Binance CEO steps down; crypto platform hit with record $4.3 billion in damages (5 minute read)
Changpeng Zhao will step down as the CEO of Binance after the company pleaded guilty to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and other charges. Binance will pay more than $4.3 billion to settle the charges. Zhao also agreed to a $50 million fine as part of the settlement. Richard Teng, Binance's head of regional markets, will take over as CEO. Zhao will remain as a shareholder. There were no allegations related to the misuse of customer funds or market manipulation.
The Roots of Today's Modern Backend Engineering Practices (19 minute read)
This article looks at how practices that were considered cutting-edge on the back end have changed and where the field is headed to in the future. It was written by an industry veteran who has done it all and is still active in the game. The article covers what it was like to be an early Amazon employee back in 1997 and the changes that they have seen since then.
The Sam Altman drama points to a deeper split in the tech world (3 minute read)
The recent events at OpenAI are the most dramatic manifestation of a wide divide in Silicon Valley. Doomers believe that AI poses an existential risk to humanity and thus advocate for stricter regulations. Boomers stress the potential of AI to turbocharge progress and want looser regulations. This article discusses the split in views between the two groups and how this rift may affect the future of AI.
Every software is messy and has skeletons (3 minute read)
Every software giant has some skeletons in their development closets. Projects may start with the best intentions, but harsh realities make it challenging to maintain the original vision of a project. Large releases are less about achieving perfection and more about managing controlled chaos. The IT world is messy and every product, no matter how successful, has its hidden weaknesses. The key to a successful product is not the absence of problems, but the ability to handle them efficiently.
Google will start deleting inactive Google accounts from December 1. Accounts are deemed inactive if the user hasn't logged on for at least two years. Gmail addresses for deleted accounts cannot be used again when creating a new Google account. Users just need to sign into their accounts to preserve them.
The GPT to rule them all (1 minute read)
The US government and Intel have started training a one trillion parameter model called ScienceGPT.
How AI Changes Workflows (2 minute read)
AI helps developers skip steps in the workflow.
Shein files for U.S. IPO as fast-fashion giant looks to expand its global reach (3 minute read)
Shein has filed to go public in the US. It could start trading on public markets as soon as 2024. It is unclear how much the company is currently worth, but it was last valued at $66 billion. Numerous lawmakers have called on the SEC to ensure that Shein isn't using forced labor in its supply chain before it's allowed to start trading in the US.
FDA Moves Forward With Dog Life Extension Drug (2 minute read)
The FDA is fast-tracking approval for a drug intended to extend the life expectancy of large dog breeds. Loyal, the company that makes the drug, which currently goes by LOY-001, has not shared specifics about the drug for proprietary reasons. The drug reduces a growth-promoting hormone that is believed to be the reason larger dogs have much shorter life spans than smaller breeds. The fast-tracked approval will make the drug available on the market by 2026.
Interview: Sam Altman on being fired and rehired by OpenAI (7 minute read)
Sam Altman felt defiant, hurt, and angry when OpenAI's board asked him to return a day after they fired him. This article contains an interview with Altman and OpenAI CTO Mira Murati on the attempted boardroom coup. Altman repeatedly declined to say exactly why he was fired during the interview. OpenAI's new board will conduct an independent investigation into what went down.
Perplexity AI unveils ‘online’ LLMs that could dethrone Google Search (6 minute read)
Perplexity AI's combination of a web index and up-to-date information with a conversational AI chatbot-style interface has the potential to dethrone Google. The company recently released fine-tuned and augmented versions of open source models from Mistral and Meta. The models aim to offer helpful, factual, and up-to-date information. They are the first-ever live LLM APIs that are grounded with web search data and have no knowledge cutoff.