UL NO. 431: Companies are Graphs of Algorithms

The US goes skills-based, AI is mostly prompting, simulation -> reality, 30 useful concepts, and more……

Author

Daniel Miessler
May 06, 2024

Unsupervised Learning is about the transition from Human 2.0 to Human 3.0 in order to survive and thrive in a post-AI world. It combines original ideas and analysis to provide not just the most important stories and trends—but why they matter, and how to respond.

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NOTES

Hey there,

It’s RSA week!

  • Groq support coming soon to Fabric!

  • If you’ve not messed with Groq yet, you need to. It’s basically SUPER FAST AI. Like almost instant. They’re able to do it because they have custom chips that nobody else has. TRY IT

  • Saw my buddy Clint Gibler give his AI + Security talk at BSides, and it was fantastic! Great job Clint! GET HIS NEWSLETTER

I’ll be around RSA all week. Come say hi!

Ok, let’s get to it…

MY WORK

My new essay is on how consultancies are about to move into departments and companies offering to explain and automate everything with AI. And how it’ll be more compelling and easier than you might think.

I've wanted to write this one for a long time…

Companies Are Just a Graph of Algorithms

AI is about to see your company as a series of components to be optimized

danielmiessler.com/p/companies-graph-of-algorithms

—

My second new essay this week on how I think prompting is the center mass of AI.

AI is Mostly Prompting

After 18 months of active AI development, I’ve found that 90% of the power is in solid prompting.

danielmiessler.com/p/ai-is-mostly-prompting

SECURITY

The Biden administration is changing federal IT hiring filters to focus on skills over degrees, which will unlock over half of the nation's workforce without a bachelor's degree. Major win here. Especially for National cybersecurity. MORE

UnitedHealth's CEO took personal responsibility for paying the $22 million ransom after a cyberattack crippled their systems. Will be interested to see the fallout—if any—that comes from that. MORE

💡 I worry about this signaling to other big companies that this is ok to do, which will in turn encourage the attackers.

Satya Nadella sent a new security-first memo to over 200,000 employees emphasizing security as the non-negotiable top priority. Really interesting how it mirrors what Gates did way back when. MORE

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A cybersecurity consultant got busted for trying to extort an IT firm for $1.5 million by threatening to leak their secrets. MORE

Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint got hit with a $200M fine for selling customer location data without consent. MORE

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TECHNOLOGY

This team trained a robot dog to walk on a ball IN A SIMULATION. Then they put the code in a real robot and it just worked. MORE

Google is pushing for the U.S. to revamp its immigration rules to prevent the loss of AI and cyber talent to other countries. MORE

My thoughts on the difference between a company that USES backend models vs. ones that ARE NOTHING BUT backend models.

An Ontario doctor found AI note-taking to be so good that it saved her from quitting. MORE

💡I’ve got a doctor buddy who just started using AI notetaking, and he absolutely loves it.

Gary Marcus calls out Sam Altman's AI approach as a blend of fear, ignoring uncertainties, and riding the hype wave. MORE

Apple's rumored to be quietly amassing an AI mega team, poaching over 36 experts from Google and setting up a secretive lab in Zurich to push into generative AI. MORE

My friend Joseph Thacker just wrote a great post on Assumptions in LLMs. Highly recommended. MORE

Someone just automated a YouTube shorts channel entirely with free AI tools and Python. | MORE

Complexity's Allure vs. Simplicity's Power MORE

HUMANS

30 Useful Concepts MORE

AI just found 27,500 asteroids in old telescope photos, some of which could be heading our way. MORE

The discovery of DMS, a molecule produced by marine life on Earth, in K2-18 b's atmosphere hints at the potential for extraterrestrial marine life. MORE

Despite a strong labor market, higher-paid employees are struggling to find work, pointing to what people are calling a "white-collar recession." The hiring rate for those earning over $96,000 is significantly lower than for those making less than $55,000. MORE

💡Hard to say what all is involved here, but I think one fact is likely to simply be that when you cut people for cost-savings purposes, you start with those who make the most.

Strippers have an interesting way of measuring how well the economy is doing. MORE

The #1 metric for longevity seems to be V02Max, and another study reinforces that position. MORE

In Praise of Idleness, by Bertrand Russell MORE

IDEAS & ANALYSIS

This woman is offended by being offered a help desk job because she has two degrees. She’s in for a hard time, but it’s not her fault. It’s the fault of the system that told her she was owed something just by doing classes and homework.

And this is 100x worse now with AI because AI replaces this type of person far faster than someone who doesn’t have this mindset.

—

Stop dunking on AI. It’s not hurting anyone but you. I recommend the whole thread.

RECOMMENDATION OF THE WEEK

My 3-minute recommendation for how to build a meaningful life.

APHORISM OF THE WEEK

❝

One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.

Henry Miller

Thank you for reading.

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