Hello and a warm welcome to our very first newsletter! We couldn't be more thrilled to have you on board as we embark on this exciting journey together. It's a pleasure to have you as part of our community, and we can't wait to share a wealth of engaging content with you.

Delivered weekly, Dev Notes is your specialized briefing into the world of technology, computer science research, and software engineering, tailored specifically for those who are building it: the developers.

Starting today, you can look forward to receiving our newsletter every Friday, right in your inbox. Our aim is to provide you with a weekly dose of information that will leave you feeling enriched and energized. We also value your input, so please don't hesitate to reach out with any suggestions, feedback, or topics you'd like us to cover.

- Forrest Knight & Meghanadh Vasireddy

Elon Musk's New AI Company, xAI

What is xAI? xAI is a new artificial intelligence company founded by Elon Musk. The company's goal is to build a super-intelligent AI that can understand the universe. According to Musk, xAI will be different from other AI companies because it will focus on "general intelligence" rather than specific applications.

Who is involved in xAI? xAI has some big names involved in its development. Researchers from Google and OpenAI are working with Musk on the project. However, Musk is the only listed director of the company, and Jared Birchall, the director of Musk's family office, is its secretary.

What are the goals of xAI? The primary goal of xAI is to build a super-intelligent AI that can understand the universe. Musk has stated that he believes AI will eventually surpass human intelligence, and that xAI is an attempt to ensure that this happens in a way that is beneficial to humanity. Musk has also expressed concerns about the potential dangers of AI, and has stated that xAI will be "transparent" and "democratic" and would be more trustworthy than both OpenAI and Google in enhancing our understanding of the universe.

Meta and Microsoft Unveil Llama 2: A New Dawn for AI

Meta and Microsoft have jointly unveiled Llama 2, an advanced, open-source large language model succeeding LLaMA. The new model boasts 65 billion parameters, exceeding its predecessor in efficiency and competitiveness. Llama 2, accessible through numerous platforms, is freely available for both commercial and research use.

Built on the LLaMA foundation, Llama 2 mitigates a significant barrier in academic AI research - the enormous cost of training an LLM. The enhanced model is designed to be more accessible, offering improved efficiency for a variety of applications.

The shared vision of Meta and Microsoft to make AI accessible to all is manifested in their launch of Llama 2 on Microsoft's Azure cloud-computing platform.

Use Cases:

• Generative AI apps: Llama 2 can be used to build generative AI apps, such as chatbots, that can understand and respond to natural language

• Language translation: Llama 2 can be used to improve language translation services by providing more accurate and natural translations

• Content creation: Llama 2 can be used to generate high-quality content, such as news articles or product descriptions, that is indistinguishable from human-written content

• Sentiment analysis: Llama 2 can be used to analyze the sentiment of text, such as social media posts or customer reviews, to understand how people feel about a particular topic or product

• Personalization: Llama 2 can be used to personalize content and recommendations for users based on their interests and preferences

While the anticipation surrounding Llama 2 is high, its actual application and whether it will fully meet its potential is something that only time will tell. Also remember this is free for commercial use up to 700 million users and is almost as good as GPT-4 which costs money.

Note from Forrest: Isn’t it funny how Microsoft is perfectly willing to partner up with Meta’s open-sourcing of their LLM, but keeps OpenAI’s models closed?

What Does the Apple VR Headset Mean for Developers?

Apple has released new software tools and technologies for its first AR Headset, the Apple Vision Pro. This system uses visionOS, spatial operating system, giving developers an expanded toolkit to create unique application experiences.

Here's what you need to know:

• The visionOS SDK is now available. It opens up the potential for developers to leverage Vision Pro's capabilities and create new apps across various sectors such as gaming, design, and productivity.

• Apple plans to open developer labs in different parts of the world. These will offer developers a hands-on experience to test their apps on Apple Vision Pro hardware and receive support from Apple engineers.

• Developers can use the same reliable Apple frameworks, like Xcode, SwiftUI, RealityKit, ARKit, and TestFlight, to build new experiences tailored for Vision Pro.

Example Applications:

• Complete HeartX: “Hyper-realistic 3D models and animations that help students understand and visualize medical issues”

• DJay: “Fully featured DJ system”

• JigSpace: “Uses the high-resolution CAD files companies already have, so their marketing, sales, product, or support teams can securely collaborate with colleagues or customers from anywhere in the world “

The Apple Vision Pro represents a new platform for interacting with digital content. And developers have a critical role in defining how this platform will evolve and how people will interact with it.

AI in the Future: Unleashing a New Age or Courting Apocalypse?

Christopher Nolan, the director of the much-awaited movie "Oppenheimer," recently shared some deep thoughts about how humanity's past, present, and future are tied to game-changing technologies. He talked about everything from the atomic bomb to artificial intelligence (AI), shedding light on how these tools have the power to lift us up or wipe us out.

Nolan finds the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the guy who oversaw the making of the first atomic bomb, extremely thought-provoking. He sees it as a story of scholars who suddenly found their abstract ideas could literally change the world or bring it to its knees.

Nolan issued a warning:

• It's risky to make AI seem all-powerful, as this could let humans off the hook for their actions.

• AI should stay a tool, and people should own up to the results of using it.

When it comes to governing and regulating AI:

• It's easy to see the connection with Oppenheimer's fight for rules around atomic energy.

• We need to remember the lessons from Oppenheimer's life, especially how he got a tough pushback for trying to work within the system.

• The connection between science and government is tricky and needs to be handled with care.

On using AI in film-making:

• Nolan recognizes the potential of AI, from creating deepfakes to gathering a ton of data for visual effects.

• Even so, being a traditionalist filmmaker, he stresses that technology should be a tool, and not outshine the human touch in the creative process.

The connection between AI and ethics is complex, much like the problems that atomic energy posed during Oppenheimer's era. It mirrors the issues we're dealing with today. Nolan puts forward a critical question: are we actually prepared to deal with the significant impacts of the things we're creating?

📓 Optimizing Computer Science Education with Our New Notion Template

We’re helping computer science students organize their academic lives with a Notion template designed to enhance learning efficiency and effectiveness. Click the link above for an earlybird discount.

• Upcoming Deliverables: Assignments, Projects, Exams, Tasks. Listed as what it is (”Coding Project”)

• To-Do List(Daily & Weekly): Study, meet with team, schedule office hours, work on project, etc.

• Courses: Display a list of your courses, can navigate to that course page

• Calendar: Contains everything in calendar view like individual class times with location, deliverable due dates, and what’s on the to-do list.

• Directory of Everything: Courses, Deliverables, Study Hub, Jobs Dashboard, Digital Notebook, etc.

• Quick links: Provide quick access to important resources, such as your email, school website, or textbooks.

• And More: This template has a lot more than what is here and if you want to know more check out the Youtube Channel.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Youtube Spotlight

I Accidentally Made a Future Proof API

I embarked on a project to develop Dataset GPT, a tool intended to scour the internet for specific information and assemble it into a coherent dataset. However, the end result deviated slightly from the initial plan, and instead, I ended up creating a Future-Proof API.

Here's a straightforward description of my process:

• Using the GPT-4 API beta, I developed a Node.js application that utilized the API to create a user interface and log chat messages effectively.

• To enable Dataset GPT to access the internet and avoid relying on specific company APIs, I built a scraper using bright data's scraping browser.

• This scraping browser utilizes AI to outsmart bot detection software and can be easily integrated using a simple API.

• By combining Dataset GPT with the scraping browser, I used ChatGPT to translate the code for each specific use case, allowing me to scrape data from different websites. I have open-sourced both projects on GitHub and encourage others to contribute.

More News

1. Launch of Android 14 Beta to the public.

2. AWS has recently unveiled an exciting addition to their lineup: Clickstream Analytics for mobile and web applications.

3. Microsoft has revealed its roadmap for the Semantic Kernel for the upcoming fall season.

4. Instagram has introduced Threads, competitor to Twitter.

5. IBM's AI and data platform, WatsonX, is now officially rolling out.

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