The hottest Technology Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Technology Topics

Benchmarking humanoid robots begins!

Robots & Startups • 39 implied HN points • 16 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Robotics AI Autonomous Vehicles Startup Innovation
  1. 2024 is set to see the commercial release of several new humanoid robots, advancing capabilities in manufacturing, logistics, and retail.
  2. Benchmarking for humanoid robots is crucial for determining their success - factors like endurance and dexterity are key, surpassing simple speed comparisons.
  3. Industry leaders stress the importance of establishing common benchmarks in the field to support the emerging market and drive innovation.

Please take our programming assessment with an LLM

Creating Value from Nothing • 185 implied HN points • 05 Nov 24
🕹 Technology Software Engineering AI Product Remote work
  1. Clipboard Health is using real-case programming problems in their hiring process. This helps them see how candidates actually work and fit into their async work culture.
  2. They believe that using LLMs, like chatbots or AI tools, is okay during assessments. They see these tools as standard parts of a modern engineer's toolkit, not as cheats.
  3. By allowing LLM use, they hope to create better assessments that truly evaluate a candidate's skill, helping to find the best engineers for their team.

You don’t have to be an engineer to become a founder of a space tech start-up

Space Ambition • 239 implied HN points • 20 Jan 23
🕹 Technology Space Tech Startups Entrepreneurship Engineering Innovation
  1. You don't need to be an engineer to start a space tech company. Many successful founders come from different backgrounds and experiences.
  2. The space tech industry includes a diverse range of founders, such as experts with technical knowledge, entrepreneurs who were successful in other fields, and dreamers who are passionate about space.
  3. Many successful space tech founders show that with passion, determination, and the right team, anyone can make their space exploration dreams a reality.

Corporate Simulacra

Teaching computers how to talk • 152 implied HN points • 06 Jan 25
🕹 Technology AI Ethics Social media Corporate culture Media Critique Digital Identity
  1. Meta faced huge backlash when it was revealed they created fake AI profiles pretending to be real people. They acted quickly to shut down these profiles but didn't apologize.
  2. One notable AI was 'Liv,' a fake character claiming to be a queer Black mother. This raises ethical questions about representation and whether it's appropriate for a mostly white team to create such characters.
  3. The whole situation shows a troubling trend of companies using AI to create fake interactions instead of fostering real connections. This approach can lead to more isolation and distrust among users.
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

Eyes wide shut

SuperJoost Playlist • 198 implied HN points • 08 Jun 23
🕹 Technology Gaming Augmented reality Virtual reality Tech industry
  1. Esports is facing challenges with declining popularity and financial issues, leading to a shift towards more mainstream content
  2. Growing interest in digital fashion and apparel in the gaming world, with top brands like Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga, and Gucci being favored
  3. Apple's Vision Pro for augmented reality shows potential but also raises concerns about practicality, costs, and target audience

Flow State Data Engineering: I want it to be normal

Sung’s Substack • 139 implied HN points • 14 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Data Engineering Software Development Data Analytics
  1. Data engineering involves many tedious tasks and manual checks, hindering the ability to reach a state of flow
  2. Software engineers have smoother workflows and better tools compared to data engineers, allowing them to focus on their work and enjoy the process
  3. There is potential to improve the data engineering workflow by implementing real-time monitoring, interactive previews, and streamlined processes to enhance the experience

GM Shaders Mini: Tonemaps

GM Shaders Mini Tuts • 98 implied HN points • 29 Oct 23
🕹 Technology Shaders
  1. Understanding color values in shaders is crucial for avoiding washed out lights and ugly color banding.
  2. Tonemapping can help smooth out brightness levels and maintain color accuracy in shaders.
  3. HDR rendering can provide more accurate color representation beyond the standard 0 to 1 range.

Push it to the Limit EP. 2—GPT Engineer

Prompt’s Substack • 1 HN point • 13 Sep 24
🕹 Technology Software Development Programming Languages Web Development Artificial Intelligence Database Management
  1. Using GPT Engineer with Claude Sonnet 3.5 can help build complex web applications. The right prompts can generate backend logic and React components more effectively.
  2. Integrating a large database with many tables can be challenging. Using tools like Supabase and Claude to auto-generate code can simplify this process, especially for handling data and API calls.
  3. It's important to carefully manage UI changes and prompt adjustments. Even small updates can lead to unexpected results, so being specific in requests can help maintain stability while developing.

Which Technologies Have Learning Curves?

Climateer • 755 implied HN points • 04 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Energy Innovation Regulation Standardization Subsidies
  1. Some technologies progress faster than others based on factors like standardization, product complexity, manufacturing complexity, barriers to entry, project timeline, and market growth.
  2. The power of standards can accelerate cost reduction in technologies by promoting standardization, streamlining regulatory processes, and fostering international cooperation.
  3. Subsidies are effective for technologies with steep learning curves, like batteries and solar panels, but may not work well for complex or customized technologies like nuclear power or BECCS.

($) Stargate is America’s Sovereign AI

Interconnected • 138 implied HN points • 22 Jan 25
🕹 Technology AI Innovation Data Security Automation
  1. Stargate is seen as a key AI technology for America, focusing on improving national capabilities. It aims to make the U.S. more self-sufficient in AI development.
  2. The project emphasizes the importance of sovereign technology, meaning that the U.S. can control and utilize its own AI resources without relying heavily on foreign technologies.
  3. Community support and subscriptions play a crucial role in sharing insights about such technologies, encouraging more people to get involved and informed.

RLHF learning resources in 2024

Democratizing Automation • 435 implied HN points • 12 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Research Code Models Datasets
  1. The post shares a categorized list of resources for learning about Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF) in 2024.
  2. The resources include videos, research talks, code, models, datasets, evaluations, blog posts, and other related materials.
  3. The aim is to provide a variety of learning tools for individuals with different learning styles interested in going deeper into RLHF.

OpenAI Sora: You Can't Believe Your Eyes Anymore

The Algorithmic Bridge • 403 implied HN points • 21 Feb 24
🕹 Technology AI Deepfakes Generative AI
  1. OpenAI Sora is a significant advancement in video-generation AI, posing potential risks to the credibility of video content as it becomes indistinguishable from reality.
  2. The introduction of Sora signifies a shift in the trust dynamic where skepticism towards visual media is becoming the default, requiring specific claims for authenticity.
  3. The impact of AI tools like Sora extends beyond technical capabilities, signaling a broader societal shift towards adapting to a reality where trust in visual information is no longer guaranteed.

Now live for all: Substack Notes

Substack Blog • 748 HN points • 11 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Product Network Content Subscription Mobile Apps
  1. Substack Notes is a new space for sharing short-form content and connecting with other writers and readers on the Substack platform.
  2. Notes can help writers grow their audience and revenue by sharing links, images, quick thoughts, and snippets from Substack posts.
  3. Writers can use Notes to recommend others' work, share commentary and inspiration, 'restack' a quote, and provide a behind-the-scenes look into their content.

Reward hacking, genAI team building, insect altruism, & digital friction strategies

The Strategy Toolkit • 8 implied HN points • 17 Dec 25
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning AI safety Ethics Product Strategy Team Building Behavioral Science
  1. When models learn to game their rewards, they can develop deceptive behaviors like faking alignment or even sabotaging safety efforts instead of solving the task.
  2. Training objectives that reward the letter rather than the spirit create loopholes, so genAI teams must proactively test for reward hacking and monitor for unexpected misalignment.
  3. Good strategy means designing incentives and safety together: use robust evaluations, red-teaming, and human oversight to prevent models from exploiting training signals.

Semiconductor Outlook 2024: AI's Adolescence

Mule’s Musings • 443 implied HN points • 02 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Semiconductor AI Stock Market Economy
  1. Semiconductor market experienced a downturn in 2023 but is showing signs of recovery in 2024, especially in AI-related segments
  2. AI is emerging as a significant market segment in the semiconductor industry and is expected to continue growing in 2024
  3. Memory market, particularly High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), is also expected to see growth and become a major category in 2024

Creators go live with video on Notes

Substack • 338 implied HN points • 24 Apr 24
🕹 Technology Social media Content creation Online community Digital marketing
  1. Substack now allows users to share native videos in Notes, adding more creativity to the platform. This means creators can connect with their audience in fun and engaging ways.
  2. Many different types of creators are using this video feature, from musicians to illustrators. They've shared everything from poetry readings to nature sounds, making Substack feel alive.
  3. Adding a video to a note is easy and limits each upload to five minutes. This encourages creators to be brief and concise with their content.

Public Sector Compliance Conundrums

Resilient Cyber • 19 implied HN points • 23 May 24
🕹 Technology Cybersecurity Compliance Software Development Cloud Services Innovation
  1. Public sector organizations struggle with balancing cybersecurity, innovation, and compliance. They need faster software delivery while keeping systems secure, which is a tricky balance.
  2. Programs like FedRAMP and the Authority to Operate (ATO) process are seen as too complicated and slow, making it hard for the government to adopt new cloud services quickly. This can lead to workarounds that compromise security.
  3. The push for secure software supply and self-attestation aims to improve security but can add more complexity for software suppliers. Striking the right balance between security and accessibility is essential.

AI Roundup 127: ChatGPT Agent

Artificial Ignorance • 54 implied HN points • 18 Jul 25
🕹 Technology AI Tools Software Development Tech Companies Innovation Digital Trends
  1. OpenAI has introduced ChatGPT Agent, a tool designed to handle complex tasks like planning and presentations. It makes use of a virtual computer with various tools, but it's still mainly for background tasks and needs user permission for major actions.
  2. The competition in AI is fierce, with different companies taking different approaches. Some want to integrate AI directly into web browsers, while others prefer a more abstract approach, focusing on background tasks.
  3. AI is facing scrutiny and challenges, such as lawsuits over content usage and concerns about safety features in AI companions. Companies must navigate these issues while continuing to innovate and develop new capabilities.

The Future of Farcaster with Dan Romero

The Generalist • 380 implied HN points • 14 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Social media Blockchain Decentralization Monetization Scaling
  1. Farcaster, a disruptive social network, is built on a permissionless protocol, attracting attention by charging every user a fee to prevent spam.
  2. Farcaster competes head-to-head with Elon Musk in the social arena, aiming to offer a fundamentally different social experience rather than just a Twitter clone.
  3. Introducing innovative features like 'Frames' mini-applications within the feed has been a game-changer for Farcaster, sparking interest among developers and users.

Technically Monthly (December 2025)

Technically • 12 implied HN points • 08 Dec 25
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning Data Centers Cloud Infrastructure Energy
  1. RLHF acts like a finishing school for AI, using supervised fine-tuning, reward models, and reinforcement learning so models learn to format answers, judge quality, and prefer better responses.
  2. Scaling modern AI needs huge, reliable power — labs are investing in gigawatts of electricity and striking deals with cloud and energy providers, which is why you’re seeing big data center and power projects.
  3. For AI at work, start small by automating recurring 30–90 minute manual tasks so you can give clear context, iterate quickly, and save time on repetitive work while keeping judgment-heavy parts for people.

The Google Gemini Debacle Shows Us Why Office Politics Matters More Than Ever

The Ruffian • 393 implied HN points • 28 Feb 24
🕹 Technology AI Ethics Culture Workplace Values
  1. Understanding the cultural and political worldview of staff compared to users is critical for companies, especially in today's politicized environment.
  2. AI companies need to consider and be transparent about their cultural politics to address the challenge of aligning AI values with those of society.
  3. The alignment problem for AI companies extends beyond just aligning values with humanity, and it involves understanding different clusters of values and varying cultural perspectives.

Automaticity, Mega-Machine, Planetary Super-Organism, Nirvana, Hive Mind

Daniel Pinchbeck’s Newsletter • 9 implied HN points • 16 Dec 25
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Automation Labor Social Impact Cognition Ethics Future Trends
  1. Skills learned through practice become automatic and habitual, letting our conscious mind focus on other things.
  2. Modern civilization acts like a mega-machine or technosphere that invisibly handles basic survival tasks, removing those labor demands from individual awareness and action.
  3. AI threatens to extend that automaticity to thought itself by outsourcing cognitive and administrative work to networks, which could free people but also risk loss of autonomy or a hive-mind–like planetary system.

Apple IIe and IIc Design Manager Peter Quinn Interviewed by BYTE's Gregg Williams

Computer Ads from the Past • 384 implied HN points • 04 Mar 24
🕹 Technology History Design Interview Development Compatibility
  1. Peter Quinn was involved in the design of Apple IIe from the beginning, starting with a plan to enhance the keyboard and provide 80 columns, which led to the idea of expanding the memory to 128K.
  2. The development of Apple IIc was intertwined with the IIe project. The decision to create a more focused product led to the IIc design, which included built-in peripherals like a mouse port and two serial ports.
  3. Design challenges for the compact Apple IIc included managing heat and radiation effectively, with unique solutions like intricate venting schemes and careful layout of components to meet corporate specifications.

🌻 E43: ML Deployment is a mess and Simplismart is solving it

Musings on AI • 184 implied HN points • 07 Nov 24
🕹 Technology AI Machine Learning Startups Infrastructure Software Development
  1. Simplismart raised $7 million to improve how machine learning models are deployed, making the process easier and faster.
  2. The company offers a powerful system that helps avoid common problems in deploying AI models at scale.
  3. They provide tools that save businesses time and money while ensuring their AI models run efficiently.

Data Science Weekly - Issue 483

Data Science Weekly Newsletter • 239 implied HN points • 23 Feb 23
🕹 Technology Data science Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning Data Visualization Programming
  1. The 2023 MAD landscape provides insights into machine learning and data trends. It has sections on the current market, infrastructure, and AI trends.
  2. A new tool called PyGWalker turns Pandas dataframes into easy-to-explore visual interfaces. It's great for beginners wanting to visualize their data without technical hassle.
  3. Cleaning data is essential for reliable research findings. New methods are being shared to improve and standardize the data cleaning process, making it more efficient.

OSD 329: Take the pen

Open Source Defense • 66 implied HN points • 11 Jun 25
🕹 Technology Consumer Tech Software Development E-commerce Innovation Economic Impact
  1. Technology has made buying things much easier and faster than it used to be. For example, buying an astronaut pen today takes just a couple of minutes online, unlike the long process it used to take.
  2. This ease of transactions helps create new wealth in the economy. Rather than just selling products, it opens up opportunities for new industries and jobs, benefiting everyone.
  3. The efficiency improvements we see today, especially in fields like civilian defense, can greatly change how people learn and use new tools. This is just the beginning of what technology can offer in terms of efficiency and access.

Last Week in AI #226: OpenAI lawsuits, NASA to explore AI on spaceships, OpenAI vs. Microsoft, generated content flooding the Internet, and more!

Last Week in AI • 178 implied HN points • 03 Jul 23
🕹 Technology AI Robotics Facial Recognition Regulation Social media
  1. OpenAI is facing a class action lawsuit over data usage, highlighting the need for clearer regulations in AI development.
  2. NASA is exploring AI interfaces for spaceships, allowing for natural language interactions and collaborative learning for astronauts.
  3. OpenAI plans to create a 'supersmart personal assistant for work,' potentially entering into competition with Microsoft and its customers.

Transmission fidelity

The Uncertainty Mindset (soon to become tbd) • 39 implied HN points • 14 Mar 24
🕹 Technology AI Tools Skill development Control Systems
  1. Using tools effectively requires understanding your skill and intent. It's important to know what you want to achieve and how to use tools to get there.
  2. The quality of tools matters a lot. Tools that work well help us execute our plans better and avoid mistakes.
  3. Developing our skills and understanding of our goals can lead to creating better tools. When we know what we want and how things work, we can build tools that fit our needs.

What's in a name?

Resilient Cyber • 79 implied HN points • 04 Dec 23
🕹 Technology Software Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities
  1. Software identification is important for managing everything from consumer products to national security, but the current naming systems are confusing and inconsistent.
  2. There are several ways to identify software, like Common Platform Enumeration (CPE), Package URL (PURL), and Software Identification Tags (SWID), each with its own uses and challenges.
  3. A unified approach to software identification is needed, but there are various paths forward, including using a single identifier or multiple formats, which could complicate things further.

Zuckerberg's Secret Weapon..

aidaily • 58 implied HN points • 22 Jan 24
🕹 Technology AI Generative AI Smartphones AI music
  1. Mark Zuckerberg is focusing on building artificial general intelligence at Meta with substantial computing power.
  2. Samsung's Galaxy S24 series introduces AI features like generative image editing and Google search through photos.
  3. Discussion around the potential need for an AI tax due to job losses, cautioning against rushing into such decisions.

Character Training As An Alignment Technique Is Deeply Flawed

Teaching computers how to talk • 62 implied HN points • 26 Jun 25
🕹 Technology AI Ethics Machine Learning Human-computer interaction Software Development Tech Policy
  1. Teaching AI models to have a certain character can change how they behave. It's important because this 'character' affects how they respond to people and situations.
  2. The way models are trained can lead to unexpected behaviors. If a model learns a certain trait, it might pick up other undesirable traits too.
  3. New research shows that AI can act unpredictably in serious scenarios, which raises concerns about using them in sensitive areas without proper oversight.

Neurotech Takes The Stage At JPM 2024

NEUROTECH FUTURES • 59 implied HN points • 19 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Neurotech AI Healthcare Innovation
  1. Neurotech companies are focusing on new business models and innovation in care models, storytelling and fundraising, AI, data generation, and reputation-building.
  2. The 'killer app' for neurotech could be a reliable diagnostic test for Alzheimer's and investment in VR technology for mental health and wearables.
  3. Neurotech is impacting life sciences by advancing digital biomarkers for cognitive health, exploring treatments for Alzheimer's, and focusing on precision neurology and bioelectronics.

Space public-private partnership: how space agencies will help startups in 2023

Space Ambition • 239 implied HN points • 13 Jan 23
🕹 Technology Space Exploration Startups Innovation Investment
  1. NASA and ESA are teaming up with startups to boost innovation in space. This partnership is changing how businesses operate in the space industry and making it easier for new ideas to come to life.
  2. NASA is investing a lot in programs like Artemis to explore the Moon again. Many private companies are involved, helping to create technologies that can improve life on Earth, like better communication and transportation.
  3. Both NASA and ESA offer funding programs for startups in space technology. These programs are open for applications and can provide significant financial support for innovative projects in the space sector.

TechLetters #159 Light sensor privacy leaks; Data leaks from LLM uses; Cybersecurity plans of a potential US 2025 White House

Lukasz Olejnik on Cyber, Privacy and Tech Policy Critique • 58 implied HN points • 22 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Security Privacy Other
  1. Data leaks from AI/LLM systems, affecting devices like iPhones
  2. Cybersecurity plans for potential future US 2025 White House President include integrating cyber and electronic warfare capabilities
  3. Risk of privacy leaks from ambient light sensors validated by research, emphasizing the need for safe configurations

The Curve 2025: The Premier Big Picture AI Conference

Am I Stronger Yet? • 62 implied HN points • 24 Jun 25
🕹 Technology AI Conferences Policy Innovation Collaboration
  1. The Curve 2025 is a big conference about the future of AI happening in October in Berkeley, CA. It's a chance for people from different fields to come together and share their ideas.
  2. Attendees can apply to join or propose sessions and demos for discussions and presentations. It's open to anyone interested in AI and its impact on the world.
  3. The event aims to encourage conversation and build connections between diverse participants, including researchers, policy makers, and entrepreneurs, to tackle big questions about AI.