Mark Zuckerberg says that Apple's Vision Pro doesn’t present any major breakthroughs in technology that Meta hadn't already explored 

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TLDR 2023-06-09

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Big Tech & Startups

Here’s what Mark Zuckerberg thinks about Apple’s Vision Pro (4 minute read)

Mark Zuckerberg says that Apple's Vision Pro doesn’t present any major breakthroughs in technology that Meta hadn't already explored and that the two companies had different visions for how people will use their headsets. The Quest aims to have people interacting in new ways and feeling closer while also being active and doing things. Apple's demos for the Vision Pro only show people using the device while sitting alone on a couch. The Quest 3's lower price tag will help the device reach a wider audience.
This is what Instagram’s upcoming Twitter competitor looks like (2 minute read)

Meta's upcoming Twitter competitor will be based on Instagram and integrate with ActivityPub. It will use Instagram's account system to automatically populate user information. Users will theoretically be able to take their accounts to other apps that support ActivityPub. Meta already has celebrities committed to using the app. Screenshots of the app are available in the article.
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Science & Futuristic Technology

What will GPT-2030 look like? (27 minute read)

This post looks at the historical rate of progress in machine learning and extrapolates it forward to forecast the properties of large pretrained ML systems in 2030. GPT-2030 will likely be superhuman at various specific tasks and will be able to be copied arbitrarily and run in parallel. Its copies will be able to share knowledge, allowing for rapid parallel learning. The model will accelerate many areas of research but also create serious vectors for misuse.
RNA editing helps octopuses cope with the cold (2 minute read)

Scientists have known for over a decade that cephalopods are able to edit large amounts of their RNA. A recent study showed that environmental changes can trigger RNA editing. Some octopuses and squids cope with cold water by editing their RNA to change the proteins they produce. Most of the editing occurs in the nervous system, likely to help their brains function as temperatures drop.
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Programming, Design & Data Science

Autocomplete (GitHub Repo)

Autocomplete is a JavaScript library that helps developers quickly build autocomplete experiences. It only requires a container to inject the experience into, data to fill the autocomplete with, and a Virtual DOM solution. The library creates input and provides interactivity and accessibility attributes. Developers are in full control of the DOM elements to output.
Understanding GPT tokenizers (5 minute read)

Large language models take text, convert it into tokens, then predict which tokens come next. Playing around with tokens is an interesting way to get a better idea of how the technology works. This article explores what tokens are, the different types of tokens that exist, and token quirks. A tool for converting text to tokens, tokens to text, and running searches against the full token table for GPT-2 is available.
Fern - The Future of API Development (GitHub Repo Sponsor)

Fern is an open source format for defining REST APIs. You can think of it like a programming language to describe your API - your endpoints, types, errors, and examples.

Find out why companies like Scale AI and Flatfile already use Fern to develop their APIs and generate their SDKs, check us out on GitHub.

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Miscellaneous

Google makes office attendance part of performance reviews (2 minute read)

Google is pressuring employees to come back to the office. It is making in-person office attendance part of employee performance reviews. Work done from home will not be viewed as favorably as work done from the office. Employees that have frequent absences will start getting reminders about office attendance. Google recently put its mega campus project in downtown San Jose, California, on hold.
First Impressions of Vision Pro and VisionOS (18 minute read)

This article describes what it is like using Apple's new Vision Pro headset. The author spent 30 minutes using the headset in a temporary field house that Apple specifically constructed for the experience. While the experience of using the headset is reportedly amazing, it is yet to be seen whether it will be a compelling product. There is a huge potential for the Vision Pro across several use cases.
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Quick Links

Data things. CS things. Know all the things with Brilliant (Sponsor)

Whatever skills you need to tackle that technical thing you’re working on—Brilliant can help. They have thousands of bite-size, interactive lessons in math, data science, and CS for boosting your analytical skills and mastering concepts you can put to work. Try it free for 30 days.
Default composer (GitHub Repo)

Default Composer is a JavaScript library that allows users to set default values for nested objects, which helps simplify programming logic and reduce the amount of code needed to set default values.
The AI Boom Is Pulling Tech Entrepreneurs Back to San Francisco (8 minute read)

The allure of funding, hackathons, and networking from the AI frenzy is pulling tech entrepreneurs who left the Bay Area during the pandemic back to the city.
Should you optimize for all-cash compensation, if possible? (8 minute read)

While it is common in tech to receive stock as compensation, it can be a risky option, so workers should limit their exposure to what they are comfortable with.
We may finally crack Maths. But should we? (6 minute read)

While AI automating mathematical theorem proving will be a major breakthrough, the technology could potentially be used for malicious purposes.
WhatsApp’s new Channels feature brings social media to your messaging app (2 minute read)

Channels allows users to post text, photos, stickers, and polls to a feed with privacy controls.

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