The hottest Substack posts right now

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Bridging the Gap: From Statistical Distributions to Machine Learning Loss Functions

Mindful Modeler • 818 implied HN points • 14 Nov 23
đź•ą Technology Statistical Analysis Machine Learning Optimization
  1. Understanding the distribution of the target variable is key in choosing statistical analysis or machine learning loss functions.
  2. Certain loss functions in machine learning correspond to maximum likelihood estimation for specific distributions, creating a bridge between statistical modeling and machine learning.
  3. While connecting distributions to loss functions is insightful, the real power in machine learning lies in the flexibility to design custom loss functions rather than being constrained by specific distributions.

The Ultimate Founder & Team LinkedIn Playbook (+ Free Templates)

Startup Business Tips 🚀 • 86 implied HN points • 14 Dec 25
đź’Ľ Business Marketing Growth Sales Leadership Content Social media Branding
  1. Treat your LinkedIn profile like a landing page: be crystal clear who you help, what value you deliver, and what action you want people to take by using your banner, headline, and featured section as your CTA real estate.
  2. Turn employees into a distribution engine by leading from the top and removing friction — find internal thought leaders and give them ready-to-post templates, visuals, content calendars, incentives, and challenges so posting becomes easy and rewarding.
  3. Run a content engine that covers TOFU/MOFU/BOFU and focus on the fundamentals: add real value, engage with others, be authentic, and show up consistently to turn attention into pipeline.

The Box — the world's first anti-deepfake wearable

12challenges • 599 implied HN points • 18 Jun 25
đź•ą Technology Wearables Satire Digital Culture Privacy AI
  1. The Box is a satirical product designed to highlight the rise of deepfake technology, especially its harmful impact on women. It aims to raise awareness about non-consensual deepfake porn in a creative way.
  2. The creators hope to show how society might respond to the dangers of deepfakes with more technology, instead of addressing the root cause. This reflects a commentary on current tech solutions to serious social issues.
  3. The project represents a shift towards fewer but more in-depth creations, allowing the creators to focus on significant topics that matter. It's also part of a collaborative effort to engage others in addressing these pressing concerns.

Managed decline

Logging the World • 418 implied HN points • 25 Feb 24
đź“– Philosophy Narrative Luck Life lessons Career
  1. Spurious precision in quantifying data can lead to misleading conclusions. It's important to question the validity and relevance of highly specific measurements.
  2. Success in fields like sports, work, or academia is influenced by luck and chance. It's crucial to acknowledge these factors in evaluating performance and outcomes.
  3. Random events play a significant role in everyone's career. It's essential to maintain perspective during both highs and lows, understanding the impact of chance in long-term success.
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App.axie updates are LIVE!

The Lunacian • 460 implied HN points • 29 Jul 25
đź•ą Technology Digital Communities Blockchain Gaming Mobile Apps User Experience
  1. The new Axie Score Leaderboard is out, letting players see how their scores compare to others. This helps you understand your influence in the community.
  2. App.axie got cool updates like new icons for Designations and a better mobile interface for managing your axies. These changes make it easier and more fun to use the app.
  3. There are more options for Axie Hangouts coming soon, including new backgrounds to customize your space. It's exciting to think about all the ways to express your style!

⤴⤵ Up Wing/Down Wing #32

Faster, Please! • 1279 implied HN points • 25 Jan 25
đź•ą Technology Genetics Robotics AI Development Renewable Energy
  1. China has introduced a new AI model, DeepSeek, which could challenge the U.S.'s lead in AI technology. It's created with fewer resources and is making waves in the AI landscape.
  2. The U.S. is launching a major AI project called Stargate, promising to build advanced data centers to enhance tech development. This move aims to keep the U.S. at the forefront of AI innovations.
  3. Researchers are developing robots for farming and pollination that could change agriculture. These robots could help increase crop yields and make farming more sustainable.

Perplexity: la prova del motore IA che vuole insidiare Google

Vincos Newsletter • 569 implied HN points • 13 Jan 24
đź•ą Technology Gadgets Tech news Startups Artificial Intelligence Innovation
  1. Perplexity is a startup creating an AI engine to rival Google and ChatGPT, with significant backing and user base.
  2. OpenAI released GPT Store and ChatGPT Team, facing legal challenges around copyright use of articles.
  3. Tech updates include Apple's Vision Pro launch, Rabbit R1 pocket computer, and Getty Images/Nvidia Generative AI platform.

Complex, real-world tasks

In My Tribe • 455 implied HN points • 17 Jul 25
đź•ą Technology Computer Science Automation Social Impact Artificial Intelligence Robotics
  1. Computers are getting better at tasks, but we aren't close to them being able to do everything humans can do. Some complex tasks will take a long time to automate.
  2. Many complex tasks, especially those involving physical skills, are still very challenging for machines. Humans excel in manipulating objects while computers struggle with that.
  3. Social challenges are complicated and using computers won't simply solve them. There are always trade-offs to consider when applying tech in real-life situations.

Amorphous consulting

The Uncertainty Mindset (soon to become tbd) • 319 implied HN points • 27 Mar 24
đź’Ľ Business Strategy Ethnography Organization Consulting Management
  1. There are two types of consulting: concrete and amorphous. Concrete consulting is clear and focused on known problems, while amorphous consulting deals with unclear and complex issues.
  2. Amorphous consulting involves starting with open conversations to uncover hidden problems. The consultant learns about the organization’s inner workings that insiders often overlook.
  3. The true value of an amorphous consultant comes from asking the right questions and understanding what clients initially can't see. This helps clarify the scope of the work over time.

Darwin the Cynic

Everything Is Bullshit • 904 implied HN points • 24 Oct 23
đź“– Philosophy Morality Idealism Human nature Ethics
  1. Being a Darwinian cynic means believing people are motivated by self-interest, family-interest, and group-interest.
  2. Darwinian cynicism challenges the idea of pure altruism, suggesting that human actions are ultimately selfish, nepotistic, or groupish.
  3. Moral progress and idealism are seen as accidental byproducts rather than deliberate desires in the lens of Darwinian cynicism.

Taijitu of Code & Love: Love is the Yin to the Yang of Tech

Dr. Pippa's Pen & Podcast • 29 implied HN points • 31 Jan 26
đź•ą Technology Future work Social Impact Education Human factors Ethics Artificial Intelligence
  1. Love (heartware) is the human counterweight to code: together with AI it creates effective intelligence that centers meaning, empathy, and moral courage.
  2. As automation and abundance reduce the need for paid work, people will need new meaning infrastructures and education focused on creativity, relationships, and inner discovery instead of just skills-for-jobs.
  3. If code runs without love we risk cold optimization and harm, so we must build systems, incentives, and designs that let technology serve human flourishing and individual uniqueness.

Digital Perikles vs. the Odd Roommate: State of the AI on ChatGPT5 Day

Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality • 392 implied HN points • 09 Aug 25
đź•ą Technology Software Computing AI Automation Data
  1. AI can be incredibly useful, but it's still very different from human thinking. We need to learn how to recognize its mistakes and make the most of its capabilities.
  2. Talking to AI can be like having an unusual roommate. It may sometimes give strange answers, but with patience, we can learn how to get better results.
  3. It's important to be both curious and critical when using AI. We should explore what it can do while also being aware of its limits.

Resilient Cyber Newsletter #1

Resilient Cyber • 119 implied HN points • 18 Jun 24
đź•ą Technology Cloud Computing Software Development Artificial Intelligence Cybersecurity Data Privacy
  1. The SEC's case against SolarWinds could change how Chief Information Security Officers are viewed in the industry, potentially discouraging talented people from taking on these roles.
  2. Organizations need to actively prepare for cyberattacks through tabletop exercises, which can help teams respond better during real security incidents.
  3. Microsoft's cybersecurity issues have raised concerns regarding national security, highlighting the need for stronger security practices and accountability in tech companies.

LangChain Search AI Agent Using GPT-4o-mini

Cobus Greyling on LLMs, NLU, NLP, chatbots & voicebots • 59 implied HN points • 25 Jul 24
đź•ą Technology AI Open Source Machine Learning Web Development Software
  1. The LangChain Search AI Agent uses a tool called Tavily API to search the web and answer questions. It breaks down complex questions into simpler sub-questions for better results.
  2. The GPT-4o-mini model is designed to be fast and cost-effective, making it suitable for tasks that require quick responses. It supports both text and vision inputs, expanding its usability.
  3. Using LangSmith, you can track the execution and costs of each step in processing queries. This feature helps in optimizing the performance of the AI agent.

Marc Andreessen's Guide to Finding Product-Market Fit! | VC Remote Jobs

Venture Curator • 399 implied HN points • 29 Feb 24
đź’Ľ Business Entrepreneurship Job Opportunities Venture Capital Startups Funding
  1. Product-market fit means creating a valuable product that customers love and recommend.
  2. Experts emphasize the importance of finding product-market fit before focusing on scaling or fundraising.
  3. Metrics like retention rates, net promoter score, and customer feedback are key indicators of product-market fit.

Are TIPS and I-Bonds Good Investments?

The Informationist • 963 implied HN points • 28 May 23
đź’° Finance Bonds Assets Government Inflation Investments
  1. TIPS are Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities that protect investors from inflation by adjusting principal based on changes in CPI.
  2. I-Bonds are similar to TIPS in protecting from inflation, but have fixed rates and are not tradable in the secondary market.
  3. Both TIPS and I-Bonds are highly dependent on CPI for pricing and may not offer positive real rates of return in the real world.

On investment firms, brand & reputation

Buggy Humans in a Messy World • 963 implied HN points • 23 Jun 23
đź’° Finance Communication Performance Investment Reputation
  1. Investment firms may not have a brand, but they do have a reputation which is crucial in a commoditized business.
  2. An investment firm's reputation is determined by how well they behave and how they invest.
  3. Good behavior includes walking away from excessive fees and communicating honestly, while good investments involve associating with reputable businesses.

New year, new templates

The faintest idea • 599 implied HN points • 03 Jan 24
đź’Ľ Business Strategy Leadership Templates Design Management
  1. Using visual tools like FigJam can help connect ideas better in meetings and projects. It's a fun way to share updates and collaborate.
  2. Templates for strategy, decision-making, and team management can make work processes smoother and more organized. They help you tackle big problems effectively.
  3. Regular 1:1 meetings are important for team development. They allow for thoughtful discussions and reflections on projects and career growth.

Attracted To The Desert (Or The Forest)

Software Design: Tidy First? • 1634 implied HN points • 12 Nov 24
đź•ą Technology Software Design Development Practices Optimization Collaboration
  1. Software development has different styles that often lead to similar outcomes, guided by underlying trends called attractors. These attractors influence how teams change over time, pulling them towards certain approaches.
  2. It’s not just about adding more value in software projects. Instead, the focus should be on removing waste and improving efficiency in how teams work together.
  3. The environment where a team operates, whether it's a productive forest or a limiting desert, greatly affects their potential for growth. The forest offers more opportunities for improvement than the desert.

Inference is FREE and INSTANT

Source Code by Fume • 22 HN points • 26 Aug 24
đź•ą Technology AI Innovation Data Computing Software
  1. Many people have different views on the future of AI; some believe it will change a lot soon, while others think it won't become much smarter. It's suggested that rather than getting smarter, AI will just get cheaper and faster.
  2. There's a concern that large language models (LLMs) might not be improving in reasoning skills as expected. They have become more affordable over time, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are getting better at complex tasks.
  3. The Chinese Room Argument highlights that AI can follow instructions without understanding. Even if AI tools become faster, they might still lack the creativity to generate unique ideas, but they can still help with routine tasks.

7 perspectives on machine learning

Mindful Modeler • 279 implied HN points • 09 Apr 24
đź•ą Technology Data interpretation Automation Optimization Computing Machine Learning
  1. Machine learning is about building prediction models. It covers a wide range of applications, but may not be perfect for unsupervised learning.
  2. Machine learning is about learning patterns from data. This view is useful for understanding ML projects beyond just prediction.
  3. Machine learning is automated decision-making at scale. It emphasizes the purpose of prediction, which is to facilitate decision-making.

The Bear Cave #280

The Bear Cave • 513 implied HN points • 29 Jun 25
đź’Ľ Business Economics Markets Finance Investing Corporate Governance
  1. New reports suggest issues at several companies, including financial mismanagement and misleading statements. It's a reminder to research thoroughly before investing.
  2. There have been significant executive resignations at companies like Trex and Lanvin Group. Frequent leadership changes can signal instability in a company.
  3. The SEC is looking into various companies, hinting at potential undisclosed investigations. Keeping an eye on SEC updates could help investors make better decisions.

The new threat model for AI

Frankly Speaking • 457 implied HN points • 16 Jul 25
đź•ą Technology Risk management Data Protection AI Security Cybersecurity
  1. With AI, the focus should shift from just stopping data theft to preventing manipulation. Instead of an attacker trying to steal information, they might want to influence decisions made by an AI system without being noticed.
  2. Security teams need to change their approach to monitoring. It's not enough to just track who accesses data; they should also keep an eye on how AI outputs are influenced by their inputs and the intent behind actions.
  3. As AI becomes integrated into systems, there will be a need for better prevention strategies, like robust logging and identifying who did what. This proactive approach will help maintain trust in AI decisions.

Customers don't care about your AI feature

Kyle Poyar’s Growth Unhinged • 1246 implied HN points • 29 Jan 25
đź’Ľ Business Product Development Consumer behavior Marketing Technology Trends
  1. Most customers don't really care if a product is AI-powered. They want to know how it will solve their problems, not get lost in technical jargon.
  2. Highlighting the benefits and real outcomes of a product works better than focusing on the AI label. Show customers how your product can make their lives easier.
  3. Using 'AI' in marketing can sometimes backfire. It can lower customer expectations and doesn't always justify a higher price. It's better to focus on value rather than buzzwords.

Fear Not

The Better Letter • 511 implied HN points • 26 Jan 24
đź’° Finance Economics Investing Market Analysis Personal Finance
  1. Fear sells and makes money, driving many market predictions based on fear.
  2. Investors face fear daily, driven by narratives over data, making them susceptible to fear-mongering.
  3. Long-term investment is crucial; while fear may lead to short-term moves, the market trends upwards over time, favoring investment.

Don't Push AI Down Our Throats

Experiments with NLP and GPT-3 • 122 implied HN points • 30 Nov 25
đź•ą Technology Software AI Consumer Tech Innovation Industry
  1. AI should not be forced upon us; it feels overwhelming and unwanted. Technology should be introduced slowly and thoughtfully.
  2. The rush to deploy AI is driven by profit motives, not by what users really need. We should only adopt AI that provides real benefits to our lives.
  3. There are many useful applications of AI, but we should focus on what works for us and not feel pressured by companies to use AI just for their financial gain.

What Are Non-Human Identities and Why Do They Matter?

Resilient Cyber • 159 implied HN points • 28 May 24
đź•ą Technology Cybersecurity Identity Management Cloud Computing Software Development Data Breaches
  1. Non-Human Identities (NHIs) are the machine-based accounts used in businesses, often outnumbering human accounts significantly. They include things like service accounts and API keys, which are essential for modern tech operations.
  2. NHIs are a major security risk since they can have lots of permissions and are often left unmonitored. This makes them a target for hackers looking to exploit weak points in security systems.
  3. It’s important for companies to have strong governance around NHIs. Without proper controls, these machine identities can lead to security gaps and make it easier for attackers to gain access to systems.

Why Tesla Won't Grant Musk More Stock Options

lawrence’s Substack • 279 implied HN points • 09 Apr 24
đź’Ľ Business Elon Musk Tesla Stock Options Corporate Governance Automotive Industry
  1. Restoring Musk's 2018 compensation package could lead to lawsuits for breach of fiduciary duty and corporate waste
  2. Tesla's current business environment in 2024 is different, with increased competition and decreased public interest in electric vehicles
  3. Musk's tactics to boost Tesla's share price were unsustainable, leading to a declining market cap and questionable promises that were left unfulfilled

My Definition of Data Modeling (for today)

Joe Reis • 530 implied HN points • 20 Jan 24
đź•ą Technology Venture Capital Data Management AI Data Modeling
  1. Data modeling has various definitions by different experts and serves to improve communication, provide utility, and solve problems.
  2. A data model is a structured representation that organizes data for both humans and machines to inform decision-making and facilitate actions.
  3. Data modeling is evolving to consider the needs of machines, different use cases, and a wider range of modeling approaches for various situations.

What Meta’s diffs per developer metric revealed about engineering at scale

Dev Interrupted • 42 implied HN points • 15 Jan 26
đź•ą Technology Engineering Management Software Organizational Behavior Leadership Productivity DevOps
  1. Single-number productivity metrics (like diffs per developer) can stop reflecting real work when codebases, teams, and constraints grow, because a small change today can be a much heavier unit than it was before.
  2. When a metric becomes a target, people naturally optimize the metric instead of value, favoring safe, visible motion over hard, high-leverage work.
  3. Leaders should treat simple metrics as clues not verdicts: investigate flow, risk, and impact, and change what you measure and reward so teams focus on real product and business outcomes.

The debt explosion: How neoliberalism fuels debt crises

Geopolitical Economy Report • 558 implied HN points • 13 Jan 24
đź’° Finance Debt Neoliberalism Economy Commercial Real Estate Banking
  1. Debt has surged globally due to neoliberal economics, leading to countless crises.
  2. The Federal Reserve's actions focus on bailing out the financial sector, even when it doesn't benefit the economy at large.
  3. The US economy is heavily dominated by finance, insurance, real estate, military, pharma, and tech sectors, all characterized by high levels of monopoly and rent-seeking behaviors.

Apple Computer's Different-Drummer "AI" Path Considered

Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality • 399 implied HN points • 05 Aug 25
đź’Ľ Business Tech Strategy AI Development Market Analysis
  1. Apple is focusing on AI that works directly on devices instead of relying on cloud-based systems. This helps them maintain user privacy and keep costs down.
  2. By not competing in the ChatBot market, Apple avoids high expenses and risks associated with developing large language models, which many other tech companies are currently pursuing.
  3. The main challenge for Apple is to improve the execution of their AI features. They need to treat AI as a core part of their strategy and ensure these features work seamlessly for users.

AI Is A Car That Everyone Expects To Be A Spaceship

Beekey’s Substack • 59 implied HN points • 24 Jul 24
đź•ą Technology Machine Learning AI Software Development Automation Data science
  1. AI has made great improvements, especially with tasks that involve generating human-like responses and art. However, many people are getting carried away with the hype about its capabilities.
  2. Machine learning allows AI to recognize patterns in data, but it doesn't actually understand content like a human does. This means it can make mistakes that a human wouldn't.
  3. The idea of creating Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) from current AI is questionable because we still don't fully understand how human intelligence works. It's not just about being faster; something fundamental is still missing.

China, India, and the Contested Politics of Payments

Pekingnology • 86 implied HN points • 21 Dec 25
đź’° Finance Regulation Platforms Competition Sovereignty Payments Infrastructure
  1. Both China and India ended up with de facto duopolies in digital payments even though China’s system grew from private super‑apps and India’s was built as public rails.
  2. China’s big platforms were gradually publicized by regulators—through measures like forcing custodial central‑bank accounts and routing transactions via a state clearinghouse—which increased state control without dismantling platform dominance.
  3. India’s UPI created open, interoperable rails that invited many private apps, but zero transaction fees let Google Pay and PhonePe capture most volume; both countries now face hard trade‑offs between competition and inclusion, speed and fraud, and domestic control versus cross‑border interoperability.