tienssss

Product Minting

Discover how to navigate statistical minefields and make your conclusions more reliable in the realm of data analysis.

Navigating the Maze of Multiple Hypotheses Testing

Discover the fascinating realm of multiverse formation through wedge holography, spanning AdS and de-Sitter spacetimes.

Understanding Multiverse Construction through Wedge Holography

The  HackerNoon mobile app offers a wealth of knowledge in the palms of your hands! Here are some of my favorite features from its latest update. 



HackerNoon Mobile App Review: Exploring Version 1.9 on a Xiaomi Redmi 1

<div><div><p>Anyone interested in the evolution of Artificial Intelligence technology knows that today's solutions are all about <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_language_model?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">Large Language Models (LLMs)</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformer_(deep_learning_architecture)?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">transformers</a>. In a nutshell, LLMs are neural networks that can predict the next token based on the input tokens. Typically, these tokens are words (this isn't entirely accurate, but it's easier to conceptualize this way), and the network's output is also a word. This is how ChatGPT works. You input a question, and the network generates a word. Then, the question and the word together become the network input, generating another word, and so on, until a complete answer is formed.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>However, tokens can be more than just words. Advanced language models like GPT-4 or Gemini are now multimodal, meaning their input can include images and words. Just as a sentence can be broken down into words, an image can be divided into small patches, and from there, the same transformer architecture can process them. For instance, a multimodal network can be asked to describe what is in an image or to code the user interface seen in the picture.</p><p><span><div class="sc-a6c0bd8c-1 ijZWBT image-container undefined"><button class="sc-a6c0bd8c-0 khzBNC download-button"><a download="source-https-production-media-paperswithcode-com-methods-screen-shot-2021-01-26-at-9-43-31-pm-u-i-4-jj-mq-png.png" href="https://hackernoon.imgix.net/images/YwSHEC3KytbshzaHd9gfS1alGs52-t68247i.png" title="Download image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 22" width="22" fill="black"><path fill="black" d="M18 10v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H6v-1H5v-1H4v-1h4V1h1V0h4v1h1v9h4z"></path><path fill="black" d="M21 15v-1h-6v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H1v1H0v6h1v1h20v-1h1v-6h-1Zm-2 4h-1v-1h1v1Zm-3-1h1v1h-1v-1Z"></path></svg></a></button><div data-rmiz-wrap="visible"><div style="position: relative;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; overflow: hidden; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; max-width: 100%;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><img alt="" aria-hidden="true" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3csvg%20xmlns=%27http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%27%20version=%271.1%27%20width=%27642%27%20height=%27488%27/%3e" style="display: block; max-width: 100%; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span><img alt="source: https://production-media.paperswithcode.com/methods/Screen_Shot_2021-01-26_at_9.43.31_PM_uI4jjMq.png" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" decoding="async" data-nimg="intrinsic" class="image" style="position: absolute; inset: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; border: none; margin: auto; display: block; width: 0px; height: 0px; min-width: 100%; max-width: 100%; min-height: 100%; max-height: 100%; object-fit: contain; background-size: contain; background-position: 0% 0%; filter: blur(20px); background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,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&quot;);"><noscript></noscript></span></div><button aria-label="Zoom image" data-rmiz-btn-open="true"></button></div><p class="image-caption">source: https://production-media.paperswithcode.com/methods/Screen_Shot_2021-01-26_at_9.43.31_PM_uI4jjMq.png</p></div></span></p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>This architecture is even more general. <a href="https://deepmind.google/discover/blog/a-generalist-agent/?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">DeepMind's Gato</a> system is a prime example, where a single transformer network can simultaneously answer questions, play video games, or control a robot, and robots have even been <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/group/autonomous-systems-group-robotics/articles/chatgpt-for-robotics/?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">controlled using ChatGPT</a>. Since an LLM works with tokens and any task can be tokenized, an LLM provides a universal solution for any task.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p><span><div class="sc-a6c0bd8c-1 ijZWBT image-container undefined"><button class="sc-a6c0bd8c-0 khzBNC download-button"><a download="source-https-deepmind-google-discover-blog-a-generalist-agent.png" href="https://hackernoon.imgix.net/images/YwSHEC3KytbshzaHd9gfS1alGs52-o7924j2.png" title="Download image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 22" width="22" fill="black"><path fill="black" d="M18 10v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H6v-1H5v-1H4v-1h4V1h1V0h4v1h1v9h4z"></path><path fill="black" d="M21 15v-1h-6v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H1v1H0v6h1v1h20v-1h1v-6h-1Zm-2 4h-1v-1h1v1Zm-3-1h1v1h-1v-1Z"></path></svg></a></button><div data-rmiz-wrap="visible"><div style="position: relative;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; overflow: hidden; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; max-width: 100%;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><img alt="" aria-hidden="true" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3csvg%20xmlns=%27http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%27%20version=%271.1%27%20width=%27616%27%20height=%27448%27/%3e" style="display: block; max-width: 100%; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span><img alt="source: https://deepmind.google/discover/blog/a-generalist-agent/" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" decoding="async" data-nimg="intrinsic" class="image" style="position: absolute; inset: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; border: none; margin: auto; display: block; width: 0px; height: 0px; min-width: 100%; max-width: 100%; min-height: 100%; max-height: 100%; object-fit: contain; background-size: contain; background-position: 0% 0%; filter: blur(20px); background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,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&quot;);"><noscript></noscript></span></div><button aria-label="Zoom image" data-rmiz-btn-open="true"></button></div><p class="image-caption">source: https://deepmind.google/discover/blog/a-generalist-agent/</p></div></span></p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p><br>One of the most hyped tech news stories recently was about the company<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/groq/?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">Groq</a> developing an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application-specific_integrated_circuit?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit)</a> that can run LLMs much more efficiently and with less energy than traditional GPUs. This clearly shows that LLM architecture has become so fundamental that it's now worthwhile to create specialized hardware for it.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Also recently, a publication titled "<a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/2402.17764.pdf?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">The Era of 1-bit LLMs: All Large Language Models are in 1.58 Bits</a>" made its appearance. Quantization of neural networks is a common method for reducing size and computational demand. The essence of the solution is to perform the training on large GPU clusters using floating-point numbers, and then convert the finished network's weights into a less precise format, which allows the processors of user devices to work more efficiently. For example, the training is carried out with 16 or 32-bit floating-point numbers, which are then converted into 8 or 4-bit fixed-point numbers for fast client-side operations. This way, the model can function well even on mobile or IoT devices. An extreme form of this quantization is when the weights are converted into 1-bit numbers. This can be a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9AeVyRzU5Q&amp;ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">complete binary conversion</a>, or as the publication suggests, using the values {-1,0,1} (hence the 1.58 bits). One might think that such extreme quantization would render the network completely unusable, but in reality, the opposite is true; these 1-bit networks perform exceptionally well.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><h3 id="h-why-is-this-such-a-big-deal"><strong>Why is this such a big deal?</strong></h3>
<p>If these three values are sufficient to represent the weights, then multiplication, which is currently the most frequently used operation in neural networks, is no longer necessary. This is why GPU clusters are used for neural networks, as GPUs can perform multiplications very efficiently. Without the need for multiplications, there's no need for GPUs, and the models can be run efficiently even on CPUs, or it's possible to build specialized hardware (ASIC) that can (even in an analog way) run these 1-bit networks.</p>
<p><br>Currently, quantization is a post-training operation. Thus, the use of 1-bit networks doesn't accelerate the training process. Nevertheless, they are still useful because training is a one-time operation, but the neural network is then run countless times. Consequently, running the networks represents a significantly greater energy consumption than training. Therefore, we might benefit from this technology even in the context of training.</p>
<p><br>Since gradient-based training does not work with 1-bit or binarized networks, non-gradient-based technologies become relevant (check<a href="https://facebookresearch.github.io/nevergrad/?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">nevergrad</a> and <a href="https://pygad.readthedocs.io/en/latest/?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">PyGAD</a>), like genetic algorithms or other gradient-free technologies. Although in most cases backpropagation is much more efficient than gradient-free solutions, 1-bit networks can be run much more efficiently than their floating-point counterparts. So, it might be that with backpropagation, we find the optimal network 10 times faster using floating-point numbers than with, say, genetic algorithms. But if the 1-bit network runs 20 times faster, then training will still be twice as fast using genetic algorithms. Investigating how effectively 1-bit networks can be trained with gradient-free methods could be a very interesting research topic.</p>
<p><br>Another reason why this topic is so fascinating is that these networks more closely resemble the neural networks found in the natural brain (biologically plausible). Therefore, I believe that by choosing a good gradient-free training algorithm and applying these 1-bit networks, we can build systems that are much more similar to the human brain. Moreover, this opens up the possibility for technological solutions beyond ASICs that were previously not feasible, such as analog, light-based, or even biologically based processors.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>It's possible that this direction might turn out to be a dead-end in the long run, but for now, its revolutionary potential is apparent, making it a very promising research avenue for anyone involved in the field of artificial intelligence.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p></div><div style="visibility:hidden" class="sc-1e366be2-7 kZfKay"><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M16 9h1v2h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1H9v1H8v1H7v1H6v1H0v-6h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1V9h1V8h1V7h1V6h1V5h2v1h1v1h1v1h1v1zM22 4v2h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1V8h-1V7h-1V6h-1V5h-1V4h-1V3h1V2h1V1h1V0h2v1h1v1h1v1h1v1h1z"></path></svg></button><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 3v2h-1v2h-1v1h-5V7h-2v1h-1v1H9v4h1v1h1v1h2v-1h5v1h1v2h1v2h-1v2h-1v1h-5v-1h-1v-2h-1v-2h-1v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v1H2v-1H1v-2H0v-2h1V8h1V7h5v1h1V7h1V6h1V5h1V3h1V1h1V0h5v1h1v2h1z"></path></svg></button><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M14 19v2h-1v1H1v-1H0V5h1V4h3v15h10z"></path><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 6v11h-1v1H6v-1H5V1h1V0h8v6h6z"></path><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 4v1h-5V0h1v1h1v1h1v1h1v1h1z"></path></svg></button><a style="margin-left:15px;color:white" href="#commentSection"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 19" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M21 6V4h-1V3h-1V2h-2V1h-3V0H8v1H5v1H3v1H2v1H1v2H0v6h1v2h1v2H1v1H0v2h5v-1h1v-1h2v1h6v-1h3v-1h2v-1h1v-1h1v-2h1V6h-1ZM6 13h1v-1h1v-2H6V5h4v8H9v1H6v-1Zm6 0h1v-1h1v-2h-2V5h4v8h-1v1h-3v-1Z"></path></svg></a><button style="margin-right:10px"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 20" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 2v12h-1v1h-2v1h-6v-1H4v1H3v4H1V3H0V1h1V0h2v1h1v2H3v1h1V3h7v1h6V3h2V2h1z"></path></svg></button><div class="sc-1e366be2-8 cbbaIe"></div></div></div>

The Revolutionary Potential of 1-Bit Language Models

The Revolutionary Potential of 1-Bit Language Models (LLMs)

Learn about the importance of automated tests for stable software development and the three main types of tests - unit, integration, and end-to-end

Stable Software: Learn About the Power of Automated Tests

Explore the unique aspects of VAEs, which separate them from traditional autoencoders by enabling data generation through sampling from a distribution

How to Sample From Latent Space With Variational Autoencoder

<div><div><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><h2 id="h-iarp-as-video-linc-program-could-be-repurposed-to-spy-on-protesters-enforce-15-minute-smart-city-compliance-perspective">IARPA’s Video LINC program could be repurposed to spy on protesters, enforce 15-minute smart city compliance: perspective</h2>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://sociable.co/?s=iarpa&amp;ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity</a>&nbsp;(IARPA) is putting together a research program for the US spy community to autonomously identify, track, and trace people and their vehicles over long distances and periods of time.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Last week, the research funding arm of the US intelligence community, IARPA, published the&nbsp;<a href="https://sam.gov/opp/64446a6a809e49238d1346eb8b462bb9/view?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">technical draft</a>&nbsp;for its Video Linking and Intelligence from Non-Collaborative Sensors (<strong>Video LINCS</strong>) research program.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>The newly-updated draft broad agency announcement and funding opportunity details how the US spy community is looking to autonomously identify, track, and trace people, vehicles, and objects by using <a href="https://hackernoon.com/top-10-ai-trends-of-2024-how-ai-transforms-everything?ref=hackernoon.com" rel="ugc">AI to analyze video</a> footage captured by CCTV cameras, drones, and potentially webcams and phones (as evidenced in the&nbsp;<strong>Video LINCS</strong>&nbsp;Program Design image below).</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><blockquote>
<p><em><strong>“The program will start with person reID, progress to vehicle reID, and culminate with reID of generic objects across a video collection”</strong></em></p>
<p>IARPA Video LINCS Program</p>
</blockquote>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p><span><div class="sc-a6c0bd8c-1 ijZWBT image-container undefined"><button class="sc-a6c0bd8c-0 khzBNC download-button"><a download="image.833Z-exsfy4wzy9chzfhsgb3wpa8e" href="https://hackernoon.imgix.net/images/ZSnNpZ3GejgVSxqs3EyP38vlsLL2-2024-02-28T10:14:37.833Z-exsfy4wzy9chzfhsgb3wpa8e" title="Download image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 22" width="22" fill="black"><path fill="black" d="M18 10v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H6v-1H5v-1H4v-1h4V1h1V0h4v1h1v9h4z"></path><path fill="black" d="M21 15v-1h-6v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H1v1H0v6h1v1h20v-1h1v-6h-1Zm-2 4h-1v-1h1v1Zm-3-1h1v1h-1v-1Z"></path></svg></a></button><div data-rmiz-wrap="visible"><div style="position: relative;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; overflow: hidden; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; max-width: 100%;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><img alt="" aria-hidden="true" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3csvg%20xmlns=%27http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%27%20version=%271.1%27%20width=%2740%27%20height=%2740%27/%3e" style="display: block; max-width: 100%; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span><img alt="image" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" decoding="async" data-nimg="intrinsic" class="image" style="position: absolute; inset: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; border: none; margin: auto; display: block; width: 0px; height: 0px; min-width: 100%; max-width: 100%; min-height: 100%; max-height: 100%; object-fit: contain; background-size: contain; background-position: 0% 0%; filter: blur(20px); background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,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&quot;);"><noscript></noscript></span></div><button aria-label="Zoom image" data-rmiz-btn-open="true"></button></div></div></span></p><p>The official reasons given for developing this program have to do with responding to “<em><strong>tragic incidents</strong></em>” that require “<em><strong>forensic analyses</strong></em>,” and to “<em><strong>analyze patterns for anomalies and threats</strong></em>.”</p>
<p>IARPA program director Dr. Reuven Meth also mentioned in the video below that&nbsp;<strong>Video LINCS</strong>&nbsp;would be used to “<em><strong>facilitate smart city planning</strong></em>.”</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>But ask yourself, why would the US spy agency funding arm want to develop tools for smart city planning?</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><blockquote>
<p><em>Video LINCS&nbsp;<strong>will take labor-intensive workflows and automate them to facilitate forensic analyses, proactive threat detection, and smart city planning”</strong></em></p>
<p>IARPA Program Director Dr. Reuven Meth</p>
</blockquote>
<p><div class="sc-56d3a1c3-0 evTXYi"><p class="line-space"><br></p><div class="youtube-container"><iframe title="ytcontainer" width="700" height="394" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/G2U-13OuisU" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></div></p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p><em>The Sociable</em>&nbsp;previously reported on the initial&nbsp;<strong>Video LINCS</strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://sociable.co/government-and-policy/us-intelligence-autonomously-reidentify-map-objects-videos-sensors/?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">program announcement</a>&nbsp;on January 9, 2024 when there was limited information publicly available, but last week IARPA updated its technical specs, giving us a more detailed look at just how deep the US spy apparatus is willing to go in its surveillance pursuits.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>The&nbsp;<strong>Video LINCS</strong>&nbsp;program consists of two Technical Areas (TAs):</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><ul>
<li><strong>Re-identification (ReID)</strong>: Autonomously and automatically associating the same object (person, vehicle, or generic object) across a video corpus.</li>
<li><strong>Object Geo-localization</strong>: Geo-locating objects to provide positions for all objects in a common world reference frame.</li>
</ul>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>ReID, according to IARPA, means “the process of matching the same object across a video collection, to determine where the object appears throughout the video.”</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><blockquote>
<p><em><strong>“The goal of the</strong></em>&nbsp;<em>Video LINCS&nbsp;<strong>program, is to develop re-identification (reID) algorithms to autonomously associate objects across diverse, non-collaborative, video sensor footage and map re-identified objects to a unified coordinate system (geo-localization)”</strong></em></p>
<p>IARPA Video LINCS Program</p>
</blockquote>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>The&nbsp;<strong>Video LINCS</strong>&nbsp;program, if it does indeed become a fully-funded research program, will consist of three phases over the course of 48 months:</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><ul>
<li>During Phase 1, teams will demonstrate the feasibility of reID for people in a video corpus and object geo-localization to provide all subject motion in a common reference frame.&nbsp;<em><strong>Each person’s clothing will remain the same</strong></em>&nbsp;(short-term / temporally proximate reID) and provided metadata (e.g. time-stamps and camera pose, to the extent available) will be noise free.</li>
<li>During Phase 2,&nbsp;<em><strong>reID will expand to include people with clothing changes</strong></em>&nbsp;(long-term / temporally distant reID),&nbsp;<em><strong>include vehicles</strong></em>, require functionality on generic objects, additional sensor types and collection geometries will be included in the evaluations, and noise will be introduced into provided metadata.</li>
<li>During Phase 3, evaluation&nbsp;<em><strong>will have a stronger focus on reID of generic objects, temporally distant reID of vehicles will be performed</strong></em>, additional sensor types and collection geometries will be included, and there will be greater uncertainty in camera pose.</li>
</ul>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p><span><div class="sc-a6c0bd8c-1 ijZWBT image-container undefined"><button class="sc-a6c0bd8c-0 khzBNC download-button"><a download="image.836Z-yhebph8822gd4wgwd0wxk3cz" href="https://hackernoon.imgix.net/images/ZSnNpZ3GejgVSxqs3EyP38vlsLL2-2024-02-28T10:14:37.836Z-yhebph8822gd4wgwd0wxk3cz" title="Download image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 22" width="22" fill="black"><path fill="black" d="M18 10v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H6v-1H5v-1H4v-1h4V1h1V0h4v1h1v9h4z"></path><path fill="black" d="M21 15v-1h-6v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H1v1H0v6h1v1h20v-1h1v-6h-1Zm-2 4h-1v-1h1v1Zm-3-1h1v1h-1v-1Z"></path></svg></a></button><div data-rmiz-wrap="visible"><div style="position: relative;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; overflow: hidden; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; max-width: 100%;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><img alt="" aria-hidden="true" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3csvg%20xmlns=%27http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%27%20version=%271.1%27%20width=%2740%27%20height=%2740%27/%3e" style="display: block; max-width: 100%; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span><img alt="image" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" decoding="async" data-nimg="intrinsic" class="image" style="position: absolute; inset: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; border: none; margin: auto; display: block; width: 0px; height: 0px; min-width: 100%; max-width: 100%; min-height: 100%; max-height: 100%; object-fit: contain; background-size: contain; background-position: 0% 0%; filter: blur(20px); background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,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&quot;);"><noscript></noscript></span></div><button aria-label="Zoom image" data-rmiz-btn-open="true"></button></div></div></span></p><p>The&nbsp;<strong>Video LINCS</strong>&nbsp;program will look to re-ID people, vehicles, and objects over long distances and periods of time using a kaleidoscope of technologies, including:</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><ul>
<li>Artificial Intelligence</li>
<li>Computer vision, including object detection, tracking, person/vehicle/object modeling, generic vision learning</li>
<li>Deep learning</li>
<li>Geometric camera projections and inverse projections</li>
<li>Image and video geo-localization</li>
<li>Machine learning</li>
<li>Modeling and simulation</li>
<li>Open set classification</li>
<li>Re-identification</li>
<li>Soft biometrics</li>
<li>Software engineering</li>
<li>Software integration</li>
<li>Systems integration</li>
<li>Truthed video data collection, annotation (truthing in both anonymized identities and geo-location), including potential Human Subject Research</li>
<li>Vehicle fingerprinting</li>
<li>Video data generation (including simulation, generative modeling)</li>
</ul>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><blockquote>
<p><em><strong>“The system needs to automatically locate the objects and associate them – across scale, aspect, density, crowding, obscuration, etc. – without introducing false detections and false matches”</strong></em></p>
<p>IARPA Video LINCS Program</p>
</blockquote>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Apart from threat detection, forensic analyses, and smart city planning, there are many other potential use cases that could come from this spy program down the road.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>For example, the tools and tactics coming from&nbsp;<strong>Video LINCS</strong>&nbsp;would be able to, hypothetically, identify who was present at a rally, protest, or riot — such as the one that occurred in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021 — and follow their every move as they make their way back home, even when they change their clothes.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Another example could be for keeping <a href="https://hackernoon.com/this-app-is-tracking-250000-immigrants-in-the-usa?ref=hackernoon.com" rel="ugc">track of immigrants</a> at land, air, and sea border crossings.</p><p>And it would be invaluable to governments wishing to enforce future lockdowns or low-emission zones in&nbsp;<a href="https://sociable.co/government-and-policy/digital-public-infrastructure-fusion-digital-id-cbdc-15-minute-smart-cities/?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">15-minute smart cities</a>&nbsp;as the authorities would be able to identify who broke protocol while tracking and tracing their every move for law enforcement to hunt them down.</p>
<p>All of this would be done autonomously and automatically.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>But hey! maybe I’m being overdramatic.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>After all, the government said it was to keep people safe, and the government has never let us down in always keeping our best interests at heart.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><hr>
<div class="notice notice-info">
<p>This article was originally published by <strong>Tim Hinchliffe</strong> on <a href="https://sociable.co/government-and-policy/us-spy-community-autonomously-track-people-vehicles-ai-video/?ref=hackernoon.com#google_vignette" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">The Sociable.</a></p>
</div>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p></div><div style="visibility:hidden" class="sc-1e366be2-7 kZfKay"><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M16 9h1v2h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1H9v1H8v1H7v1H6v1H0v-6h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1V9h1V8h1V7h1V6h1V5h2v1h1v1h1v1h1v1zM22 4v2h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1V8h-1V7h-1V6h-1V5h-1V4h-1V3h1V2h1V1h1V0h2v1h1v1h1v1h1v1h1z"></path></svg></button><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 3v2h-1v2h-1v1h-5V7h-2v1h-1v1H9v4h1v1h1v1h2v-1h5v1h1v2h1v2h-1v2h-1v1h-5v-1h-1v-2h-1v-2h-1v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v1H2v-1H1v-2H0v-2h1V8h1V7h5v1h1V7h1V6h1V5h1V3h1V1h1V0h5v1h1v2h1z"></path></svg></button><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M14 19v2h-1v1H1v-1H0V5h1V4h3v15h10z"></path><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 6v11h-1v1H6v-1H5V1h1V0h8v6h6z"></path><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 4v1h-5V0h1v1h1v1h1v1h1v1h1z"></path></svg></button><a style="margin-left:15px;color:white" href="#commentSection"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 19" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M21 6V4h-1V3h-1V2h-2V1h-3V0H8v1H5v1H3v1H2v1H1v2H0v6h1v2h1v2H1v1H0v2h5v-1h1v-1h2v1h6v-1h3v-1h2v-1h1v-1h1v-2h1V6h-1ZM6 13h1v-1h1v-2H6V5h4v8H9v1H6v-1Zm6 0h1v-1h1v-2h-2V5h4v8h-1v1h-3v-1Z"></path></svg></a><button style="margin-right:10px"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 20" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 2v12h-1v1h-2v1h-6v-1H4v1H3v4H1V3H0V1h1V0h2v1h1v2H3v1h1V3h7v1h6V3h2V2h1z"></path></svg></button><div class="sc-1e366be2-8 cbbaIe"></div></div></div>

IARPA’s Video LINC program could be repurposed to spy on protesters, enforce 15-minute smart city compliance: perspective

US Intelligence Eyes AI and Video Data for Tracking Individuals and Vehicles

Learn how to effortlessly center elements in your web design projects using different CSS approaches, catering to various scenarios and preferences.

3 Contemporary CSS Techniques for Centering Items

In this article explained of how I became a team lead, what skills you can’t do without in this position, and how to improve your team management skills

What Skills Will Help You Become a Good Development Team Leader?

<div><div><blockquote>
<p><em>Will you love me, no matter what?</em></p>
<p><em>Will you hold me, even when nobody else will?</em></p>
<p><em>Will you see me,</em></p>
<p><em>The way I see you?</em></p>
<p><em>-Day 345. The year of the plague.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p><br></p><p>My name is Kevwe. I am a runner. That’s what the regulators called me. One of the few who survived the holocaust, I was a living legend. They said so many things about me, not all of them good. But I didn’t mind, I was a runner. An elite. A force of nature.</p><p><br></p><p>My feet landed on the rough surface of a debilitated house, and I took off into the air again. The wind felt alive somehow, caressing my face with gentle touches that’d make a hard guy cry. My legs were my weapons, my sole reason for existence. I jumped again. The sole of my foot lightly grazed a serrated edge, and I stifled a wince as the pain lanced straight up my body. It was a spark; it was burning me from within. I gritted my teeth and kept running, leaping from one ruin to another, making the wasteland into my playground. A runner like me was necessary in the efforts of the Resistance. We were spread thin, and the commanders feared a retaliation from the unknown forces.</p><p><br></p><p>Nigeria. A wasteland of ruins and darkness. I ran, my breath coming in ragged gasps. My eyes stayed ahead, not daring to look at the large gash on my toes. The pain gave me laser focus as I leaped from one edge to another. Brown, the world was brown. Drained of colour, like rust. Like the days I wished to die. The sky was tinged with a coppery colour. It began as soon as the plague ravaged through the world like quickfire. It's more like an inferno. The death rates were enough to cause alarm and halt regular working hours. School too. Everything came to a standstill.</p><p><br></p><p>That was the end of the future I designed from an overactive imagination. I didn’t want to be a runner at first, but a runner could outrun the plague. The humanoid viruses mutated at an alarming rate. The death bugs. Or so they were called. That was the first thing they mutated into; Bugs. Flying bugs. As disgusting as that would seem. Their intelligence seemed to increase the higher the form they took. Pale, translucent beings. Beings that stole faces and futures. Beings of unknown origin. That’s what they’d become. I didn’t know if that was the last stage of their evolution, but knowing how low humans were on the food chain? It was probably not.</p><p>That’s why I run. To outrun my death.</p>
<p><br></p><p>I was told that the beings would become stronger and probably outrun a runner but, I didn’t bank on that. Their intelligence was limited. They remained in the base form of whatever organism they consumed; Humans included. Which means that they were blissfully average. Good news? Definitely not. Imagine humans that never tire out, humans that have no heart to pump blood, or a brain to signify when they need to stop. They were unstoppable demons with no known way to die.</p><p><br></p><p><em>How do you kill an unstoppable creature?</em></p><p><br></p><p>The answer is, you don’t.</p><p><br></p><p>You run and pray to all the gods that they don’t catch you. You run until your heart fails you and you don’t stop even after that. You run, even if it kills you. Funnily enough, there was a reason for running. The soul tablets. The infected are those the virus creatures couldn’t completely consume. But their minds are gone, worse than patients with dementia. They don’t live, their hearts still beat rhythmically in their chests but they remain living husks; caricatures of what they once were. Death sometimes seemed merciful. But, killing them would mean killing half of the population. It would mean the bastard creatures won.</p><p><br></p><p>The soul tablets can only be found in those ruins and more often than not, the vile creatures ingest those tablets to understand humans better. They don’t need minds, the soul tablets sort of dance in their vision and they see what they have to do. Hence, the soul tablets are important. For us runners, because we get to see our loved ones come alive again, even when they never say a word.</p><p><br></p><p>It was worth heaven and earth. To see the smile that’d light up their faces. That’s why I run.</p><p>But, I was already compromised. The cut from the roof, the trail of blood that followed in my wake with every leap. The creatures could smell blood. I didn’t know how or why but a lot of them have consumed those I used to run with. Kemi, Shola, Etus, Akachi, etc. I once called them friends. But, they were taken.</p>
<p><br></p><p>By the Bloodless. The only virus with intelligence. They could run even better than me, but they couldn’t outrun their deaths.</p><p><br></p><p><em>Fucking hell.</em></p><p><br></p><p>I almost missed a step when I saw the dim light of a soul tablet underneath a jumbled mass of buildings that had seen better days. I stopped abruptly, glad that I didn’t miss it. I took a look around the ruins, some of the walls unable to survive the rust and falling apart from a light touch. The sky still shone as copper, a sickly color. On most evenings, it was tinged with red. The walls of most of the houses in the ruins had paint peeling off the few that remained standing. Sometimes, I wondered how the world went to hell in such a short time.</p><p><br></p><p>“You got here first. And… you’re bleeding.” I heard a voice from behind me and turned to stare at the girl that just landed, as lithe as a cat. She had a small grin on her face, as though smiling was beneath her. Her full eyebrows raised a millimeter, her coffee-brown irises staring straight through me and into my soul. She was dressed like I was, an all-black getup. But hers made her seem… hot.</p><p><br></p><p><em>Yes, I am stupid. The wall is falling apart and I’m thinking about a girl’s body. How original.</em></p><p><br></p><p>“Don’t gawk at me. You’re not Keno. I can swear her eyes follow me wherever I go.” The new arrival, Zenith, shuddered as though in remembrance of something awful. I didn’t blame her, Keno could be overbearing sometimes.</p><p><br></p><p>“Slow poke.” I quipped, earning an elbow for my troubles. Zenith could be violent. Very.</p><p>“Just because you got here first doesn’t make you faster. Just stupid. Belligerent. Insufferable. Obnoxious. You never listen. We were meant to form ranks..” Ah yes, one of Zenith’s famous lectures. Form ranks, go in pairs or groups. Nobody left alone. Or some other balderdash. How infuriating.</p>
<p><br></p><p>“You know, I can’t tell which words are real and which are fake. You know, with you throwing words <em>upandan.</em> You’re literally a walking dictionary.” She bristled, and I knew that I hit a nerve. Zenith was always so particular about grammar. What a waste. The world had fallen apart. Who would she have read Shakespeare to? The <em>Bloodless</em>?</p><p><br></p><p>“Don’t. Luis and Raheem are up ahead. Scouting and trying to erase the blood with those mighty knapsack of theirs. You might just get whooped this time. Now, let me see that cut.” She ordered, as matronly as ever. That was our Zenith, the mother of the group. A pity Etus couldn’t see her anymore, they were a thing for the longest time.</p><p><br></p><p>She cleaned the cut and applied antiseptic, not risking using anything over the top while we were out in the open. She could seal something as small as a cut but it took time and time was what we didn’t have. I stared at the sky as it darkened and Raheem more or less flew out from over a building. He scaled the building right in front of my eyes. One second he wasn’t there and the next, he was.</p><p><br></p><p>“Such petty tricks. I do it better.” Luis grumbled as he came into view about two seconds after Raheem did. Raheem was the narcissist, his looks didn’t help either. He had the hots for Zenith but she acted blind to his advances. It was usually tension-filled running with them. I preferred to do it alone.</p><p><br></p><p>“Grab all the soul tablets you can. We meet in the food canteen after all of this. Kevwe, can you run?” Zenith turned to me. I nodded in the affirmative. Thankfully, Luis and Raheem ignored me. They always did. I didn’t exist to them, not in the ways that mattered. I was the insubordinate brat. Or so they put it.</p><p><br></p><p>I took off on a run after carrying as many soul tablets as I could, placing them in the backpack I carried. They weighed me down a little but not by much. Zenith was close behind. I could hear an otherworldly sound as the creatures rose from whatever they were doing. They set sights on us, hoarding the soul tablets.</p><p><br></p><p>“Fuck you, Kevwe! Fuck you! You caused this with your need to prove a point!” Raheem cursed out loud but I didn’t say a word in retaliation. We weren’t going to make it. When the creatures were fully awake, they had no limits. They ran like normal humans but they didn’t lose stamina. They didn’t die.</p><p><em>Will she forgive me, if I go this way?</em></p>
<p><br></p><p>I stopped thinking and focused on running, hoping that maybe I could do something about the hoard coming for us.</p><p><br></p><p>“Any ideas?” Zenith asked Luis. Thankfully, she didn’t mention Raheem words even if she knew that I doomed all of us.</p><p><br></p><p>“We survive? Get to the gate and use a soul tablet? I don’t know.” Luis replied honestly, trying to not show fear in his voice. But I knew that tone. Etus had it too. Dami did too. That reckless bravado.</p><p><br></p><p>“Let’s do this, boys!” Zenith said, her voice carrying over to the other two. Raheem nodded and quickened his pace. We vaulted over buildings like they were made of straw sacks, our shoes never really touching the ground before we moved again.</p><p><br></p><p>“I’ll buy you time. Run.” I said, grinding to a halt. I caused it, I had to handle the consequences.</p><p>“Don’t fucking do it. You’re not a saint! You’re a selfish bastard who only thinks of himself and nothing else. Run!” Raheem screamed at me, stopping abruptly too. Zenith and Luis were long gone.</p>
<p>“I won’t. I’m sorry. It’s my turn now.” I said, totally ready to sacrifice myself.</p>
<p>“Like hell I’ll let you.” He said and then, cracked a soul tablet, flinging the essence on me.</p>
<p>“Now run, you bastard. And don’t stop, or I’ll haunt you.” He turned to face the hoard already almost upon us, the soul tablet doing its job by clearing my head and doing everything to remind me of the fear of death. So, I ran.</p>
<p><br></p><p>I turned to look back at him, wondering why he did what he did. Hate still burned in his eyes. But this time, I could understand. I activated my shoes as I got close to the gate, phasing in as my body became as translucent as the creatures who stole from us. I was in.</p><p><br></p><p>It was a modest place with walls high enough for me to crane my neck to get a good view. A fortress of stone. I made my way up to stairs to report to the leader of my platoon; Zenith.</p><p>“Where’s Raheem?” She asked as soon as her eyes landed on me. Another one. Dead.</p>
<p>“He didn’t make it. He sacrificed himself to save me.” I responded as truthfully as I could as I heard her sharp intake of breath. The world stopped.</p>
<p>“You may leave.” She said, a certain steeliness in her voice. I walked out, unable to say the words I wanted to. The tales of Raheem’s bravery at the last moments.</p>
<p><br></p><p>I made my way to the infirmary, a soul tablet in hand. My mind fractured. I never expected to feel pain for someone like Raheem. But the pain threatened to tear my heart asunder.</p><p><br></p><p>People made way for me as I headed to the bed at the furthest corner of the room. A sickly form of a woman laid on a cot that’d seen better days. I placed the soul tablet gingerly on her hand, watching her for any signs of recognition. Nothing. And like that, one soul tablet was absorbed without any noticeable change.</p><p><br></p><p>I walked back out dejected, my back hunched. Zenith was walking towards me, tears dotting her eyes. They were red from tears. She grabbed me by the front of my clothes, slamming my back on the nearest wall.</p><p><br></p><p>“Bring. Raheem. Back.” She spoke through gritted teeth, her pain was so acute that I could taste it on my tongue.</p><p>“I can’t.” I said, the words being choked out of my mouth.</p>
<p>“A vegetable lays on that damn bed you haven’t left in over 300 days. You’ve been responsible for the deaths of so many of us because of your hypocrisy. You watched him die!” She screamed, her voice accusing. No trace of the leader she had always been.</p>
<p><br></p><p>“He did. He died to protect me.” I replied, sincerely hoping she did me the favour and killed me right there.</p><p><br></p><p>“You..” She managed to let me go, grief wracking her body. She screamed, her voice breaking. I just watched.</p><p><br></p><p>It was a festival of pain. That night, she apologized to me for the statements she made. I was grateful she forgave.</p><p><br></p><p>She was found dead the next day. Suicide.</p><p><br></p><p><em>How many more will you kill to resurrect the dead?</em></p><p><br></p><p>Zenith didn’t deserve to die. Raheem didn’t. Etus didn’t. I was the problem, the anomaly. They hated me, I hated me.</p><p><br></p><p>I went back to the infirmary, taking hold of her hand. Her skin was hollow and almost translucent.</p><p>I recovered her from the jaws of death. But maybe, I should have died instead.</p>
<p><br></p><p>“I hate me. I love you. I hate what I have to put you through, but if you ever wake up, I apologize. They died, to save me. To save my childish fantasy. I never wanted to lose so much. But then, if it is going to save you, I don’t mind. Even if the world itself turns against me, I’ll stand by you. Even when all I want to do is die. I hope you remember the days I spent, talking to you about nothing at all. I hope you don’t cry when you wake. I hope… you find something. Someone. You’re the one I’ve always loved and if I could sacrifice the world to save you… goodbye, Seta.”</p><p><br></p><p>I felt her hand squeeze mine. I stared again but it seemed to be a trick of my mind. I placed a kiss on her forehead and walked out.</p><p><br></p><p>The last sacrifice.</p><p><br></p><blockquote>
<p><em>We will rise,</em></p>
<p><em>Even from ashes.</em></p>
<p><em>-Day 7321. The years after the plague.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p><br></p><p>I stand and watch his tombstone. I barely remember his voice, I barely remember anything. But I stand by his tombstone, as an act of penance. By all of their tombstones. The runners.</p><p><br></p><p>Humanity’s last bastion of defense. The viruses mutated once more and migrated to space. They lost interest in humans. When I awoke, I could only remember a voice. His voice.</p><p>They’ll always be remembered, even though they died needlessly. Luis still stands. The last runner is standing. Although he doesn’t have to run anymore, I’ve never seen him smile. Not once. He stares into the distance, looking over the horizon. The sky is blue. Mankind is building again. We’re a few million in Nigeria now. Immigrants, hidden bunkers. The sky no longer looks dead.</p>
<p><br></p><p>Can you see this, runners? I do hope you can. You deserve to. Heroes. Of earth.</p><p>-Unknown.</p></div><div style="visibility:hidden" class="sc-1e366be2-7 kZfKay"><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M16 9h1v2h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1H9v1H8v1H7v1H6v1H0v-6h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1V9h1V8h1V7h1V6h1V5h2v1h1v1h1v1h1v1zM22 4v2h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1V8h-1V7h-1V6h-1V5h-1V4h-1V3h1V2h1V1h1V0h2v1h1v1h1v1h1v1h1z"></path></svg></button><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 3v2h-1v2h-1v1h-5V7h-2v1h-1v1H9v4h1v1h1v1h2v-1h5v1h1v2h1v2h-1v2h-1v1h-5v-1h-1v-2h-1v-2h-1v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v1H2v-1H1v-2H0v-2h1V8h1V7h5v1h1V7h1V6h1V5h1V3h1V1h1V0h5v1h1v2h1z"></path></svg></button><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M14 19v2h-1v1H1v-1H0V5h1V4h3v15h10z"></path><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 6v11h-1v1H6v-1H5V1h1V0h8v6h6z"></path><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 4v1h-5V0h1v1h1v1h1v1h1v1h1z"></path></svg></button><a style="margin-left:15px;color:white" href="#commentSection"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 19" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M21 6V4h-1V3h-1V2h-2V1h-3V0H8v1H5v1H3v1H2v1H1v2H0v6h1v2h1v2H1v1H0v2h5v-1h1v-1h2v1h6v-1h3v-1h2v-1h1v-1h1v-2h1V6h-1ZM6 13h1v-1h1v-2H6V5h4v8H9v1H6v-1Zm6 0h1v-1h1v-2h-2V5h4v8h-1v1h-3v-1Z"></path></svg></a><button style="margin-right:10px"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 20" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 2v12h-1v1h-2v1h-6v-1H4v1H3v4H1V3H0V1h1V0h2v1h1v2H3v1h1V3h7v1h6V3h2V2h1z"></path></svg></button><div class="sc-1e366be2-8 cbbaIe"></div></div></div>

Embark on a harrowing journey through a post-apocalyptic Nigeria, where one runner's sacrifice becomes the beacon of humanity's hope.

The End of Everything

The SEC filed a case that accuses an executive of using secret information from his own company to trade in the stock of a rival. The first time they've done so

These Biotech Execs Made Perfectly Timed Trades in Health Care Stocks

<div><div><p>Hello again, Hackers 💚</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>HackerNoon editors are back with another edition focusing on keywords, the secret sauce for distribution. Crafting innovative keywords can elevate your story from hundreds to thousands of views. Case in point: a recent story garnered close to 380k views (all organic!).</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><h2 id="h-nintendo-breaks-its-silence-on-palworld"><div class="sc-56d3a1c3-0 evTXYi"><p class="line-space"><br></p><div class="embed-hn-story"><div class="card-image-container"><img src="https://hackernoon.imgix.net/images/sfioWE1EMEOFXA8Wqg3wPtp5iwo1-h483123.png?mark-pad=0&amp;mark=http://hackernoon.imgix.net/HackerNoon%20Rounded%20Horizontal.png?w=400" alt="article preview"></div><div class="card-info"><span class="provider">HACKERNOON</span><h3 class="title">Nintendo Breaks Its Silence On&nbsp;Palworld | HackerNoon</h3><span class="desc">Nintendo finally broke its silence after&nbsp;Palworld’s&nbsp;launch raised controversy among the Pokemon community.</span></div></div></div></h2>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p><span><div class="sc-a6c0bd8c-1 ijZWBT image-container undefined"><button class="sc-a6c0bd8c-0 khzBNC download-button"><a download="image.jpeg" href="https://hackernoon.imgix.net/images/zhLunuihpBhk4IjuH4amrounSwE2-86830mp.jpeg" title="Download image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 22" width="22" fill="black"><path fill="black" d="M18 10v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H6v-1H5v-1H4v-1h4V1h1V0h4v1h1v9h4z"></path><path fill="black" d="M21 15v-1h-6v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H1v1H0v6h1v1h20v-1h1v-6h-1Zm-2 4h-1v-1h1v1Zm-3-1h1v1h-1v-1Z"></path></svg></a></button><div data-rmiz-wrap="visible"><div style="position: relative;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; overflow: hidden; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; max-width: 100%;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><img alt="" aria-hidden="true" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3csvg%20xmlns=%27http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%27%20version=%271.1%27%20width=%27800%27%20height=%27166.5857142857143%27/%3e" style="display: block; max-width: 100%; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span><img alt="image" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" decoding="async" data-nimg="intrinsic" class="image" style="position: absolute; inset: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; border: none; margin: auto; display: block; width: 0px; height: 0px; min-width: 100%; max-width: 100%; min-height: 100%; max-height: 100%; object-fit: contain; background-size: contain; background-position: 0% 0%; filter: blur(20px); background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,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&quot;);"><noscript></noscript></span></div><button aria-label="Zoom image" data-rmiz-btn-open="true"></button></div></div></span></p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>When the story came to us, it had some <em><strong>very</strong></em> generic keywords. On top of that, only six of the total eight keywords were utilized. Now, we get it: authors just want to get over the whole keyword business, but ranking for generic terms like “gaming,” “video games,” or even “pc gaming” is not only hard, it’s likely impossible.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p><span><div class="sc-a6c0bd8c-1 ijZWBT image-container undefined"><button class="sc-a6c0bd8c-0 khzBNC download-button"><a download="image.jpeg" href="https://hackernoon.imgix.net/images/zhLunuihpBhk4IjuH4amrounSwE2-e9930u0.jpeg" title="Download image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 22" width="22" fill="black"><path fill="black" d="M18 10v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H6v-1H5v-1H4v-1h4V1h1V0h4v1h1v9h4z"></path><path fill="black" d="M21 15v-1h-6v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H1v1H0v6h1v1h20v-1h1v-6h-1Zm-2 4h-1v-1h1v1Zm-3-1h1v1h-1v-1Z"></path></svg></a></button><div data-rmiz-wrap="visible"><div style="position: relative;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; overflow: hidden; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; max-width: 100%;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><img alt="" aria-hidden="true" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3csvg%20xmlns=%27http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%27%20version=%271.1%27%20width=%27800%27%20height=%27310.19925280199254%27/%3e" style="display: block; max-width: 100%; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span><img alt="image" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" decoding="async" data-nimg="intrinsic" class="image" style="position: absolute; inset: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; border: none; margin: auto; display: block; width: 0px; height: 0px; min-width: 100%; max-width: 100%; min-height: 100%; max-height: 100%; object-fit: contain; background-size: contain; background-position: 0% 0%; filter: blur(20px); background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,CiAgICA8c3ZnIHdpZHRoPSI4MDAiIGhlaWdodD0iMzEwLjE5OTI1MjgwMTk5MjU0IiB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgeG1sbnM6eGxpbms9Imh0dHA6Ly93d3cudzMub3JnLzE5OTkveGxpbmsiPgogICAgICA8ZGVmcz4KICAgICAgICA8bGluZWFyR3JhZGllbnQgaWQ9ImciPgogICAgICAgICAgPHN0b3Agc3RvcC1jb2xvcj0iIzIyMiIgb2Zmc2V0PSIyJSIgLz4KICAgICAgICAgIDxzdG9wIHN0b3AtY29sb3I9IiMwZjAiIG9mZnNldD0iMTAlIiAvPgogICAgICAgICAgPHN0b3Agc3RvcC1jb2xvcj0iIzIyMiIgb2Zmc2V0PSIxMiUiIC8+CiAgICAgICAgPC9saW5lYXJHcmFkaWVudD4KICAgICAgPC9kZWZzPgogICAgICA8cmVjdCB3aWR0aD0iODAwIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjMxMC4xOTkyNTI4MDE5OTI1NCIgZmlsbD0iIzIyMiIgLz4KICAgICAgPHJlY3QgaWQ9InIiIHdpZHRoPSI4MDAiIGhlaWdodD0iMzEwLjE5OTI1MjgwMTk5MjU0IiBmaWxsPSJ1cmwoI2cpIiAvPgogICAgICA8YW5pbWF0ZSB4bGluazpocmVmPSIjciIgYXR0cmlidXRlTmFtZT0ieCIgZnJvbT0iLTgwMCIgdG89IjgwMCIgZHVyPSIxcyIgcmVwZWF0Q291bnQ9ImluZGVmaW5pdGUiICAvPgogICAgPC9zdmc+&quot;);"><noscript></noscript></span></div><button aria-label="Zoom image" data-rmiz-btn-open="true"></button></div></div></span></p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>We want authors to be able to rank on Google and effectively increase their reach. Realizing there was room for improvement, HackerNoon editors sprung to action and promptly changed the keywords to:</p><p><span><div class="sc-a6c0bd8c-1 ijZWBT image-container undefined"><button class="sc-a6c0bd8c-0 khzBNC download-button"><a download="image.jpeg" href="https://hackernoon.imgix.net/images/zhLunuihpBhk4IjuH4amrounSwE2-5xa30bi.jpeg" title="Download image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 22" width="22" fill="black"><path fill="black" d="M18 10v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H6v-1H5v-1H4v-1h4V1h1V0h4v1h1v9h4z"></path><path fill="black" d="M21 15v-1h-6v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H1v1H0v6h1v1h20v-1h1v-6h-1Zm-2 4h-1v-1h1v1Zm-3-1h1v1h-1v-1Z"></path></svg></a></button><div data-rmiz-wrap="visible"><div style="position: relative;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; overflow: hidden; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; max-width: 100%;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><img alt="" aria-hidden="true" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3csvg%20xmlns=%27http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%27%20version=%271.1%27%20width=%27800%27%20height=%27356.07798165137615%27/%3e" style="display: block; max-width: 100%; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span><img alt="image" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" decoding="async" data-nimg="intrinsic" class="image" style="position: absolute; inset: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; border: none; margin: auto; display: block; width: 0px; height: 0px; min-width: 100%; max-width: 100%; min-height: 100%; max-height: 100%; object-fit: contain; background-size: contain; background-position: 0% 0%; filter: blur(20px); background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,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&quot;);"><noscript></noscript></span></div><button aria-label="Zoom image" data-rmiz-btn-open="true"></button></div></div></span></p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>And as luck would have it, four of those keywords began ranking on the SERP page 1:</p><ul>
<li>Nintendo palworld</li>
<li>Nintendo lawsuit</li>
<li>Nintendo vs palworld</li>
<li>Nintendo palworld response</li>
</ul>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p><span><div class="sc-a6c0bd8c-1 ijZWBT image-container undefined"><button class="sc-a6c0bd8c-0 khzBNC download-button"><a download="image.jpeg" href="https://hackernoon.imgix.net/images/zhLunuihpBhk4IjuH4amrounSwE2-vhb30pi.jpeg" title="Download image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 22" width="22" fill="black"><path fill="black" d="M18 10v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H6v-1H5v-1H4v-1h4V1h1V0h4v1h1v9h4z"></path><path fill="black" d="M21 15v-1h-6v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H1v1H0v6h1v1h20v-1h1v-6h-1Zm-2 4h-1v-1h1v1Zm-3-1h1v1h-1v-1Z"></path></svg></a></button><div data-rmiz-wrap="visible"><div style="position: relative;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; overflow: hidden; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; max-width: 100%;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><img alt="" aria-hidden="true" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3csvg%20xmlns=%27http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%27%20version=%271.1%27%20width=%27736%27%20height=%27508.125%27/%3e" style="display: block; max-width: 100%; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span><img alt="image" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" decoding="async" data-nimg="intrinsic" class="image" style="position: absolute; inset: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; border: none; margin: auto; display: block; width: 0px; height: 0px; min-width: 100%; max-width: 100%; min-height: 100%; max-height: 100%; object-fit: contain; background-size: contain; background-position: 0% 0%; filter: blur(20px); background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,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&quot;);"><noscript></noscript></span></div><button aria-label="Zoom image" data-rmiz-btn-open="true"></button></div></div></span></p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>We hope that this example demonstrates how pivotal it is to spend an extra few minutes creating new and innovative keywords. There’s this weird misconception going around that your story keywords need to be from an existing list – <em>nope, not true at all!</em> In fact, the more new and specific keywords you tag your story with, the higher the chances that you’ll be able to garner views in the thousands!</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>The great thing about HackerNoon is that it offers budding authors a total of eight keywords, leaving room for experimentation. So don’t be afraid to try out new keywords that might help your story rank on Google.&nbsp;\</p><h2 id="h-hacker-noon-mobile-app-makes-writing-easier">HackerNoon Mobile App Makes Writing Easier</h2>
<p>We know how much all of you <em><underline><a href="https://hackernoon.com/hackernoons-review-contest-meet-our-winner?ref=hackernoon.com" rel="ugc">looove</a></underline></em> the HackerNoon App and now, the Version 1.9 update, retrofits the HackerNoon Text Editor for iOS and Android, giving you the ability to <underline><a href="https://hackernoon.com/take-your-writing-to-the-hackernoon-app?ref=hackernoon.com" rel="ugc">write and submit drafts on the go</a></underline>. Start using it right now by adding your voice to <underline><a href="https://app.hackernoon.com/new?template=techcompany-news-in-context&amp;ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">the developments taking place in tech</a></underline>, talking smack about the <underline><a href="https://app.hackernoon.com/new?template=product-review&amp;ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">Apple Vision Pro</a></underline>, <underline><a href="https://app.hackernoon.com/new?template=the-cryptocurrency-prompt&amp;ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">Bitcoin</a></underline>, etc. And if you want to explore the full list of HackerNoon writing templates, head down <underline><a href="https://app.hackernoon.com/new?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">here</a></underline>.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><h2 id="h-some-cool-new-ways-to-make-🤑-🤑-🤑"><strong>Some cool new ways to make $$ 🤑🤑🤑</strong></h2>
<p>For all you glory hunters and cash fiends, HackerNoon has several great writing contests running that could help make your bank beefier.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>The biggest one is the ongoing Opt Out Writing Contest by Āut Labs &amp; HackerNoon with a prize pool of $9,000!! This one’s for the thinkers who dare to question and challenge the status quo, the societal construct where we live.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>If you just need that <em>slight</em> push to get started, we have an <underline><a href="https://app.hackernoon.com/new?template=optout-writing-contest-theme1&amp;ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">excellent template</a></underline> that you can use to jot down ideas and even submit a story!</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Looking forward to your submissions!</p><p>Till next time,</p>
<p>Peace!</p></div><div style="visibility:hidden" class="sc-1e366be2-7 kZfKay"><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M16 9h1v2h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1H9v1H8v1H7v1H6v1H0v-6h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1V9h1V8h1V7h1V6h1V5h2v1h1v1h1v1h1v1zM22 4v2h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1V8h-1V7h-1V6h-1V5h-1V4h-1V3h1V2h1V1h1V0h2v1h1v1h1v1h1v1h1z"></path></svg></button><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 3v2h-1v2h-1v1h-5V7h-2v1h-1v1H9v4h1v1h1v1h2v-1h5v1h1v2h1v2h-1v2h-1v1h-5v-1h-1v-2h-1v-2h-1v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v1H2v-1H1v-2H0v-2h1V8h1V7h5v1h1V7h1V6h1V5h1V3h1V1h1V0h5v1h1v2h1z"></path></svg></button><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M14 19v2h-1v1H1v-1H0V5h1V4h3v15h10z"></path><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 6v11h-1v1H6v-1H5V1h1V0h8v6h6z"></path><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 4v1h-5V0h1v1h1v1h1v1h1v1h1z"></path></svg></button><a style="margin-left:15px;color:white" href="#commentSection"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 19" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M21 6V4h-1V3h-1V2h-2V1h-3V0H8v1H5v1H3v1H2v1H1v2H0v6h1v2h1v2H1v1H0v2h5v-1h1v-1h2v1h6v-1h3v-1h2v-1h1v-1h1v-2h1V6h-1ZM6 13h1v-1h1v-2H6V5h4v8H9v1H6v-1Zm6 0h1v-1h1v-2h-2V5h4v8h-1v1h-3v-1Z"></path></svg></a><button style="margin-right:10px"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 20" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 2v12h-1v1h-2v1h-6v-1H4v1H3v4H1V3H0V1h1V0h2v1h1v2H3v1h1V3h7v1h6V3h2V2h1z"></path></svg></button><div class="sc-1e366be2-8 cbbaIe"></div></div></div>

HackerNoon editors are back with another edition focusing on keywords, the secret sauce for distribution. Learn how to expand your story's reach here.

Learn How to Use Keywords to 100x Your Story Views🔥

Liquid Re-staking Tokens (LRTs) and the emergence of Layer2 solution Blast are powering a new wave in DeFi staking.

The New Trend in DeFi Staking: Liquid Re-Staking Tokens and Blast

<div><div><p>OpenAI has taken generative AI to new heights with Sora, its new text-to-video model that can generate realistic scenes just from written instructions. While DALL-E and other text-to-image models have shown us the power of AI generation, Sora demonstrates just how far we've come by adding the element of motion.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>We’ll be testing Sora model once it’s live and even maybe release a free guide on our weekly newsletter - <strong><a href="https://aihunters.xyz/?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">‘AI Hunters’</a></strong>! Don’t miss the new AI groundbreaking platforms and events!</p><h2 id="h-new-frontiers-of-ai-creativity"><strong>New Frontiers of AI Creativity</strong></h2>
<p>Beyond still images, Sora can generate videos up to a minute long. It can also take existing videos and fill in missing frames to enhance the content. The possibilities for creation are endless - we could see AI-generated short films, animations, or even enhanced sports replays in the future.</p>
<p><div class="sc-56d3a1c3-0 evTXYi"><p class="line-space"><br></p><div class="youtube-container"><iframe title="ytcontainer" width="700" height="394" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HK6y8DAPN_0" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></div></p>
<p>But what's truly impressive about Sora is its understanding of the physical world. It can simulate complex scenes involving multiple characters and motions. Want to see someone walking through a forest with realistic leaves rustling and sunlight filtering through the trees? Sora's got you covered.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p><span><div class="sc-a6c0bd8c-1 ijZWBT image-container undefined"><button class="sc-a6c0bd8c-0 khzBNC download-button"><a download="source-x.jpeg" href="https://hackernoon.imgix.net/images/IZH5VrBxylTJuG6oTbU11LwJemA3-8xb3jjp.jpeg" title="Download image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 22" width="22" fill="black"><path fill="black" d="M18 10v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H6v-1H5v-1H4v-1h4V1h1V0h4v1h1v9h4z"></path><path fill="black" d="M21 15v-1h-6v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H1v1H0v6h1v1h20v-1h1v-6h-1Zm-2 4h-1v-1h1v1Zm-3-1h1v1h-1v-1Z"></path></svg></a></button><div data-rmiz-wrap="visible"><div style="position: relative;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; overflow: hidden; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; max-width: 100%;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><img alt="" aria-hidden="true" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3csvg%20xmlns=%27http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%27%20version=%271.1%27%20width=%27582%27%20height=%27457%27/%3e" style="display: block; max-width: 100%; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span><img alt="Source: X" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" decoding="async" data-nimg="intrinsic" class="image" style="position: absolute; inset: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; border: none; margin: auto; display: block; width: 0px; height: 0px; min-width: 100%; max-width: 100%; min-height: 100%; max-height: 100%; object-fit: contain; background-size: contain; background-position: 0% 0%; filter: blur(20px); background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,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&quot;);"><noscript></noscript></span></div><button aria-label="Zoom image" data-rmiz-btn-open="true"></button></div><p class="image-caption">Source: X</p></div></span></p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Under the hood, Sora leverages past work on diffusion models and transformers. A diffusion model's random steps excel at generating high-dimensional data like videos. Meanwhile, transformers handle sequential data processing tasks like natural language.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Of course, there are still some limitations. Simulating complex physics like car crashes or cliff dives proves difficult. The model also struggles with cause and effect - don't expect cookie bites to magically appear after someone takes a bite!</p><h2 id="h-ensuring-responsible-development"><strong>Ensuring Responsible Development</strong></h2>
<p>Naturally, OpenAI is focused on safety. Before public release, they're enhancing techniques to filter harmful or misleading content. Progress requires a delicate balance - Sora must generate realistically while avoiding anything inappropriate.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p><span><div class="sc-a6c0bd8c-1 ijZWBT image-container undefined"><button class="sc-a6c0bd8c-0 khzBNC download-button"><a download="source-x.jpeg" href="https://hackernoon.imgix.net/images/IZH5VrBxylTJuG6oTbU11LwJemA3-1ta3jpd.jpeg" title="Download image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 22" width="22" fill="black"><path fill="black" d="M18 10v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H6v-1H5v-1H4v-1h4V1h1V0h4v1h1v9h4z"></path><path fill="black" d="M21 15v-1h-6v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H1v1H0v6h1v1h20v-1h1v-6h-1Zm-2 4h-1v-1h1v1Zm-3-1h1v1h-1v-1Z"></path></svg></a></button><div data-rmiz-wrap="visible"><div style="position: relative;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; overflow: hidden; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; max-width: 100%;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><img alt="" aria-hidden="true" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3csvg%20xmlns=%27http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%27%20version=%271.1%27%20width=%27582%27%20height=%27185%27/%3e" style="display: block; max-width: 100%; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span><img alt="Source: X" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" decoding="async" data-nimg="intrinsic" class="image" style="position: absolute; inset: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; border: none; margin: auto; display: block; width: 0px; height: 0px; min-width: 100%; max-width: 100%; min-height: 100%; max-height: 100%; object-fit: contain; background-size: contain; background-position: 0% 0%; filter: blur(20px); background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,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&quot;);"><noscript></noscript></span></div><button aria-label="Zoom image" data-rmiz-btn-open="true"></button></div><p class="image-caption">Source: X</p></div></span></p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>For now, the company has put in place the following safety measures:</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><ol>
<li>
<p><strong>Content Restrictions:</strong> OpenAI has established strict content guidelines for Sora, similar to those in place for its DALL-E 3 model. These guidelines prohibit the generation of violent, sexual, or hateful content, as well as the appropriation of real people's likeness or the style of named artists.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p></li>
<li>
<p><strong>Provenance Metadata and Identification:</strong> To promote transparency and accountability, OpenAI plans to provide provenance metadata for videos generated by Sora. Additionally, the company will enable viewers to identify content that has been created by the AI model.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p></li>
<li>
<p><strong>Red Teaming and Limited Access:</strong> OpenAI has granted access to Sora to a select group of researchers, visual artists, and filmmakers who will "red team" the product, testing it for susceptibility to circumvent the company's terms of service. This limited access allows OpenAI to gather feedback and identify potential risks before making the model more widely available.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p></li>
<li>
<p><strong>Engagement with Policymakers and Artists:</strong> The company is actively engaging with policymakers, educators, and artists to understand concerns and identify positive use cases for the model. This proactive approach demonstrates OpenAI's commitment to addressing the broader societal implications of its technology.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="h-shaping-tomorrow-of-ai"><strong>Shaping Tomorrow of AI</strong></h2>
<p>As generative AI advances, models like Sora have potential to revolutionize content creation and consumption. They could generate personalized content, help us understand the world, and power realistic virtual worlds.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>However, it is crucial these models are developed responsibly, considering risks of AI-generated content. OpenAI is taking important steps with Sora to maximize its benefits while mitigating potential issues.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><hr>
<h3 id="h-p-s-check-out-my-previous-articles-at-hacker-noon">P.S. Check out my previous articles at HackerNoon:</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong><a href="https://hackernoon.com/defi-community-building-a-step-by-step-guide-for-crypto-startups?ref=hackernoon.com" rel="ugc">DeFi Community Building: A Step-by-Step Guide for Crypto Startups</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://hackernoon.com/the-best-of-the-ai-world-spotlighting-5-projects-and-researches-pushing-the-paradigm-this-week?ref=hackernoon.com" rel="ugc">The Best Of The AI World: Spotlighting 5 Projects and Researches Pushing The Paradigm This Week</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://hackernoon.com/cryptos-next-chapter-2024s-game-changing-predictions?ref=hackernoon.com" rel="ugc">Crypto's Next Chapter: 2024's Game-Changing Predictions</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://hackernoon.com/top-10-ai-trends-of-2024-how-ai-transforms-everything?ref=hackernoon.com" rel="ugc">Top 10 AI Trends of 2024: How AI Transforms Everything</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://hackernoon.com/how-to-build-your-personal-gpts-from-zero-to-ai-hero?ref=hackernoon.com" rel="ugc">How to Build Your Personal GPTs: From Zero to AI Hero</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://hackernoon.com/gpt-4-turbo-the-most-monumental-update-since-chatgpts-debut?ref=hackernoon.com" rel="ugc">GPT-4 Turbo: The Most Monumental Update Since ChatGPT's Debut!</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://hackernoon.com/essential-insights-from-state-of-ai-2023?ref=hackernoon.com" rel="ugc">Essential Insights from 'State of AI 2023'</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://hackernoon.com/gpt-4v-unveiled-from-detecting-emotions-to-ordering-food-you-wont-believe-what-else-it-can-do?ref=hackernoon.com" rel="ugc">GPT-4V Unveiled: From Detecting Emotions to Ordering Food - You Won't Believe What Else It Can Do!</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://hackernoon.com/chatgpt-now-speaks-listens-and-understands-all-you-need-to-know?ref=hackernoon.com" rel="ugc">ChatGPT Now Speaks, Listens, and Understands: All You Need to Know</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p></div><div style="visibility:hidden" class="sc-1e366be2-7 kZfKay"><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M16 9h1v2h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1H9v1H8v1H7v1H6v1H0v-6h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1V9h1V8h1V7h1V6h1V5h2v1h1v1h1v1h1v1zM22 4v2h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1V8h-1V7h-1V6h-1V5h-1V4h-1V3h1V2h1V1h1V0h2v1h1v1h1v1h1v1h1z"></path></svg></button><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 3v2h-1v2h-1v1h-5V7h-2v1h-1v1H9v4h1v1h1v1h2v-1h5v1h1v2h1v2h-1v2h-1v1h-5v-1h-1v-2h-1v-2h-1v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v1H2v-1H1v-2H0v-2h1V8h1V7h5v1h1V7h1V6h1V5h1V3h1V1h1V0h5v1h1v2h1z"></path></svg></button><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M14 19v2h-1v1H1v-1H0V5h1V4h3v15h10z"></path><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 6v11h-1v1H6v-1H5V1h1V0h8v6h6z"></path><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 4v1h-5V0h1v1h1v1h1v1h1v1h1z"></path></svg></button><a style="margin-left:15px;color:white" href="#commentSection"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 19" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M21 6V4h-1V3h-1V2h-2V1h-3V0H8v1H5v1H3v1H2v1H1v2H0v6h1v2h1v2H1v1H0v2h5v-1h1v-1h2v1h6v-1h3v-1h2v-1h1v-1h1v-2h1V6h-1ZM6 13h1v-1h1v-2H6V5h4v8H9v1H6v-1Zm6 0h1v-1h1v-2h-2V5h4v8h-1v1h-3v-1Z"></path></svg></a><button style="margin-right:10px"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 20" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 2v12h-1v1h-2v1h-6v-1H4v1H3v4H1V3H0V1h1V0h2v1h1v2H3v1h1V3h7v1h6V3h2V2h1z"></path></svg></button><div class="sc-1e366be2-8 cbbaIe"></div></div></div>

Sora, OpenAI's groundbreaking text-to-video AI model, pushes the boundaries of generative AI by creating realistic scenes from text prompts, including motion.

Sora's AI Innovation Set to Disrupt Video Content Creation

Nick Szabo is a remarkable cypherpunk, known for his smart contracts and BitGold. Let's find out more about this crypto pioneer. 

Cypherpunks Write Code: Nick Szabo, Smart Contracts, and BitGold

In this post, we’re going to make an ad, that looks like an image, with HTML and CSS.

HTML: How to Resize Markup Like an Image With CSS Container Queries!

<div><div><p>Because everything <em>is</em> a CTA.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>But what does that truly mean in the world of <a href="https://hackernoon.com/b2b-saas-content-marketing-7-expectations-vs-reality?ref=hackernoon.com" rel="ugc">SaaS marketing</a>? It's not just about bombarding your audience with "click here" or "sign up now."</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Instead, it's about realizing that every piece of content, every interaction, subtly nudges your audience towards a desired action. So, how can you master this art? Let's dive in.</p><h3 id="h-the-subtle-art-of-non-cta-ct-as-beyond-buttons-and-links"><strong>The Subtle Art of Non-CTA CTAs: Beyond Buttons and Links</strong></h3>
<p>Have you ever read a blog post or watched a webinar snippet and felt compelled to learn more, without being explicitly asked? That's the power of non-CTA CTAs.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>&nbsp;It's about crafting content that resonates so deeply that taking the next step feels like the most natural thing in the world. But how? It starts with understanding the psychology behind these subtle cues.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p><span><div class="sc-a6c0bd8c-1 ijZWBT image-container undefined"><button class="sc-a6c0bd8c-0 khzBNC download-button"><a download="time-to-truly-understand-your-customers.jpeg" href="https://hackernoon.imgix.net/images/lM22A8NQUvQPbNG2iXeslmH0fM23-gy931yb.jpeg" title="Download image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 22" width="22" fill="black"><path fill="black" d="M18 10v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H6v-1H5v-1H4v-1h4V1h1V0h4v1h1v9h4z"></path><path fill="black" d="M21 15v-1h-6v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H1v1H0v6h1v1h20v-1h1v-6h-1Zm-2 4h-1v-1h1v1Zm-3-1h1v1h-1v-1Z"></path></svg></a></button><div data-rmiz-wrap="visible"><div style="position: relative;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; overflow: hidden; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; max-width: 100%;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><img alt="" aria-hidden="true" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3csvg%20xmlns=%27http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%27%20version=%271.1%27%20width=%27800%27%20height=%271035.3697749196142%27/%3e" style="display: block; max-width: 100%; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span><img alt="Time to truly understand your customers" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" decoding="async" data-nimg="intrinsic" class="image" style="position: absolute; inset: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; border: none; margin: auto; display: block; width: 0px; height: 0px; min-width: 100%; max-width: 100%; min-height: 100%; max-height: 100%; object-fit: contain; background-size: contain; background-position: 0% 0%; filter: blur(20px); background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,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&quot;);"><noscript></noscript></span></div><button aria-label="Zoom image" data-rmiz-btn-open="true"></button></div><p class="image-caption">Time to truly understand your customers</p></div></span></p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>By embedding action-oriented messages within valuable content, you guide user behavior seamlessly.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Ever thought about the journey your content initiates?</p><h3 id="h-from-storytelling-to-selling-every-narrative-is-a-journey-towards-action"><strong>From Storytelling to Selling: Every Narrative Is a Journey Towards Action</strong></h3>
<blockquote>
<p>Think about the last time a brand's story truly captivated you. Was it a customer success story, or perhaps the tale of how the company came to be?</p>
</blockquote>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>These narratives are powerful CTAs in disguise, leading you down a path of deeper brand connection. The question then becomes, how can your SaaS brand tell such impactful stories?</p><p>It's about embedding your marketing messages within stories that not only inform but also inspire action.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>It is time to turn your brand's story into its most persuasive CTA.</p><h3 id="h-visuals-whisper-louder-than-words-using-design-as-a-silent-cta"><strong>Visuals Whisper Louder Than Words: Using Design as a Silent CTA</strong></h3>
<p>Ever noticed how certain colors, layouts, or images make you feel more inclined to take action? That's design working as a silent CTA.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>The right visual elements can speak volumes, guiding your audience towards a specific behavior without a single word. But what's the key to executing this?</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p><span><div class="sc-a6c0bd8c-1 ijZWBT image-container undefined"><button class="sc-a6c0bd8c-0 khzBNC download-button"><a download="visual-elements-have-more-power-than-you-give-them-credit-for.jpeg" href="https://hackernoon.imgix.net/images/lM22A8NQUvQPbNG2iXeslmH0fM23-ipa31uo.jpeg" title="Download image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 22" width="22" fill="black"><path fill="black" d="M18 10v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H6v-1H5v-1H4v-1h4V1h1V0h4v1h1v9h4z"></path><path fill="black" d="M21 15v-1h-6v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H1v1H0v6h1v1h20v-1h1v-6h-1Zm-2 4h-1v-1h1v1Zm-3-1h1v1h-1v-1Z"></path></svg></a></button><div data-rmiz-wrap="visible"><div style="position: relative;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; overflow: hidden; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; max-width: 100%;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><img alt="" aria-hidden="true" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3csvg%20xmlns=%27http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%27%20version=%271.1%27%20width=%27800%27%20height=%27600%27/%3e" style="display: block; max-width: 100%; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span><img alt="Visual elements have more power than you give them credit for" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" decoding="async" data-nimg="intrinsic" class="image" style="position: absolute; inset: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; border: none; margin: auto; display: block; width: 0px; height: 0px; min-width: 100%; max-width: 100%; min-height: 100%; max-height: 100%; object-fit: contain; background-size: contain; background-position: 0% 0%; filter: blur(20px); background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,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&quot;);"><noscript></noscript></span></div><button aria-label="Zoom image" data-rmiz-btn-open="true"></button></div><p class="image-caption">Visual elements have more power than you give them credit for</p></div></span></p><p>It lies in understanding how visual cues trigger emotional and behavioral responses.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>So, how can your SaaS brand's design strategy make the unsaid, utterly compelling?</p><h3 id="h-engagement-as-a-gateway-social-media-interactions-as-stealthy-ct-as"><strong>Engagement as a Gateway: Social Media Interactions as Stealthy CTAs</strong></h3>
<p>Every like, share, and comment on social media is an invitation to engage further. These interactions are stealthy CTAs, beckoning your audience to dive deeper into the community you're building.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>But how can you amplify these engagements? It's about creating content that's not only share-worthy but also creates a sense of belonging. With every interaction, you're subtly encouraging loyalty and advocacy.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Now, the question is, what strategies can maximize these interactions, <a href="https://hackernoon.com/the-taylor-swift-approach-to-community-management-building-fandoms-not-just-followings?ref=hackernoon.com" rel="ugc">turning passive followers into active community members</a>?</p><h3 id="h-feedback-loops-and-feature-highlights-the-cta-in-educating-your-users"><strong>Feedback Loops and Feature Highlights: The CTA in Educating Your Users</strong></h3>
<p>Ever thought of tutorials, product guides, and update announcements as CTAs? They are.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>When we educate users about new features or best practices, we're not just sharing knowledge; we're inviting action. "Try this feature," "Give us your thoughts," "See how this can make your work easier." These messages encourage users to dive deeper into the product, enhancing their experience and investment.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>But how do we craft these educational CTAs to not only inform but also inspire action?</p><h2 id="h-over-to-you"><strong>Over to you</strong></h2>
<p>In the world of SaaS marketing, everything indeed should be a CTA.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>From the stories you tell to the designs you choose and the engagements you generate, every element should inspire your audience to take the next step. It's about being intentional, understanding the <a href="https://hackernoon.com/elmo-checks-in-everything-is-not-okay-a-lesson-in-empathy-for-brands?ref=hackernoon.com" rel="ugc">subtleties of human behavior</a>, and crafting experiences that naturally lead to action.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Are you ready to rethink your approach and treat everything as a call to action?</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p></div><div style="visibility:hidden" class="sc-1e366be2-7 kZfKay"><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M16 9h1v2h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1H9v1H8v1H7v1H6v1H0v-6h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1V9h1V8h1V7h1V6h1V5h2v1h1v1h1v1h1v1zM22 4v2h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1V8h-1V7h-1V6h-1V5h-1V4h-1V3h1V2h1V1h1V0h2v1h1v1h1v1h1v1h1z"></path></svg></button><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 3v2h-1v2h-1v1h-5V7h-2v1h-1v1H9v4h1v1h1v1h2v-1h5v1h1v2h1v2h-1v2h-1v1h-5v-1h-1v-2h-1v-2h-1v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v1H2v-1H1v-2H0v-2h1V8h1V7h5v1h1V7h1V6h1V5h1V3h1V1h1V0h5v1h1v2h1z"></path></svg></button><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M14 19v2h-1v1H1v-1H0V5h1V4h3v15h10z"></path><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 6v11h-1v1H6v-1H5V1h1V0h8v6h6z"></path><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 4v1h-5V0h1v1h1v1h1v1h1v1h1z"></path></svg></button><a style="margin-left:15px;color:white" href="#commentSection"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 19" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M21 6V4h-1V3h-1V2h-2V1h-3V0H8v1H5v1H3v1H2v1H1v2H0v6h1v2h1v2H1v1H0v2h5v-1h1v-1h2v1h6v-1h3v-1h2v-1h1v-1h1v-2h1V6h-1ZM6 13h1v-1h1v-2H6V5h4v8H9v1H6v-1Zm6 0h1v-1h1v-2h-2V5h4v8h-1v1h-3v-1Z"></path></svg></a><button style="margin-right:10px"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 20" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 2v12h-1v1h-2v1h-6v-1H4v1H3v4H1V3H0V1h1V0h2v1h1v2H3v1h1V3h7v1h6V3h2V2h1z"></path></svg></button><div class="sc-1e366be2-8 cbbaIe"></div></div></div>

Transform your SaaS brand's approach with non-CTA CTAs: Where every blog post, design element & social interaction subtly guide your audience towards action.

Why Everything Should Be a CTA

<div><div><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p><em>Exploring Shadow AI's impact on business: risks, strategies, and the quest for a secure, innovative future. How will companies navigate this new frontier?</em></p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>In December 2023, Amazon unveiled its latest <a href="https://hackernoon.com/c/ai?ref=hackernoon.com" rel="ugc">AI</a> venture, Q, promising a safer alternative to consumer-focused chatbots like ChatGPT. However, the excitement was short-lived. Just three days after the announcement, Amazon Q was embroiled in controversy. Employees were alarmed over its inadequate security and privacy measures, revealing that Q fell short of Amazon's stringent corporate standards. Critics&nbsp;<a href="https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/amazons-q-generative-ai-chatbot-leaks-location-of-aws-data-centers/?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">highlighted</a>&nbsp;its tendency for "hallucinations" and leaking sensitive information, including AWS data center locations, unreleased product features, and internal discount programs. Amazon's engineers were forced into damage control mode, addressing critical issues tagged as a "sev 2" emergency to prevent future fallout.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Around the same time, Samsung Electronics Co. grappled with its own AI-induced headache. Sensitive internal source code found its way onto ChatGPT, spotlighting glaring security vulnerabilities. The response was swift: a company-wide ban on generative AI tools was communicated through an internal memo. Samsung's decision underscored the difficulties of managing data on external AI platforms, such as Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot, where control over data retrieval and deletion is elusive. This move mirrored the concerns of <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-02/samsung-bans-chatgpt-and-other-generative-ai-use-by-staff-after-leak?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">65% of Samsung employees</a>, who viewed these AI services as a digital <em>Trojan horse</em>. Despite the ban's impact on productivity, Samsung remained firm, opting to develop in-house AI solutions for translation, document summarization, and software development until a secure AI-using environment could be established.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Apple, too, joined the fray, prohibiting its employees from using ChatGPT and similar AI-powered tools. The ban was partly fueled by the tools' affiliations with Microsoft, a direct competitor, stoking fears about Apple's sensitive data security. This trend wasn't exclusive to tech giants; financial behemoths like&nbsp;<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/22/tech/jpmorgan-chatgpt-employees/index.html?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">JPMorgan Chase</a>, Deutsche Bank, Wells Fargo, and others also limited AI chatbots' use, aiming to shield sensitive financial information from third-party eyes.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Yet, these restrictions inadvertently birthed a culture of "Shadow AI," where employees use their personal devices at work in their quest for efficiency and time-saving, highlighting a significant policy-practice gap in AI usage.</p><h2 id="h-shadow-ai-unseen-threat">Shadow AI: Unseen Threat</h2>
<p>Although concrete data is scarce, numerous individuals at companies with AI restrictions have <a href="https://www.oneusefulthing.org/p/detecting-the-secret-cyborgs?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">confessed</a>&nbsp;to employing such workarounds — those are only the ones open about it! This Shadow AI usage is prevalent in many organizations, encouraging the use of AI in ways that contradict or violate company policies, thus becoming an activity employees feel compelled to conceal.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>As I dug into this issue deeper, I found some recent studies confirming that despite&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90972657/what-managers-should-know-about-the-secrets-threat-of-employees-using-shadow-ai?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">numerous stories</a>&nbsp;about&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hr-brew.com/stories/2023/05/11/these-companies-have-banned-chatgpt-in-the-office?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">companies restricting genAI use</a>&nbsp;in the workplace,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.delltechnologies.com/asset/en-us/solutions/infrastructure-solutions/briefs-summaries/gen-ai-research-infographic.pdf?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">employees don't seem to be using it any less</a>. Recent research by Dell&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cio.com/article/648969/shadow-ai-will-be-much-worse-than-shadow-it.html?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">indicates</a>&nbsp;that 91% of respondents have dabbled with generative AI in their lives in some capacity, with another 71% reporting they've specifically used it at work.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>The study conducted by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.govtechreview.com.au/content/gov-cloud/article/the-growth-of-shadow-ai-use-in-the-workplace-1389952858?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">ISACA</a>&nbsp;highlights a significant gap between AI adoption in the workplace and the formal policies governing its use in Australia and New Zealand. While 63% of employees in these regions utilize AI for various tasks, only 36% of organizations officially allow it. The survey reveals that AI is being applied for creating written content (51%), enhancing productivity (37%), automating repetitive tasks (37%), improving decision-making (29%), and customer service (20%). However, only 11% of organizations have a comprehensive policy for AI usage, and 21% have no intention to establish any.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Moreover, the study by ISACA indicates a lack of AI-related training within organizations, with only 4% offering it to all staff and 57% not providing any training, even to those directly affected by AI technologies. This situation raises concerns similar to those regarding Shadow IT, where employees use IT resources without formal approval, potentially risking organizational security and governance.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p><span><div class="sc-a6c0bd8c-1 ijZWBT image-container undefined"><button class="sc-a6c0bd8c-0 khzBNC download-button"><a download="image.jpeg" href="https://hackernoon.imgix.net/images/tOnArrILSDcevoBmc7vIUv6UrQI3-h593f8x.jpeg" title="Download image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 22" width="22" fill="black"><path fill="black" d="M18 10v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H6v-1H5v-1H4v-1h4V1h1V0h4v1h1v9h4z"></path><path fill="black" d="M21 15v-1h-6v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H1v1H0v6h1v1h20v-1h1v-6h-1Zm-2 4h-1v-1h1v1Zm-3-1h1v1h-1v-1Z"></path></svg></a></button><div data-rmiz-wrap="visible"><div style="position: relative;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; overflow: hidden; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; max-width: 100%;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><img alt="" aria-hidden="true" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3csvg%20xmlns=%27http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%27%20version=%271.1%27%20width=%27800%27%20height=%27387.87857142857143%27/%3e" style="display: block; max-width: 100%; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span><img alt="image" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" decoding="async" data-nimg="intrinsic" class="image" style="position: absolute; inset: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; border: none; margin: auto; display: block; width: 0px; height: 0px; min-width: 100%; max-width: 100%; min-height: 100%; max-height: 100%; object-fit: contain; background-size: contain; background-position: 0% 0%; filter: blur(20px); background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,CiAgICA8c3ZnIHdpZHRoPSI4MDAiIGhlaWdodD0iMzg3Ljg3ODU3MTQyODU3MTQzIiB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgeG1sbnM6eGxpbms9Imh0dHA6Ly93d3cudzMub3JnLzE5OTkveGxpbmsiPgogICAgICA8ZGVmcz4KICAgICAgICA8bGluZWFyR3JhZGllbnQgaWQ9ImciPgogICAgICAgICAgPHN0b3Agc3RvcC1jb2xvcj0iIzIyMiIgb2Zmc2V0PSIyJSIgLz4KICAgICAgICAgIDxzdG9wIHN0b3AtY29sb3I9IiMwZjAiIG9mZnNldD0iMTAlIiAvPgogICAgICAgICAgPHN0b3Agc3RvcC1jb2xvcj0iIzIyMiIgb2Zmc2V0PSIxMiUiIC8+CiAgICAgICAgPC9saW5lYXJHcmFkaWVudD4KICAgICAgPC9kZWZzPgogICAgICA8cmVjdCB3aWR0aD0iODAwIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjM4Ny44Nzg1NzE0Mjg1NzE0MyIgZmlsbD0iIzIyMiIgLz4KICAgICAgPHJlY3QgaWQ9InIiIHdpZHRoPSI4MDAiIGhlaWdodD0iMzg3Ljg3ODU3MTQyODU3MTQzIiBmaWxsPSJ1cmwoI2cpIiAvPgogICAgICA8YW5pbWF0ZSB4bGluazpocmVmPSIjciIgYXR0cmlidXRlTmFtZT0ieCIgZnJvbT0iLTgwMCIgdG89IjgwMCIgZHVyPSIxcyIgcmVwZWF0Q291bnQ9ImluZGVmaW5pdGUiICAvPgogICAgPC9zdmc+&quot;);"><noscript></noscript></span></div><button aria-label="Zoom image" data-rmiz-btn-open="true"></button></div></div></span></p><h2 id="h-navigating-the-new-frontier-of-risk-and-responsibility">Navigating the New Frontier of Risk and Responsibility</h2>
<p>Much like how Shadow IT snuck up on businesses, Shadow AI is already present, forcing organizations to confront their GenAI stance head-on while still figuring out how to use it.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Experts&nbsp;<a href="https://techwireasia.com/12/2023/why-are-shadow-ai-and-tech-debt-it-priorities-for-the-next-phase-of-digital-transformation/?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">believe</a>&nbsp;guardrails will not stop employees from using AI tools as they significantly enhance productivity and save time. Therefore, company CIOs must confront this issue and explore mitigation strategies that align with their organization's tolerance for risk. Inevitably, employees with good intentions will utilize these tools to increase their efficiency, so corporate tech leaders can prevent any potential harm to the organization by proactively addressing this trend and managing it effectively.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><blockquote>
<p>Every employee's interaction with AI tools can be a potential point of vulnerability.</p>
</blockquote>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>The history of Shadow IT is marked by significant data breaches, such as the infamous incidents involving&nbsp;<a href="https://sonraisecurity.com/blog/exposed-amazon-s3-bucket-causes-breach/?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">unsecured Amazon S3 buckets</a>, which led to the public exposure of the personal data of 30,000 individuals. These historical precedents serve as a cautionary tale, emphasizing the need for rigorous data governance in the age of AI.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Shadow AI is a more formidable challenge than Shadow IT for several reasons. First, the decentralized nature of AI tool usage means that the potential for data misuse or leakage is not limited to a technical subset of employees (e.g., developers) but extends across the entire organization. Additionally,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cio.com/article/648969/shadow-ai-will-be-much-worse-than-shadow-it.html?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">AIaaS (AI as a Service) models</a>&nbsp;inherently learn from the data they process, creating a dual layer of risk: the possibility of accessing sensitive data by AI vendors and the enhanced capability of bad actors to discover and exploit exposed data.</p><h2 id="h-strategies-to-tackle-shadow-ai"><strong>Strategies to Tackle Shadow AI</strong></h2>
<p>According to&nbsp;<a href="https://techwireasia.com/12/2023/why-are-shadow-ai-and-tech-debt-it-priorities-for-the-next-phase-of-digital-transformation/?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">Amir Sohrabi</a>, regional VP of EMEA and Asia and head of digital transformation at SAS, tech leaders with a data-first mindset will be able to drive enhanced efficiencies in 2024 and beyond. This is because maximizing the benefits of generative AI tools is contingent upon well-organized data, necessitating robust data management practices encompassing data access, hygiene, and governance.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>In his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cio.com/article/648969/shadow-ai-will-be-much-worse-than-shadow-it.html?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">article</a>&nbsp;for&nbsp;CIO.com, Nick Brackney, Gen AI &amp; Cloud Evangelist Leader at Dell Technologies, points to "three prescriptive ways" businesses should use to combat Shadow AI successfully.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>First, establish a centralized strategy for generative AI usage, involving executive leadership to define use cases, create secure access, and protect data. This approach simplifies enforcement and scaling across the organization while requiring effort to build and identify easy wins to ensure success.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Second, keep your data organized and understand which types should not be placed in public or hosted private cloud AI offerings, such as trade secrets and sensitive information. Use AI solutions that allow for complete control or do not retain conversation logs for these types of data.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Third, control the AI service by bringing it to your data, whether on-premises or through secure cloud solutions, to leverage advantages in governance, employee productivity, and secure data access. This approach enhances the end-user experience, ensuring compliance and reducing the risk of data exposure.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Crafting a clear&nbsp;<a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/tip/Shadow-AI-poses-new-generation-of-threats-to-enterprise-IT?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">AI Acceptable Use Policy</a>&nbsp;is crucial for delineating improper AI practices that could potentially harm your organization and for guiding the integration of AI applications in line with data security protocols and risk management strategies. This policy serves as a benchmark, allowing decision-makers to evaluate the usage of AI tools within the organization against established guidelines, swiftly pinpoint any risk exposures, and determine the necessary corrective actions.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Ethan Mollick, professor at the Wharton School of the University of&nbsp;Pennsylvania,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oneusefulthing.org/p/detecting-the-secret-cyborgs?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">offers</a>&nbsp;another thought-provoking approach. He believes that traditional methods for integrating new technologies are ineffective for AI due to their centralized nature and slow pace, making it difficult for IT departments to develop competitive in-house AI models or for consultants to provide specific guidance. The real potential for AI application lies with the employees who are experts in their own jobs, suggesting that for organizations to truly benefit from AI, they must engage their workforce (aka "Secret Cyborgs") in using AI technologies.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>First and foremost, brands should acknowledge that employees at any level could possess valuable AI skills, irrespective of their formal role or past performance. Having detected the <em>secret cyborgs</em> among their AI-savvy employees, companies must foster a collective learning environment such as crowd-sourced prompt libraries and create a culture that diminishes the apprehension around AI by offering assurances against job loss due to AI, promoting the use of AI for eliminating mundane tasks and encouraging more engaging work.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><blockquote>
<p>Establishing psychological safety is crucial to encouraging open AI usage among employees.</p>
</blockquote>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Employers should be able to offer substantial rewards for identifying significant opportunities where AI can aid the organization. This could include financial incentives, promotions, or flexible working conditions and be handled through gamification.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Today's organizations should act swiftly to determine how productivity gains from AI will be utilized, how work processes should be reorganized in light of AI capabilities, and how to manage potential risks associated with AI use, such as data hallucinations and IP concerns. This calls for a proactive approach to crafting comprehensive AI policies, engaging employees across all levels to leverage their insights, and fostering a culture that rewards AI-driven innovation.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p><em>As technophiles and businesses navigate the complexities of AI integration, what strategies will you deploy to responsibly and innovatively leverage this transformative technology within your organization or personal projects, ensuring a balanced approach to privacy, security, and efficiency?</em></p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><h3 id="h-dont-forget-to-check-out-my-previous-article-to-discover-a-is-dirty-secret">Don’t forget to check out my previous article to discover <a href="https://hackernoon.com/ais-dirty-secret-the-hidden-cost-of-its-environmental-impact?ref=hackernoon.com#" rel="ugc">AI’s dirty secret</a>!</h3>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p></div><div style="visibility:hidden" class="sc-1e366be2-7 kZfKay"><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M16 9h1v2h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1H9v1H8v1H7v1H6v1H0v-6h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1V9h1V8h1V7h1V6h1V5h2v1h1v1h1v1h1v1zM22 4v2h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1V8h-1V7h-1V6h-1V5h-1V4h-1V3h1V2h1V1h1V0h2v1h1v1h1v1h1v1h1z"></path></svg></button><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 3v2h-1v2h-1v1h-5V7h-2v1h-1v1H9v4h1v1h1v1h2v-1h5v1h1v2h1v2h-1v2h-1v1h-5v-1h-1v-2h-1v-2h-1v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v1H2v-1H1v-2H0v-2h1V8h1V7h5v1h1V7h1V6h1V5h1V3h1V1h1V0h5v1h1v2h1z"></path></svg></button><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M14 19v2h-1v1H1v-1H0V5h1V4h3v15h10z"></path><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 6v11h-1v1H6v-1H5V1h1V0h8v6h6z"></path><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 4v1h-5V0h1v1h1v1h1v1h1v1h1z"></path></svg></button><a style="margin-left:15px;color:white" href="#commentSection"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 19" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M21 6V4h-1V3h-1V2h-2V1h-3V0H8v1H5v1H3v1H2v1H1v2H0v6h1v2h1v2H1v1H0v2h5v-1h1v-1h2v1h6v-1h3v-1h2v-1h1v-1h1v-2h1V6h-1ZM6 13h1v-1h1v-2H6V5h4v8H9v1H6v-1Zm6 0h1v-1h1v-2h-2V5h4v8h-1v1h-3v-1Z"></path></svg></a><button style="margin-right:10px"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 20" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 2v12h-1v1h-2v1h-6v-1H4v1H3v4H1V3H0V1h1V0h2v1h1v2H3v1h1V3h7v1h6V3h2V2h1z"></path></svg></button><div class="sc-1e366be2-8 cbbaIe"></div></div></div>

Exploring Shadow AI's impact on business: risks, strategies, and the quest for a secure, innovative future. How will companies navigate this new frontier?

Shadow AI: Reshaping the Future, But at What Cost?

<div><div><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>This summer both Databricks and Apache Iceberg rolled out enhancements to their open table formats. Databricks announced&nbsp;<underline><a href="https://www.databricks.com/blog/announcing-delta-lake-30-new-universal-format-and-liquid-clustering?ref=blog.min.io" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer sponsored">Delta Lake 3.0</a></underline>&nbsp;can read and write data to all of the most popular open table formats: Delta Table, Iceberg and Apache Hudi. Delta Universal Format (UniForm) makes it so that open table formats become interoperable, avoiding the need for creating and storing extra copies of data in this or that format. Data teams using existing query engines like&nbsp;<underline><a href="https://blog.min.io/duckdb-and-minio-for-a-modern-data-stack/?utm_term=&amp;utm_campaign=Leads-Performance%20Max-1-042023&amp;utm_source=adwords&amp;utm_medium=ppc&amp;hsa_acc=8976569894&amp;hsa_cam=20015732098&amp;hsa_grp=&amp;hsa_ad=&amp;hsa_src=x&amp;hsa_tgt=&amp;hsa_kw=&amp;hsa_mt=&amp;hsa_net=adwords&amp;hsa_ver=3&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gclid=CjwKCAiAmZGrBhAnEiwAo9qHicgLDautx8vD4czgHVxDalGoasTGRz4qhCZdFAq7ZgXYRpBEVzEK5hoCspMQAvD_BwE&amp;ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer sponsored">DuckDB</a></underline>,&nbsp;<underline><a href="https://blog.min.io/query-iceberg-minio-dremio/?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer sponsored">Dremio</a></underline>, and others to query over Iceberg or Hudi files can read Delta tables directly without conversion.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Around the same time, Iceberg announced a slew of new support for query engines and platforms including&nbsp;<underline><a href="https://www.snowflake.com/blog/iceberg-tables-catalog-support-available-now/?ref=blog.min.io" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer sponsored">Snowflake</a></underline>,&nbsp;<underline><a href="https://docs.aws.amazon.com/athena/latest/ug/querying-iceberg.html?ref=blog.min.io" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer sponsored">AWS Athena</a></underline>,&nbsp;<underline><a href="https://doris.apache.org/docs/releasenotes/release-1.1.0/?ref=blog.min.io" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer sponsored">Apache Doris</a></underline>&nbsp;and StarRocks. With these announcements from Databricks and Iceberg, interoperability joined hand-in-hand with data portability. Open table formats by design promote the concept that you should be able to access, control, share, and operate on your data with whatever tool you want, wherever you want to, whether that is in the public clouds, in your private clouds, on-edge, or on bare-metal.</p><h2 id="h-understanding-open-table-formats">Understanding Open Table Formats</h2>
<p>Let’s put these announcements in context. Open table formats allow data lakes to attain performance and compliance standards that in the past could only be achieved by traditional data warehouses or databases, all the while preserving the flexibility of a data lake environment.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>There are three major open table formats:</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p><strong><underline><a href="https://blog.min.io/lakehouse-architecture-iceberg-minio/?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer sponsored">Iceberg</a></underline></strong>&nbsp;was originally designed by Netflix specifically for handling substantial data volumes within data lakes. This open table format boasts distinctive features such as time travel, dynamic schema evolution, and partition evolution. These capabilities make it revolutionary, enabling concurrent and secure operations by query engines on the same dataset.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p><strong><underline><a href="https://blog.min.io/delta-lake-minio-multi-cloud/?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer sponsored">Delta Lake</a></underline></strong>&nbsp;is an open-source storage framework in the Lakehouse architecture that empowers data lakes on object storage like MinIO. It ensures ACID transactions, scalable metadata handling, and unified processing for Apache Spark, offering reliability and scalability. Delta Lake can handle the performance and correctness challenges of complex Spark workloads, especially under heavy concurrency, with non-atomic updates and metadata operations causing significant bottlenecks.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p><strong><underline><a href="https://blog.min.io/streaming-data-lakes-hudi-minio/?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer sponsored">Hudi</a></underline></strong>&nbsp;is rooted in the Hadoop ecosystem, and Hudi's primary purpose is to decrease latency during the ingestion of streaming data, offering features such as tables, transactions, upserts/deletes, advanced indexes, and compatibility with various storage implementations, including cloud-native object storage like MinIO.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Much has been written about choosing between different formats, with some asserting up to&nbsp;<underline><a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ca212c0e66669098db6cad9/t/63fc1d27a4186c086c64ceef/1677466920425/Data+lakehouse+market+landscape+FINAL%282-22+correction%29.pdf?ref=blog.min.io" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer sponsored">80% functional equivalence</a></underline>&nbsp;among the three primary Open Table formats. This blending of distinctions makes sense given the environment of interoperability in which these open table formats were created and continue to thrive. The creators of these formats prioritized capability over traditional notions of vendor lock-in and operational control.</p><h2 id="h-open-table-formats-as-part-of-the-modern-data-stack">Open Table Formats as Part of the Modern Data Stack</h2>
<p>Even before these recent announcements, open table formats had already become integral to modern data lake design. And reciprocally, data lakes have been integral to the modern data stack. A recent&nbsp;<underline><a href="https://www.dremio.com/press-releases/state-of-the-data-lakehouse-2024-businesses-are-leaving-cloud-data-warehouses-for-data-lakehouses/?utm_content=1701187751&amp;utm_medium=social-free&amp;utm_source=linkedin&amp;ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer sponsored">survey</a></underline>&nbsp;by&nbsp;<underline><a href="https://blog.min.io/dremio-minio-kubernetes-analytics/?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer sponsored">Dremio</a></underline>&nbsp;found that 70% of respondents said that more than half of their analytics is or would be in a data lake within three years. This pervasive adoption signifies a paradigm shift in how organizations structure and manage their data, placing a strong emphasis on interoperability, flexibility and performance.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>It’s no surprise really that cloud-native data lakes and their components and technologies like open table formats have become center stage in the modern data stack. This stands in stark contrast to traditional, monolithic legacy hardware and software sold wholesale to organizations hoping to slap the phrase ‘cloud technology’ onto their aging systems. Becoming cloud-native is more than adding an API – the modern data stack is a modular and specialized ensemble of tools tailored for various data handling facets. It is built for adaptability, born in the&nbsp; cloud and held to high-performance standards. Features that make the modern data stack a&nbsp; compelling choice for organizations. The stack's modularity provides a range of options, allowing organizations to craft a bespoke data infrastructure that aligns with their specific needs, fostering agility in the continually evolving data landscape.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Despite this continuously evolving range of options, there are defining characteristics that weave through the components of the stack:</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><ul>
<li>
<p><strong>Cloud-Native:</strong>&nbsp;The modern data stack is designed to seamlessly scale across diverse cloud environments, ensuring compatibility with multiple clouds to prevent vendor lock-in.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p></li>
<li>
<p><strong>Optimized Performance:</strong>&nbsp;Engineered for efficiency, the stack incorporates components that take a software-first approach and design for performance.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p></li>
<li>
<p><strong>RESTful API compatibility:</strong>&nbsp;The stack establishes a standardized communication framework between its components. This promotes interoperability and supports the creation of microservices.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p></li>
<li>
<p><strong>Disaggregated Storage and Compute:</strong>&nbsp;The stack enables independent scaling of computational resources and storage capacity. This approach optimizes cost efficiency and enhances overall performance by allowing each aspect to scale according to specific needs.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p></li>
<li>
<p><strong>Commitment to Openness:</strong>&nbsp;Beyond supporting open table formats, the modern data stack embraces openness in the form of open-source solutions. This commitment eliminates proprietary silos and mitigates vendor lock-in, fostering collaboration, innovation, and improved data accessibility. The dedication to openness reinforces the stack's adaptability across various platforms and tools, ensuring inclusivity.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="h-data-portability-and-interoperability-as-a-business-standard">Data Portability and Interoperability as a Business Standard</h2>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Truly embracing data portability and interoperability means being able to create and access data wherever it is. This approach facilitates flexibility, allowing organizations to harness the capabilities of diverse tools without being constrained by either vendor lock-in or data silos. The goal is to enable universal access to data, promoting a more agile and adaptable data ecosystem within organizations.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Understanding that the cloud as an operating model is built on principles of cloud-native technology rather than a specific location is critical to achieving data portability. Some organizations&nbsp;<underline><a href="https://blog.min.io/if-youre-having-a-hard-time-migrating-to-the-cloud-youre-doing-it-wrong/?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer sponsored">struggle</a></underline>&nbsp;in this endeavor and attempt to buy their way into the cloud at a tremendous cost. The reality is that while cloud adoption presents an opportunity for the average company to&nbsp;<underline><a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/in-search-of-cloud-value-can-generative-ai-transform-cloud-roi?ref=blog.min.io" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer sponsored">increase profitability by 20 to 30 percent</a></underline>, the real impact and true cost savings comes from embracing the cloud operating model on private infrastructure.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Many established organizations are actively adopting this philosophy, choosing to repatriate workloads from the cloud and achieving substantial cost savings, with companies like&nbsp;<underline><a href="https://world.hey.com/dhh/x-celebrates-60-savings-from-cloud-exit-7cc26895?utm_content=269851474&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=linkedin&amp;hss_channel=lcp-6442270&amp;ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer sponsored">X.com</a></underline>, 37Signals, and a major enterprise security firm&nbsp;<underline><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/two-things-can-true-same-time-paradox-cloud-moiz-kohari-sjzme/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_campaign=articles_sitemaps&amp;utm_medium=google_news&amp;ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer sponsored">saving an average 60%</a></underline>&nbsp;from cloud exits. The cloud operating model allows for the coexistence of seemingly contradictory ideas: companies can benefit from migrating to the cloud&nbsp;<strong>and</strong>&nbsp;repatriating workloads. The key determinant is the adoption of the cloud operating model, fundamentally transforming how organizations approach infrastructure, development and technical efficiency. This model optimizes for flexibility, efficiency and long-term success – whether in the public cloud or beyond – and dovetails precisely with the concept of the modern data stack, enabling data portability and interoperability with open table formats.</p><h2 id="h-conclusion">Conclusion</h2>
<p>Recent strides in open table formats by Databricks,&nbsp; Apache Iceberg and Hudi signify a pivotal moment in data management. Delta Lake 3.0's universal compatibility and expanded support for Apache Iceberg showcase a commitment by both data infrastructure companies and on the ground implementers to seamless data portability and interoperability.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>These developments align with the inherent modularity of the modern data stack, where open table formats play a central role in achieving performance and compliance standards. This shift is not isolated but intersects with the cloud operating model. Beyond the allure of public clouds, real impact and cost savings emerge by embracing the cloud operating model on private infrastructure.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>The confluence of open table formats, the modern data stack, and the cloud operating model signifies a transformative era in data management. This approach ensures adaptability across various environments, whether public or private, on-prem on edge. For those navigating data lake architecture complexities, our team at MinIO is ready to assist. Join us at hello@minio.io or on our&nbsp;<underline><a href="https://slack.min.io/?ref=blog.min.io" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer sponsored">Slack</a></underline>&nbsp;channel for collaborative discussions as you embark on your data journey.</p></div><div style="visibility:hidden" class="sc-1e366be2-7 kZfKay"><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M16 9h1v2h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1H9v1H8v1H7v1H6v1H0v-6h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1V9h1V8h1V7h1V6h1V5h2v1h1v1h1v1h1v1zM22 4v2h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1V8h-1V7h-1V6h-1V5h-1V4h-1V3h1V2h1V1h1V0h2v1h1v1h1v1h1v1h1z"></path></svg></button><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 3v2h-1v2h-1v1h-5V7h-2v1h-1v1H9v4h1v1h1v1h2v-1h5v1h1v2h1v2h-1v2h-1v1h-5v-1h-1v-2h-1v-2h-1v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v1H2v-1H1v-2H0v-2h1V8h1V7h5v1h1V7h1V6h1V5h1V3h1V1h1V0h5v1h1v2h1z"></path></svg></button><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M14 19v2h-1v1H1v-1H0V5h1V4h3v15h10z"></path><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 6v11h-1v1H6v-1H5V1h1V0h8v6h6z"></path><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 4v1h-5V0h1v1h1v1h1v1h1v1h1z"></path></svg></button><a style="margin-left:15px;color:white" href="#commentSection"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 19" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M21 6V4h-1V3h-1V2h-2V1h-3V0H8v1H5v1H3v1H2v1H1v2H0v6h1v2h1v2H1v1H0v2h5v-1h1v-1h2v1h6v-1h3v-1h2v-1h1v-1h1v-2h1V6h-1ZM6 13h1v-1h1v-2H6V5h4v8H9v1H6v-1Zm6 0h1v-1h1v-2h-2V5h4v8h-1v1h-3v-1Z"></path></svg></a><button style="margin-right:10px"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 20" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 2v12h-1v1h-2v1h-6v-1H4v1H3v4H1V3H0V1h1V0h2v1h1v2H3v1h1V3h7v1h6V3h2V2h1z"></path></svg></button><div class="sc-1e366be2-8 cbbaIe"></div></div></div>

The confluence of open table formats, the modern data stack, and the cloud operating model signifies a transformative era in data management.

What the Interoperability Trend in Open Table Formats Signify for Enterprise Data Architectures

The explanation of how the mobile app was created and some of the decisions making of the process.

The HackerNoon Mobile: The Developer's Perspective and The World Wide Writer Release [Version 1.9]

<div><div><hr>
<p>HTML radio buttons are a staple of web forms, but their default appearance leaves much to be desired. In this blog post, we'll walk through one of my favorite methods to customize the look of radio buttons using CSS, creating a more user-friendly and visually appealing experience.</p>
<p><div class="sc-56d3a1c3-0 evTXYi"><p class="line-space"><br></p><div class="youtube-container"><iframe title="ytcontainer" width="700" height="394" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PlldXyuTnUw" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></div></p>
<h2 id="h-lets-begin-by-hiding-the-radio-buttons">Let's Begin by Hiding the Radio Buttons!</h2>
<p>We need to start by acknowledging the limitations of cross-browser styling for radio buttons. While it's frustrating that we can't style them directly, we can use workarounds. In this example, the first step is to hide the actual radio button input. I know this sounds odd, but we know that we can't style them, so we just need to take them out of the equation.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>However, this should be done in an accessible manner, ensuring that it remains functional for all users. This can be achieved by using the following set of styles that visually hide the content while retaining its usability:</p><pre class="language-css" tabindex="0"><code class="language-css"><span class="token selector">input[type="radio"]</span> <span class="token punctuation">{</span>
  <span class="token property">border</span><span class="token punctuation">:</span> 0 <span class="token important">!important</span><span class="token punctuation">;</span>
  <span class="token property">clip</span><span class="token punctuation">:</span> <span class="token function">rect</span><span class="token punctuation">(</span>1px<span class="token punctuation">,</span> 1px<span class="token punctuation">,</span> 1px<span class="token punctuation">,</span> 1px<span class="token punctuation">)</span><span class="token punctuation">;</span>
  <span class="token property">height</span><span class="token punctuation">:</span> 1px <span class="token important">!important</span><span class="token punctuation">;</span>
  <span class="token property">overflow</span><span class="token punctuation">:</span> hidden<span class="token punctuation">;</span>
  <span class="token property">padding</span><span class="token punctuation">:</span> 0 <span class="token important">!important</span><span class="token punctuation">;</span>
  <span class="token property">position</span><span class="token punctuation">:</span> absolute <span class="token important">!important</span><span class="token punctuation">;</span>
  <span class="token property">width</span><span class="token punctuation">:</span> 1px <span class="token important">!important</span><span class="token punctuation">;</span>
<span class="token punctuation">}</span>
</code></pre>
<h2 id="h-creating-the-custom-radio-buttons">Creating the Custom Radio Buttons</h2>
<p>To create the custom appearance of the radio button, we'll leverage the <code>::before</code> pseudo-element on our label along with some simple CSS to create the look we're looking for.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>For our example, the HTML looks like this:</p><pre class="language-markup" tabindex="0"><code class="language-markup"><span class="token tag"><span class="token tag"><span class="token punctuation">&lt;</span>form</span><span class="token punctuation">&gt;</span></span>
    <span class="token tag"><span class="token tag"><span class="token punctuation">&lt;</span>h1</span><span class="token punctuation">&gt;</span></span>Can We Style HTML Radio Buttons?<span class="token tag"><span class="token tag"><span class="token punctuation">&lt;/</span>h1</span><span class="token punctuation">&gt;</span></span>
    <span class="token tag"><span class="token tag"><span class="token punctuation">&lt;</span>ul</span><span class="token punctuation">&gt;</span></span>
        <span class="token tag"><span class="token tag"><span class="token punctuation">&lt;</span>li</span><span class="token punctuation">&gt;</span></span>
            <span class="token tag"><span class="token tag"><span class="token punctuation">&lt;</span>input</span> <span class="token attr-name">type</span><span class="token attr-value"><span class="token punctuation attr-equals">=</span><span class="token punctuation">"</span>radio<span class="token punctuation">"</span></span> <span class="token attr-name">value</span><span class="token attr-value"><span class="token punctuation attr-equals">=</span><span class="token punctuation">"</span>yes<span class="token punctuation">"</span></span> <span class="token attr-name">name</span><span class="token attr-value"><span class="token punctuation attr-equals">=</span><span class="token punctuation">"</span>option<span class="token punctuation">"</span></span> <span class="token attr-name">id</span><span class="token attr-value"><span class="token punctuation attr-equals">=</span><span class="token punctuation">"</span>yes<span class="token punctuation">"</span></span> <span class="token punctuation">/&gt;</span></span>
            <span class="token tag"><span class="token tag"><span class="token punctuation">&lt;</span>label</span> <span class="token attr-name">for</span><span class="token attr-value"><span class="token punctuation attr-equals">=</span><span class="token punctuation">"</span>yes<span class="token punctuation">"</span></span><span class="token punctuation">&gt;</span></span>Yes<span class="token tag"><span class="token tag"><span class="token punctuation">&lt;/</span>label</span><span class="token punctuation">&gt;</span></span>
        <span class="token tag"><span class="token tag"><span class="token punctuation">&lt;/</span>li</span><span class="token punctuation">&gt;</span></span>
        <span class="token tag"><span class="token tag"><span class="token punctuation">&lt;</span>li</span><span class="token punctuation">&gt;</span></span>
            <span class="token tag"><span class="token tag"><span class="token punctuation">&lt;</span>input</span> <span class="token attr-name">type</span><span class="token attr-value"><span class="token punctuation attr-equals">=</span><span class="token punctuation">"</span>radio<span class="token punctuation">"</span></span> <span class="token attr-name">value</span><span class="token attr-value"><span class="token punctuation attr-equals">=</span><span class="token punctuation">"</span>no<span class="token punctuation">"</span></span> <span class="token attr-name">name</span><span class="token attr-value"><span class="token punctuation attr-equals">=</span><span class="token punctuation">"</span>option<span class="token punctuation">"</span></span> <span class="token attr-name">id</span><span class="token attr-value"><span class="token punctuation attr-equals">=</span><span class="token punctuation">"</span>no<span class="token punctuation">"</span></span> <span class="token punctuation">/&gt;</span></span>
            <span class="token tag"><span class="token tag"><span class="token punctuation">&lt;</span>label</span> <span class="token attr-name">for</span><span class="token attr-value"><span class="token punctuation attr-equals">=</span><span class="token punctuation">"</span>no<span class="token punctuation">"</span></span><span class="token punctuation">&gt;</span></span>No<span class="token tag"><span class="token tag"><span class="token punctuation">&lt;/</span>label</span><span class="token punctuation">&gt;</span></span>
        <span class="token tag"><span class="token tag"><span class="token punctuation">&lt;/</span>li</span><span class="token punctuation">&gt;</span></span>
        <span class="token tag"><span class="token tag"><span class="token punctuation">&lt;</span>li</span><span class="token punctuation">&gt;</span></span>
            <span class="token tag"><span class="token tag"><span class="token punctuation">&lt;</span>input</span> <span class="token attr-name">type</span><span class="token attr-value"><span class="token punctuation attr-equals">=</span><span class="token punctuation">"</span>radio<span class="token punctuation">"</span></span> <span class="token attr-name">value</span><span class="token attr-value"><span class="token punctuation attr-equals">=</span><span class="token punctuation">"</span>maybe<span class="token punctuation">"</span></span> <span class="token attr-name">name</span><span class="token attr-value"><span class="token punctuation attr-equals">=</span><span class="token punctuation">"</span>option<span class="token punctuation">"</span></span> <span class="token attr-name">id</span><span class="token attr-value"><span class="token punctuation attr-equals">=</span><span class="token punctuation">"</span>maybe<span class="token punctuation">"</span></span> <span class="token punctuation">/&gt;</span></span>
            <span class="token tag"><span class="token tag"><span class="token punctuation">&lt;</span>label</span> <span class="token attr-name">for</span><span class="token attr-value"><span class="token punctuation attr-equals">=</span><span class="token punctuation">"</span>maybe<span class="token punctuation">"</span></span><span class="token punctuation">&gt;</span></span>Maybe<span class="token tag"><span class="token tag"><span class="token punctuation">&lt;/</span>label</span><span class="token punctuation">&gt;</span></span>
        <span class="token tag"><span class="token tag"><span class="token punctuation">&lt;/</span>li</span><span class="token punctuation">&gt;</span></span>
      <span class="token tag"><span class="token tag"><span class="token punctuation">&lt;/</span>ul</span><span class="token punctuation">&gt;</span></span>
<span class="token tag"><span class="token tag"><span class="token punctuation">&lt;/</span>form</span><span class="token punctuation">&gt;</span></span>
</code></pre>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>To start, we'll add the following styles to our label element:</p><pre class="language-css" tabindex="0"><code class="language-css"><span class="token selector">label</span> <span class="token punctuation">{</span>
  <span class="token property">display</span><span class="token punctuation">:</span> inline-flex<span class="token punctuation">;</span>
  <span class="token property">align-items</span><span class="token punctuation">:</span> center<span class="token punctuation">;</span>
<span class="token punctuation">}</span>
</code></pre>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>This will ensure that once we add our radio button styles, it will be properly vertically aligned with the label text.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Now, we'll add our mock radio buttons using the <code>::before</code> pseudo-element:</p><pre class="language-css" tabindex="0"><code class="language-css"><span class="token selector">label::before</span> <span class="token punctuation">{</span>
  <span class="token property">content</span><span class="token punctuation">:</span> <span class="token string">''</span><span class="token punctuation">;</span>
  <span class="token property">display</span><span class="token punctuation">:</span> block<span class="token punctuation">;</span>
  <span class="token property">height</span><span class="token punctuation">:</span> 1.25em<span class="token punctuation">;</span>
  <span class="token property">width</span><span class="token punctuation">:</span> 1.25em<span class="token punctuation">;</span>
  <span class="token property">border</span><span class="token punctuation">:</span> solid 1px #ccc<span class="token punctuation">;</span>
  <span class="token property">border-radius</span><span class="token punctuation">:</span> 50%<span class="token punctuation">;</span>
  <span class="token property">margin-right</span><span class="token punctuation">:</span> 0.5em<span class="token punctuation">;</span>
<span class="token punctuation">}</span>
</code></pre>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>At this point, we have something that is starting to resemble a radio button list, but if we click on the radios, we will see that nothing is happening. Although the pseudo-element visually resembles a radio button, it lacks interactivity because we have not yet handled the checked state.</p><h2 id="h-handling-interaction-and-states">Handling Interaction and States</h2>
<p>We can handle the checked state with the <code>:checked</code> pseudo-class and adjacent sibling selector on our label:</p>
<pre class="language-css" tabindex="0"><code class="language-css"><span class="token selector">input[type="radio"]:checked + label</span> <span class="token punctuation">{</span>
  <span class="token property">color</span><span class="token punctuation">:</span> black<span class="token punctuation">;</span>
<span class="token punctuation">}</span>
</code></pre>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>For the inner dot, we can leverage a radial gradient on our pseudo-element:</p><pre class="language-css" tabindex="0"><code class="language-css"><span class="token selector">input[type="radio"]:checked + label::before</span> <span class="token punctuation">{</span>
  <span class="token property">background</span><span class="token punctuation">:</span> <span class="token function">radial-gradient</span><span class="token punctuation">(</span>0.75em circle at center<span class="token punctuation">,</span> currentColor 50%<span class="token punctuation">,</span> transparent 55%<span class="token punctuation">)</span><span class="token punctuation">;</span>
  <span class="token property">box-shadow</span><span class="token punctuation">:</span> 0 0 1em 0 <span class="token function">rgba</span><span class="token punctuation">(</span>10<span class="token punctuation">,</span> 150<span class="token punctuation">,</span> 255<span class="token punctuation">,</span> 0.75<span class="token punctuation">)</span><span class="token punctuation">;</span>
  <span class="token property">border-color</span><span class="token punctuation">:</span> currentColor<span class="token punctuation">;</span>
<span class="token punctuation">}</span>
</code></pre>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>There, now when we click on these, they function much like native radio buttons. And we can enhance the interactions by adding some transition effects:</p><pre class="language-css" tabindex="0"><code class="language-css"><span class="token selector">label::before</span> <span class="token punctuation">{</span>
  ...
  <span class="token property">transition</span><span class="token punctuation">:</span> border ease-in 150ms<span class="token punctuation">,</span> box-shadow ease-in 150ms<span class="token punctuation">;</span>
<span class="token punctuation">}</span>
</code></pre>
<h3 id="h-lets-not-forget-about-focus">Let's Not Forget About Focus</h3>
<p>To improve accessibility, we will also need to address the focused state of the mock radio buttons. This time we will need to utilize the <code>:focus</code> pseudo-class and the adjacent sibling selector with the label:</p>
<pre class="language-css" tabindex="0"><code class="language-css"><span class="token selector">input[type="radio"]:checked + label,
input[type="radio"]:focus + label</span> <span class="token punctuation">{</span>
  <span class="token property">color</span><span class="token punctuation">:</span> black<span class="token punctuation">;</span>
<span class="token punctuation">}</span>

<span class="token selector">input[type="radio"]:focus + label::before</span> <span class="token punctuation">{</span>
  <span class="token property">box-shadow</span><span class="token punctuation">:</span> 0 0 1em 0 <span class="token function">rgba</span><span class="token punctuation">(</span>10<span class="token punctuation">,</span> 150<span class="token punctuation">,</span> 255<span class="token punctuation">,</span> 0.75<span class="token punctuation">)</span><span class="token punctuation">;</span>
  <span class="token property">border-color</span><span class="token punctuation">:</span> currentColor<span class="token punctuation">;</span>
<span class="token punctuation">}</span>
</code></pre>
<h2 id="h-conclusion">Conclusion</h2>
<p>By following this method, we can create stylish and accessible custom radio buttons that greatly enhance the user experience. These customized radio buttons not only look better than the standard ones but can also provide better feedback and interaction when implemented properly.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>This was a pretty simple example that may not even really look much different than the native browser styles but the key is, with this setup, we can pretty much do whatever we want. So, feel free to experiment with the styles and adapt them to your project's design.</p><h3 id="h-want-to-see-it-in-action">Want to See It in Action?</h3>
<p>Check out the demo code and examples of this technique in the code pen example below. If you have any questions or thoughts, don't hesitate to leave a comment.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Remember that with a little creativity and some CSS, you can transform the appearance of HTML radio buttons to match your design while maintaining accessibility and usability!</p><p><div class="sc-56d3a1c3-0 evTXYi"><p class="line-space"><br></p><div class="sc-a1c4a59f-0 jvtJgu codepen-container"><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 22" width="22"><path d="M8 19v3H1v-1H0v-7h3v5h5zM8 0v3H3v5H0V1h1V0h7zM22 14v7h-1v1h-7v-3h5v-5h3zM22 1v7h-3V3h-5V0h7v1h1z"></path></svg></button><iframe scrolling="no" src="https://codepen.io/brianmtreese/embed/bGOGeBJ?embedable=true?height=600&amp;theme-id=light" frameborder="no" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" loading="lazy"></iframe></div></div></p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p></div><div style="visibility:hidden" class="sc-1e366be2-7 kZfKay"><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M16 9h1v2h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1H9v1H8v1H7v1H6v1H0v-6h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1V9h1V8h1V7h1V6h1V5h2v1h1v1h1v1h1v1zM22 4v2h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1V8h-1V7h-1V6h-1V5h-1V4h-1V3h1V2h1V1h1V0h2v1h1v1h1v1h1v1h1z"></path></svg></button><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 3v2h-1v2h-1v1h-5V7h-2v1h-1v1H9v4h1v1h1v1h2v-1h5v1h1v2h1v2h-1v2h-1v1h-5v-1h-1v-2h-1v-2h-1v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v1H2v-1H1v-2H0v-2h1V8h1V7h5v1h1V7h1V6h1V5h1V3h1V1h1V0h5v1h1v2h1z"></path></svg></button><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M14 19v2h-1v1H1v-1H0V5h1V4h3v15h10z"></path><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 6v11h-1v1H6v-1H5V1h1V0h8v6h6z"></path><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 4v1h-5V0h1v1h1v1h1v1h1v1h1z"></path></svg></button><a style="margin-left:15px;color:white" href="#commentSection"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 19" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M21 6V4h-1V3h-1V2h-2V1h-3V0H8v1H5v1H3v1H2v1H1v2H0v6h1v2h1v2H1v1H0v2h5v-1h1v-1h2v1h6v-1h3v-1h2v-1h1v-1h1v-2h1V6h-1ZM6 13h1v-1h1v-2H6V5h4v8H9v1H6v-1Zm6 0h1v-1h1v-2h-2V5h4v8h-1v1h-3v-1Z"></path></svg></a><button style="margin-right:10px"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 20" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 2v12h-1v1h-2v1h-6v-1H4v1H3v4H1V3H0V1h1V0h2v1h1v2H3v1h1V3h7v1h6V3h2V2h1z"></path></svg></button><div class="sc-1e366be2-8 cbbaIe"></div></div></div>

In this blog post, we'll walk through one of my favorite methods to customize the look of radio buttons using CSS, creating a more user-friendly experience

How to Style HTML Radio Buttons: A Step-by-Step Guide

UCLA's AI breakthrough with SPIN, open-sourced for all, promises a future of self-teaching models. Say hello to more human AI without massive data.

AGI Blueprint? UCLA Researchers Open-Source SPIN—A Self-Improving Language Model

The unique abilities of the mechs in the game War Robots are essential; read on to learn in simple terms how our ability system works and what makes it good.

A More Complex Ability System, but a Smoother Gamedev Workflow – How?

Static quantization tutorial using Pytorch to speed up inference by as much as 4x!

Curious About Faster ML Models? Discover Model Quantization With PyTorch!

<div><div><p>In 2015, a <underline><a href="https://openai.com/blog/introducing-openai?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">nonprofit</a></underline> called OpenAI was formed to create “broadly and evenly distributed” AI. Fast forward to 2024, and OpenAI has transitioned into full-on for-profit mode, hoarding access to LLMs behind a transactional API service. Most recently, they’re seeking a <underline><a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/openai-talks-raise-new-funding-100-bln-valuation-bloomberg-news-2023-12-22/?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">$100 billion valuation</a></underline>.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>The past decade of AI progress has been dominated by large tech companies like Google, Meta, and OpenAI releasing ever-larger proprietary language models. From Bard and Claude to GPT-4, much of the state-of-the-art in natural language processing (NLP) has remained concentrated in the hands of a few research labs.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>However, the long-term future of AI lies not in more private bigger models served exclusively through APIs but rather with open-source language models built in the open alongside communities.</p><h2 id="h-open-source-language-models">Open-Source Language Models</h2>
<p>In recent years, a handful of startups, universities, and dedicated individuals have helped pioneer this open model of language model development.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>The latest model continuing this open-source lineage is <a href="https://huggingface.co/h2oai/h2o-danube-1.8b-chat?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">H2O-Danube-1.8B</a>. Weighing in at 1.8 billion parameters, Danube demonstrates surprising capability even compared to other publicly available models many times its size. The <a href="http://h2o.ai/?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">H2O.ai</a> team meticulously designed, trained, and validated Danube completely transparently, with the full report available on <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.16818?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">arXiv</a>.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Rather than hoarding access, <a href="http://h2o.ai/?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">H2O.ai</a> released Danube's full parameters and training code openly on HuggingFace. Within days of the initial announcement, curious developers began freely experimenting with the model, showcasing rapid innovation generation simply not feasible with proprietary models. As of writing, the entire h2o-danube-1.8b-chat model has been download over 500 times on HuggingFace.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Anyone can use the model with the&nbsp;<code>transformers</code>&nbsp;library, following the below code, courtesy of h2o’s HuggingFace repo:</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><pre class="language-javascript" tabindex="0"><code class="language-javascript"><span class="token keyword">import</span> torch
from transformers <span class="token keyword">import</span> pipeline

pipe <span class="token operator">=</span> <span class="token function">pipeline</span><span class="token punctuation">(</span>
    <span class="token string">"text-generation"</span><span class="token punctuation">,</span>
    model<span class="token operator">=</span><span class="token string">"h2oai/h2o-danube-1.8b-chat"</span><span class="token punctuation">,</span>
    torch_dtype<span class="token operator">=</span>torch<span class="token punctuation">.</span>bfloat16<span class="token punctuation">,</span>
    device_map<span class="token operator">=</span><span class="token string">"auto"</span><span class="token punctuation">,</span>
<span class="token punctuation">)</span>

# We use the <span class="token constant">HF</span> Tokenizer chat template to format each message
# https<span class="token operator">:</span><span class="token operator">/</span><span class="token operator">/</span>huggingface<span class="token punctuation">.</span>co<span class="token operator">/</span>docs<span class="token operator">/</span>transformers<span class="token operator">/</span>main<span class="token operator">/</span>en<span class="token operator">/</span>chat_templating
messages <span class="token operator">=</span> <span class="token punctuation">[</span>
    <span class="token punctuation">{</span><span class="token string-property property">"role"</span><span class="token operator">:</span> <span class="token string">"user"</span><span class="token punctuation">,</span> <span class="token string-property property">"content"</span><span class="token operator">:</span> <span class="token string">"Why is drinking water so healthy?"</span><span class="token punctuation">}</span><span class="token punctuation">,</span>
<span class="token punctuation">]</span>
prompt <span class="token operator">=</span> pipe<span class="token punctuation">.</span>tokenizer<span class="token punctuation">.</span><span class="token function">apply_chat_template</span><span class="token punctuation">(</span>
    messages<span class="token punctuation">,</span>
    tokenize<span class="token operator">=</span>False<span class="token punctuation">,</span>
    add_generation_prompt<span class="token operator">=</span>True<span class="token punctuation">,</span>
<span class="token punctuation">)</span>
res <span class="token operator">=</span> <span class="token function">pipe</span><span class="token punctuation">(</span>
    prompt<span class="token punctuation">,</span>
    max_new_tokens<span class="token operator">=</span><span class="token number">256</span><span class="token punctuation">,</span>
<span class="token punctuation">)</span>
<span class="token function">print</span><span class="token punctuation">(</span>res<span class="token punctuation">[</span><span class="token number">0</span><span class="token punctuation">]</span><span class="token punctuation">[</span><span class="token string">"generated_text"</span><span class="token punctuation">]</span><span class="token punctuation">)</span>
# <span class="token operator">&lt;</span><span class="token operator">|</span>prompt<span class="token operator">|</span><span class="token operator">&gt;</span>Why is drinking water so healthy<span class="token operator">?</span><span class="token operator">&lt;</span><span class="token operator">/</span>s<span class="token operator">&gt;</span><span class="token operator">&lt;</span><span class="token operator">|</span>answer<span class="token operator">|</span><span class="token operator">&gt;</span> Drinking water is healthy <span class="token keyword">for</span> several reasons<span class="token operator">:</span> <span class="token punctuation">[</span><span class="token operator">...</span><span class="token punctuation">]</span>
</code></pre>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>H2O believes collaborating openly remains the ultimate key towards democratizing access to AI and unlocking benefits for the many rather than wealth for the few.</p><h2 id="h-other-open-source-language-models">Other Open-Source Language Models</h2>
<p>The open-source AI ecosystem continues expanding with developers globally collaborating on shared models. Beyond H2O-Danube-1.8B, numerous noteworthy initiatives aim to prevent concentration of knowledge within walled gardens.</p>
<h3 id="h-mpt">MPT</h3>
<p>Developed by startup MosaicML, the <a href="https://huggingface.co/mosaicml/mpt-7b?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">Machine Programming Transformer (MPT)</a> incorporates techniques like mixture-of-experts parallelization and context length extrapolation to improve efficiency.</p>
<h3 id="h-falcon">Falcon</h3>
<p>Falcon’s biggest open-source LLM is a whopping <a href="https://huggingface.co/tiiuae/falcon-180B?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">180-billion parameter</a> beast, outperforming the likes of&nbsp;<underline><a href="https://huggingface.co/meta-llama/Llama-2-70b-hf?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">LLaMA-2</a></underline>,&nbsp;<underline><a href="https://github.com/Stability-AI/StableLM?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">StableLM</a></underline>,&nbsp;<underline><a href="https://huggingface.co/togethercomputer/RedPajama-INCITE-Base-7B-v0.1?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">RedPajama</a></underline>,&nbsp;and <underline><a href="https://huggingface.co/mosaicml/mpt-7b?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">MPT</a>.</underline></p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>At that size, it’s recommended to have 400 gigabytes of available memory to run the model.</p><h3 id="h-mistral">Mistral</h3>
<p>Founded by ex-Googlers and Meta researchers, Mistral released the 7 billion parameter <a href="https://huggingface.co/mistralai/Mistral-7B-v0.1?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">Mistral 7B model</a> in September 2022. Mistral 7B achieves competitive performance among open models nearly matching the closed GPT-3 in sample quality.</p>
<h3 id="h-legacy-models">Legacy Models</h3>
<p>Beyond newly launched models, earlier open-source models continue to empower developers. GPT2 from OpenAI and GPT-J from EleutherAI both hold historical significance despite lagging behind modern architectures. And Transformers like BERT gave rise to an entire subclass of NLP breakthroughs powering products globally.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>The democratization narrative only strengthens thanks to passionate communities generously contributing their creations back to common pools of knowledge.</p><h2 id="h-a-more-equitable-future">A More Equitable Future</h2>
<p>In many ways, proprietary language models risk recreating many inequities the tech industry continues wrestling with. Concentrating knowledge within wealthy organizations excludes smaller teams from shaping progress early on. And later makes integration prohibitively expensive once available purely through transactional APIs.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Open-source models are vital to seeding a more equitable way forward. One where agency lies closer to diverse communities actually building concrete AI applications. The long arc of progress only Bends towards justice when people come together united behind the technology itself rather than any one organization seeking to control it.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Danube and the open paradigm it represents offers but one glimpse into an alternate vision. One driven not by short-term profits or prestige but by empowering developers everywhere to freely build upon each other's shoulders. There will always remain space for proprietary work, but the true future of AI lies open.</p><h2 id="h-community-driven-innovation">Community-Driven Innovation</h2>
<p>Releasing open-source models draws contributions from a motivated community of developers and researchers. This collaborative style of working in the open unlocks unique opportunities. Experts across organizations can peer review each other's work to validate techniques.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Researchers can readily replicate and extend new ideas instead of reinventing the wheel. And software engineers can rapidly integrate and deploy innovations into customer offerings.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Perhaps most promisingly, the open paradigm allows niche communities to gather around customizing models for specific use cases. Teams can sculpt versions tailored to particular topics like medicine, law, or finance which outperform generic models. These specialized models then get shared back to benefit the rest of the community. Together, groups make collective progress not possible within any single closed lab.</p></div><div style="visibility:hidden" class="sc-1e366be2-7 kZfKay"><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M16 9h1v2h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1H9v1H8v1H7v1H6v1H0v-6h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1V9h1V8h1V7h1V6h1V5h2v1h1v1h1v1h1v1zM22 4v2h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1V8h-1V7h-1V6h-1V5h-1V4h-1V3h1V2h1V1h1V0h2v1h1v1h1v1h1v1h1z"></path></svg></button><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 3v2h-1v2h-1v1h-5V7h-2v1h-1v1H9v4h1v1h1v1h2v-1h5v1h1v2h1v2h-1v2h-1v1h-5v-1h-1v-2h-1v-2h-1v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v1H2v-1H1v-2H0v-2h1V8h1V7h5v1h1V7h1V6h1V5h1V3h1V1h1V0h5v1h1v2h1z"></path></svg></button><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M14 19v2h-1v1H1v-1H0V5h1V4h3v15h10z"></path><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 6v11h-1v1H6v-1H5V1h1V0h8v6h6z"></path><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 4v1h-5V0h1v1h1v1h1v1h1v1h1z"></path></svg></button><a style="margin-left:15px;color:white" href="#commentSection"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 19" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M21 6V4h-1V3h-1V2h-2V1h-3V0H8v1H5v1H3v1H2v1H1v2H0v6h1v2h1v2H1v1H0v2h5v-1h1v-1h2v1h6v-1h3v-1h2v-1h1v-1h1v-2h1V6h-1ZM6 13h1v-1h1v-2H6V5h4v8H9v1H6v-1Zm6 0h1v-1h1v-2h-2V5h4v8h-1v1h-3v-1Z"></path></svg></a><button style="margin-right:10px"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 20" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 2v12h-1v1h-2v1h-6v-1H4v1H3v4H1V3H0V1h1V0h2v1h1v2H3v1h1V3h7v1h6V3h2V2h1z"></path></svg></button><div class="sc-1e366be2-8 cbbaIe"></div></div></div>

H2O.ai's Danube is the latest in a series of open-source language models.

Why Open Source Language Models Are True “Open AI”

Auto-generated code cannot be blindly trusted, and still requires a security review to avoid introducing software vulnerabilities.

Analyzing Common Vulnerabilities Introduced by Code-Generative AI

Dive into the future of bitcoin mining with GoMining and NFTs. 
Discover disruptive technologies reshaping the landscape. 
From trustless transactions to LBH.

Is Bitcoin Mining Dead? GoMining and NFTs Say "Not So Fast!"

Ansible utilizes variables, facts, and templates to create adaptable automation workflows. This approach ensures playbooks are reusable and flexible.

Ansible 101: Working With Facts and Templates

<div><div><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><div class="notice notice-tip">
<p><em>Hey everyone! <strong><a href="https://hackernoon.com/meet-the-writer-hackernoon-contributor-nataraj-sindam-on-experimenting-with-ai?ref=hackernoon.com" rel="ugc">I’m Nataraj</a>,</strong> and just like you, I’ve been fascinated with the recent progress of artificial intelligence. Realizing that I needed to stay abreast with all the developments happening, I decided to embark on a personal journey of learning, thus <strong><a href="https://hackernoon.com/u/sindamnataraj?ref=hackernoon.com" rel="ugc">100 days of AI</a></strong> was born! With this series, I will be learning about LLMs and share ideas, experiments, opinions, trends &amp; learnings through my blog posts. You can follow along the journey on HackerNoon <strong><a href="https://hackernoon.com/u/sindamnataraj?ref=hackernoon.com" rel="ugc">here</a></strong> or my personal website <strong><a href="https://thestartupproject.io/100-days-of-ai/?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">here</a></strong>. In today’s article, we’ll be looking to build a Semantic Kernel with the help of GPT-4.</em></p>
</div>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Semantic Kernel is an open source SDK from Microsoft that helps developers create AI applications including chatbots, RAGs, Copilots &amp; agents. It is similar to what langchain does. We can probably call it as Microsoft’s answer to langchain.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>It is designed to make existing software extensible and easy to expose to AI features. It is also designed anticipating that applications would like to update their AI models to the latest and greatest versions over time.</p><p><span><div class="sc-a6c0bd8c-1 ijZWBT image-container undefined"><button class="sc-a6c0bd8c-0 khzBNC download-button"><a download="semantic-kernel.png" href="https://hackernoon.imgix.net/images/Y14t1a3ZEoT7RE6300ayez7dRN83-cw83fsr.png" title="Download image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 22" width="22" fill="black"><path fill="black" d="M18 10v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H6v-1H5v-1H4v-1h4V1h1V0h4v1h1v9h4z"></path><path fill="black" d="M21 15v-1h-6v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H1v1H0v6h1v1h20v-1h1v-6h-1Zm-2 4h-1v-1h1v1Zm-3-1h1v1h-1v-1Z"></path></svg></a></button><div data-rmiz-wrap="visible"><div style="position: relative;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; overflow: hidden; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; max-width: 100%;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><img alt="" aria-hidden="true" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3csvg%20xmlns=%27http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%27%20version=%271.1%27%20width=%27800%27%20height=%27344.1460396039604%27/%3e" style="display: block; max-width: 100%; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span><img alt="Semantic Kernel" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" decoding="async" data-nimg="intrinsic" class="image" style="position: absolute; inset: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; border: none; margin: auto; display: block; width: 0px; height: 0px; min-width: 100%; max-width: 100%; min-height: 100%; max-height: 100%; object-fit: contain; background-size: contain; background-position: 0% 0%; filter: blur(20px); background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,CiAgICA8c3ZnIHdpZHRoPSI4MDAiIGhlaWdodD0iMzQ0LjE0NjAzOTYwMzk2MDQiIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgeG1sbnM9Imh0dHA6Ly93d3cudzMub3JnLzIwMDAvc3ZnIiB4bWxuczp4bGluaz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMTk5OS94bGluayI+CiAgICAgIDxkZWZzPgogICAgICAgIDxsaW5lYXJHcmFkaWVudCBpZD0iZyI+CiAgICAgICAgICA8c3RvcCBzdG9wLWNvbG9yPSIjMjIyIiBvZmZzZXQ9IjIlIiAvPgogICAgICAgICAgPHN0b3Agc3RvcC1jb2xvcj0iIzBmMCIgb2Zmc2V0PSIxMCUiIC8+CiAgICAgICAgICA8c3RvcCBzdG9wLWNvbG9yPSIjMjIyIiBvZmZzZXQ9IjEyJSIgLz4KICAgICAgICA8L2xpbmVhckdyYWRpZW50PgogICAgICA8L2RlZnM+CiAgICAgIDxyZWN0IHdpZHRoPSI4MDAiIGhlaWdodD0iMzQ0LjE0NjAzOTYwMzk2MDQiIGZpbGw9IiMyMjIiIC8+CiAgICAgIDxyZWN0IGlkPSJyIiB3aWR0aD0iODAwIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjM0NC4xNDYwMzk2MDM5NjA0IiBmaWxsPSJ1cmwoI2cpIiAvPgogICAgICA8YW5pbWF0ZSB4bGluazpocmVmPSIjciIgYXR0cmlidXRlTmFtZT0ieCIgZnJvbT0iLTgwMCIgdG89IjgwMCIgZHVyPSIxcyIgcmVwZWF0Q291bnQ9ImluZGVmaW5pdGUiICAvPgogICAgPC9zdmc+&quot;);"><noscript></noscript></span></div><button aria-label="Zoom image" data-rmiz-btn-open="true"></button></div><p class="image-caption">Semantic Kernel</p></div></span></p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Although the space is evolving very rapidly here are some definitions to keep in mind as we explore Semantic Kernel.</p><ul>
<li><strong>Chat Bot:</strong> Simple chat with the user.</li>
<li><strong>RAGs:</strong> Simple chat bot but grounded in real time &amp; private data.</li>
<li><strong>Copilots:</strong> Meant to be assisting us side-by-side to accomplish tasks by recommending &amp; suggesting.</li>
<li><strong>Agents:</strong> Respond to stimuli with limited human intervention. Agents executes tasks like sending emails, booking tickets on behalf of the user.</li>
</ul>
<h2><strong>How Does Semantic Kernel Work?</strong></h2>
<p>To explain how Semantic Kernel works, lets take an example of taking a piece of text and converting it into 140 character tweet. But we will do this using Semantic Kernel. <a href="https://thestartupproject.io/100-days-of-ai/?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">We have done a similar summarization in previous posts here</a>.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>I will be using the python library of the Semantic Kernel, but since Semantic Kernel is created by Microsoft you can also do this in C# as well. Check public documentation from Microsoft on how to do this.</p><h2><strong>Step 1: Initiate Semantic Kernel</strong></h2>
<p>Below we are initiating the semantic kernel and setting up its text completion service by telling it to use OpenAI’s gpt-4 model as the LLM to use for text completion.</p>
<pre><code>import semantic_kernel as sk
from semantic_kernel.connectors.ai.open_ai import AzureChatCompletion, OpenAIChatCompletion
import os
from IPython.display import display, Markdown
import asyncio

from dotenv import load_dotenv, find_dotenv
_ = load_dotenv(find_dotenv()) # read local .env file
api_key = os.environ['OPENAI_API_KEY']

kernel = sk.Kernel()
kernel.add_text_completion_service("openai", OpenAIChatCompletion("gpt-4",api_key))
print("Kernel Initiated")
</code></pre>
<h2><strong>Step 2: Understanding a Semantic Function:</strong></h2>
<p>In the Semantic Kernel world, we have a concept of Semantic function which is different from a native function. A native function is the regular functions that we write in any programming language. <strong>Semantic functions are encapsulations of repeatable LLM Prompts that can be orchestrated by the Kernel.</strong> You will get a better idea of what semantic function is in the next step where we will write one.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p><span><div class="sc-a6c0bd8c-1 ijZWBT image-container undefined"><button class="sc-a6c0bd8c-0 khzBNC download-button"><a download="native-semantic-functions.png" href="https://hackernoon.imgix.net/images/Y14t1a3ZEoT7RE6300ayez7dRN83-8w93fwl.png" title="Download image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 22" width="22" fill="black"><path fill="black" d="M18 10v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H6v-1H5v-1H4v-1h4V1h1V0h4v1h1v9h4z"></path><path fill="black" d="M21 15v-1h-6v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-2v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v-1H1v1H0v6h1v1h20v-1h1v-6h-1Zm-2 4h-1v-1h1v1Zm-3-1h1v1h-1v-1Z"></path></svg></a></button><div data-rmiz-wrap="visible"><div style="position: relative;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; overflow: hidden; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; max-width: 100%;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><img alt="" aria-hidden="true" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3csvg%20xmlns=%27http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%27%20version=%271.1%27%20width=%27406%27%20height=%27303%27/%3e" style="display: block; max-width: 100%; width: initial; height: initial; background: none; opacity: 1; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span><img alt="Native &amp; Semantic Functions" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" decoding="async" data-nimg="intrinsic" class="image" style="position: absolute; inset: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; border: none; margin: auto; display: block; width: 0px; height: 0px; min-width: 100%; max-width: 100%; min-height: 100%; max-height: 100%; object-fit: contain; background-size: contain; background-position: 0% 0%; filter: blur(20px); background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,CiAgICA8c3ZnIHdpZHRoPSI0MDYiIGhlaWdodD0iMzAzIiB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgeG1sbnM6eGxpbms9Imh0dHA6Ly93d3cudzMub3JnLzE5OTkveGxpbmsiPgogICAgICA8ZGVmcz4KICAgICAgICA8bGluZWFyR3JhZGllbnQgaWQ9ImciPgogICAgICAgICAgPHN0b3Agc3RvcC1jb2xvcj0iIzIyMiIgb2Zmc2V0PSIyJSIgLz4KICAgICAgICAgIDxzdG9wIHN0b3AtY29sb3I9IiMwZjAiIG9mZnNldD0iMTAlIiAvPgogICAgICAgICAgPHN0b3Agc3RvcC1jb2xvcj0iIzIyMiIgb2Zmc2V0PSIxMiUiIC8+CiAgICAgICAgPC9saW5lYXJHcmFkaWVudD4KICAgICAgPC9kZWZzPgogICAgICA8cmVjdCB3aWR0aD0iNDA2IiBoZWlnaHQ9IjMwMyIgZmlsbD0iIzIyMiIgLz4KICAgICAgPHJlY3QgaWQ9InIiIHdpZHRoPSI0MDYiIGhlaWdodD0iMzAzIiBmaWxsPSJ1cmwoI2cpIiAvPgogICAgICA8YW5pbWF0ZSB4bGluazpocmVmPSIjciIgYXR0cmlidXRlTmFtZT0ieCIgZnJvbT0iLTQwNiIgdG89IjQwNiIgZHVyPSIxcyIgcmVwZWF0Q291bnQ9ImluZGVmaW5pdGUiICAvPgogICAgPC9zdmc+&quot;);"><noscript></noscript></span></div><button aria-label="Zoom image" data-rmiz-btn-open="true"></button></div><p class="image-caption">Native &amp; Semantic Functions</p></div></span></p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><h2><strong>Step 3: Create a Semantic Function</strong></h2>
<p>Here we create a prompt <strong>sk_prompt</strong> that summarizes the connect in less than 140 characters (that’s our goal with this exercise). We then pass the prompt as an input to create a semantic function with the kernel and store which gives us in return the object <strong>summary_function</strong> which represents the semantic function we created and that can be repeatedly accessed via the kernel. Note that when we created a semantic function we are using a <strong>customer prompt and also giving LLM config information like max_tokens, temperature etc.,</strong> Now go back to the previous image of native vs semantic functions and it will make more sense.</p>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><pre><code>sk_prompt = """
{{$input}}

Summarize the content above in less than 140 characters.
"""
summary_function = kernel.create_semantic_function(prompt_template = sk_prompt,
                                                    description="Summarizes the input to length of an old tweet.",
                                                    max_tokens=200,
                                                    temperature=0.1,
                                                    top_p=0.5)       
print("A semantic function for summarization has been registered.")
</code></pre>
<h2><strong>Step 4: Using the Semantic Function</strong> <strong>to Summarize text into a tweet of 140 characters.</strong></h2>
<p>Now we create the text that we want to summarize using the variable <strong>sk_input</strong> and call the sematic function via kernal and then display the result.</p>
<pre><code>sk_input = """
Let me illustrate an example. Many weekends, I drive a few minutes from my house to a local pizza store to buy 
a slice of Hawaiian pizza from the gentleman that owns this pizza store. And his pizza is great, but he always 
has a lot of cold pizzas sitting around, and every weekend some different flavor of pizza is out of stock. 
But when I watch him operate his store, I get excited, because by selling pizza, he is generating data. 
And this is data that he can take advantage of if he had access to AI.

AI systems are good at spotting patterns when given access to the right data, and perhaps an AI system could spot 
if Mediterranean pizzas sell really well on a Friday night, maybe it could suggest to him to make more of it on a 
Friday afternoon. Now you might say to me, "Hey, Andrew, this is a small pizza store. What's the big deal?" And I 
say, to the gentleman that owns this pizza store, something that could help him improve his revenues by a few 
thousand dollars a year, that will be a huge deal to him.
"""

# using async to run the semantic function
async def run_summary_async():
     summary_result = await kernel.run_async(summary_function, input_str=sk_input)
     display(summary_result)

asyncio.run(run_summary_async())
</code></pre>
<p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Here’s the output I got:</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p><em><strong>AI can analyze sales data to help a small pizza store owner optimize his stock, potentially increasing his annual revenue.</strong></em></p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Semantic Kernel has more capabilities like using Semantic Functions &amp; Native functions together and is designed to create AI applications that are powerful. I will write more about them in future posts.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>That’s it for Day 8 of 100 Days of AI.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p><strong>I write a newsletter called Above Average where I talk about the second order insights behind everything that is happening in big tech. If you are in tech and don’t want to be average, <a href="https://above-average.beehiiv.com/?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">subscribe to it</a>.</strong></p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p>Follow me on&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://twitter.com/natarajsindam?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">Twitter</a></strong>,&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/natarajsindam/?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">LinkedIn</a></strong>&nbsp;or **<a href="https://hackernoon.com/u/sindamnataraj?ref=hackernoon.com" rel="ugc">HackerNoon </a>**for latest updates on 100 days of AI. If you are in tech you might be interested in joining my community of tech professionals&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://thestartupproject.io/angel-investing/?ref=hackernoon.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">here</a></strong>.</p><p class="line-space"> <br> </p><p><a href="https://hackernoon.com/100-days-of-ai-day-7-building-your-own-chatgpt-with-langchain?ref=hackernoon.com" rel="ugc">Previous Day 7: How to Build Chat-GPT for your Data using Langchain?</a></p></div><div style="visibility:hidden" class="sc-1e366be2-7 kZfKay"><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M16 9h1v2h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1H9v1H8v1H7v1H6v1H0v-6h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1v-1h1V9h1V8h1V7h1V6h1V5h2v1h1v1h1v1h1v1zM22 4v2h-1v1h-1v1h-1v1h-1V8h-1V7h-1V6h-1V5h-1V4h-1V3h1V2h1V1h1V0h2v1h1v1h1v1h1v1h1z"></path></svg></button><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 3v2h-1v2h-1v1h-5V7h-2v1h-1v1H9v4h1v1h1v1h2v-1h5v1h1v2h1v2h-1v2h-1v1h-5v-1h-1v-2h-1v-2h-1v-1H9v-1H8v-1H7v1H2v-1H1v-2H0v-2h1V8h1V7h5v1h1V7h1V6h1V5h1V3h1V1h1V0h5v1h1v2h1z"></path></svg></button><button><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 22" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M14 19v2h-1v1H1v-1H0V5h1V4h3v15h10z"></path><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 6v11h-1v1H6v-1H5V1h1V0h8v6h6z"></path><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 4v1h-5V0h1v1h1v1h1v1h1v1h1z"></path></svg></button><a style="margin-left:15px;color:white" href="#commentSection"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 22 19" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M21 6V4h-1V3h-1V2h-2V1h-3V0H8v1H5v1H3v1H2v1H1v2H0v6h1v2h1v2H1v1H0v2h5v-1h1v-1h2v1h6v-1h3v-1h2v-1h1v-1h1v-2h1V6h-1ZM6 13h1v-1h1v-2H6V5h4v8H9v1H6v-1Zm6 0h1v-1h1v-2h-2V5h4v8h-1v1h-3v-1Z"></path></svg></a><button style="margin-right:10px"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 20" width="22" style="width:18px;fill:white"><path style="width:18px;fill:white" d="M20 2v12h-1v1h-2v1h-6v-1H4v1H3v4H1V3H0V1h1V0h2v1h1v2H3v1h1V3h7v1h6V3h2V2h1z"></path></svg></button><div class="sc-1e366be2-8 cbbaIe"></div></div></div>

Semantic Kernel is an open source SDK from Microsoft that helps developers create AI applications including chatbots, RAGs, Copilots & agents.

100 Days of AI, Day 8: Experimenting With Microsoft's Semantic Kernel Using GPT-4

This article will teach you how to run evaluations using any LLM model without succumbing to the dreaded "OpenAI Rate Limit" exception.

Interviews