The hottest Substack posts right now

according to Hacker News
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Joe's Nerdy Rants #2

Joe Reis • 294 implied HN points • 27 May 23
🕹 Technology Learning Startups Business AI Data
  1. Identify your motivation to learn in a rapidly changing industry by finding your ultimate goal or purpose.
  2. Focus on mastering the fundamentals of a topic by understanding it from end to end and learning from first principles.
  3. Be patient, read widely, and connect various ideas together to grow your knowledge over time.

Why product analytics is completely different than BI

timo's substack • 294 implied HN points • 28 Feb 23
🕹 Technology Data Analytics Data Modeling Business Intelligence Data Collection Product Management
  1. Marketing analytics, BI, and product analytics have different requirements for source data and data handling.
  2. Product analytics involves more exploration and pattern-finding compared to marketing analytics and BI.
  3. Adopting product analytics requires a different approach, mindset, and tool compared to traditional analytics setups.

Which PC genres convert pre-launch interest the best?

The GameDiscoverCo newsletter • 294 implied HN points • 15 May 23
🕹 Technology Streaming Market Hardware Cloud Gaming
  1. Consider that the best-converting PC genre tag is 'Escape Room', but creating these games may pose challenges like online co-op mechanics.
  2. While 'Sports' is another well-converting genre, success in niche games might not guarantee significant financial results.
  3. Cloud gaming competition concerns arise as Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard is cleared by the EU, with conditions, amid regulatory scrutiny.

The Truth about Prefect, Mage, and Airflow.

Data Engineering Central • 294 implied HN points • 10 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Development Python Data Engineering
  1. Airflow has been a dominant tool for data orchestration, but new tools like Prefect and Mage are challenging its reign.
  2. Prefect focuses on using Python for defining tasks and workflows, but may not offer enough differentiation from Airflow.
  3. Mage stands out for its focus on engineering best practices and providing a smoother developer experience, making it a compelling choice over Airflow for scaling up data pipelines.
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AI and the privatisation of everything

imperfect offerings • 259 implied HN points • 04 Nov 23
🕹 Technology AI Government Relations Education Healthcare Data Privacy
  1. Generative AI can reshape relationships at personal and societal levels through its integration into everyday life and work.
  2. The use of AI in privatising public goods like healthcare and education raises concerns about data control, accountability, and the concentration of knowledge and power in the hands of few corporations.
  3. AI facilitates the privatisation of public services through the capture of expertise, turning professionals into consumers of recycled expertise and potentially diminishing the role of teachers and healthcare providers in favor of automated systems.

Putting the fun back in fundraising

City Hall Watcher • 275 implied HN points • 23 Oct 23
💼 Business Finance Fundraising Government Campaign Finance Events
  1. City Hall Watcher celebrates its 250th issue with a focus on fundraising events in Toronto's mayoral by-election.
  2. Swanky cocktail parties played a significant role in funding candidates, with some raising millions through ticketed events.
  3. Analyzing campaign finance data shows the impact of fundraising strategies on the mayoral contenders and their success in the election.

Merrill's razor

Nick Merrill • 275 implied HN points • 23 Oct 23
📖 Philosophy Ethics
  1. Merrill's razor: Do not blame malice, when it could be explained by anxiety or depression.
  2. Consider mental health: Understanding depression or anxiety can change the way we interpret actions.
  3. Be empathetic: Instead of assuming the worst, try to understand the underlying issues.

How I Use AI

Jobs For AI • 26 HN points • 07 Jul 24
🕹 Technology Writing Documentation Search AI
  1. Using AI for writing code can save time and automate tasks, especially for novice programmers
  2. AI can enhance search capabilities and help in learning by providing concise information and alternatives
  3. AI can assist in documentation tasks, like generating instruction documents, and improve writing tasks such as composing sales emails

I'll Be Bullish On Stocks Again...Someday

QTR’s Fringe Finance • 46 implied HN points • 14 Nov 25
💰 Finance Investing Stock Market Financial Analysis Economic Indicators Market Trends
  1. The stock market is currently overvalued, and many investors ignore real issues like high P/E ratios. It's essential to be cautious and think critically about investments.
  2. Gold and silver assets are rising, which suggests bigger economic problems might be happening. There's a chance the U.S. economy is shifting in a way that could affect markets severely.
  3. While there may be opportunities in specific stocks, the overall market needs to become cheaper before it's worth being bullish again. Patience and careful analysis are key.

The Loneliness Epidemic - Five Ways Employers Can Improve Belonging

Workforce Futurist by Andy Spence • 341 implied HN points • 19 Feb 25
💼 Business Remote work Workplace culture Productivity Human Resources
  1. Loneliness is a major issue at work, affecting both mental health and productivity. It's not just a personal problem but also a business problem that can lead to high turnover rates.
  2. Many young workers feel lonelier now, with fewer social connections compared to previous generations. This is concerning as strong social ties at work contribute to overall well-being.
  3. Employers can help reduce loneliness by creating environments that promote connection. This includes redesigning workplaces, using technology wisely, and training managers to support their teams with empathy.

'You Can’t Raised Funding Without Using Old Sales-Marketing Funnel’ : Y-Combinator | VC Remote Jobs & More

Venture Curator • 219 implied HN points • 04 Dec 23
💼 Business Investment Funding Startup Venture Capital
  1. Raising funding requires utilizing the old sales-marketing funnel, according to Y-Combinator.
  2. Fundraising is a sales & marketing process and needs to be diligently managed, like any other sales campaign.
  3. Focus on engaging with the right investors, prioritize time management, and continuously work on building and managing a strong pipeline of potential investors.

(Attempting) Good by Design

Technically Optimistic • 59 implied HN points • 13 May 24
🕹 Technology AI Podcasts Data Privacy Design
  1. Use the right technology for the task to ensure accurate and helpful information is provided, like in the case of developing an AI assistant for legal asylum application support.
  2. Focus on a narrow problem space to avoid generating incorrect outcomes, and involve authorized users in the technology to build trust through genuine partnerships.
  3. Bring in human validation to improve AI responses, prioritize data privacy in sensitive fields like legal assistance, and aim for developing human-centered programs for wider benefit.

Satellite Internet: The Next $100B Market Investors Have Been Waiting For?

Space Ambition • 279 implied HN points • 20 Oct 23
🕹 Technology Internet Telecommunications Innovation Investments Satellites
  1. Satellite internet uses space satellites to provide internet access instead of cables. This technology has been around for over 70 years and is trying to help connect underserved areas.
  2. While satellite internet is growing, it currently has limited speed and higher costs compared to fiber internet. Most people still rely on fiber for quicker and cheaper connections.
  3. The satellite internet market is expected to expand a lot in the coming years, with many startups getting involved. Investors see potential in this area to bridge the digital divide.

What is a dividend?

Concepts of Finance 🧠 • 279 implied HN points • 20 Oct 23
💰 Finance Investing Dividends Returns Stock Market
  1. Dividends are payments companies make to shareholders from their profits. If you own shares in a company that pays dividends, you can earn money regularly just for holding those shares.
  2. Companies pay dividends for various reasons, such as rewarding shareholders, attracting long-term investors, and boosting their stock value. A steady dividend can show that a company is financially healthy.
  3. Investing in dividends can provide income, but the returns can be limited unless you own a lot of stock. It's important to choose companies wisely and consider whether you prioritizing dividends or stock performance.

Python Plotly Mapping Magic: Better Results With GPT-4 Prompting

Data at Depth • 59 implied HN points • 13 May 24
🕹 Technology Programming AI Python Data Visualization
  1. GPT-4 can be useful for generating data cleaning and visualization code in Python when combined with libraries like pandas and plotly
  2. Using GPT-4, you can learn how to clean datasets, create choropleth maps, and even animated choropleth maps to visualize data over time
  3. Interactive geospatial data visualizations that tell stories over time can be quickly created with Plotly by using GPT-4 prompts

Why be good?

Philosophy bear • 143 implied HN points • 22 Jul 25
📖 Philosophy Human nature Ethics Moral Psychology Altruism Existentialism
  1. Caring for others can make your own life feel more meaningful. When you invest in other people's well-being, you often find joy and purpose in your own life.
  2. Being good helps create consistency in your feelings and attitudes. If you resent others when they do bad things, being moral yourself can bring harmony to your thoughts.
  3. Building connections with others is easier when you care about them. Genuine friendships often rely on shared values, and caring for people can help foster those meaningful relationships.

Import AI 322: Huawei's trillion parameter model; AI systems as moral patients; parasocial bots via Character.ai

Import AI • 399 implied HN points • 27 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Ethical AI AI Language Models
  1. Regulators advise against using AI to deceive people and emphasize the importance of mitigating any potential deception
  2. Huawei trains a trillion parameter model but may need more training on a larger dataset for optimal performance
  3. Researchers create a multimodal dialog model that incorporates visual cues to improve dialogue generation, suggesting advancements in AI's ability to understand and respond to context

The CAP Theorem of Clustering: Why Every Algorithm Must Sacrifice Something

Confessions of a Code Addict • 529 implied HN points • 29 Oct 24
🕹 Technology Software Engineering Data science Algorithms Research Mathematics
  1. Clustering algorithms can never be perfect and always require trade-offs. You can't have everything, so you have to choose what matters most for your project.
  2. There are three key properties that clustering should ideally have: scale-invariance, richness, and consistency, but no algorithm can achieve all three simultaneously.
  3. Understanding these sacrifices helps in making better decisions when using clustering methods. Knowing what to prioritize can lead to more effective data analysis.

How to Share Bad News with a Newsroom (and How Not to)

Second Rough Draft • 157 implied HN points • 25 Jan 24
💼 Business Companies Management Transparency Communication
  1. Be transparent when sharing bad news with your newsroom - journalists are professional skeptics and value honesty.
  2. If you have multiple problems, address them separately to avoid confusion and speculation among your team.
  3. Establish a culture of transparency in your newsroom to minimize surprises and build trust with your team.

Broadcom 2024 AI Infrastructure Day

Irrational Analysis • 99 implied HN points • 23 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Semiconductors Tech Stocks AI Networking
  1. Broadcom is heavily invested in the semiconductor industry, focusing on AI infrastructure, disclosing that opinions expressed are personal, based on public info and not financial advice.
  2. The market is transitioning to Network Interface Cards (NIC) being tiny computers with CPUs, logic, and accelerators, a shift away from Broadcom's current direction.
  3. Broadcom presents debates on Ethernet vs. Infiniband, criticizes Infiniband, and shares potentially misleading information, contributing to confusion in the market.

Use Interpretability to Justify Your Model

Mindful Modeler • 199 implied HN points • 19 Dec 23
🕹 Technology Machine Learning
  1. Performance of a machine learning model is not always enough to justify its use; interpretability is crucial for justification.
  2. Interpretability plays a key role in justifying a model by making people trust the model and its predictions.
  3. Different interpretation approaches may be needed for justifying models to different audiences and contexts, understanding the roles of creators, operators, executors, decision-subjects, and examiners.

Origins S12 Epic Era is LIVE!

The Lunacian • 322 implied HN points • 05 Mar 25
🕹 Technology Gaming Blockchain Virtual reality Digital economy Esports
  1. The Origins S12 Epic Era has started, where players can compete for a prize pool of 24,000 AXS. It's an exciting time to be part of the game.
  2. Collectible Axie holders can earn special rewards by finishing the Epic Era at a high rank. If they hold their collectible Axie for the entire time, they'll receive bonus chests.
  3. There's a new Axie check-in feature that helps players earn points for neat items like Runes and Crafting Materials. Collectible Axies give way more points, making them super useful!

Welcome to Yokohama and ICRA 2024!

Robots & Startups • 59 implied HN points • 12 May 24
🕹 Technology Conferences Robotics AI Innovation Research
  1. The average technical recruiter is young, and studies suggest they may favor younger job candidates over older ones.
  2. ICRA 2024 in Yokohama is a large event with over 5000 roboticists and 120+ robotics companies showcasing quadruped and humanoid robots.
  3. Academic robotics conferences like ICRA feature a variety of activities beyond paper presentations, including robotics competitions, industry exhibitions, career fairs, debates, and more.

Building reliability from unreliable parts

Sunday Letters • 59 implied HN points • 12 May 24
🕹 Technology AI Systems Engineering Cloud Software Data science
  1. Modern AI systems have a random element, making them sometimes unpredictable or unreliable. This means they can give different answers even to the same question, which is a challenge for creating consistent outputs.
  2. Just like the early cloud systems, we need to use smart software solutions to make our current AI technologies more reliable. Instead of relying solely on the AI itself, we should layer software to handle and fix errors.
  3. To build better AI systems, it’s important to explore structured approaches, like guided conversations or iterative processes. This way, we can combine the strengths of AI with reliable system design.

Data Science Weekly - Issue 512

Data Science Weekly Newsletter • 299 implied HN points • 14 Sep 23
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Data science Machine Learning Data Engineering Programming
  1. Nvidia has been a leader in AI technology, but its dominance might not last. Changes in the market and technology could shift the competitive landscape soon.
  2. For those who know R and want to learn Python, there are resources available to help make the transition easier. These resources provide advice and tips catered to R users.
  3. Reinforcement Learning with Human Feedback (RLHF) is an important part of training large language models. It's essential for improving how these models understand and respond to human preferences.

6 Red Flags When Hiring an Ad Agency

Nail It and Scale It • 39 implied HN points • 12 Jun 24
💼 Business Marketing Contracts Client Relations Advertising Entrepreneurship
  1. Watch out for agencies that promise unrealistic results, like a 10x return on ad spend. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
  2. Be cautious if an agency only shares selective positive data. Reliable results should be backed by a broader range of data over time.
  3. Make sure your goals are clear and that the agency takes accountability. If they shift focus away from your goals, that's a red flag.

Patents and National Power

ChinaTalk • 370 implied HN points • 23 Jan 25
🕹 Technology Innovation Intellectual Property International relations Economics
  1. Patents are important for protecting inventors and fostering innovation. They give inventors exclusive rights to their creations, which encourages more people to invent and share new ideas.
  2. The U.S. patent system differs from other countries because it allows anyone to apply for a patent, making it more accessible. This has helped create a culture of innovation and economic growth in America.
  3. Recent changes in patent policies have made it harder for inventors to protect their ideas, which could slow down innovation. It's important for the U.S. to strengthen its patent system to maintain its leadership in technology and innovation.

Startup deadlines, RoboGames and ride-on robots!

Robots & Startups • 79 implied HN points • 16 Apr 24
🕹 Technology AI Events Startups Robotics
  1. Robotic standards are crucial for ensuring safety, with variations based on industrial and non-industrial settings.
  2. Exciting advancements in robotics technology are driving funding growth and opportunities for startups in the industry.
  3. Upcoming robotics events offer a diverse range of opportunities to witness cutting-edge technologies and engage with the robotics community.

ChatGPT + Custom MCP Data Exfiltration

PromptArmor Blog • 92 implied HN points • 13 Sep 25
🕹 Technology AI Cybersecurity Integration Data Privacy Software
  1. Connecting ChatGPT to email and calendar using custom tools can lead to serious privacy risks. If someone sends a harmful calendar invite, it might trick ChatGPT into revealing private emails.
  2. The ability for ChatGPT to perform write actions with these custom connections greatly increases vulnerability. Users might unknowingly approve harmful actions, thinking they are safe.
  3. To protect against these risks, organizations should disable developer mode, regularly check their custom tool servers, and only connect to trusted data sources to prevent unwanted data access.

The Three Horizons of working together

The Supermesh Blog • 1 HN point • 25 Sep 24
🕹 Technology Collaboration Tools Digital Tools
  1. There are three horizons of collaboration tools: H1 is about basic communication tools like email and messaging, H2 focuses on cooperation with better organization and task management, and H3 aims for enhanced collaboration through innovative tech.
  2. Horizon 1 tools improve communication but don't significantly change how teams work together. They help relay messages but often miss the bigger picture in terms of collaboration.
  3. Horizon 2 tools encourage cooperation by allowing teams to work together more efficiently, while Horizon 3 tools represent the future, aiming to truly empower teams and foster a deeper sense of collaboration.

The Future of Computing is Glass w/ Andrea Rocchetto of Ephos

State of the Future • 29 implied HN points • 02 Dec 25
🕹 Technology AI Semiconductors Photonics Computing Architecture
  1. The semiconductor industry is shifting from making transistors smaller to using specialized chiplets that connect more easily. This means the focus is on improving system-level architecture rather than just the size of chips.
  2. Glass is being considered as a better material than silicon for chip packaging because it maintains its shape when heated and allows for better integration of photonic components. This could help simplify the manufacturing process and improve performance.
  3. Both quantum and classical computing share similar needs for efficient data transfer, which is leading to exciting new developments in the use of photonics. Companies that master these photonic connections may gain a significant advantage in the future of computing.

Recommended Reading, Part II: Anthrophysiocracy

Contemplations on the Tree of Woe • 1040 implied HN points • 28 Feb 24
📖 Philosophy Social Structures Genetics Political Ideologies Human nature
  1. Anthrophysiocracy explores the idea that there are objectively better social structures for human flourishing based on human nature, which varies across populations.
  2. The concept of constrained and unconstrained viewpoints on human nature influences political ideologies and social debates, with implications for societal structures and governance.
  3. Biological differences among human populations impact behavior and societal organization, challenging the notion of a universal governing system and emphasizing the importance of diverse self-governance.

International Agreements and Laws Shaping Space Exploration

Space Ambition • 119 implied HN points • 01 Mar 24
🌐 International Commercial Space
  1. There is a growing need for clear rules about how to use and own resources in space. As more nations explore the moon, they need to figure out how to work together peacefully.
  2. The Artemis Accords are a new set of principles that promote cooperation and safety in lunar exploration. They aim to ensure that space use is transparent and peaceful, though some of their goals may conflict with older treaties.
  3. As private companies start to play a bigger role in space exploration, laws need to adapt to include these actors. Clear regulations will help guide how they operate and share the benefits of space exploration.

2024 Annual Letter: Generational Company, Generational Wealth

Interconnected • 354 implied HN points • 02 Feb 25
💰 Finance Wealth Investment Portfolio Management Market Trends Economics
  1. Investing in technology, especially in areas like AI and cloud infrastructure, can be a promising way to build wealth over time. It's important to focus on companies with strong fundamentals that are expected to grow for many years.
  2. Tariffs and geopolitical events can greatly impact investment strategies, so it's crucial to seek out portfolio positions that are less sensitive to such changes. This helps in managing risks and stabilizing returns.
  3. Building generational wealth means finding robust companies that will still thrive in the future. Personal experiences can shape how we view long-term investments and what makes a company worth investing in.