New sections may appear every week or just when I have something new to share.
It was a great day for a motorcycle ride. We rode up the Taconic Parkway to Route 55 and then over to Poughkeepsie. Round trip was 81 miles.
Housatonic Habitat for Humanity had their second annual “Blueprints and Blue Jeans” event at the beautiful Ridgefield Playhouse. The snack table was festive.
I have been meeting with local charitable organizations to discuss AI and what to do about it. The interest level is high. Next talk on AI coming in November. Will details when available. I am considering a new book which I may call AI Attitude.
The startup I am sharing about this week is Knightscope. This startup raised its initial capital on the StartEngine platform. Then they went public, prematurely in my opinion. The stock has cratered since being listed. The news has been good. The coverage of Knightscope security robots for New York City was very positive. They are growing, but there is always the threat of running out of money. They just launched a $10 million round of financing using bonds. The bonds pay 10% interest. I bought some, but know the whole thing could go up in smoke and flames. My confidence in the company lies with the ceo, who I think is doing a great job. We shall see. As always, remember most startups fail. Never invest in a startup unless you are prepared to lose every penny you invest.
Here are some of the top news stories this week according to Bard AI:
- Google AI unveils Imagen, a new text-to-image diffusion model that can generate realistic images from text descriptions. Imagen is trained on a massive dataset of text and images, and it can generate images from a wide range of prompts, including simple descriptions of objects, scenes, and even abstract concepts.
- OpenAI releases a new version of its popular GPT-3 language model, called GPT-3.5 Turbo. GPT-3.5 Turbo is trained on a massive dataset of text and code, and it can generate text, translate languages, write different kinds of creative content, and answer your questions in an informative way. It is also more efficient and less expensive to run than previous versions of GPT-3.
- Meta AI releases a new dataset of over 100 million training examples for large language models (LLMs). The dataset, called Pile, is one of the largest and most diverse datasets of text and code ever created. It is designed to help researchers and developers train LLMs that are more accurate, reliable, and fair.
- DeepMind AI researchers develop a new algorithm that can solve a wide range of mathematical problems, including some that have been unsolved for centuries. The algorithm, called AlphaTensor, is able to learn from a small number of examples and then apply that knowledge to solve new problems.
- Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley develop a new AI system that can predict the future of a video clip with high accuracy.The system, called Video Transformer Network (VTNet), is trained on a massive dataset of videos and their captions. It can be used to predict what will happen next in a video, such as whether a person will fall or whether a ball will go into a net.
AI is a rapidly changing and evolving field. It is very difficult to stay informed about the latest developments in AI in order to make informed decisions about how to use AI to your advantage. I hope these weekly snippets provides some highlights of what is going on.
Following is from Zelenskyy staff meeting today.
I have just chaired a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief’s Staff. Lengthy, with several key issues.
First, of course, the front. The situation on the main fronts, reports from commanders, ammunition supply, and air defense.
The second issue of the Staff meeting directly related to our defense, the resilience of our state.
Energy. Preparing for winter, protecting our generation facilities, ensuring electricity and heat, and restoring everything damaged by Russian strikes and military actions.
The current leadership of Russia always does what it has done before. They repeat all their mistakes. They repeat all the evil they have done. And when things don’t go their way, they think they haven’t done enough evil to succeed. Such insane logic. But we must take this into account. This winter, Russian terrorists will once again try to destroy our energy system. They cannot comprehend that Ukraine will not be subjugated anyway. But they will try to launch more attacks and more attempts to bypass our defenses.
We fully understand the danger.
Today, at the Staff meeting, there were reports from the military and all officials responsible for the defense of our energy and our winter passing strategy. Everything related to the physical protection of facilities, rebuilding, following orders, and the course of action in case of various emergencies.
Winning this winter, overcoming all difficulties, and providing protection to our people is crucial. And, by the way, local authorities must fully perform their preparatory work.
Glory to our warriors! Glory to all who defend humanity and people!
Glory to Ukraine!
The trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the now-defunct FTX cryptocurrency exchange, is ongoing in Manhattan federal court. Bankman-Fried is facing eight criminal charges, including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The prosecution alleges that Bankman-Fried and his associates defrauded FTX customers by misusing customer funds and engaging in fraudulent accounting practices. The defense argues that Bankman-Fried was a visionary entrepreneur who made some mistakes but never intended to defraud anyone.
The trial is expected to last several weeks. The outcome of the trial could have a major impact on the crypto industry, as it could set a precedent for how regulators approach crypto exchanges.
Here are some of the key developments in the trial so far:
- Opening statements: The prosecution and defense gave their opening statements on October 4, 2023. The prosecution alleged that Bankman-Fried “ran a massive Ponzi scheme” and that he “stole billions of dollars from FTX customers.” The defense argued that Bankman-Fried was a “brilliant businessman” who made some mistakes but never intended to defraud anyone.
- Witness testimony: The prosecution has called several witnesses to testify, including former FTX employees and customers. The witnesses have testified about how Bankman-Fried and his associates misused customer funds and engaged in fraudulent accounting practices.
- Defense arguments: The defense has begun to present its case. The defense has argued that Bankman-Fried was a visionary entrepreneur who was trying to create a new financial system. The defense has also argued that Bankman-Fried was not aware of the fraudulent activities that were happening at FTX.
The trial is still in its early stages, and it is too early to say what the outcome will be. However, the trial is being closely watched by the crypto industry and the financial world alike. Meanwhile, the IRS is putting liens on two of Sam’s jets.
I don’t think I add much with my Wall Street comments. I suggest a click on MarketWatch will do a much better job.
Following are videos of talks I gave this year. I have been fortunate to be able to share my thoughts on technology with a number of groups.
On September 14, I gave a talk on AI at the Ridgefield Library in Ridgefield, CT.
On July 21, I gave a lecture on AI @FoundersHallCT. I wan’t sure how many would turn out. It was a lot. Great interest in the topic. In addition to current events and outlooks, I told the audience about Robot Attitude: How Robots and Artificial Intelligence Will Make Our Lives Better.
On March 8th I was the guest speaker at the first meeting of Probus in Palm Coast, Florida on March 8. Probus is a worldwide organization of retired and semi-retired men and women who come together to make new friends, learn new things, and have fun. There are over 4,000 Probus clubs in more than 100 countries, with over 400,000 members. Probus clubs are non-political, non-sectarian, and non-profit. They are self-governing and autonomous, and each club sets its own policies and activities.
On March 30, I gave my 12th annual lecture called Tech Talk at Hammock Dunes Club in Palm Coast, Florida where I live in the winter.
On March 23, gave a town hall-like speech and Q&A with the IT special interest group (SIG) of the New York Executive Forum. The event was via Zoom.
On April 19, I gave a talk and Q&A with a group of Union Carbide retirees. Some years ago, Union Carbide had its headquarters about a mile from where I live in Connecticut. The event was via Zoom.
There are many more videos of my lectures, interviews, etc. on my YouTube channel which you can find here.
