The hottest APIs Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Technology Topics

The Infinite Data Hallucinator

Mindful Modeler • 59 implied HN points • 06 Dec 22
🕹 Technology Machine Learning Data Analysis APIs Scripting Data generation
  1. The concept of creating fictive datasets using GPT-3 for testing ML models and educational purposes is explored in 'The Infinite Data Hallucinator'.
  2. The 'Infinite Data Hallucinator' is a Jupyter notebook script that leverages the OpenAI API and pandas DataFrame to generate datasets based on a user-provided prompt.
  3. While the generated datasets may have superficial coherence, they are not entirely realistic, and there are limitations due to token limits when creating larger datasets.

Semantic Superiority - Part 3

davidj.substack • 83 implied HN points • 05 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Semantic Layers BI Tools Open Source APIs
  1. Semantic layers are crucial for governance, security, accessibility, and developer experience benefits in data analytics.
  2. Standalone semantic layers offer more flexibility and serve multiple use cases compared to semantic layers built into BI tools.
  3. Different standalone semantic layer options like Cube, AtScale, dbt/MetricFlow, and Looker Modeller provide unique features and cater to varying needs in data modeling and analytics.

Connecting AI with Any API

The API Changelog • 1 implied HN point • 27 Dec 24
🕹 Technology AI APIs Workflows Software Integration
  1. AI can connect to any API, even those without clear documentation. This means you can work with various APIs just by telling the AI what to do in plain language.
  2. Using tools like n8n makes it easier to link AI agents to APIs without needing to code. You can set up workflows that allow the AI to understand and use different API functions.
  3. Providing clear instructions to the AI helps it generate better responses. Adding details about how to query an API can improve the accuracy and clarity of the results you get.

Perplexity Election Information Hub, Speakeasy $15M, OpenAI Cheaper RealTime API

The API Changelog • 3 implied HN points • 05 Nov 24
🕹 Technology APIs AI Cloud Software Tech news
  1. Google Cloud has launched a new feature that helps developers get real-time and accurate information by pulling data from Google Search. This reduces errors in AI responses and gives users direct links to sources.
  2. OpenAI has made its RealTime API much cheaper, cutting costs dramatically for developers creating voice applications. This update will help more developers use advanced voice technology.
  3. Speakeasy has secured $15 million in funding to improve API development tools. This is important because there is a growing need for better tools to create high-quality APIs.

Browserbase

Why Now • 2 implied HN points • 02 Dec 24
🕹 Technology Web Development Automation APIs Software Tools
  1. Web scraping is a way to extract data from websites, but it can be tricky because modern sites often use JavaScript to load content dynamically. This means simple methods may not work.
  2. Browser automation tools like Selenium helped control web browsers programmatically, but they can be complicated and fragile. New solutions like Browserbase are emerging to simplify the process.
  3. Browserbase allows developers to easily create applications that interact with websites using natural language commands. This makes it easier to extract data and automate web tasks without hassle.
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Cohere Coral

Cobus Greyling on LLMs, NLU, NLP, chatbots & voicebots • 19 implied HN points • 23 Nov 23
🕹 Technology AI Chatbots User Interfaces APIs Data Privacy
  1. Cohere Coral is a chat interface that uses large language models and competes with others like ChatGPT. It's designed to be easy to use with no coding required.
  2. Coral can either answer questions based on its existing knowledge or look up information online for the latest answers. This helps provide accurate and timely responses.
  3. The tool allows businesses to customize its features and ensures that data stays private. It's a great option for companies looking to enhance their customer interaction.

Resiliency beyond the Classic Circuit Breaker

System Design Classroom • 2 HN points • 10 Jul 24
🕹 Technology System Design Software Engineering Data Management APIs
  1. To handle system failures, you can use different strategies like 'Fail Fast' which stops operations quickly to save resources. But this can affect user experience because they won't get a chance to recover from the error.
  2. Another approach is 'Fail Silent', where instead of showing an error, the system quietly returns a default value. It helps keep things running smoothly, but users might miss important information if data is missing.
  3. Lastly, there's 'Custom Fallback', which uses saved local data when a service fails. This keeps the service active, but the information might be outdated, which can confuse users.

What guarantees are you making?

Sunday Letters • 79 implied HN points • 11 Sep 22
🕹 Technology Software Systems Documentation Organizational Culture APIs
  1. Always clarify what guarantees you are making in your work or software. This helps everyone understand what to expect.
  2. Dependencies can be tricky, so be careful of relying on assumptions that might change. What works now could break later.
  3. Document processes and rotate responsibilities to avoid putting too much reliance on one person. This keeps the team healthy and resilient.

xAI API, Qpoint $4M, Upwind eBPF Sensor

The API Changelog • 3 implied HN points • 29 Oct 24
🕹 Technology APIs AI Software Startups Funding
  1. Elon Musk's company xAI has launched an API called Grok, which allows developers to build applications using its AI capabilities. This move shows how tech giants are competing in the AI space.
  2. Qpoint secured $4M in funding for its eBPF-based tech that will help monitor data traffic and dependencies in apps, improving reliability without adding complexity.
  3. Upwind has introduced a new API security feature that automatically identifies and secures sensitive data during transmission, enhancing protection against potential breaches.

Databricks Synthetic Datasets API, Vapi $20M, Prometheus Data Leak

The API Changelog • 1 implied HN point • 17 Dec 24
🕹 Technology APIs Data AI Fintech Cybersecurity Software
  1. OpenAI and Meta experienced global outages recently, disrupting services for many users. They are working on fixes to prevent this from happening again.
  2. Databricks launched a new API for creating synthetic datasets to help with testing while protecting privacy. This is useful for developers needing realistic simulation data.
  3. Prometheus servers are at risk of data leaks due to weak authentication, making it important to enhance security measures to prevent potential attacks.

Speech to Text AI - the best apps, free tools, and APIs

Mythical AI • 19 implied HN points • 10 Mar 23
🕹 Technology AI Apps Tools APIs Open Source
  1. The post covers the best speech to text apps you can try today like Apple Dictation, Otter.ai, and Descript.
  2. It provides an overview of free open-source speech to text models you can use, like Whisper and Vosk.
  3. The post also lists paid speech to text APIs, such as Deepgram, AssemblyAI, and Google Speech-to-Text, with their pricing and features.

Digital Innovation on Payor side platforms using API's, AI and beyond

healthviva • 19 implied HN points • 06 Jul 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Digital innovation APIs AI Data Exchange
  1. Digital transformation in healthcare is being driven by evolving patient expectations, interoperability challenges, and a shift towards value-based care.
  2. API-led innovation empowers patients to access health data, helps providers improve care through data sharing, and assists payors in streamlining operations.
  3. Challenges in digital healthcare transformation include API security, scalability, maintenance, and regulatory compliance, highlighting the need for a comprehensive approach.

apidays Paris, Cerve Food API $4.4M, Traefik AI Gateway

The API Changelog • 1 implied HN point • 11 Dec 24
🕹 Technology APIs AI Fintech Security Conferences
  1. The apidays conference in Paris brought together many people to share ideas about APIs. It had various tracks on important topics like security and design.
  2. Several companies are launching new APIs to make processes easier, such as identity management and payment systems. These updates enhance personalization and efficiency for businesses.
  3. AI advancements are being integrated into different products, with companies like Amazon and GitHub making tools to simplify coding and deployment. This makes it easier for developers to work with cloud technologies.

⛷️Slalom: Designing a runtime for AI-generated code

Slalom dev blog • 8 HN points • 10 Feb 24
🕹 Technology AI Programming APIs Concurrency
  1. The development of a custom runtime is crucial for safely running AI-generated code, focusing on simplicity and user control.
  2. Key features like pausing processes, green threads with backtracking, syntactic continuations, and fair resource management are essential for efficient operation.
  3. Building a reliable runtime for AI-generated code involves creating APIs that prevent potential user errors, allowing for undoable actions and permission-seeking processes.

Lang-O-Unchained

Sector 6 | The Newsletter of AIM • 19 implied HN points • 21 Jun 23
🕹 Technology AI Open Source APIs Machine Learning Innovation
  1. OpenAI has integrated a new feature called function calling into its models, which makes conversations more dynamic and interactive. This upgrade shows how AI is constantly improving.
  2. The integration of this feature has caused some debate about whether OpenAI is borrowing too much from the open-source community, particularly from a project called LangChain.
  3. Experts believe LangChain will still thrive despite OpenAI's updates, as it offers unique functionalities that may not be replicated in the OpenAI API.

The API Middle-End

The API Changelog • 1 implied HN point • 05 Dec 24
🕹 Technology Web Development APIs Software Engineering Data processing System Architecture
  1. The API middle-end is an important layer that handles logic between the frontend and backend. It helps process requests and responses more efficiently.
  2. Using a middle-end can improve API performance by adapting and translating data without heavy delays in service, like caching and asynchronous operations.
  3. This concept can benefit both API producers and consumers by creating a more tailored and efficient interaction with the API, similar to how GraphQL APIs manage multiple data sources.

How to Query HaveIBeenPwned Using a Microsoft Sentinel Playbook

Rod’s Blog • 19 implied HN points • 09 Jan 23
🕹 Technology Cybersecurity APIs Guides Microsoft
  1. You can query HaveIBeenPwned using a Microsoft Sentinel Playbook. This enables you to check if email addresses associated with an Incident have been compromised in data breaches.
  2. There is a fee of $3.50 per month to use the HaveIBeenPwned API, but you can pay for a single month to test its value.
  3. Ensure you obtain the API key before deploying the Playbook and make sure to properly connect accounts and input the API key in the designated field.

A Webhook Love Story

Sarah's Newsletter • 3 HN points • 17 Apr 24
🕹 Technology Automation APIs Workflow Integrations Operations
  1. Webhooks provide a plug-and-play interface for event-driven workflows, making automation in marketing efficient and scalable.
  2. Webhooks are useful when immediate automated responses are needed to events from the outside world, and relying on batch implementations would be inefficient.
  3. Effectively implementing webhooks requires observability through alerts, in-depth logs, centralized deployment, and proper scale to avoid operational challenges.

ChatGPT Models, Structure & Input Formats

Cobus Greyling on LLMs, NLU, NLP, chatbots & voicebots • 19 implied HN points • 11 Apr 23
🕹 Technology AI Chatbots APIs Data NLP
  1. ChatGPT is more than just a large language model; it's a conversational service that uses AI to manage conversations and gather data from different sources.
  2. Plugins allow ChatGPT to connect with other applications, making it more versatile and capable of performing various tasks, similar to apps in an app store.
  3. Using the ChatGPT API requires understanding specific formats for input and output, which helps in building custom applications with the AI.

Gemini OpenAI Compatibility, Qpoint $4M, Ollama's Security Flaws

The API Changelog • 1 implied HN point • 12 Nov 24
🕹 Technology APIs Cybersecurity Software Funding Artificial Intelligence Fintech
  1. Cybercriminals are manipulating the Docusign API to send fake invoices to businesses, making them look real to trick users. This highlights the potential risks in API security that could extend to other services too.
  2. Qpoint has raised $4 million in funding to help companies manage their external APIs better. Their goal is to give teams more control and insights over the apps they rely on.
  3. Ollama's AI framework has been found to have serious security flaws, which can lead to data theft and DoS attacks. This underlines the importance of strong security measures in AI technologies.

The evolution of the LLM API market

Artificial Fintelligence • 13 implied HN points • 13 Dec 23
🕹 Technology AI APIs
  1. LLM API market has seen growth with new competitors like Bard, Claude, and Gemini entering.
  2. Competition in the LLM market is driving efficiency and lower prices for hosting services.
  3. Market for LLM APIs will bifurcate into high-end expensive models and low-end cost-effective models, with open weight models improving in quality and decreasing in cost.

Introducing the Ecosystem

Developer GTM – by Calyx Consulting • 59 implied HN points • 17 Mar 21
🕹 Technology Platforms APIs
  1. Companies are recognizing the value of platforms to expand their business, but may lack talent or resources to build them.
  2. Building a successful platform involves challenges like fostering developer community, telling a compelling platform story, and driving adoption.
  3. Thriving platforms function as ecosystems where partners, developers, and the core platform benefit from each other.

100K context windows, Stable Animation SDK, Airtable AI, Google's massive AI updates, Transformers Agent and more

AI Brews • 17 implied HN points • 12 May 23
🕹 Technology AI APIs Models Learning
  1. Anthropic's AI chatbot Claude can now handle 100K tokens and outperforms in complex question synthesis
  2. Stability AI released a Stable Animation SDK for creating animations from text or inputs like images or videos
  3. Airtable launched Airtable AI allowing users to utilize AI in workflows without coding, such as auto-categorizing feedback

Nibble #16

The Nibble • 12 implied HN points • 16 Jul 23
🕹 Technology AI Startups Space Exploration APIs
  1. New AI models like Claude 2 and updates like Google's Bard June Updates are making waves in the tech world.
  2. Tech companies like OpenAI and Stability AI are involved in legal disputes and deals that impact the industry.
  3. Exciting advancements in AI, such as the discovery of anti-aging drugs and leaked details about GPT-4, continue to shape the future of technology.

Introducing Signia

tldraw • 4 HN points • 02 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Programming Open Source APIs Framework
  1. Signia is an original library that offers a core reactive state management system for TypeScript using a new lazy reactivity model based on logical clocks.
  2. Signia's main differentiating features are incremental derivations for saving work during re-computations and transactions with built-in support for rollbacks.
  3. The scalability of Signia's signals is enhanced by always caching derived values and emitting change descriptions (diffs) to incrementally recompute values, offering a new approach to reactivity.

The Ruler of API Governance

The API Changelog • 4 implied HN points • 09 Feb 24
🕹 Technology APIs Governance Security Development Business
  1. API governance is crucial for aligning API goals with business objectives and ensuring consistency in the API lifecycle.
  2. The role of the ruler of API governance involves overseeing all aspects of the API lifecycle, such as design, versioning, security, and compliance.
  3. Being a great ruler of API governance requires deep thinking, wisdom to navigate business complexities, and a desire to improve processes.

Two Ways to Influence Business Growth with API Documentation

The API Changelog • 3 implied HN points • 01 Mar 24
🕹 Technology APIs Business Growth Documentation Cost reduction Customer Retention
  1. Good API documentation can significantly reduce the cost of API support by enabling consumers to troubleshoot their integration issues independently.
  2. Enhancing customer retention is crucial for business growth, and providing a positive developer experience through good documentation can lead to increased retention rates.
  3. API documentation plays a vital role in influencing both the cost of support and customer retention, ultimately driving the success of a business.