The hottest Substack posts right now

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The assessment of my PhD thesis by the University of Sydney and the way I see our world

Philosophy bear • 214 implied HN points • 25 Feb 25
📖 Philosophy Metaphysics Epistemology Political Philosophy Social theory Ethics
  1. It's better to hold institutions accountable instead of blaming individuals. Institutions can change, while people often stay the same.
  2. Making injustices visible helps society recognize and correct them, encouraging critical reflection on accepted practices.
  3. Everything in life matters, big or small. Caring about small events can deepen our appreciation for the larger, more significant issues we face.

GM Shaders Guest: GI

GM Shaders Mini Tuts • 137 implied HN points • 08 Dec 23
🕹 Technology Shaders Game Development
  1. Global Illumination in 2D can be achieved using Radiosity based GI for real-time per-pixel lighting in video games.
  2. Raymarching is a technique that accelerates scene rendering by approximating the distance to the nearest surface, often using Image-Based Distance Fields.
  3. Using Blue Noise and implementing implicit ray bouncing can enhance the quality of Global Illumination in games by providing uniform noise and consistent lighting across frames.

Last Week in AI #245: OpenAI Dev Day, Gen AI's impact on white-collar jobs, EU's AI Act negotiations stall, Humane's wearable AI assistant, and more!

Last Week in AI • 178 implied HN points • 13 Nov 23
🕹 Technology Analysis AI Research Policy
  1. OpenAI introduced new features like GPT-4 Turbo and custom GPT bots without coding at their developer event.
  2. Generative AI like ChatGPT is impacting freelance jobs, but assisting consultants in productivity and quality.
  3. Negotiations for the EU's AI Act stalled over regulating foundation models, posing a risk to the entire law.

Challenges In Adopting Retrieval-Augmented Generation Solutions

Cobus Greyling on LLMs, NLU, NLP, chatbots & voicebots • 59 implied HN points • 01 Apr 24
🕹 Technology Data Management Language Models AI Development Privacy Concerns Software Engineering User Experience
  1. Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) uses contextual learning to improve responses and reduce errors, making it useful for Generative AI.
  2. RAG systems are easier to maintain and less technical, which helps keep them updated with changing needs.
  3. However, RAG can have shortcomings like poor retrieval strategies and issues with data privacy, leading to incomplete or incorrect answers.

90% Of Founders Can't Build Successful MVP: Don't Be One | End of SaaS Is Closer | VC Remote Jobs & More

Venture Curator • 179 implied HN points • 20 Oct 23
💼 Business Tech industry Startups Venture Capital Remote Jobs Entrepreneurship
  1. Building a successful MVP involves focusing on the 'viable' aspect, listening to customer feedback, and iterating for improvement.
  2. 90% of startup founders fail at building successful MVPs due to not grasping the true essence of MVP and focusing solely on building a product.
  3. Successful startups like Airbnb, Twitch, and Stripe started with basic MVPs, appealing to early adopters and iterating based on user feedback.
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The Sequence Radar #679: From Model to Team: Several Models are Better than One: Sakana’s Blueprint for Collective AI

TheSequence • 105 implied HN points • 06 Jul 25
🕹 Technology Computational Models AI Research Machine Learning Software Development Data science
  1. Sakana AI has a new way to use multiple models together for better AI performance. Instead of relying on one model, they combine many to think more like humans.
  2. Their approach, called AB-MCTS, helps the AI decide whether to explore new ideas or improve current ones. This makes the AI smarter and more flexible in how it solves problems.
  3. By using several models that learn from past tasks, this system can better handle different challenges. This means AI can become more reliable and efficient in real-life applications.

Hiring Agile Coaches

It Depends / Nimble Autonomy • 19 implied HN points • 30 Jun 24
💼 Business Management Agile development Coaching Human Resources Leadership
  1. Agile coaches play an important role in helping teams improve their processes. A good coach can guide teams to recognize their own mistakes and improve without directly fixing their problems.
  2. When hiring agile coaches, it's essential to look for candidates with a solid background in product development and broad knowledge of agile methods. This experience helps them understand the 'why' behind agile practices.
  3. Building a successful agile coaching practice should start small, hiring one coach at a time. This allows the coach to establish what the role means in the organization before adding more coaches.

EthBoulder: 3 Days of Regen Tech, AI, and Real Future-Building

Crypto Good • 3 implied HN points • 19 Feb 26
🔮 Crypto Privacy Public Goods AI Integration Web3 DAOs
  1. A diverse group of technologists, creatives, and local leaders converged around regen tech and decentralization, focusing on building sustainable, abundant futures rather than crypto hype.
  2. Grassroots, low-code tools proved powerful — a non-engineer built a stable bottom-up event app, and an AI-powered knowledge graph captured notes and reflections in real time to preserve and amplify learning.
  3. Discussions were practical and actionable: grounded AI real-world use cases, arguments for human-guided governance over rigid “code is law,” and live funding/community tooling showed paths for creative projects and cities to adopt regen tech.

ChatGPT: Siri on Steroids

Diane Francis • 419 implied HN points • 30 Jan 23
🕹 Technology Software Development Innovation Ethics Artificial Intelligence Human-computer interaction
  1. ChatGPT is a powerful AI tool that can understand and respond to human language, making it helpful for tasks like summarizing information and writing poetry.
  2. While ChatGPT represents a major step in AI development, it is not perfect and should not be relied upon for important decisions without verification.
  3. As AI progresses, there are ethical concerns about how it can be used, and it's important to remember that technology reflects the intentions of its creators.

Principles for the Permaweird

Breaking Smart • 219 implied HN points • 09 Feb 25
📖 Philosophy Theory Ethics Culture Politics Strategy
  1. Chiang's Law states that science fiction focuses on strange rules, while fantasy revolves around special people. This idea helps in understanding different storytelling styles.
  2. Chor-Pharn's Law suggests that knowing your identity leads to bigger conflicts, while uncertainty can cause cultural battles. It highlights the importance of self-awareness in societal issues.
  3. Boyd's Razor emphasizes prioritizing integrity over blind loyalty in leadership. This balance fosters a healthier work culture and encourages diverse ideas, preventing toxic environments.

The Open Road

Podcasting 2.0 • 98 implied HN points • 29 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Apps Podcasting Features Android
  1. Podcasting is experiencing a winter phase, with struggles in monetization and platform acquisitions.
  2. Apple's embrace of RSS-based podcasting with features like episode transcripts signals a commitment to open collaboration.
  3. Podcasting 2.0 focuses on enhancing RSS feeds with new features in an open and community-driven manner.

Idle Thoughts On Programming and AI

Artificial Ignorance • 105 implied HN points • 03 Jul 25
🕹 Technology Programming AI Automation Coding Software
  1. AI is changing coding really fast, and many people don't realize just how quickly new tools and technologies are emerging. We're now seeing AI that can take on bigger coding tasks, even working in the cloud.
  2. The role of programmers is shifting. Instead of just writing code, developers must focus more on their intentions and project planning, as AI tools take care of many coding details.
  3. There are new challenges with security and hiring due to AI's impact on the industry. Companies need to rethink how they assess candidates and ensure safety as coding becomes easier with AI.

Ronin's Roaring 2024

Ronin’s Newsletter • 258 implied HN points • 07 Jan 25
🔮 Crypto NFTs DeFi Tokenomics Gaming Blockchain
  1. Ronin is growing fast, with a huge increase in users and games over the past year. A lot more people are now playing and enjoying games on the platform.
  2. Big-name partnerships are helping Ronin expand beyond just gaming. They are teaming up with companies like Binance and Coinbase to build a stronger ecosystem.
  3. Ronin is set to open its doors to everyone soon. This means anyone can create and join in on new projects on the network, making it an exciting time for developers and players alike.

A Must Watch

QTR’s Fringe Finance • 25 implied HN points • 25 Nov 25
💰 Finance Market Analysis Investing Documentary Fraud Detection Short selling
  1. Watch _The China Hustle_ documentary for insights into financial fraud, especially in the context of U.S.-listed companies. It's important for anyone involved in markets to understand these issues.
  2. The documentary focuses on fraud in Chinese companies, but it highlights similar problems in the U.S. market too. Many companies are not accurately reporting their finances.
  3. Real research into these issues is rare, especially among investment banks that want to maintain relationships with companies they cover. Be cautious and do your own due diligence.

Technically Monthly (January 2026)

Technically • 12 implied HN points • 06 Jan 26
🕹 Technology Machine Learning Developer Tools Software Development Product Management AI hardware AI Ethics Artificial Intelligence
  1. Try multiple vibe-coding tools by building the same thing so you learn their quirks, limits, and pricing before committing.
  2. Monitor AI with simple evals: study failures, use straightforward assertions instead of AI-judging-AI, and follow a loop of vibe check, spreadsheet, fixes, then targeted tests to cut hallucinations.
  3. Use AI thoughtfully at work by customizing prompts and iterating on workflows; learn prompt engineering or you risk being outcompeted by careless automation.

The Most Important Skill in the 21st Century

The Algorithmic Bridge • 668 implied HN points • 12 Mar 24
📖 Philosophy Knowledge Human nature Existentialism Ethics Self-awareness
  1. Boredom was never the problem, but not experiencing it is a challenge in the modern world.
  2. The most crucial skill in the 21st century is learning how to be bored and find tranquility in silence.
  3. Constant external stimulation has made us fear boredom, but embracing it can help us grow and stand out in a world of overwhelming entertainment.

It's Companies' Fault we don't want to Return to the Office

startupdreams • 1165 implied HN points • 17 Jun 23
💼 Business Corporate Responsibility Remote work Workplace culture
  1. Open office floor plans were introduced to reduce costs but can be detrimental to employees' performance.
  2. Working from home brought autonomy and productivity to many employees, making them reluctant to return to the office.
  3. Companies that force employees back to the office may face consequences like decreased productivity and losing top talent.

Proxy Fine-Tuning LLMs

Cobus Greyling on LLMs, NLU, NLP, chatbots & voicebots • 79 implied HN points • 26 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Data science AI Machine Learning Software Development
  1. Proxy fine-tuning lets you improve a language model's performance without changing its internal settings. It only uses the model's output to make adjustments.
  2. Combining different approaches, like retrieval and fine-tuning, can lead to better results with language models. It's about using the best methods together instead of relying on just one.
  3. Using proxy fine-tuning can help organizations better understand and organize their data. It encourages them to explore their information needs more deeply.

Grok's Secret Weapon: Prioritizing Truth Over Political Correctness

The Dossier • 212 implied HN points • 18 Feb 25
🕹 Technology Software Development Computer Science Innovation Data science Artificial Intelligence
  1. Grok stands out in AI by focusing on truth instead of political correctness. This helps it learn faster and respond better.
  2. Unlike other AI models, Grok gives detailed and nuanced answers, even on tough topics. This makes it smarter in reasoning and understanding complex issues.
  3. By embracing all kinds of information, Grok is set to become a major player in AI. Its approach could change how AI helps people across various industries.

Single Tenant vs Multi Tenant Architecture for SAAS Platforms [System Design Sundays]

Technology Made Simple • 139 implied HN points • 04 Dec 23
🕹 Technology System Design Cloud Services Data Systems Software Architecture
  1. Single Tenant Architecture provides each customer their own independent database and software instance, offering security and customization like living in a detached house.
  2. Multi-Tenant Architecture is akin to an apartment building where multiple tenants share common infrastructure, allowing for economies of scale but potentially limiting customization.
  3. Single Tenant architecture is known for high user engagement, control, and stability, while Multi-Tenant architecture favors compliance, security, and quick onboarding for better scalability.

The rise of AI work

The AI Frontier • 5 HN points • 22 Aug 24
🕹 Technology Data Productivity Workforce Automation AI
  1. AI products should focus on automating work that humans often find tedious. This helps measure their true value to consumers and businesses.
  2. Companies can choose to specialize deeply in one area or offer a broad service across multiple tasks. Each approach has its own strengths and weaknesses.
  3. Finding a middle ground might be beneficial, as it allows companies to manage a workflow that spans several tasks, though they should focus on making sure their quality remains high.

The Non Linear Path

The Renaissance Man • 19 implied HN points • 29 Jun 24
📖 Philosophy Existentialism Mindfulness Metaphysics Ethics Humanism
  1. Life doesn't always have a clear direction, and that's okay. Embracing the unknown can help you trust your journey, even when it feels scary.
  2. Comparing yourself to others can lead to feelings of jealousy and regret. Remember, everyone is on their own unique path, and you are not better or worse than anyone else.
  3. Holding onto hope is important, even when things don't make sense. It's better to believe that everything will work out in the end than to live in fear.

This well-known data company could be reversing the ETL to ELT shift

The Orchestra Data Leadership Newsletter • 79 implied HN points • 25 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Cloud Computing ETL Data Integration Data Engineering
  1. ETL (Extract-Transform-Load) and ELT (Extract-Load-Transform) have been key data engineering paradigms, but with the rise of the cloud, the need for in-transit data transformation has decreased.
  2. Fivetran, a widely known data company, is potentially shifting back to ETL methods by offering pre-built transformation features, effectively simplifying the data modeling process for users.
  3. There seems to be a trend towards a possible resurgence of ETL practices in the data industry, with companies like Fivetran potentially leading the way in providing ETL-like services within their platforms.

LLM Links, 12/1

In My Tribe • 288 implied HN points • 01 Dec 24
🕹 Technology Machine Learning Data Ethics Education AI
  1. AI systems are being developed to have better memory which would improve conversations with users. If they can remember past interactions, it could lead to more meaningful and deeper exchanges.
  2. Humans have unique qualities like vulnerability and connection that AI can't replicate. This means people will still value human interactions over machines, no matter how advanced they become.
  3. Virtual friends powered by AI can help those who are lonely, but they might also distract from real-life relationships. It's important to balance technology use with human connections.

Timing Is The Single Biggest Reason Why Startups Succeed! | On the Life & Death of Y Combinator Startups | VC Remote Jobs and More

Venture Curator • 179 implied HN points • 17 Oct 23
💼 Business Investments Technology Market Analysis Startups Venture Capital
  1. Timing is crucial for startup success - knowing when to enter a market can make or break a startup
  2. Different types of markets affect a startup's fate: small market not growing, large market with past growth, being too early, or small market growing quickly
  3. Entrepreneurs should focus on being in a small market that is growing rapidly to increase chances of success

🌞 On New Beginnings: Giving You A Sneak Peek Into The Operating System That I am Building.

Day One • 599 implied HN points • 16 May 22
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Personal Development Marketing Education Technology
  1. The author shares their journey of transitioning from one platform to another, highlighting the importance of aligning a marketing strategy with personal brand values.
  2. Building an operating system, in this context, refers to a framework to power personal growth and monetization, emphasizing multiple income streams and constant learning.
  3. The author discusses the development of an online education startup, emphasizing the importance of creating effective online learning structures and partnerships.

LLM Links, 2/12/2025 and Live Event Friday

In My Tribe • 212 implied HN points • 12 Feb 25
🕹 Technology AI Innovation Business Careers Models
  1. Reasoning-trained AI models are expected to outperform existing models in tasks like coding and math while still being costlier to run.
  2. DeepSeek is making waves in AI for its engineering efficiency and lower training costs, potentially leading to many companies creating competitive models.
  3. AI might replace numerous jobs, with tax preparers topping the list, highlighting the shift towards automated processes in many fields.

Bullshit jobs

Logos • 39 implied HN points • 09 May 24
💼 Business Employee Satisfaction Economic Theory Corporate Structure Work Culture
  1. Bullshit jobs are roles that seem pointless or don't add real value to society. People often feel their job is useless because they don't see how it benefits others or the economy.
  2. Many jobs that seem pointless actually exist because of unnecessary processes or rules. For example, lawyers might just deal with silly lawsuits instead of making real progress.
  3. Some jobs can be damaging because they make workers feel unproductive and trapped. It's important to find jobs that give a sense of purpose and real impact.

Can AI Speed up your Code?

Daniel’s Substack • 3 HN points • 03 Sep 24
🕹 Technology AI Software Programming Development Performance
  1. AI can write a lot of code quickly, but it often makes mistakes. So, it's not ready to fully replace human programmers yet.
  2. Converting Python code to C++ can make it run much faster, especially for tasks that involve heavy string processing.
  3. While AI can assist in code conversion, current tools have limitations and sometimes struggle with complex functions.

The Ultimate Startup Quest: Building Something Special (in VC)

Equal Ventures • 99 implied HN points • 25 Jan 24
💼 Business Startups Industry insights Entrepreneurship Investing Venture Capital
  1. Equal Ventures focuses on proactive research and industry connectivity to have a point of view on markets and build thoughtful partnerships with founders.
  2. Equal Ventures supports founders with continuous learning, frameworks, and best practices to help them navigate challenges and succeed in their industries.
  3. Equal Ventures' slow investment pace allows for deep alignment and meaningful support for portfolio companies, building long-term relationships beyond current roles.