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Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI - A Book Review

In 200 Words

If you're just dipping your toes into the AI pool, Ethan Mollick's "Co-Intelligence" is a solid starting point. But let's be clear — when we're talking AI here, we're really discussing the cutting-edge innovations: those Large Language Model (LLM) powered Generative AI applications that are creating buzz in the tech world.

Book cover	Sample pages

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Vibe checking Claude 3.5, DeepSeek-Coder-V2, and GPT-4o for "alien" Coding Skills

Introduction

In the world of AI and LLM, it's often said that "vibe checks" can provide valuable insights into model performance. With this in mind, I've conducted a brief evaluation of Claude 3.5 Sonnet, DeepSeek-Coder-V2, and GPT-4o to assess their capabilities in solving complex coding problems. This evaluation aims to provide a better intuition of these models' strengths and weaknesses, verifying findings published in public benchmarks and leaderboards.

Evaluation Design

For this assessment, I selected a challenging problem from recent competitive coding competitions (2023 onwards). The chosen problem, "Power of Heroes", is a dynamic programming challenge that requires advanced knowledge of algorithms and data structures. This problem was selected because:

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AI News TLDR App

Can't keep up with the exponential progress of AI and LLM?

Fret not. We got you!

This is a minimal working app that goes thru all top Tweets and Reddits and summarizes LLM/GenAI news and what people are talking about. And send you a roundup daily.

You can think of it like some kind of generated AI newsletter.

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Claude 3.5 Sonnet

Anthropic introducing Claude 3.5 Sonnet today: https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-3-5-sonnet

👑 We now have a true challenger to GPT-4o. Claude 3.5 Sonnet takes the top spot on the leaderboards. It surpasses GPT-4o by 3.3 points on the MixEval-Hard and leads in almost all sub-benchmarks.

🏆 MixEval leaderboard: https://mixeval.github.io/#leaderboard (no more waiting for days for the LMSys Arena leaderboard update)

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Short Notes

Short notes for things I've read.

Experts vs. Imitators

Experts and imitators can be difficult to distinguish. Imitators may sound like experts but lack deeper understanding, struggle to explain concepts in their own words, and get frustrated when asked probing questions. True experts, on the other hand, can discuss the limits of their knowledge, admit to failures, and adapt their communication style. Additionally, popularizers who effectively communicate complex ideas are often mistaken for experts, when in reality they may not have the same depth of expertise. The key is to look for signs of genuine, earned expertise rather than just surface-level proficiency.

Comments:

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Cutting through to what matters

Source: https://ozwrites.com/knives/

The blog post "Cutting through to what matters" discusses the importance of focusing on foundational principles and high-impact work in technology. Using analogies from cooking, it contrasts the roles of chefs, who innovate from first principles, with cooks, who follow established recipes. The author emphasizes the value of mastering timeless tools and understanding core concepts, rather than getting lost in the latest trends or frameworks.

The post highlights how impactful technological advancements can be achieved in relatively short timeframes, citing examples such as Bram Cohen's creation of BitTorrent and John Carmack's early innovations in computer graphics. It argues that computing's youth and the relatively limited prior art make it possible to reach the cutting edge of a sub-field within a few years.

Additionally, the post stresses the necessity of working on important problems and becoming **a producer of technology r

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Why You Should Learn C: Uncovering the Hidden Benefits

In this note, I will argue for the importance of learning the C programming language despite its lack of trendiness in modern software development. Four primary reasons for this stance:

1. Prevalence: C remains one of the most commonly used programming languages, particularly outside the Silicon Valley's web and mobile startup environments.
2. Influence: Many contemporary programming languages are heavily influenced by C, making an understanding of C beneficial for mastering other languages.
3. Fundamental Understanding: Learning C helps programmers think like a computer, offering a deep understanding of how computers work at a fundamental level. This includes insights into computer architecture and assembly language.
4. Tooling and Performance: Most software development tools, interpreters, and critical system components are written in C or C++. This includes Python's CPython implementation, Ruby's reference implementation, and many J

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How Git Works

I have been using git for years and are still afraid of it. It sucks to be afraid of the tools that you use in your work every day. So, I will upgrade my git knowledge and skills whenever I can.

The timing is good. Julia Evans's Git zine just came out. I got a copy of it. I enjoy reading it.

Here's the cover:

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AI Engineering Handbook (Draft)

What is AI Engineering?

AI engineers operate at a higher level of abstraction than Machine Learning (ML) engineers or large language model (LLM) engineers and don't necessarily need to know how to build an LLM or a ML model.

AI engineering builds upon ML systems[^1], but with a focus on large scale, ready made models (aka. base models).

The distinct skills that AI engineers need to know include prompt engineering,

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Designing Machine Learning (ML) Systems Book Review

A summary of each chapter of "Designing Machine Learning Systems: An Iterative Process for Production-Ready Applications", 1st edition (June, 2022) by Chip Huyen:

Chapter 1: Overview of Machine Learning Systems

When to Use Machine Learning