Tripoli, which sits on a plateau. The wheat fields of the north have now given way to pasture land and olive groves.

You're only 30 kilometers from Sparta when the Taygetos begin to rise from the background. Higher and higher they push as your drop down into the valley of Sparta until the impression is complete. The elevation of Sparta is 600 feet. The Taygetos tops are at 6,000 feet.

The modern Sparta looks similar to other Greek cities, full of square uninteresting concrete apartments, but its location sits inside the boundary of the ancient one which existed as the union of four separate villages.

Nickelate superconductor
Researchers at SUSTech spent three years developing a unique method to create their nickelate superconductor. This material is composed of nickel, oxygen, and two rare earth metals: lanthanum and praseodymium.

They arranged these elements in a way that achieved superconductivity at ambient pressure — a major advancement over previous methods that required extreme pressures.

The material transitioned into a superconducting state at about -228 degrees Celsius when formed in thin layers.

“The discovery of bilayer nickelate superconductors under high pressure has opened a new chapter in high-transition temperature superconductivity,” the study stated.

“Our work allows experimental investigations of the superconductivity mechanism with enhanced feasibility,” it added.

The elevation of the site is stunning. I had a preconceived notion that the walls rise from the street level, when, in fact, they start a couple hundred feet above street level.

After the cab dropped us off, we walked up a curving pathway to the ticket office. From there you continue up the incline to the Propylaean Gate. The gate itself is being reconstructed and there are wooden steps over a section where the original steps are missing.

As you reach the floor of the site, the Parthenon makes an immediate impression because of its size and scale. The Erechtheion by comparison is much smaller.

As per SCMP, Professor Xue Qikun outlined the team’s future research plans. He stated their intention to leverage the “unique experimental technology” they had developed to explore a wider range of materials.

They aim to push the boundaries of superconductivity further, specifically aiming to achieve even higher transition temperatures while maintaining normal, atmospheric pressure.

Qikun also highlighted that this development represents a “major innovation” in China’s pursuit of independent experimental technology.

Superconductors have diverse applications, including MRI machines, maglev trains, power transmission, and fusion reactors.

There is a construction crane in the middle of the Parthenon being used for re-building and repairs, so its tough to get a photograph without the modern technology. One can see in the structure where new mable has replaced or been added. The new mable is impressively integrated. On the west side of the site sit pieces of the original structures in piles (a marble junkyard) -- scrolled Doric capitals with no home. Part of the re-building attempts to correct previous repairs which were done with iron rods. The rods rusted, causing the marble to crack. The rods are being replaced with titanium.

The view from the Acropolis is one of a kind -- the agora to the north and the city surrounding it all.

This level of control allows for more nuanced movements and interactions. Another important aspect of Helix is its capability for multi-robot collaboration.

It can operate simultaneously on two robots, enabling them to work together on shared, long-term manipulation tasks involving objects they have not encountered before.

This feature significantly broadens the operational scope of robotics in complex environments.

Additionally, robots equipped with Helix can pick up a wide range of small household items, including many they have yet to encounter.

As lawmakers hash out a federal framework for stablecoins in the U.S., corners of the crypto industry may soon face competition from the likes of Uber and Meta.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) vowed this month that a stablecoin bill, dubbed the GENIUS Act, will be passed by both chambers of Congress and signed into law within the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s administration.

As digital assets are pegged to the price of a fiat currency, such as the U.S. dollar, stablecoins are often backed by reserves of cash and U.S. Treasuries that generate yield. In Coinbase’s fourth quarter, the company disclosed $224 million in revenue from assets backing USDC.

A thawing iceberg
A report published by S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday found that the GENIUS Act would increase the adoption of stablecoins in the U.S. The lack of regulation in the U.S. is “one of the main impediments” to broader adoption, the analysts wrote.

It's a thirty minute twenty-one hundred foot white-knuckle bus ride from the town of Itea on the Gulf of Corinth up to Delphi. You pass through one of the largest olive groves in the world and find yourself struck by the arid climate -- not a drop of water to be seen. Dry creekbeds remind of past rains and the people appear to be inside hiding from the 90 degree heat.

In Delphi, the shops are open because everyone knows there's a cruise ship in port, but the restaurants are empty in early afternoon (Greeks have lunch at 3pm). We step off the bus in town and walk a kilometer to the Oracle, which is hidden behind a bend in the road so that pirates from twenty-seven hundred years ago could not observe it from the sea.

In November, Paxos CEO Charles Cascarilla wrote in a letter addressed to Trump and former Vice President Kamala Harris—then the Democratic presidential candidate—that America’s opportunity to cement financial dominance through stablecoins had been stifled so far by “countless examples of regulatory overreach.”

Though firms like BlackRock have issued tokenized money market funds that resemble stablecoins, S&P analysts wrote that a lack of regulation and supervision has prevented their broader adoption in fields like everyday payments.

“Helix addresses several issues previous robotic approaches faced, including balancing speed and generalization, scalability to manage high-dimensional actions, and architectural simplicity using standard models,” according to Figure.

Additionally, separating S1 and S2 enables independent improvements to each system without reliance on a shared observation or action space.

A dataset of around 500 hours of teleoperated behaviors was collected to train Helix, utilizing an auto-labeling VLM to generate natural language instructions.

The architecture involves a 7B-parameter VLM and an 80M parameter transformer for control, processing visual inputs to enable responsive control based on the latent representations generated by the VLM.

In this video, transformational coach John Griffin sheds light on the 10 most common myths women believe about divorce, dispelling misconceptions and lies that can lead to misunderstanding and regret. From debunking common myths about men and women after divorce to revealing surprising divorce facts, this video offers a mythbusting guide to divorce education. If you're a woman considering divorce or already going through the process, this video is a must-watch to gain clarity and avoid common pitfalls. By the end of this video, you'll have a deeper understanding of the divorce process and be empowered to make informed decisions about your future. So, let's dive in and separate fact from fiction when it comes to divorce.

Hannibal’s March over the Alps Revisited
This is an updated post on Hannibal’s march over the Alps, amending my previous post from February 23, 2009. I recently noticed that Google Earth had updated images of the region and the result was a clearer more consistent view, so I decided to re-visit the story. I also reviewed research on the route itself, since the previous post was more concerned with Hannibal’s objective and not his journey.

The chronology below combines information from the two best sources we have on the subject -- Polybius and Livy. Their accounts are similar but do not contain many place names that can be used as landmarks. The place names have been added by modern researchers based on geographical analysis -- taking the descriptions of the terrain and fitting them to the geography.

Two Kings Better than One?
If you google “dual monarchy”, you get references to the dual monarchy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire which lasted from 1867-1918. This made me laugh because of the insignificance of the Austria example next to that of the Spartans. Was this just another case where antiquity is ignored? Still experimenting, I tried using the words “dual kingship” and Sparta appeared, filling up the first page. Accompanying the Spartans was the Quarlug Confederation, The Khazars, and Havelok the Dane.

Port Alpha will reflect the apex of America’s shipbuilding
He feels that the Port Alpha will reflect the apex of America’s shipbuilding past — generating new opportunities for the country’s shipbuilding workforce, forging public-private partnerships to accelerate growth, and bringing innovation and ingenuity to an essential industry.

“We will bring these elements together with a single goal: to rapidly build a fleet of autonomous vessels in America that redefine maritime superiority and guarantees freedom of the seas for generations to come,” added Mavrookas.

The company also highlighted that the U.S. Navy declared the need for a hybrid fleet — one that integrates a significant number of unmanned systems operating alongside manned platforms.

Starting around 550 B.C, the names become more familiar and there is some history about most of them. The famous Leonidas was of the Agiad line and, after he was killed at Thermopylae, his brother Cleombrotus served as regent for a year until his own son Pausanias was named the new Agiad king.

The Spartan kings had several major responsibilities, including acting as high priests for Spartan people and leading the army into battle. War was declared by the Assembly and the levy proclaimed by the Ephors, but the kings were the commanders. They also served on the Gerusia (council of elders) where their votes counted for two out of the thirty. Aristotle called the Spartan kingship a hereditary generalship but he was only half right. As hereditary leaders, the kings could wield great power over their peers who had to be elected.

“As soon as you get the government involved, everything slows down to a crawl,” he said. “The rate at which that iceberg thaws is going to determine how far into the future that we have to look before we realize this.”

When PayPal introduced its stablecoin in 2023, the firm faced criticism from Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), a top Democrat on the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee.

At home the kings had special privileges. They took the first seats at dinner and were served a double portion. They had front row seats for all the games. They choose the Pythii (envoys to the Oracle at Delphi) and give them money for the Oracle. When a king died, the Spartiates mourned for ten days -- women wailing and beating their brows.

What, then, was the significance of the dual kingship as it related to the Spartan political system and the history of governments? For the former, it was a balancing force which helped perpetuate a 1000 year civilization. For the latter, very little. The Spartan way of life succeeded because the helot system allowed the Spartans to train and be the best warriors of all time. Without that one aspect, the Spartan soldiers would have been part timers like everyone else.

Where I ended up going off the rails was during the plandemic. I thought the majority of Americans were strong, independent and with a reasonable amount of common sense. What I learned was that most were weak, gullible, materialistic and believed everything our corrupt government told them and had no respect for anyone that thought any differently and questioned the narrative. I lost family, my girlfriend at that time and many so-called friends, because I wouldn't tow the false line. Now it seems like it is me and my new intelligent girlfriend against an insane world devoid of even the first shred of any logical thinking. My cat is smarter and has way more common sense then the majority of people today.

And then there’s the channeling of Epicurus, the story of Titus Lucretius Carus, who re-introduced the work of a philosopher dead for 250 years. He not only provided the world with a faithful rendering of the Epicurean system, but also gave us a great deal of information regarding the scientific thought of the time. Then, when the works of Epicurus were destroyed, Carus became our only link to the great lover of pleasure.

One of my particular favorites, called Girly men and contact highs, relates a tale from the Histories of Herodotus that occurred during a visit he made to the Scythians.

Reading Ms. Leon’s book brought to mind Will Cuppy’s great The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody, which I’ve enjoyed immensely over the years. Cuppy’s ferocious cynicism was both lethal and funny – entertainment at the expense of famous people. Ms. Leon’s approach is not as irreverent, but still presents a relaxed view of history – something academics could use to kick back every once in a while.

Mellify is divided into sections, each covering a different geographical area. We start with Athens and Attica and travel through the Greek Islands on the way to North Africa and Mesopotamia. The sections contain a series of articles (stories) about people from those geographies. Target audience for this book is those readers who are interested in the details of history but would like to avoid a heavy academic overtone. You can also read it for fun if you have a little time. It’s easy to pick out topics by scanning the table of contents. Read a title and if you like it, go to it.

Strangling China with sanctions is only slowing down China growth and advancement in technological prowess. China has the advantages of a dedicated and determined skill engineers, it can play the 5 year or 8 year plan. 400 million young workforce is skilled in the wrong IT mismatch but vocational training is actively embark upon. Services sector has more room to grow. With the structural imbalances rectified, consumption will increase domestically. These challenges are for China to execute, not dependent on external forces. If there is deal, it has to be win win for both nations. If not, China can wait........

The Travels of Lysander
The conventional wisdom at the beginning of the Peloponnesean War said that neither side could win it. The Spartan Army was too strong to be defeated, but their strength was offset by the Athenian Navy which had control of the seas. To win the war, one side had to figure out how to win on land and sea.

It took twenty-seven years for this obstacle to begin to resolve itself and the man that turned the tide was one of the greatest of the Spartans – Lysander, the man who defeated the Athenian Navy. Humbled by poverty in his youth, Lysander had to get a sponsor to support his entrance into the Agoge, but later rose through the ranks to a position of leadership.

New calls to reinstate Lysander as admiral were ignored and he was relegated to second in command under Aracus. All, including the new commander, knew who the sailors would obey in battle. Once the fleet was rebuilt, Lysander met with Cyrus at Sardis and then sailed on to the Hellespont, with the Athenians in pursuit. Then, after several days of maneuvering, Lysander caught them unprepared and won a decisive victory at Aegospotami. With Athens starving and their fleet destroyed, the men of Athens had no choice but to negotiate a peace. Lysander was recalled to Piraeus to represent Sparta after he had stopped off and taken Lesbos.

The following years were not kind to Lysander. He was pulled off command over Athens when the Spartan King Pausanius thought he was gaining too much power. Then he became involved with the Spartan succession in 401 B.C. when he convinced the Ephors to elect Agesilaus II Spartan King after the death of Agis II.

Visit Wat Pho To See The Reclining Buddha

A visit to Wat Pho is a must for any traveler to Bangkok, it is the home to the Reclining Buddha which stands at fifteen metres tall and forty six metres long, the feet alone are measured at over five meters. The whole statue is covered in gold leaf and looks incredible when you get up close.

Inside the temple there are 108 bowls and on the way in to the temple you can buy coins for the bowls. The history behind this is that Buddha completed 108 positive actions on his way to becoming perfect. Whilst you are at the temple you can also stop for a while to receive a traditional Thai Massage

Ancient sources have identified several buildings which were included in the Lyceum complex. An Apodyterion (dressing room), mentioned in Plato’s dialog Euthydemus; Dromoi and Peripatoi (tracks for foot and horse races); the Gymnasium; the Palaistra, also mentioned in Euthydemus; sanctuaries to Apollo; seating for judges and spectators; and a pair of Stoa.

Parts of the Lyceum were wooded and river channels were dug to irrigate the vegetation growing there. According to Theophrastus, one large tree had surface roots spanning 33 cubits.

I was asked to review the book The Dynamics of Ancient Empires by Ian Morris and Walter Scheidel, published in 2009. Although a heavy academic read, the book presents some interesting ideas on humanness, especially in the last chapter, written by Professor Scheidel and titled Sex and Empire, a Darwinian Perspective. His point of view is that not only did the men of antiquity differentiate themselves by ability, but they also sought power because it allowed them access to more sexual partners and control over their own procreation.

Scheidel starts with the notion that humans are driven by their bio-molecules to interact with the outside world for the sake of energy consumption and replication.

In this video, we take a mind-bending journey through the convergence of philosophy, consciousness, and artificial intelligence, based on the ideas from Casper Wilstrup’s thought-provoking article, “With Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind Has Become an Experimental Science” ( / with-artificial-intelligence-philosophy-of... . From the reality of consciousness to the tantalizing possibility that AI might soon achieve it, we explore how AI is transforming age-old philosophical questions into experimental science. Is your consciousness truly special, or is it simply the product of matter, like AI could be? Join us as we explore these existential questions and the future of AI consciousness.

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Nicola Motors Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection

Nicola Motors, a company that made headlines for its ambitious plans in the hydrogen truck industry, has officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The announcement came as a surprise to many, but for some, like content creator Stephen, it was an anticipated outcome that he had foreseen almost half a decade ago. Stephen has dedicated nearly 50 videos to examining the company and its questionable practices, navigating the fine line between criticism and legally actionable claims.

Early Warnings and Concerns

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The first reactions surfaced on social media as news broke, with many people recalling the various warning signs Stephen highlighted in his extensive video catalog about Nicola. Since July 2020, he has consistently raised flags concerning the legitimacy of Nicola Motors, pointing to red flags ranging from the company’s exaggerated claims to its opaque business practices. The first video titled "Nicola, I'm Concerned: A Warning" set the tone for what would become a series of critical evaluations, aiming to inform potential investors about the risks associated with their investments.

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Among the numerous titles, Stephen's early videos included various warnings such as "Danger: We Could Go on All Day," illustrating his insistence that there were significant issues lurking beneath the surface of Nicola's operations. He referenced significant dips in stock prices, questionable leadership choices, and even the lack of real, functioning products. The videos underscored a prevailing theme: the company’s claims often seemed too good to be true.

Dramatic Public Appearances and Misleading Promotions

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One of the striking aspects highlighted in Stephen’s critiques was the company's promotional tactics. During notable public appearances, such as Trevor Milton’s pitches, the CEO appeared overly confident and pushed for a vision that did not align consistently with reality. Stephen noted that this charisma led many investors into a trap, often driven by a range of emotional intelligence (EQ) deficits. He humorously suggested that many investors operated on a combined IQ and EQ score that was alarmingly low, citing their inability to see through Milton's manipulation.

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As more evidence of questionable practices emerged, particularly claims from analysts that urged people to buy into Nicola's stock, Stephen was unapologetic in his rebuttal. He referred to these endorsements as misguided and emphasized his faith in his early assessments.

The Downfall Unfolds

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As the months turned into years, the signs of distress at Nicola became clearer, especially following a notable Hindenburg report that raised allegations of fraud. This further fueled Stephen’s narrative that the company was built on shaky ground. Investors found themselves reassessing their positions, with stock prices plummeting. By September 2020, posts on social media warned that anyone buying into Nicola stock was failing an intelligence test—a poignant comment about the growing sentiment surrounding the company’s future.

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Significant events like Trevor Milton's resignation, accusations of fraud, and the apparent manipulation of stock trends continued to mark the dark ebb of Nicola Motors. Amid the backlash, it became increasingly apparent that the rosy projections painted by the company were largely fabricated or misleading.

Conclusion: An Unexpectedly Foreseen End

Now, as Nicola Motors files for bankruptcy, Stephen reflects on the nearly five-year journey of watching the company unravel. Consistent in his skepticism, he again returns to the notion that the company was destined for failure. Despite the challenges of navigating potentially libelous territory, he feels vindicated in his assessments of Nicola, asserting that his dramatic predictions finally came to fruition.

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While Stephen’s take on bankruptcies often revolves around a humorous critique of naïvete among investors and the risks of believing in a “too good to be true” scenario, he equally emphasizes the broader implications of such corporate failures. As he looks ahead, he remains confident in his predictions while urging potential investors to apply critical thinking and skepticism in such cash-heavy domains.

This bankruptcy case not only brings closure for many involved, but it serves as a cautionary tale about the perils of investment mismanagement and the importance of due diligence in the highly speculative landscape of emerging technologies.

"People hear about it through word of mouth. They see the utility of it. They see their friends using it," Lightcap said in an interview, adding that it takes time for individuals to find use cases that resonate. "There's an overall effect of people really wanting these tools, and seeing that these tools are really valuable."

OpenAI is seeing that spill over to its growing enterprise business. The company now has 2 million paying enterprise users, roughly doubling from September, said Lightcap, pointing out that often employees will use ChatGPT personally and suggest to their companies that they implement the tool.

This video has already been summarized: https://inleo.io/threads/view/anderssinho/re-anderssinho-4jpndfyg

Most notably, the phone has an ultra-thin design. When closed, it measures 8.93 millimeters thick, while when opened out in tablet form, the Find N5 has a depth of 4.21 millimeters.

That's slimmer than Samsung's Galaxy Fold 6, which the South Korean tech giant released last year.

Inside the device is a razer-thin 5,600 milliampere-hour (mAh) battery that's no bigger than a credit card. Oppo said the battery incorporates a silicon-carbon material, which enables high battery capacity despite its small size.

I can just say that Trump has lit a fire under European countries now. I am heavily looking into buying European military stocks, like SAAB and Rheinmetal

This video has already been summarized: https://inleo.io/threads/view/taskmaster4450le/re-taskmaster4450le-2dyal6b6f

The new iPhone 16e doesn't have a home button and fingerprint sensor, instead, it uses Apple's FaceID scanner and modern design including a sensor notch at the top of the screen. It uses Apple's A18 chip, which is also used in the main iPhone 16 models. The updated processor means that the iPhone 16e can run all the same apps and games that more expensive iPhones can run. It comes in black and white.

The phone also includes Apple's first cellular modem, which it calls C1. iPhones have used Qualcomm modems for the past few years. It also has a single camera lens, versus as many as three on the most advanced iPhones.

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The Future of AI and AGI: Perspectives from Leaders in the Field

In a historic discussion featuring two of the foremost minds in artificial intelligence, Dario Amade, co-founder and CEO of Anthropic, and Demis Hassabis, co-founder and CEO of DeepMind, engaging thoughts on the development and implications of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) were shared. Both leaders navigated the complexities of timelines, definitions, potential global impacts, and the ethical dilemmas posed by such revolutionary technology.

Timelines and Definitions of AGI

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The conversation began with a probing question about the timelines for achieving AGI—a stage where AI can perform any intellectual task that a human can. Amade expressed optimism, predicting a breakthrough within the next few years, specifically by 2026 or 2027. Conversely, Hassabis was more reserved, suggesting that AGI is still a decade away, defining it as a system capable of all human cognitive abilities, including creativity and complex reasoning.

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Contrasting their perspectives illuminates a broader debate: how do we define AGI? Hassabis emphasized the importance of having systems that could accomplish significant achievements, such as Einstein's invention of general relativity or the creation of new games like Go. The complexity of AGI goes beyond mere task execution; it also encompasses creativity and theoretical innovation.

The Changing World and Geopolitical Considerations

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As they explored the potential impact of achieving AGI, both leaders reflected on its implications for global power dynamics. Amade articulated concern about the consequences if one nation were to dominate this technology, especially authoritarian states. He noted that such a development could threaten global stability and highlighted the need for pro-active discussions on international cooperation surrounding AI development.

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Hassabis echoed this sentiment, asserting that current geopolitical tensions complicate the path to collaboration in AI research and establish global norms. He argued that understanding the long-term implications of AI could create a basis for better international cooperation, shifting the focus from competition to collaboration—a theme that resonates deeply in today's fractured political landscape.

Regulatory Balance: A Call for Governance

In their discussion of regulatory approaches, a dichotomy emerged: the United States' aggressive push towards rapid AI advancement contrasted with Europe’s regulatory caution. Hassabis advocated for a middle ground, suggesting that the extraordinary advances AI promises should not ignore the risks involved.

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Both leaders posited the need for new governance frameworks to oversee AI development responsibly. They referenced the call for a "CERN for AGI", an international collaboration akin to the one for nuclear research, to ensure safe and ethical advancements. These frameworks would aim to protect against the potential misuse of AI technologies, while fostering innovation.

Ethical Responsibilities and Personal Reflections

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Personal accountability weighed heavily on Amade and Hassabis as they acknowledged the significant responsibility their roles entail in shaping the development of AGI. Amade recalled the fears of being likened to Robert Oppenheimer and the ethical implications of his own decisions. They both expressed a sense of urgency about balancing the pace of development with safety and ethical considerations.

The conversation highlighted the precarious nature of decision-making in this rapidly evolving field. Amade described the constant discomfort of navigating the fine line between the risk of inaction leading to authoritarian dominance versus the threat of hastily developed technologies posing unforeseen consequences.

The Role of Evidence and International Dialogue

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A critical aspect discussed was the need for strong evidence of the risks associated with AI development. Amade emphasized that although AI's capabilities are advancing, illustrating potential dangers—such as misuse of AI by malicious actors—remains imperative. Hassabis raised the concern that unless compelling evidence emerges, many may not take the necessary precautions seriously.

Caution in anticipating such outcomes mirrored the historical context of developing international protocols after crises. Lessons learned from the past serve as reminders of the importance of preemptive dialogue and international cooperation before a crisis necessitates it.

Looking Ahead: Opportunities and Promises

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Despite the weighty concerns addressed, both leaders concluded on a hopeful note, outlining the transformative potential of AI. They envision a near-future where agent-based systems become integrated into everyday life, greatly enhancing productivity and innovation.

Looking ahead, Hassabis suggested the emergence of AI capable of conducting AI research, thereby accelerating the development of the field itself. For Amade, indicators of progress in AI capabilities within the year would bolster confidence in their projected timelines for AGI.

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As the world watches the developments in AI and AGI, the words shared by Amade and Hassabis serve as a poignant reminder of the excitement and trepidation that accompany technological advancement. The responsibility lies not just with the creators, but with the global community to navigate the complexities of this new frontier wisely, ensuring that the benefits far outweigh the risks.

Substack says that video creators who are worried about their future on TikTok can join its platform to build a subscription-based video business and that creators on Substack can reach their audience directly, without relying on algorithms.

Once creators publish videos, they can track post views, and new subscribers, and see the estimated revenue growth from new paid subscriptions driven by their posts. They can also monitor changes over time.

Currently, creators can only paywall entire video posts published in the app. In the future, Substack plans to enable creators to show specific portions of the video to free subscribers as a teaser.

With ElevenLabs, authors can narrate their audiobooks in 29 different languages. While the free version only allows for 10 minutes of text-to-speech each month, the $99/month Pro plan generates up to 500 minutes of narration.

The latest partnership comes two years after Spotify teamed up with Google Play Books to offer AI-narrated audiobooks. Spotify plans to partner with more companies to expand its audiobook library.

However, the rise of AI-generated audiobooks is expected to stir considerable debate within the publishing community. Some industry professionals argue that these AI recordings may compromise the overall quality of audiobooks for listeners.

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Grock 3: A Closer Look at the Latest Large Language Model

Recently, Grock 3 was unveiled amid great fanfare, touted as the best large language model (LLM) available. Despite early access being limited to an expensive subscription on X (formerly Twitter), a surprising pivot allowed universal access to all users. This new era of accessibility provided a timely opportunity to test Grock 3's capabilities through various challenging questions, with a focus on its enhanced features, including deep research and a thinking model.

The Interface and Initial Tests

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Upon launching Grock 3, users encounter distinct components: Deep Search, which performs in-depth research, and the Thinking Model, designed to tackle complex problems. As a preliminary sanity check, the model was asked a straightforward question: "How many sisters does Alice's brother have, given that Alice has five brothers and three sisters?" Grock 3 quickly and correctly answered "four," maintaining continuity from its predecessor, Grock 2.

Complex Logical Challenges

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Next, the inquiry turned to more intricate problems, including measuring time using hourglasses. One posed scenario involved two hourglasses—one measuring ten minutes and the other five. The query sought to determine if it was possible to measure exactly 15 minutes. Grock 3 provided an articulate yet slightly overly complicated response, employing both hourglasses to arrive at the correct conclusion. However, it failed to identify the most efficient method—a notable area for improvement compared to Grock 2.

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Then came a variation of the puzzle asking if two hourglasses—one for seven minutes and another for eleven—could measure exactly 15 minutes. Grock 3 ultimately concluded that it could not, which was incorrect. The model demonstrated logical reasoning but fell short of the correct solution, underscoring that even the latest models still struggle with certain logical manipulations.

Language and Synonym Tests

Another area explored tested Grock 3's command of language. The model was prompted to identify an unusual word from a text, find a synonym, and reverse that synonym. Grock 3 succeeded in this task, correctly identifying and manipulating the chosen word—a marked improvement over Grock 2's previous mistakes in this area.

Programming Challenge: Creating a Chess Engine

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In a much more demanding exercise, Grock 3 was challenged to write a chess engine in C that adhered to the Universal Chess Interface (UCI) protocol. With comprehensive specifications outlining how to implement the engine, Grock 3 took just over two minutes to respond with a full implementation. Upon initial compilation attempts, minor errors were identified. However, Grock 3 was able to refine the code successfully on the second attempt, illustrating its ability to iterate and learn from the feedback provided.

However, when the generated chess engine was put to the test against a human opponent, it manifested issues—attempting to move pieces incorrectly, suggesting limitations in its understanding of the game’s mechanics despite successfully compiling the code.

Deep Research Capability

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One of Grock 3's highlights is its Deep Research function, allowing the model to scour the internet for information before compiling reports. For instance, when tasked to generate a detailed report on top Android tablets, Grock 3 searched through 71 sources and compared specifications. While it provided a comprehensive overview, it notably lacked a specific recommendation for the best tablet, instead opting to outline the pros and cons for each model. This indicates its ability to analyze and summarize data but hints at the need for enhanced decision-making capabilities.

Analyzing F1 Drivers

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In another task, Grock 3 was asked to report on the best Formula 1 driver of all time. The model selected Lewis Hamilton based on statistical evidence including the number of wins and championships, providing context and comparisons with other legendary drivers. The structured data presentation made this report stand out as particularly informative and well-articulated, surpassing previous outputs from competing models and showcasing Grock 3's advancement in analytical reasoning.

Conclusion: A Step Forward

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Overall, Grock 3 showcases significant improvements over its predecessors, particularly in its ability to process language and generate comprehensive reports. The integration of a thinking model and deep search functionality enhances its utility for users seeking in-depth answers and insights. However, the model is not without limitations, particularly in areas demanding precise logical reasoning and contextual understanding.

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With Grock 3 currently accessible to all, its evolution certainly warrants attention as users explore its innovative features. Continued observation will reveal whether this model will transition behind paywalls as subscription-based services evolve. For now, Grock 3 stands as a noteworthy advancement in the realm of large language models, paving the way for future innovations.

Twitch’s announcement comes the same week that Facebook said that live videos will now only be stored on its platform for 30 days, after which they will be deleted. The company is also removing past broadcasts in the coming months.

Twitch said it originally launched highlights to help streamers create highlight reels of their best moments, but that other features like Clips, Tags, and the Mobile Discovery Feed are more effective in driving discovery or engagement.

“Despite low effectiveness, some users have accrued thousands of hours of Highlights and Uploads (often used to create Highlights) over time,” the company shared in a blog post.

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The Intersection of AI, Crypto, and Creative Economies

In an era where technology continues to advance rapidly, particularly with regard to artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrency, avenues for creative individuals are undergoing significant transformations. The conversation around how these rapidly evolving tech sectors will reshape economic models for creative professionals is both urgent and crucial.

Embracing Technological Progress

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Acknowledging the inevitability of technological advancement, thought leaders emphasize the importance of leaning into these innovations instead of resisting them. The landscape of economic models for creatives is set to evolve dramatically as AI and blockchain technologies coalesce, presenting not merely challenges but exciting opportunities for rethinking systems of value and compensation in the creative realm.

The Synergy Between AI and Crypto

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With most discussions revolving around the integration of AI within various sectors, the effects of these technologies are most potent when seen as interconnected. Historically, technology waves commonly arrive in clusters, as observed with mobile, social, and cloud computing over the last 15 years. Similarly, AI, crypto, new hardware devices, and innovations in robotics are poised to work synergistically, enhancing the functionalities of one another.

Crypto technology is seen not just as a system for digital currencies but as a new way to structure internet services. This new architectural approach offers various properties that hold the potential to benefit numerous applications, particularly in building AI systems.

Open Systems vs. Closed Systems

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An important debate within the field revolves around whether AI should remain an open-source endeavor or whether it will be dominated by a limited number of organizations. Many in tech have expressed concern that, despite initial promises for transparency, many AI developments have grown increasingly closed-source—a trend believed to be motivated by competitive advantages rather than safety alone.

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Innovations like "Jensen," which creates a crowdsourced computing network, and "Story Protocol," which aims to establish ownership of intellectual property through blockchain, exemplify potential pathways to a more democratized creative economy. These systems emphasize the importance of established terms and conditions for creators, which could lead to more equitable revenue-sharing models compared to traditional systems where intermediaries hold the power.

Rethinking Content Creation and Ownership

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The blockchain presents a compelling solution for establishing clearer ownership models. For creatives, this means they could register their work—be it digital art, music, or video—on a blockchain, facilitating a transparent marketplace for creators. This environment not only encourages more opportunities for creators but also reframes the relationship between an artist's rights and the use of AI tools that can create derivative work.

The vision involves creating a dynamic marketplace—a space where creators maintain control, monetarily rewarding themselves for the use of their original works, while also enabling greater collaboration through a shared ecosystem.

The Future of Creative Economic Models

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The shifting landscape introduced by AI and crypto place increased focus on the economic framework that supports creators in the digital age. Ideas that previously relied on traditional channels of distribution—largely monopolized by major tech companies—are now being transformed by models where creators have greater autonomy and financial rewards.

Emphasizing "composability," a concept observed in successful open-source software, highlights how small contributions by various creators can lead to more innovative and engaging media. Through an open platform where creators remix and build upon one another's works, new creative landscapes emerge that were impossible under the conventional paradigms dominated by large companies.

The Challenges Gained from Innovation

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Despite the optimism for new platforms and models, potential pitfalls loom. With the rise of powerful AI systems capable of generating content quickly, questions arise regarding the sustainability of smaller web platforms and creators who may no longer enjoy a steady stream of traffic. The concern here is that, in an era of AI dominance, creators are left with few avenues to monetize their work, disrupting the covenant that previously assured their traffic would lead to financial compensation.

At this juncture, it remains essential that creative communities and tech developers collaborate closely, ensuring that the incentives for creators are aligned with new economic models built around AI and blockchain technologies.

Conclusion: A Harmonized Future

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What emerges is a vision of a future internet that aligns more closely with its original ideals—where ownership, governance, and financial reward flow evenly across creators rather than being concentrated within a handful of corporate giants. This renaissance for small tech and open-source AI not only stands to empower creatives but also opens doors for fresh innovation that benefits society as a whole.

Through strategic investment in decentralized infrastructure and open systems, there lies hope for not only the survival but the flourishing of creative professions in an AI-driven world. The call for continued discourse on these urgent themes is crucial as we navigate the many intricacies of technological advancement while protecting the creative spirit at its core.

Many brands today leverage paid commenters, or otherwise incentivize customers leaving positive reviews. For someone researching a new product, it can be difficult to tell who’s really a happy customer and who may be astroturfing in the comments section.

Adding a way for creators to self-identify as paid promoters could elevate the brand’s reception among that person’s followers while also being more transparent about the nature of the creator-brand relationship. While these are obviously paid endorsements, not organic, creators at least have to risk their own reputations by putting their names behind the given products. If they’re not selective about these recommendations, they can lose their followers’ trust.

“Our findings pave the way for comprehensive investigations of nickelate superconductors under ambient pressure conditions and for exploring superconductivity at higher transition temperature through strain engineering in heterostructures,” the researchers wrote in the study paper published in the journal Nature.

The superconductivity challenge
Superconductivity is when a material loses all electrical resistance and expels magnetic fields below a certain temperature.

It occurs when a material is cooled to a critical temperature. Traditionally, this required extremely low temperatures, making it impractical for many applications.

While many substances exhibit this behavior below -250 degrees Celsius, the real challenge lies in finding materials that can achieve superconductivity at higher temperatures. Those that can maintain this zero-resistance state above -233 degrees Celsius are classified as “high-temperature” superconductors.

“We’ve been working on this project for over a year, aiming to solve general robotics. Like a human, Helix understands speech, reasons through problems, and can grasp any object – all without needing training or code. In testing, Helix can grab almost any household object,” he added.

The launch of Helix follows Figure’s announcement of its separation from OpenAI in early February.

Adcock stated at that time, “Figure has achieved a significant breakthrough in fully end-to-end robot AI, developed entirely in-house. We are excited to reveal something that no one has ever seen before in a humanoid within the next 30 days.”

A series of the world’s first capabilities
According to Figure, Helix introduces a novel approach to upper-body manipulation control.

It offers high-rate continuous control of the entire humanoid upper body, which includes the wrists, torso, head, and individual fingers.