the inner workings of OpenAI, theory of taste & food security
CC#73 - The Economics of Being an Artist, Sliding into 2024 & how to get a Ripe Avocado
Hey there and welcome to ✨ CuratedCuriosity - a bi-weekly newsletter delivering inspiration from all over the internet to the notoriously curious.
Things I Enjoyed Reading.
🔥 Sam Altman Fired from OpenAI: Insider Content on the Board’s Decision [ 🎧]
I know lots of stuff has happened since the short-time dismissal of Sam Altman, nonetheless I found this podcast extremely insightful to better understand what has been going on inside OpenAI and how this (extremely influential organisation) is structured in general.
Topics: Getting early access to test GPT-4 | Realizing the immense capabilities and lack of safety measures in GPT-4 | Concerns over OpenAI's slow start on safety after testing GPT-4 | GPT-4's lack of safety measures and willingness to provide harmful information | GPT-4 suggesting assassination to slow AI progress | OpenAI unable to provide details on plans to control future models | The failure of GPT-4's "safety edition" to properly constrain unsafe behavior | Discussing concerns over GPT-4 capabilities with AI experts and leaders | Urging the board member to investigate the divergence between capabilities and controls| OpenAI subsequently showing more seriousness on safety after the GPT-4 experience | Speculation on what may have triggered the OpenAI board's removal of Sam Altman as CEO | Questioning if pursuing AGI should be the singular goal | Should OpenAI be open source?
💰 Bourdieu's theory of taste: a grumbling abrégé
A great (and entertainingly illustrated) summary of Bourdieu’s book ‘Distinction: On Judgement and Taste’ and the key concepts in his theory . Good way to dive into some deeper thoughts about social class theory and taste, without having to endure Bourdieu’s gruesome writing style.
Maybe our lives have a path dependency. Some people get early access to upper-class culture. This kicks off a feedback loop where they learn to like that culture more, are more accepted upper-class social circles, get more knowledge and “better” taste, and eventually get economic opportunities (like jobs) and social opportunities (like marrying high-class people).
People who don’t get that early access aren’t accepted in those circles, can’t develop their tastes, and fall behind. Early exposure means some people are pulled up into the upper class and others are pushed down.
So why don’t lower class people just switch to the right tastes? Well, some try! But it’s hard to do it if you’re not “in” that world. You’ll make “mistakes” and give yourself away.
🎨 What does it really cost to be an artist?
Interesting reportage on the economics of making a living as an artist and how artists try to navigate the thin line of staying true to their ideas and ‘selling’ their work.
“There's being an artist and then there's the performance of being an artist,” Maya Man tells me on a Tuesday morning from Los Angeles. When we spoke, the final show of a Master of Fine Arts Program at UCLA had just finished. Man’s practice explores notions of performance, identity and presentation of self in the 21st century. Initially, she worked in tech while she developed her artistic vision, but she has since taken a late leap of faith in pursuing art full-time. “The performance of being an artist to me is not just the work itself. It's delivering the work to the public and how you do that. A lot of the labor around being a professional practicing artist is that,” she says, “and it's tiring because there‘s sort of no end to it.”
Food for Thought.
💻 Is remote work truly here to stay?
🖌️ Touching and amazingly illustrated story about daily life with long-COVID but also the current scientific state of knowledge about this mysterious condition.
Will we be able to ensure food security at the current level if we get more extreme weather conditions due to climate change? So far, it actually looks quite good - agricultural innovations have been increasing productivity at a rate that allows us to make up for climate caused losses. But its unclear whether we will be able to sustain this trend further…
Random Stuff.
🤖 Pretty impressive open-source project - looking forward to see how far it can get…
🚀 This might be a bit of a nerdy one but I truly enjoyed reading this article on new PyTorch features - and the underlying theoretical concepts - that accelerate generative AI models. Mainly due to the great anologies and helpful illustrations.
🥑 An evidence driven answer to a very practical question: How do you get avocados to ripe and how do you best store them?
Personal Update.
Started the new year buried in snow at minus 23 degrees in Norway. Spent a week in a cozy hut with 10 of my friends. Had a week full of sauna, community cooking, board games, expensive beers and late night discussions.
Full speed into the new year… or so… Finally started the writing process for a few research projects that have been in the analysis phase for way too long.
Also spending some time on extending the ‘Interactive Meta-Analysis’ project as part of a course project at the ITU in Linz. Expect some updates soon.
Currently I am still in Austria, but will be heading to Boston fairly soon (i.e. end of January) to start a 4 month research exchange. Excited for some new adventures
