Lifeboat Foundation

We’ve seen a lot about large learning models in general, and a lot of that has been elucidated at this conference, but many of the speakers have great personal takes on how this type of process works, and what it can do!

For example, here we have Yoon Kim talking about statistical objects, and the use of neural networks (transformer-based neural networks in particular) to use next-word prediction in versatile ways. He uses the example of the location of MIT:

“You might have a sentence like: ‘the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private land grant research university’ … and then you train this language model (around it),” he says. “Again, (it takes) a large neural network to predict the next word, which, in this case, is ‘Cambridge.’ And in some sense, to be able to accurately predict the next word, it does require this language model to store knowledge of the world, for example, that must store factoid knowledge, like the fact that MIT is in Cambridge. And it must store … linguistic knowledge. For example, to be able to pick the word ‘Cambridge,’ it must know what the subject, the verb and the object of the preceding or the current sentence is. But these are, in some sense, fancy autocomplete systems.”

A new airplane seat concept that allows wheelchair users to stay in their own chair throughout a flight was revealed this week by a subsidiary of US airline Delta, a move welcomed as a “huge step” by potential customers.

“Unbelievably excited,” is how power wheelchair user and avid traveler Cory Lee described his reaction after a working prototype of the design was demonstrated by Delta Flight Products (DFP) at the Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) in Hamburg, Germany, a symposium spotlighting airplane cabin innovations.

DFP’s concept seamlessly converts to and from a traditional airplane seat. The built-in seat folds up to allow a wheelchair to be docked into place. The seat would be installed into pre-existing aircraft seat track systems, so would not involve any structural change to the airplane.

Tesla says it will build new “1st of its kind” data centers. The automaker is hiring staff for it and snapping up some existing data centers.

The data center business is now massive with a market size of more than $250 billion.

Most of the biggest companies in the world, which are known to consumers for other products, are in it, like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Meta Platforms (Facebook).

Cold weather affects EV batteries’ life and charging. Heating the car’s cabin is the main issue, and batteries work slower in cool temperatures.

Elon Musk claims that Tesla may have “figured out some aspects of AGI” as he believes that Tesla vehicles now have “a mind.”

The CEO has said several times that he believes most of Tesla’s value is attached to self-driving, ad he says Tesla could achieve it by the end of the year.

The Tesla community is divided between believers who think the automaker is indeed about to deliver on its long-stated promise, and people who have been burned too many times by missed timelines and think a robotaxi service from Tesla is still years away.

The permission was given by California Public Utilities Commission after a 3–1 vote.

In a massive win for driverless cars in the United States, California has permitted Cruise and Waymo to conduct full-fledged commercial passenger service using driverless vehicles in San Francisco.

The permission granted by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) allows both firms to charge fees for journeys at any time of day. The approval comes after a disputed six-hour hearing on the matter that included residents voicing their concerns about autonomous vehicles (AVs) roaming their roads. Hearing all the arguments, the commission voted 3-to-1 to allow the two businesses to run their cars across San Francisco at any time of the day.

Waymo and Cruise are now allowed to launch paid 24/7, fully autonomous driverless car services in San Francisco, state regulators decided Thursday.

Why it matters: This is the final approval in both companies’ quests to launch their full-fledged services throughout San Francisco.

What’s happening: After several hours of public testimony, the California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday granted permits to allow both Cruise and Waymo to charge for rides around the clock in San Francisco.

In a win for the autonomous vehicle industry, California regulators have given the green light to Cruise and Waymo to offer commercial robotaxi services across San Francisco 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The commission voted 3–1 in support of the expansions; Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma cast the sole “no” vote.

The California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) votes in favor of the AV companies come in spite of mounting opposition from residents and city agencies that have urged caution and a more incremental approach to expansion. Since AVs hit the streets of San Francisco, there have been numerous instances of vehicles malfunctioning and stopping in the middle of the street — referred to as “bricking” — blocking the flow of traffic, public transit and emergency responders.

The Board of Trustees of the National Aviation Hall of Fame, or NAHF, named Tyson Weihs, co-founder and former CEO of ForeFlight, winner of its 2023 Armstrong Award.

The award recognizes Weihs for his “innovative spirit, commitment to safety, and service to the aviation community,” the NAHF said. Many pilots are using ForeFlight every day who would agree that the platform represents a game-changer in general aviation.