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a16z Goes Global: Why American Tech Must Lead the World

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Machine Learning

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Frontier results, on device - RL Nabors, Arize

Frontier results, on device - RL Nabors, Arize

RL Nabors discusses the significant costs associated with using frontier AI models, covering security, latency, and financial implications. She introduces a framework for right-sizing AI solutions by leveraging smaller, task-specific models and Small Language Models (SLMs). The framework details how to prove task feasibility, establish success criteria with golden datasets, conduct capability evaluations (using tools like Phoenix), and select the most appropriate "Small And Good Enough" (SAGE) model. Nabors further demonstrates how prompt engineering, particularly few-shot prompting, and post-processing can close performance gaps with larger models, while advocating for continuous regression evaluations to maintain performance integrity. The overarching message is to "prototype big, deploy small" to optimize AI deployments.

Research to Reality: Bringing Frontier ML Research to Production - Vaidas Razgaitis, Higharc

Research to Reality: Bringing Frontier ML Research to Production - Vaidas Razgaitis, Higharc

Vaidas Razgaitis, Senior Research Engineer at Higharc, shares three tactical tips to accelerate the transition of novel AI/ML research into production-ready features. He emphasizes addressing the critical handoff challenge between ML researchers and software engineers through structured documentation (Research Prototype Taxonomy Document), a well-organized monorepo utilizing decoupled microservices, and a systematic approach to code decomposition and PR review. These strategies aim to improve legibility, maintainability, and delivery speed for ML-driven products.

Uncertainty-Guided Data Augmentation for Engineers | Deep Dive - Yongmin Kwon

Uncertainty-Guided Data Augmentation for Engineers | Deep Dive - Yongmin Kwon

This session details a data-efficient method for training engineering surrogate models by using uncertainty quantification (UQ) to guide geometric data augmentation. Instead of random deformations, the approach lets the deep ensemble model identify its own knowledge gaps (epistemic uncertainty), then uses Free-Form Deformation (FFD) to generate new shapes specifically in those uncertain regions. This ensures every expensive simulation run yields maximally informative data, significantly improving model accuracy for a fixed computational budget across domains like structural mechanics and aerodynamics.

Artificial Intelligence

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a16z Goes Global: Why American Tech Must Lead the World

a16z Goes Global: Why American Tech Must Lead the World

This discussion explores a16z's expanding international strategy, emphasizing technology's pivotal role in economic growth and national security. The panel delves into why America's tech leadership is crucial globally, how AI is redefining government-private sector relationships, and the drive for countries to adopt frontier technologies while building local innovation ecosystems. Key topics include AI infrastructure, cybersecurity, defense tech, global startup expansion, and the elements of enduring tech ecosystems, highlighting trusted partnerships and the importance of Western technology.

GPT-5.6 Sol, FIFA AI & Wall Street’s AI nerves

GPT-5.6 Sol, FIFA AI & Wall Street’s AI nerves

OpenAI's new GPT-5.6 Sol model sparks debate on AI safety and release strategies, while Wall Street expresses growing skepticism over the long-term economics of frontier AI models. The discussion also touches on AI's impact on the FIFA World Cup and a thought-provoking paper comparing LLM anthropomorphism to Age of Empires II "goats."

The Prompt Is Still a Punch Card - Ted Johnson, JoinIn AI

The Prompt Is Still a Punch Card - Ted Johnson, JoinIn AI

Ted Johnson argues that current AI interfaces, particularly prompting, operate on an outdated "batch processing" protocol akin to punch cards. Despite advanced LLM capabilities, this interface design forces humans to adapt to machines, hindering natural interaction. He advocates for a shift towards human-compatible interfaces where AI actively participates in real-time conversation, leveraging its intelligence to remove user burdens and amplify human potential.

Technology

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Are Your Tests Slowing You Down? • Trisha Gee • GOTO 2025

Are Your Tests Slowing You Down? • Trisha Gee • GOTO 2025

Trisha Gee delivers a compelling talk on Developer Productivity Engineering (DPE) for testing, dissecting common pain points in writing, troubleshooting, and running tests. She advocates for strategic use of IDEs, advanced tooling like build caches and predictive test selection (leveraging ML), and a disciplined approach to test design to overcome these challenges, emphasizing that good tests serve as crucial living documentation.

The new post-quantum cryptography executive order. Plus: What is Q-Day, really?

The new post-quantum cryptography executive order. Plus: What is Q-Day, really?

This episode delves into Q-Day, the anticipated future when quantum computers can break public key cryptography, and the U.S. Executive Order accelerating the transition to post-quantum cryptography. Experts discuss why Q-Day is a gradual process rather than a sudden event, the critical importance of "crypto-agility" as a long-term strategy, and the necessity for organizations to begin immediate discovery and planning to secure data against "collect now, decrypt later" threats. The discussion also touches upon the broader, transformative benefits of quantum computing beyond just security.

Plenary Talk 3​: Challenges and research opportunities for global hyperscale services

Plenary Talk 3​: Challenges and research opportunities for global hyperscale services

Jim Kleewein's talk outlines the immense challenges and critical research opportunities in building and operating global hyperscale services like Microsoft 365 and Azure. He emphasizes that at this scale, traditional approaches fail, necessitating a "new golden age of applied research" across areas like continuous availability, data management, security, and sustainability. Kleewein also discusses AI's powerful but limited role, stressing the ongoing need for human expertise, and highlights the ethical imperative to prevent failures that can have life-or-death consequences.

Recent Post

The End of Ad-Hoc BI Dashboards

The End of Ad-Hoc BI Dashboards

Nick Schrock, CTO of Dagster, introduces Compass, a Slack-native tool for collaborative, exploratory data analysis, and discusses the rising importance of 'context engineering' as the new data pipeline in the AI era.

Build Hour: AgentKit

Build Hour: AgentKit

A deep dive into OpenAI's AgentKit, demonstrating how to visually build, deploy, and optimize multi-step, tool-calling agents using Agent Builder, ChatKit, and the integrated Evals platform.

Sam, Jakub, and Wojciech on the future of OpenAI with audience Q&A

Sam, Jakub, and Wojciech on the future of OpenAI with audience Q&A

Sam Altman and Yakob present OpenAI's updated strategy, detailing a concrete research roadmap towards an automated AI researcher by 2028, a vision for an open AI platform, and massive infrastructure plans totaling $1.4 trillion. They also introduce a new corporate structure with a non-profit foundation focused on using AI to cure diseases and build AI resilience.

Commure: The AI Operating System for Healthcare

Commure: The AI Operating System for Healthcare

Tanay Tandon, co-founder and CEO of Commure, discusses his journey from building a medical device in college to creating an AI operating system for healthcare. He covers the pivot from hardware to software, the power of LLMs in automating revenue cycle and clinical documentation, and his vision for a future where AI liberates physicians from administrative burdens and fundamentally reshapes patient care.

Building the Real-World Infrastructure for AI, with Google, Cisco & a16z

Building the Real-World Infrastructure for AI, with Google, Cisco & a16z

AI is driving an unprecedented buildout of physical infrastructure. Experts from Google and Cisco discuss the "AI industrial revolution," where power, compute, and networking are the new scarce resources, demanding a complete reinvention of the technology stack from silicon to software.

Connection is Everything • Ken Hughes • GOTO 2025

Connection is Everything • Ken Hughes • GOTO 2025

In an increasingly digital world, genuine human connection is paramount. This presentation explores the shift in consumer values across seven generations, urging developers to move beyond transactional software and focus on four key pillars: making the user the center of their world (the 'Blue Dot' consumer), exceeding their ever-rising expectations, embracing the 'phygital' reality shaped by AI, and building deep, relational connections, exemplified by Taylor Swift's fan engagement.

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