#197 - AI in Gmail+Docs, MiniMax-01, Titans, Transformer^2

300 snips

Jan 20, 2025

Guest

Sean

Guest

Alessio

In this discussion, Alessio, co-host of the Latent Space podcast and venture capitalist, and Sean, founder of Small AI and co-host of Latent Space, dive into the latest in AI. They highlight Google's free AI tools in Gmail and Docs and Microsoft’s Copilot relaunch. The conversation shifts to significant partnerships in AI news with the AP and AFP, and funding announcements like Synthesia's $180 million boost. They also address new U.S. export guidelines on AI chips that could disrupt the tech landscape.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

AI Workspace Pricing

Google makes AI features in Workspace free but raises the base subscription cost.
Microsoft rebrands and expands its Copilot offerings, including free and paid tiers.

INSIGHT

AI Pricing Strategies

Many companies offer free AI tools initially, due to lack of leverage for charging separately.
Larger companies bundle AI to improve ROI on AI investments.

INSIGHT

Free AI and Microsoft-OpenAI

Free AI tiers make AI accessible, advancing the vision of ubiquitous, affordable AI.
Microsoft's Copilot UI omits mention of OpenAI, suggesting a potential shift in their relationship.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Synesthesia

Richard Cytowic

Ayub K Ommaya

This book by Richard E. Cytowic offers a comprehensive and accessible introduction to synesthesia, a neurological trait characterized by cross-sensory experiences. Cytowic, a founder of the field, explains how synesthetes might hear voices and see them as colors or shapes, taste distinctive flavors, or feel physical touches. The book is part of the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series and provides a clear understanding of this fascinating human experience.

Inference-Time Scaling for Diffusion Models beyond Scaling Denoising Steps

Philippe Hansen-Estruch, David Yan, Ching-Yao Chung, Orr Zohar, Jialiang Wang, Tingbo Hou, Tao Xu, Sriram Vishwanath, Peter Vajda, Xinlei Chen

This paper delves into the inference-time scaling of diffusion models, investigating how generation performance can be improved with increased computation beyond simply increasing denoising steps. The authors formulate the challenge as a search problem over sampling noises, using verifiers to evaluate noise candidates and algorithms to find better noise candidates. The study reveals that increasing inference-time computation leads to substantial improvements in the quality of samples generated by diffusion models, and it discusses the optimal use of verifiers and algorithms in different application scenarios.

Axios Local Newsletters

Local News Coverage by Axios

Various

Axios Local newsletters are part of Axios' initiative to fill the void left by declining local newsrooms. These newsletters, each covering a specific city, focus on topics such as local government, real estate, and business. They are written by small teams of local reporters supported by centralized Axios teams. By the end of 2022, Axios aims to have newsletters in 25 markets, with plans to expand further. The newsletters are known for their 'Smart Brevity' style, which is short, clear, and efficient[1][3][4].

Titans

Kate O'Hearn

After the destruction of Olympus, the Titans and Olympians are resettled on Titus. Astraea, a Titan and granddaughter of Hyperion, and her best friend Zephyr, a winged-horse, discover a human boy named Jake on Titus, which is forbidden. As they try to get Jake back to Earth, they uncover a scheme to take down the rulers of their world and conquer the galaxy. The story involves action, interesting creatures, and a great mystery, blending mythology and adventure.

Harvey

Mary Chase

Written by Mary Chase in 1944, 'Harvey' is a comedy play that revolves around Elwood P. Dowd, an affable man who claims to have an invisible friend named Harvey. Elwood's sister, Veta, finds his behavior embarrassing and decides to have him committed to a sanitarium. However, a series of comedic misunderstandings ensues when Veta is mistakenly committed instead. The play explores themes of reality, sanity, and the impact of Elwood's delusion on those around him. It was a significant success, running for 1,775 performances on Broadway and earning Chase the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Cursor

Gerardus Blokdyk

Deep Learning with Python, Second Edition

François Chollet

This book introduces the field of deep learning using Python and the powerful Keras library. Written by Keras creator and Google AI researcher François Chollet, it builds your understanding through intuitive explanations, crisp color illustrations, and clear examples. The book covers deep learning from first principles, image classification, time series forecasting, text classification, and generative deep learning, among other topics.

Sentry Peak

Harry Turtledove

Sentry Peak is a fantasy novel by Harry Turtledove, set in a world where magic exists and is used in a conflict analogous to the American Civil War. It is the first book in the War Between the Provinces series.

Le Chat

Georges Simenon

The novel tells the story of an elderly married couple, Émile and Marguerite, who live in a Parisian cul-de-sac and are deeply incompatible. Their differences in class, taste, and habits provoke a profound conflict, which they express through cruelty to each other's pets. The story is marked by dark humor, nostalgia, and melancholy, set against the backdrop of a changing Paris in the 1960s. The narrative is deftly constructed with flashbacks and digressions, revealing past events that have shaped the characters' motivations and emotions.

Minimax

Vlastimil Tresnak

Transformers

Daniel Warren Johnson

In this volume, Daniel Warren Johnson and Robert Kirkman reimagine the Transformers for a new generation. The story begins with Optimus Prime and the Autobots crash-landing on Earth, where they resume their war against the Decepticons. The narrative is set in the Energon Universe and draws inspiration from the classic 1980s cartoon. Johnson's art and writing bring a fresh, violent, and action-packed take to the franchise, incorporating elements like wrestling moves and a focus on character development. The story is accessible to both new and old fans of the Transformers series[1][4][5].