Kevin Flood

I wrote about the different builder personas one can find in web3: - corporate - mercenary - app builders - tinkerers Descriptions are in the X thread (because Linkedin limits post length). Can you think of any others? https://lnkd.in/dph-5drV

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Elon Musk’s ambition of turning his social network into the vision he had for its neobank X.com before its 2000 merger with PayPal, appears to be facing significant setbacks. Despite earlier promises that X Payments would launch in 2024, delays persist, notably tied to regulatory challenges in New York. According to Ars Technica, X discreetly withdrew its application for a New York money transmitter license in April 2024. In theory, X Payments could launch in the 38 states where it obtained a money transmitter license, but it would mean that users would not be able to send money to residents of the 12 states in which X don’t have a license, including New York. Given that Venmo and PayPal don’t face such a restriction, it seems unlikely X payments will launch anytime soon. Or maybe it will launch at the same time as Tesla’s self driving taxis and the hyperloop :) This story was initially published in this week’s issue of Global Fintech Insider. To read the other (hopefully) insightful fintech stories I've covered in it, click the link in the comments.

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Can Perplexity truly deliver a significantly better user experience than existing search engines like Google to justify its substantial valuation? Differentiation: What truly sets Perplexity apart from Google? Is its AI-powered approach genuinely more effective and efficient at providing relevant information, or is it just a marginally different way of presenting search results? Monetization: While Perplexity is experimenting with subscription models and advertising, can these generate sustainable revenue to support its ambitious growth and lofty valuation? Can it compete with Google's massive advertising infrastructure? User Adoption: Will users switch from established search engines to Perplexity? Building a user base large enough to challenge Google is a monumental task, even with a superior product. Ethical Concerns: The article mentions concerns about plagiarism. How will Perplexity address these issues and ensure it respects intellectual property rights? Failure to do so could damage its reputation and hinder its growth. Ultimately, Perplexity's value hinges on its ability to provide a compelling reason for users and advertisers to choose it over the competition. It needs to demonstrate that its AI-powered approach offers a tangible advantage and a sustainable business Potential for New Applications: Perplexity's focus on revamping search advertising with AI could inspire other industries to explore how AI can transform their operations. This could lead to the development of new AI applications in various sectors, further accelerating AI adoption across different domains. https://lnkd.in/eZ4JzQ6p

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How do you know if the #LLMs you are using produce useful and ethical #AI models? This is one of the hardest issues to address, especially given the pace of change. To grapple with this, ATxSG 2024, IMDA announced the launch of an AI verification project - #Moonshot- an easy-to-use testing toolkit that provides #benchmarking and #redteaming to come up with a #AIsafety and #capability ratings. #WatchThisSpace

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Masayoshi Son just broke down how it will take $9T & 200m chips to achieve ASI Now tell me how you achieve a level of mobilisation & economic coordination bigger than.. The Space Race + WW2 combined without a new form of Collaborative AI? Learn more at the postweb.io 🤖 #postweb

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This is huge! Apple just quietly acquired yet another AI startup - a French AI company specializing in on-device processing 😳 Paris-based Datakale described itself as “experts in low power, runtime efficient, and deep learning algorithms” that work on device. This is yet another strategic move for Apple as the tech giant is reportedly building an LLM that will be completely on-device instead of cloud-based. This could thus improve privacy and speed up response times for AI on devices, and completely change the way we interact with AI right now. The crazy part? This is at least the 34th AI startup that #Apple has acquired since 2023, the most among the major tech companies 🤯 Apple is quietly building the (AI)Phone 2.0. Huge. P.S. check out 🔔linas.substack.com🔔, it's the only newsletter you need for all things when Finance meets Technology. For founders, builders, and leaders.

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🔥 DON'T START SCRIPT CLICKING THAT SITE JUST YET :) Just to remind people, the click model at Google is Navboost, which is involved in PULLING the documents for the SERPs (culling), not in RANKING those documents. The weighting would likely be applied where the process culls documents. However, there are OTHER processes that Google uses to also pull in docs with NO CLICKS. In their own words, or no new sites would ever rank, and that makes for a bad search engine (paraphrased). i.e., you make a query. Google pulls back thousands of relevant documents. NAVBOOST (and other processes) cull those documents based on their parameters. With NAVBOOST, this means that documents that had X clicks over 13 months are the documents to be pulled into the SERP. HOWEVER, there are other processes that pull documents for other reasons into the SERP. Navboost also creates "slices" for say mobile. SCORING is then applied. The "ranking" effect is by creating the doc list to be ranked by scoring. There are times when clicks in the moment matter but that is for specific circumstances such as trends. This is in The DOJ docs. Make sure that if you read those, you read BOTH docs, not just the one that usually gets shared. It is all in there.

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NAVER Corp launches 'Short Content,' an #AI-powered recommendation service using #HyperCLOVA X. InIt initially focuses on five topics and initially focuses on five topics, plans to expand. #Content #Discovery https://lnkd.in/g9QQhPDW

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🔗 Download the slides from the DOJ, super insightful (1st comment)

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As it says in the quote from John Ridding below, this is about far more than the #FT. “Apart from the benefits to the FT, there are broader implications for the industry. It’s right, of course, that AI platforms pay publishers for the use of their material. OpenAI understands the importance of transparency, attribution, and compensation – all essential for us,” said FT chief executive John Ridding. It would be fairer to say that #OpenAI is learning the benefits of transparency, attribution, and compensation. This has been a hard-won lesson for OpenAI. Its earlier approaches paid scant regard to copyright, attribution and compensation. The lesson OpenAI seems to be learning is that without quality training inputs, the output quality also takes a hit. If the output quality is poor then the overall value is reduced. I'd love to know the terms of the FT deal, because I suspect the economics will be complex. The FT has, for years, done a good job on pricing and value (which is why I subscribe). How this will play out in the world of genAI is going to be very interesting to see. This is AI #economics in the making. It underlines the symbiotic relationship between all ages of quality media. I just looked up when the FT was founded. The answer came from #Wikipedia (in a side window on #Google): it launched in January 1888, as the London Financial Guide, before rebranding just a month later. See, nothing new in experimenting! Asif Javed, Joanna Levesque, Tim Harford, Lucy Watson

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**📣 In the News: News Publishers Sue Microsoft and OpenAI** An intriguing development today, with reports that a coalition of eight leading news publishers owned by Alden Global Capital (AGC), including the iconic Chicago Tribune, are taking a stand against tech behemoths Microsoft and OpenAI. The root of contention? Unlawful use of copyrighted articles to train their generative AI models. Without permissions, without payments. 🔮 Pitching My Prediction: This lawsuit not only demonstrates the complex challenges associated with balancing innovation, copyrights and compensation, but also lays a precedent for how intellectual property might be governed in the age of AI. 🔹 Fundamental copyrights are under scrutiny here. Intellectual property can't be disregarded even amidst the urgency to develop artificial intelligence. AI must be both ethical and respectful to creators' rights. 🔹 Will stricter regulations follow? This might lead to amendments in copyright laws, delineating clearer rules around the use of such materials for AI training. 🔹 Cue shifting industry standards. With a stronger focus on ethical data use, we may witness a shift towards creating AI-based applications using open-source data or generated data, respecting copyrights and encouraging fair trade in this brave, data-centric world. 💭 Closing Thoughts At its core, transparent and fair use of data is fundamental to any technology incubation. Organisations must remain cognisant of, and responsible for, the manner in which they source and utilise data. This lawsuit adds to the much-needed dialogue surrounding AI responsibility and ethical practices, shaping the way forward for this industry. Stay watchful of this space - AI's ethical and legal framework is rapidly unfolding before our very eyes! #AI #Microsoft #openAI #copyrights #lawsuit #ethicsinAI #legalframework Remember: Innovation need not, and should not, be at the expense of ethics. Let's address this together, aiming for equitable advancements in AI technology which champion both innovation and respect towards individual rights!

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🚀 Agora Integrates with OpenAI to Launch Real-Time Conversational AI SDK 🚀 Agora Agora, Inc. has launched its Conversational AI SDK, integrated with OpenAI’s Realtime API, which is set to revolutionize real-time, voice-driven AI experiences across multiple industries. This integration is a game-changer for developers, allowing them to effortlessly bring natural, voice-driven AI into a wide array of applications. Whether it’s 24/7 customer support, concierge services, health and wellness, education, language learning, or even gaming, the new SDK provides endless possibilities for more interactive and engaging AI-powered user experiences. Key features of the Agora Conversational AI SDK include: Seamless real-time voice interaction with OpenAI’s GPT models Ultra-low latency response times, thanks to Agora’s global real-time network powering 60 billion minutes of interaction per month Built-in AI echo cancellation and background noise suppression to ensure clear, accurate voice processing in any environment This is a huge leap forward in bringing lifelike AI experiences into everyday life. Companies like Grepp and Wyze are already leveraging this integration to enhance personalized learning and IoT devices. As Agora's CEO, Tony Zhao, put it: "The integration with OpenAI will unleash a wave of creativity and utility in the AI space unlike anything we have seen to date." 🌐 Developers can now tap into the full potential of real-time conversational AI, opening doors to new innovations that were once thought impossible. Learn more about how you can integrate the Agora Conversational AI SDK into your applications and enhance user engagement through natural, voice-driven interactions. 🔗 Check out more here: https://lnkd.in/grxmQgJc #ConversationalAI #RealTimeAI #VoiceDrivenAI #AIInnovation #AgoraSDK #OpenAI #ArtificialIntelligence #AIInHealthcare #AIInEducation #AIInGaming #CustomerSupportAI #IoTDevices #TechInnovation #VoiceAI

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Generative AI is the most accessible platform shift in decades. Prompting for text, music, or video is easier than buying an NFT, building a mobile app, or making a web site blink. Experimenting with Gen AI across all levels (app, infra, and model layers), pays dividends, too. In Meta's recent earnings call, Meta highlighted how their Gen AI experimentation efforts led to material improvements in recommendations with a new approach: "Previously, we operated separate ranking and recommendation systems for each of our products because we found that performance did not scale if we expanded the model size and compute power beyond a certain point. However, inspired by the scaling laws we were observing with our large language models, last year we developed new ranking model architectures capable of learning more effectively from significantly larger datasets... which has enabled us to deliver more relevant recommendations and unlock meaningful gains" Reading about Gen AI is helpful to contextualize, but to truly be at the forefront, builders need to experiment across all layers.

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🚀 Announcing Pantheon Content Publisher (private beta): Safely publish to Web from Google Docs https://lnkd.in/edXERcsg I am really proud of the Pantheon Platform team for releasing this ambitious feature to our customers today. Web publishing is broken. The way most people publish to their website is by sharing a Google Doc with their "website person" who then copies and pastes it into WordPress or Drupal. This means collaborative editing that happens in Docs is totally disjointed from web publishing. How is this possible in 2024? We've been obsessed with this problem for years, and today, we are announcing our solution. With Content Publisher you can draft, preview, and publish straight from Google Docs to your Drupal, WordPress, or Next.js site—fast, seamless, secure: ✨ Write & edit in Google Docs, and click a button to publish to web. ✨ See live previews of how content will render as you type. ✨ Set up an easy-to-use, trusted editorial publishing workflow. ✨ Use built-in AI for metadata and SEO. It's web publishing, simplified. You can easily try it out for a single page—e.g. your About page—via our WordPress plugin or Drupal module. Once you get the hang of it, you can expand it to more sections of your site. This feature is part of a much bigger vision for where we plan to take the website technology industry. The web used to be simple and fun. It’s increasingly becoming tedious, flaky, and frustrating. We built Content Publisher to change that. Read the full story and sign up for our private beta:

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🥳 Great news coming out of Crunchbase for early stage funding! 💸Early stage Q1 2024 = $32.5bn ⬆️ Up 6% year on year ⬆️ 25% on the previous quarter Not so good for later stage funding (Series C+) which saw a massive decline: Late stage Q1 2024 = $4.5bn ⬇️ down 40% year on year ⬇️ down 17% on the previous quarter Crunchbase conclude: “Seed and angel investment held up better than late stage, offering hope that as the recovery continues there will be a robust class of funded younger companies ready to grow.” The headlines you’ll read: “Total investment declines year on year for a 4th quarter in a row” The reality: “Early stage funding has been holding steady for 18 months now and is showing signs of growth. While later stage funding wildly fluctuates”

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𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰 "𝐕𝐬." 𝐔𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬: Every year at the time of the iPhone launch, there is a debate about the differences and indifferences between the new model and its predecessors. Well, to settle it, Apple has a comparison tool on its website that allows you to compare all iPhones from the 16 series way back to the iPhone 6. The tool compares every spec of each device side-by-side, making it easy for you to decide which iPhone is right for you. Sure, there parts of this which go beyond the technical know-how of most of us (myself included), but you can decipher the important stuff and ignore the rest based on your needs. Once you've decided which iPhone model is right for you, you can then determine whether you're looking for a new or used device. There are many different options when it comes to where you can buy your device, including but not limited to; OEMs, Retailers, Carriers, Marketplaces, P2P platforms and more. Each channel has different criteria around pricing, quality standards, warranty & returns and T&C's, so be sure to familiarize yourself with these before you buy. 𝗕𝗘𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗡𝗪𝗔𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗠𝗜𝗦-𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗦: Last point but an important one, whenever a new release occurs you'll see a tonne of greenwashing. This is when companies use false environmental narratives as a means of coercing you into purchasing a product which they offer. The most common narrative in this space at this time of year - "if you buy the latest device you're making an unsustainable choice" - total rubbish. You might be asking why I'd state this as someone who is a big advocate for refurbished products and circularity, but the truth is, I want consumers to make purchase decisions based on their needs, their options and the facts. The latest device might be the right one for you, for example if you want the best camera or hardware features. Or alternatively, you might be perfectly fine with the specs of and an older generation product and would prefer to benefit from the $$$'s you can save versus buying new. In both scenarios, it's possible to be sustainable. When it comes to sustainability, what you do with the device actually has much greater bearing on its environmental impact than your initial purchase decision. In any case, be sure to maximize the useful life of the device you choose. You can do this by: a) choosing service | repair instead of replacement when it's viable to do so. b) trading-in or handing down when you're ready for an upgrade. c) recycling when a device has reached obsolescence. It's really that easy - The choice is 𝙔𝙊𝙐𝙍𝙎 when it comes to 𝙔𝙊𝙐𝙍 devices, be sure to assess the facts and don't be suckered into making purchases based on false pretenses! #smartphones #technology #consumers #innovation #iphone #apple #products #sustainability #circulareconomy

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London: The AI Startup Capital! Big news from the heart of the UK’s tech scene! London-based AI startup Wayve has just landed an impressive $1 billion in funding (https://lnkd.in/eifTikyq), led by giants like Japan's SoftBank, Nvidia, and Microsoft. This momentous investment isn’t just a win for Wayve—it's a spotlight on London as a fertile ground for AI innovation. Why London? Our city’s unique ecosystem offers an unrivaled blend of tech talent, pioneering research, and a supportive business environment that encourages bold ventures like Wayve. Their work with "embodied AI" is setting new standards for autonomous vehicles, showcasing how startups here are not just following trends—they're creating them. This investment marks a pivotal moment, proving that London is not only attracting big names in technology but also nurturing them to compete on a global scale. As Wayve prepares for international growth, let’s celebrate London as the place where AI startups thrive and innovation knows no bounds. Join me in cheering for the future of tech, born right here in London, as we lead the AI revolution! #London #Innovation #AIStartups #Wayve #GlobalTechLeaders #UKStartups #Artificialintellegence

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