The hottest Substack posts right now

according to Hacker News
Category

1st Look at Local Housing Markets in June

CalculatedRisk Newsletter • 282 implied HN points • 08 Jul 25
💼 Business Economic Indicators Sales Data Market Trends Real Estate Inventory Management
  1. In June, home sales increased slightly by 0.9% compared to the same month last year, which is a good sign after previous declines.
  2. There were more new home listings this June, showing an increase of 7.7% year-over-year, but still lower than the activity in 2019.
  3. Inventory levels rose significantly by 39.3% year-over-year, indicating that more homes are available for buyers now compared to last year.

The Dynamically Priced City

The New Urban Order • 199 implied HN points • 11 Mar 24
💼 Business Behavior Change Urban Economics
  1. Dynamic pricing can help businesses like Amtrak optimize revenue and manage unsold inventory effectively.
  2. Cities are considering implementing dynamic pricing to influence behavior, reduce congestion, and increase revenue for public services like transportation.
  3. Dynamic pricing could be a valuable tool for businesses, nonprofits, and public sectors to adapt to post-pandemic economic challenges and maximize revenue.

Weekly Dose of Optimism

Not Boring by Packy McCormick • 226 implied HN points • 01 Aug 25
🕹 Technology Biotech Delivery Design Energy AI
  1. Meta is working on AI that can improve itself, which could lead to superintelligent systems. This tech aims to help people achieve their goals rather than just keeping them glued to social media.
  2. A Dutch startup has launched the first grid-connected iron-air battery, offering a more efficient way to store clean energy for extended periods. This could reduce reliance on rare materials used in traditional batteries.
  3. A new AI-designed gene editor is making it easier to edit the human genome precisely. This technology could lead to major advances in medicine and biotechnology, changing how we approach health and agriculture.

✅ Please and thank you, ChatGPT

Wadds Inc. newsletter • 59 implied HN points • 24 Jun 24
💼 Business Public Relations Media Industry Trends AI Tools Communication
  1. AI can help public relations workers do their jobs better, but it won't completely take their place. There are still many tasks that need human touch, like building relationships.
  2. Many public relations professionals see AI tools as partners in their work, even giving them human-like qualities. This shows a growing acceptance of AI in the industry.
  3. Trust in government and media is quite low right now. Many people feel politicians are not honest or are out for their own interests, which makes it hard for the next government to regain public faith.
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Unexpected possibilities

Meaningness • 239 implied HN points • 17 Feb 24
🕹 Technology AI Community Content Updates Books
  1. The author is exploring new ways to interact with readers, seeking feedback to be more useful and considering the balance between writing and engaging with the community.
  2. Using a platform's features like 'Notes' to share quarter-baked ideas and encourage reader interaction, but facing challenges like visibility for subscribers.
  3. The author is contemplating the frequency of informal multi-topic update posts, seeking feedback on whether readers find them interesting or view them as clutter.

My Personal Investing Journey

Jay's Data Stream • 5 implied HN points • 19 Feb 26
💰 Finance Investing Personal Finance Portfolio Management Asset allocation Cryptocurrency Risk management Behavioral Finance
  1. Buy-and-hold only reliably works for broad index funds, because they spread risk across many companies; individual stocks or crypto can go to zero, so you can’t treat every asset the same.
  2. True diversification means different exposures, not just different labels — owning the S&P plus a bunch of U.S. tech bets is still concentrated; an automated, multi-asset portfolio with regular rebalancing helps you survive big drawdowns.
  3. Use clear rules and position sizing: keep a small YOLO bucket, only hold individual bets you would buy at today’s price, and pay attention to fees and fine print because small differences compound over time.

Central Banking in the Age of Chaos-Monkey Tariff Threats: It Would Not Be That Hard for Fed Governor Chris Waller to Do His Job Professionally

Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality • 253 implied HN points • 18 Jul 25
💰 Finance Market Analysis Central Banking Tariffs Inflation Economic Policy
  1. Fed Governor Christopher Waller should push for an end to tariff chaos, which creates inflation risks. It's important for him to act professionally and prioritize stability.
  2. Current interest rates may need to go down since they could be too high for economic growth. The Fed should be cautious and not cut rates hastily amid ongoing tariff issues.
  3. The Federal Reserve's credibility relies on resisting political pressure. They should remind the Executive that stable economic policies need changes in how the government operates.

Are You Considering a Career Pivot into the Security of AI?

Rod’s Blog • 357 implied HN points • 20 Dec 23
🕹 Technology Innovation Ethics Career development Cybersecurity Artificial Intelligence
  1. Considering a career pivot into the security of AI can be a valuable choice to make a positive impact on society.
  2. Having an interest in technology's implications, experience in various tech projects, and awareness of technology's consequences are good reasons to pursue AI security.
  3. Opportunities in AI security offer potential for career growth, impact, and contribution to shaping a safer, ethical, and beneficial AI future.

When to Raise Funding? How much funding is too little? Too much? | VC Remote Jobs & More

Venture Curator • 259 implied HN points • 06 Feb 24
💼 Business Venture Capital Startups Investment Insights
  1. Founders should not jump into fundraising when their business is not ready
  2. When raising funds, it's crucial to know the right timing based on market opportunity, customer needs, and product market fit
  3. Raising too much money can lead to cultural corrosion in a startup, which can affect hiring, management, product focus, and more

The view from above

The Stoic Journal • 15 implied HN points • 26 Jan 26
📖 Philosophy Philosophy of Mind Ethics Ancient Philosophy Stoicism Practical philosophy Existentialism
  1. Imagining a 'view from above'—zooming out until your problems look tiny—makes urgent feelings fade.
  2. This perspective doesn't fix the situation, but it helps you right-size problems and stay calmer and clearer.
  3. You are both a small speck in the world and a mind that can hold the whole picture, and remembering that duality lets you change how you feel even when things stay the same.

We need better LLM evaluations

The AI Frontier • 159 implied HN points • 04 Apr 24
🕹 Technology Internet Software Machine Learning Data science AI
  1. Current methods for evaluating language models (LLMs) are not effective because they try to give one-size-fits-all answers. Each LLM is better suited for different tasks, so we need evaluations that reflect that.
  2. It’s important to look at specific skills of LLMs, like how well they follow instructions or retrieve information. This will help users understand which model works best for their needs.
  3. We need more detailed benchmarks that assess individual capabilities rather than general performance scores. This way, developers can make smarter choices when selecting LLMs for their projects.

Cellar Door

Logos • 19 implied HN points • 13 Aug 24
🕹 Technology User Experience Programming Coding Web Apps AI Development
  1. The project, Cellar Door, aims to find the most beautiful word in English by using a voting system based on people's preferences. It's a fun way to see which words people like the most.
  2. They initially struggled with a word list that included silly terms, but switched to a more reliable source to ensure the app only features valid words. The process of cleaning up the data is ongoing.
  3. The use of AI tools like OpenAI's API has made coding easier and more efficient for developing apps. However, there's still a need for better platforms to help non-technical users create their own apps with less confusion.

self learning models (1)

Eternal Sunshine of the Stochastic Mind • 119 implied HN points • 02 May 24
🕹 Technology Neural Networks Machine Learning AI Metaphors Computer Science
  1. Machine Learning is a leap of faith in Computer Science where data shapes the outcome rather than instructions.
  2. In machine learning, viewing yourself as a neural network model can offer insights into self-improvement.
  3. Understanding machine learning concepts can help in identifying learning failures, training the mind, and reflecting on personal objectives.

100 Years of 'IBM'

The Chip Letter • 1965 implied HN points • 15 Feb 24
🕹 Technology History Computing Companies
  1. IBM has had a significant impact on the development of computer systems over 100 years.
  2. IBM's influence extends to technologies like mainframes, personal computers, and databases.
  3. The history of IBM shows both positive contributions to technology and darker aspects like the association with controversial events.

RAG Foundry By Intel

Cobus Greyling on LLMs, NLU, NLP, chatbots & voicebots • 19 implied HN points • 13 Aug 24
🕹 Technology Machine Learning Artificial Intelligence Software Development Open Source Data science
  1. RAG Foundry is an open-source framework that helps make the use of Retrieval-Augmented Generation systems easier. It brings together data creation, model training, and evaluation into one workflow.
  2. This framework allows for the fine-tuning of large language models like Llama-3 and Phi-3, improving their performance with better, task-specific data.
  3. There is a growing trend in using synthetic data for training models, which helps create tailored datasets that match specific needs or tasks better.

Which Jobs will AI Take?

In My Tribe • 653 implied HN points • 23 Jan 25
🕹 Technology Jobs Productivity Industry Automation AI
  1. AI will change many jobs, especially in sectors like transportation and finance, where automation is expected to replace a lot of workers.
  2. Some industries, like health care and entertainment, will likely grow and adapt to include both humans and AI, creating new types of jobs.
  3. The future job market will be different, with many traditional roles disappearing, but it’s believed there will still be plenty of new jobs created in emerging fields.

Day in the Life: Building a Prototype with My AI Agent

Boring AppSec • 7 implied HN points • 13 Feb 26
🕹 Technology DevOps Infrastructure AI Software Security Networking Privacy
  1. Defense in depth and human-in-the-loop gates really matter. Layered controls—allowlists, sandboxed subagents, firewalls, Tailscale, and ephemeral VMs—stopped an agent from autonomously exposing services and required manual approval where needed.
  2. Tool policy enforcement beats plain filesystem isolation. A sandbox that restricts actions like exec/gateway/message is safer than a VM-only approach, and the ideal is VM-aware sandboxes that enforce tool policies inside ephemeral VMs.
  3. The main unsandboxed agent, secrets, and prompt injection are the biggest risks. Use least privilege, just-in-time secrets injection, exposure audit logs, and require explicit user approval for network exposure to mitigate them.

Lattice Semiconductor Q2 2025 Financials

More Than Moore • 210 implied HN points • 14 Aug 25
🕹 Technology Networking Semiconductors AI Data Centers Embedded Systems
  1. Lattice Semiconductor saw a slight growth in revenue, reaching $124 million in Q2 2025. This is a positive sign after a tough period of declining sales.
  2. The company is focusing more on its newer product lines, like Avant and Nexus 2, which are becoming important for their business. These products are driving sales in high-demand areas like communications and computing.
  3. Despite some segments, like Industrial and Automotive, seeing declines, Lattice is managing its finances well with strong gross margins and an increase in free cash flow, giving it room for future investments.

The internet is about to be reshuffled

Simon Owens's Media Newsletter • 673 implied HN points • 17 Jan 25
💼 Business Media industry Content creation Advertising Streaming services Economic Trends
  1. When TikTok shuts down, a lot of users might turn to other platforms instead. This could create big opportunities for content creators who need to act quickly to capture the new audience.
  2. Many media companies struggle to see the true value of their employees. Freelance creators are finding success on platforms like Substack, showing that they can earn more outside traditional jobs.
  3. Spotify's move into audiobooks has helped it attract new listeners and grow its business. This shift is seen as one of the smartest decisions among streaming services, providing more value to subscribers.

Resilient Cyber Newsletter #9

Resilient Cyber • 19 implied HN points • 13 Aug 24
🕹 Technology AI Automation Compliance Vulnerability Management Cybersecurity
  1. Microsoft is tying employee bonuses to security performance, highlighting the importance of prioritizing security in their culture. This means employees are encouraged to choose security over other goals like speed or profit.
  2. There's growing interest in using AI for cybersecurity tasks, including identifying vulnerabilities and automating processes. This technology could help improve security practices but also presents challenges.
  3. The market for security automation is expected to grow significantly. This means companies are looking for ways to streamline their security processes and keep up with new threats efficiently.

Expanding AI Horizons: The Rise of Function Calling in LLMs

Gradient Flow • 279 implied HN points • 25 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Machine Learning LLMs Data AI
  1. Function Calling in AI enables models to interact with external functions, going beyond basic text generation to execute actions based on requests.
  2. Combining Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) with Function Calling enhances AI systems, allowing them to access external APIs to improve adaptability and assist in various tasks.
  3. Despite its potential, Function Calling in AI faces challenges like security risks, ethical alignment, technical limitations, and the need for advancements in contextual understanding for full potential realization.

Import AI 336: Financialized AI; public and elite AI opinion; one million insects.

Import AI • 519 implied HN points • 14 Aug 23
🕹 Technology AI Datasets Research Finance Digital Life
  1. The financialization of AI is increasing, with companies finding new ways to fund AI projects through unconventional means like debt collateralized against GPUs.
  2. AI benchmarks are being solved faster, indicating either accelerated AI progress or the increasing complexity in building good benchmarks.
  3. Public opinion, reflected in a poll, shows significant concerns about AI development and regulation, contrasting with elite opinions that emphasize rapid AI advancement.

A Comprehensive Approach to Using LLMs

Gradient Flow • 519 implied HN points • 05 Oct 23
🕹 Technology Open Source Data security Deployment Machine Learning
  1. Starting with proprietary models through public APIs, like GPT-4 or GPT-3.5, is a common and easy way to begin working with Large Language Models (LLMs). This stage allows exploration with tools like Haystack.
  2. Transitioning to open source LLMs provides benefits like cost control, speed, and stability, but requires expertise in managing models, data, and infrastructure. Using open source LLMs like Llama models from Anyscale can be efficient.
  3. Creating custom LLMs offers advantages of tailored accuracy and performance for specific tasks or domains, though it requires calibration and domain-specific data. Managing multiple custom LLMs enhances performance and user experience but demands robust serving infrastructure.

YC

Venture Prose • 519 implied HN points • 21 Aug 23
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Venture Capital Startups Market Trends Investing
  1. YC-backed companies' valuations have significantly increased over the past years due to market conditions and increased capital availability.
  2. When investing in startups, it's crucial to have access to top founders, win deals, and diversify your portfolio with at least 20 deals to maximize returns.
  3. High valuations and early-stage startup frenzy can sometimes lead entrepreneurs to lose sight of the core values and essence of their journey.

No More Forms to Fill Out

In My Tribe • 318 implied HN points • 08 Jun 25
🕹 Technology AI Innovation Communication Education Software
  1. Filling out forms is a common part of life, but it often feels outdated. Instead of forms, we could use conversations with AI to make communication easier.
  2. Using AI like Claude, teachers can upload their syllabi and have an interactive conversation to turn their ideas into structured course content. This way, the process becomes more collaborative and flexible.
  3. This new method allows for ongoing adjustments and real-time feedback, leading to a stronger connection between the content and the user's needs. It's not just about filling out information, but working together to create something meaningful.

Unexpected python traps for beginners

Bite code! • 1957 implied HN points • 19 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Best Practices Syntax Programming
  1. Python automatically concatenates strings written next to each other, making it easier to break long strings across multiple lines.
  2. In Python, be mindful of the differences between functions like sorted() and list.sort(), as they behave differently in terms of returning values.
  3. Tuples in Python are created using commas, with parentheses being optional for non-empty tuples, but crucial for tuples of one element to avoid confusion.

Japan Gets Options. China Gets the Wall.

Pekingnology • 49 implied HN points • 19 Dec 25
🕹 Technology Payments Software Mobile Platforms Regulation Antitrust
  1. Japan forced Apple to open iOS to alternative app stores, alternative payments, and external purchase links, but Apple implements these changes with safety guardrails and says it won’t roll them out everywhere.
  2. China still faces Apple's strict App Store controls and high commissions, and rising antitrust suits and consumer complaints challenge that status quo while bespoke deals like Tencent’s 15% cut highlight uneven flexibility.
  3. Global enforcement and court rulings are shifting the center of gravity toward more choice without abandoning security, and China could push for simpler steps like allowing steering and regulated alternative payments rather than full distribution changes.