The hottest Technology Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Technology Topics

Backstage’s journey from spreadsheets to global IDP standard | Spotify’s Tyson Singer

Dev Interrupted • 14 implied HN points • 20 Jan 26
🕹 Technology Developer Tools AI Open Source Platforms DevOps Software Engineering Management
  1. Backstage evolved from spreadsheets into a company-wide developer portal (Portal) that uses golden paths and an AI Knowledge Assistant to scale support and cut internal tickets nearly in half.
  2. New agentic AI tools like Cowork, Gas Town, and Loom are moving AI from giving advice to doing work autonomously, which creates a need for complex orchestration and tiny task decomposition.
  3. The engineer role is shifting from solo coder to conductor of digital workers, so raw output metrics (like diffs per developer) can mislead and teams should focus on judgment, system design, and sustainable processes.

DynaPore

ASeq Newsletter • 14 implied HN points • 23 Jan 26
🕹 Technology Biotech Diagnostics Patents Startups
  1. DynaPore has a new sensor concept that embeds conformation effect transistor (CET) channel proteins in insulating membranes; when a target molecule binds the channel opens and instantly changes the electrical current, producing a measurable signal on a portable device.
  2. The CET platform can be customized with specific binding modules like antibodies to detect a wide variety of biomarkers or pathogens, drawing inspiration from how natural smell systems work.
  3. The company is a Max Planck Institute spinout that filed a patent with a May 2024 priority date and appears to be actively hiring.

✨ The Age of AI, an update: A Quick Q&A with … economist Michael Strain

Faster, Please! • 456 implied HN points • 06 Feb 25
🕹 Technology AI Innovation Productivity Economy Workforce
  1. Generative AI has the potential to change how businesses work and boost productivity, but we are still in the early stages of using it in everyday jobs.
  2. It's important for workers, especially in white-collar jobs, to adapt by learning to use AI tools to enhance their productivity and value to employers.
  3. Instead of fearing job loss, workers should focus on developing new skills that complement AI, allowing them to stay relevant in their fields.

Improving the product

André Casal's Substack • 19 implied HN points • 31 Jul 24
🕹 Technology Product Development Web Development User Experience Software Engineering
  1. Getting user feedback is really important. Talking to customers helps understand their needs, especially beginners in tech.
  2. Watching a seasoned developer use the product can reveal issues and areas for improvement. It's a great way to learn about friction points.
  3. Making things easier for users is key. Simplifying processes and providing good documentation can really help users get started faster and reduce confusion.
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What to Watch in Robotics

Startup Pirate by Alex Alexakis • 176 implied HN points • 09 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Robotics AI Agriculture Small business Innovation
  1. Robotics is advancing rapidly, from cooking shrimp to automating tasks like folding laundry and making coffee.
  2. General Robotic Intelligence (GRI) is still missing, but platforms are being developed to enable robots to perform complex tasks in dynamic environments.
  3. Companies are working to make robotics accessible to small and medium-sized businesses, enabling them to automate tasks and stay competitive.

Xmas decorations, part 3

Bite code! • 1467 implied HN points • 21 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Python Error Handling
  1. Decorators provide syntactic sugar for code reuse of callback processing.
  2. Popular usages for decorators include intercepting calls, registering functions, and enriching function behavior.
  3. Decorators can be combined and used creatively to enhance your code, but be mindful not to overdo it.

AI Infra Companies Are Coming for Verticals

Enterprise AI Trends • 211 implied HN points • 24 Jun 25
🕹 Technology AI Software Infrastructure Data Innovation
  1. AI infrastructure companies are starting to create their own products for specific industries, which could hurt existing vertical businesses. This trend is called 'infra verticalization.'
  2. These infrastructure firms have a unique advantage because they collect valuable data that helps them see what works best in the market.
  3. The relationship between vertical AI and infra companies is getting tricky as they compete for the same customers and market space.

Stopping Frankenstein

Diane Francis • 579 implied HN points • 08 May 23
🕹 Technology AI Ethics Copyright Law Job Displacement AI Regulation Digital Rights
  1. Many experts are worried that AI, like ChatGPT, may take away millions of jobs, and some countries, like Italy, have banned AI products to figure out what to do.
  2. There are ongoing lawsuits against AI companies for using copyrighted materials without permission, which makes creators feel their work is being stolen.
  3. Regulations are being considered, especially in Europe, to ensure AI development is safe and ethical, which many believe is necessary to protect society from AI becoming too powerful.

shrinking the world

bad cattitude • 249 implied HN points • 23 May 25
🕹 Technology AI Remote work Deepfakes
  1. AI technology is advancing quickly, making it hard to tell what's real and what's fake. This can lead to people losing trust in online interactions.
  2. Remote work has its ups and downs. While it offers flexibility, it can hurt teamwork and personal connections that happen in a physical office.
  3. As trust in digital communication decreases, we might turn back to in-person interactions. This could lead to stronger relationships and a return to community-focused living.

Block AI tools from scraping your site in 3 minutes

Deploy Securely • 216 implied HN points • 10 Jan 24
🕹 Technology AI Tools Web scraping Artificial Intelligence Cybersecurity Compliance
  1. Block major generative AI tools from scraping your website by adding specific directives to your robots.txt file.
  2. Consider modifying your site's terms and conditions to prevent undesired activities like scraping by AI tools.
  3. Blocking AI tools may impact your search and social media rankings, so find a balance between cybersecurity and potential repercussions.

Import AI 329: Compute IS data; don't build AI agents; AI needs a precautionary principle

Import AI • 399 implied HN points • 15 May 23
🕹 Technology AI Data Ethics Language Models AI Development
  1. Building AI scientists to advise humans is a safer alternative to building AI agents that act independently
  2. There is a need for a precautionary principle in AI development to address threats to democracy, peace, safety, and work
  3. Approaches like Self-Align show the potential for AI systems to self-bootstrap using synthetic data, leading to more capable models

TinyStories

Cobus Greyling on LLMs, NLU, NLP, chatbots & voicebots • 39 implied HN points • 26 Jun 24
🕹 Technology AI Machine Learning Natural Language Data science User Experience
  1. Phi-3 is a small language model that uses a special dataset called TinyStories. This dataset was designed to help the model create more varied and engaging stories.
  2. TinyStories uses simple vocabulary suitable for young children, focusing on quality over quantity. The stories generated are meant to be both understandable and entertaining.
  3. Training the Phi-3 model with TinyStories can be done quickly and allows for easier fine-tuning. This helps smaller organizations use advanced language models without needing huge resources.

Le futur de la messagerie instantanée

Venture Prose • 479 implied HN points • 12 Feb 23
🕹 Technology Messaging Privacy Innovation iOS Communication
  1. Don't let yourself be overwhelmed by notifications, prioritize important connections over others.
  2. Consider using messaging platforms like Roze that prioritize privacy and control over who you chat with.
  3. Focus on quality interactions by selecting a limited number of close contacts for messaging, rather than being bombarded with irrelevant notifications.

Could the Internet Become Useless?

The Digital Anthropologist • 39 implied HN points • 26 Jun 24
🕹 Technology Internet Artificial Intelligence Digital anthropology Cybersecurity Regulations
  1. The internet might go through messy and confusing phases, but it has a history of overcoming challenges and evolving for the better.
  2. Infrastructure issues and the flow of information are key concerns for the internet's future, especially with the rise of AI technologies.
  3. Solving the complexities of the internet requires a holistic approach involving regulations, standards, and societal collaboration rather than relying solely on technological fixes.

High Growth Engineer Update/Break

High Growth Engineer • 586 implied HN points • 01 Dec 24
🕹 Technology AI Tools Personal Growth Mental health Content creation Community Building
  1. The writer is taking a break for at least four weeks to recharge and think about what they want to focus on moving forward. This time off is important for their mental health.
  2. When they return, there won't be a strict weekly writing schedule. They plan to prioritize quality over quantity and write when they feel inspired.
  3. The writer has ideas for new projects, like building AI tools, writing a book, or starting a community for discussions. They want to use the extra time effectively to provide more value.

The next year of AI target analysis

All-Source Intelligence Fusion • 467 implied HN points • 23 Jan 25
🕹 Technology AI Military Analysis Intelligence Data
  1. AI is being used to improve how military targets are tracked and analyzed. This means we could see continuous updates on things like tanks, instead of just occasional snapshots.
  2. Companies like Anthropic and Google are investing big in AI for defense purposes. They're aiming to compete with others, like OpenAI, for military contracts and capabilities.
  3. The U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is working on integrating AI systems to enhance their intelligence efforts, but it's facing some challenges with existing technologies.

What if bigger models, like bigger stars, fail faster?

Breaking Smart • 34 implied HN points • 07 Dec 25
🕹 Technology AI Data Infrastructure Economics Modeling
  1. Larger AI models can become less reliable over time because they learn from static data that quickly becomes outdated. This means models can fail faster as they can't adapt to changes in the world.
  2. The current push for bigger models might not be sustainable if they aren't supported by enough quality training data. If companies keep investing in these models without the right data, they may end up with expensive resources that don't deliver good results.
  3. To keep AI models useful for longer, we should focus on creating new types of data, like 4D video, which can help models learn from real-world changes rather than just past cultural snapshots.

Import AI 345: Facebook uses AI to mindread; MuJoCo v3; Amazon adds bipedal robots to its warehouses

Import AI • 339 implied HN points • 23 Oct 23
🕹 Technology AI Robotics Simulation Models
  1. Facebook has developed an AI system that uses brain scan data to roughly predict visual representations, demonstrating convergence between AI and human behavior.
  2. Amazon is testing bipedal robots in its warehouses, potentially streamlining the integration of robots into human-centric environments.
  3. Adept released Fuyu-8B, a multimodal model to help AI systems understand and interact with visual elements, expanding the range of tasks AI systems can perform beyond text.

A proposal for importing society’s values

Musings on the Alignment Problem • 519 implied HN points • 09 Mar 23
🕹 Technology AI Ethics Simulation Social Decision-making
  1. AI systems like ChatGPT face value-based decisions that are complex and can be polarizing, highlighting the need to align AI to individual and group preferences.
  2. A proposed process called simulated deliberative democracy aims to use large language models to simulate human deliberations on value questions, offering a scalable and transparent approach.
  3. The proposal presents pros like scalability, transparency, and potential for inclusivity, but also faces challenges such as representativeness, aggregation method complexities, and difficulties in simulating how people change their minds.

Not Technical Enough

QUALITY BOSS • 159 implied HN points • 21 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Workplace Issues Gender bias Career development Impostor syndrome Technical Skills
  1. Feeling like you're not 'technical enough' often comes from biases and stereotypes, especially in gender. It's important to remember that everyone's skills and roles can vary greatly.
  2. Your worth and skills in tech should be measured by how well you understand your job, not just by coding abilities. Everyone has different strengths that contribute to success.
  3. Confidence in your abilities is key. Feedback can sting, but it's crucial to assess it within context and not let others' opinions define your self-worth.

Which countries played PC and console games... recently?

The GameDiscoverCo newsletter • 176 implied HN points • 07 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Gaming Streaming platforms
  1. Research showed which countries had the most players of PC and console games in the last two weeks, with China, the U.S., and some European countries standing out.
  2. The most streamed games in January included Palworld, Escape From Tarkov, and new releases like Enshrouded and Tekken 8.
  3. Recent game platform and discovery news included updates on Nintendo Switch sales, Steam iconography changes, and Roblox's revenue growth in 2023.

Security Is A Useless Controls Problem

Security Is • 59 implied HN points • 29 May 24
🕹 Technology Cybersecurity Information Security Compliance Risk management
  1. Many security controls are useless, wasting resources and time. It's crucial to understand why you're implementing a control to avoid just following the crowd.
  2. If you can't explain why a security control is needed in a simple way, it's likely not very useful. Good controls should have clear reasons behind them.
  3. Wasting time on unnecessary controls can harm everyone in the industry. Focus on meaningful security measures to make better use of limited resources.

Designing your own PCBs

lcamtuf’s thing • 2652 implied HN points • 09 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Electronics PCB Design Manufacturing Tools Prototyping
  1. Designing your own PCB allows for faster iteration on new designs compared to ordering custom circuit boards.
  2. KiCad is a recommended tool for designing hobby PCBs due to its extensive library of footprints and open-source nature.
  3. Consider important factors like component placement, trace widths, and manufacturing constraints for successful PCB layout.

Features & Options Revisited

Software Design: Tidy First? • 220 implied HN points • 13 Jun 25
🕹 Technology Software Design Innovation Development Engineering
  1. Software has two main ways to create value: features and options. Features are what the software can do now, and options are what it can potentially do in the future.
  2. Features give immediate benefits, while options provide possibilities for growth and adaptation. It's important to balance both in software design.
  3. It's essential to have a clear plan and structure when developing software. This helps ensure that all important parts are included and can be effectively communicated.

Import AI 350: Neural architecture search at Facebook scale; hunting cancer with PANDA; European VCs launch a science lab

Import AI • 279 implied HN points • 27 Nov 23
🕹 Technology AI Research Open Science
  1. An AI system called PANDA can accurately identify pancreatic cancer from scans, outperforming radiologists.
  2. Facebook developed Rankitect for neural architecture search, which has proven to create better models than human engineers alone.
  3. A European open science AI lab called Kyutai has been launched with a focus on developing large multimodal models and promoting open research.

Risky Biz News: Canada's tax revenue agency tries to ToS itself out of hacking liability

Risky Business News • 359 HN points • 08 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities Hackers Malware
  1. Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) updated its terms to avoid liability if personal information is stolen from their online service portal.
  2. There are concerns about CRA's basic web application security features being missing, despite their claims of taking all reasonable security steps.
  3. The offloading of responsibility by CRA through a benign Terms of Service update is harmful, especially considering the sensitive data they hold.

Data Science Weekly - Issue 513

Data Science Weekly Newsletter • 359 implied HN points • 21 Sep 23
🕹 Technology AI Data science Machine Learning Software Engineering Tech startups
  1. There's a new newsletter focusing on AI safety in China, showing that the country is more invested in AI safety than many think.
  2. A podcast discusses how startups can run better AI models without needing to upgrade their hardware—a big challenge in the field.
  3. An online event is coming up for those looking to secure data science jobs in big tech, focusing on interview strategies and market insights.

Machine learning interpretability from first principles

Mindful Modeler • 359 implied HN points • 26 Sep 23
🕹 Technology Machine Learning Interpretability Models Methods
  1. Machine learning models can be understood as mathematical functions that can be broken down into simpler parts
  2. Interpretation methods address the behavior of these simplified components to enhance model interpretability
  3. Techniques like Permutation Feature Importance (PFI), SHAP values, and Accumulated Local Effect Plots use decomposition to explain the importance of features in prediction models

Custom embedding models with small training dataset

TechTalks • 216 implied HN points • 08 Jan 24
🕹 Technology AI Models Research Technique
  1. Custom embedding models are important for certain applications to match user prompts to relevant documents.
  2. A new technique by Microsoft researchers simplifies the training process of embedding models, making it cost-effective.
  3. By using autoregressive models and avoiding expensive pre-training, companies can create custom embedding models efficiently.

Understand AI or die trying

Technically • 43 implied HN points • 04 Dec 25
🕹 Technology AI Machine Learning Software Data science Innovation
  1. Understanding how AI works is crucial to using it effectively. If you learn the basics, you can make AI a powerful tool instead of letting it take over your job.
  2. Many people use AI tools lazily and don’t take the time to understand how they work. This can lead to getting replaced if you’re not careful with your AI usage.
  3. There are resources available to help you learn about AI, and it's important to use them. The more you know, the better you can leverage AI in your work.

Call for Questions

Human Capitalist • 99 implied HN points • 07 May 24
🕹 Technology Data science Artificial Intelligence Job Market Business Intelligence
  1. There are a lot of unanswered questions about the workforce that data can help with. This could give businesses valuable insights into hiring trends and job market changes.
  2. A partnership with Seek.ai will allow people to ask real-time questions about workforce data. This means anyone can get important answers quickly, helping them make better decisions.
  3. The team is looking for creative questions to test their new analytics tool. People can submit their questions, and the most interesting ones will be selected for special insights.

The Algorithmic Bridge in 2024

The Algorithmic Bridge • 520 implied HN points • 30 Dec 24
🕹 Technology AI Writing Content creation News Coverage Digital Trends
  1. Balancing speed and quality is important. Sometimes it's better to be fast, and other times it's key to focus on a well-made piece.
  2. It's easy to write for your audience and lose sight of your own interests. Keeping true to your curiosity helps keep your writing authentic.
  3. Instead of stressing about subscriber numbers, focus on consistent writing. Let yourself write freely without worrying about stats.

How to lead projects from start to finish as a software engineer

High Growth Engineer • 1285 implied HN points • 10 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Software Engineering Project management Leadership Communication Documentation
  1. Successful software engineers need to know how to lead projects, not just code
  2. Key project management steps include kickoff, setup, planning, execution, launch, and close-out
  3. Communication, alignment on goals, and iterative feedback are crucial throughout the project lifecycle

Weekly Dose of Optimism #151

Not Boring by Packy McCormick • 189 implied HN points • 04 Jul 25
🕹 Technology Aerospace Energy AI Biotechnology Software
  1. Hermeus is making waves in aviation by speeding up aircraft development, aiming to make travel faster and improve social and economic growth in America. They're pushing for supersonic travel to bring the excitement back to flying.
  2. The FAETON-I fusion device from Fuse Energy is a big step toward making fusion energy a reality, with some impressive outcomes that could change the future of energy production. This could lead to safer world and more available energy for everyone.
  3. Chai Discovery's new AI model, Chai-2, is revolutionizing how antibodies are designed, making the process faster and more efficient. This advancement could lead to better treatments for diseases much quicker than before.

DeepSeek's "Ingenuous" Marketing Strategy

Enterprise AI Trends • 464 implied HN points • 23 Jan 25
🕹 Technology AI Marketing Data Privacy Competitive Analysis Consumer apps
  1. DeepSeek offers a cheaper alternative to OpenAI's services, potentially attracting many developers and startups looking to cut costs.
  2. The company positions itself as an 'open source' option, fostering grassroots support and tapping into a competitive narrative against more established players like OpenAI.
  3. There's a concern over data privacy, as using DeepSeek's services might mean sharing sensitive information, similar to the issues raised with apps like TikTok.

Seeing Beyond The Hype Of That One Neurotech Startup

NEUROTECH FUTURES • 119 implied HN points • 25 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Neurotech Health Innovation Regulation Global
  1. Patient advocates are crucial in guiding advancements in brain-computer interface technology towards impacting those with physical impairments.
  2. Drawing parallels with established markets like Deep Brain Stimulation can offer insights into the future of BCI companies' commercial and regulatory pathways.
  3. Understanding the global landscape of BCI technology involves examining regulations, national interests, and technological advancements in different countries.

Better Data Science: How To Design Visualizations that Work

Data at Depth • 79 implied HN points • 05 May 24
🕹 Technology Data science Visualization Accessibility Aesthetics Design principles
  1. Start with defining the function you want the audience to perform with the presented data before creating visualizations that support it
  2. Implement aspects like affordances, accessibility, and aesthetics to ensure your visualizations are clear, usable, and visually appealing for the audience
  3. Achieving acceptance of your data visualization involves following established design principles like direct labeling, thoughtful use of color, alignment, and the data-ink principle