What Akhia’s Ben Brugler has Ben Thinking about

AI round-up: Week of Oct. 23, 2023

Written by Ben Brugler | Oct 26, 2023 7:32:52 PM

“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”
-Ludwig Wittgenstein, philosopher

We all have an opportunity to learn a new language. The language of AI. The price, so to speak, for not learning this language is becoming clear: We are limiting ourselves.

The latest:

Developing: White House to unveil executive order on AI this coming Monday.

Amazin. Amazon rolls out AI-powered image generator to help advertisers deliver a better ad experience for customers.

New York City to become an AI city. The city plans to make its own data available to AI tools for people visiting, working and living in the city. Oh yea, it will speak 40 different languages.

Wait, do I have to actually read this PDF? Nope. Claude will summarize the text for free.

Are you telling me employees are secretly finding ways to use AI at work, even when they’re not allowed. And they’re sharing ideas on how to get away with it on Reddit? Yep.

We interrupt this week’s round-up for some AI generated images of Halloween – including pumpkins and bowls of candy:

MidJourney prompt: Carving ideas for a pumpkin that could win an office Halloween design contest.

MidJourney prompt: An overflowing bowl of candy full of popular treats for trick-or-treaters.

MidJourney prompt: A spooky but cool decorated house created in the style of a 1990s sitcom that would be on Disney.

And while this isn’t Halloween-themed, this may be the scariest of them all:

MidJourney prompt: An ad for a cereal that tastes like broccoli; kids loving it done in the style of a classic 1980s ad.

I show you all this to set up our next article: I love DALL-E3’s AI imagery but it also worries me.

The “what the what?” read of the week:

AI is tiptoeing into doctors’ offices. AI could help doctors make better diagnoses.

Let's take a look:

A lot in the news about yields on U.S. Treasurys. Which of course has you asking yourself “what is this now?” So if you’re curious about what’s going on in the market…and how generative AI works, you can cross both off your list.

In other words, I asked Claude to explain:

Me: Can you explain yields on Treasurys?

Claude: Here is a basic explanation of yields on U.S. Treasury securities:

  • U.S. Treasury securities are bonds issued by the federal government to finance government spending. The main types are Treasury bills, notes, and bonds.
  • The yield on a Treasury security refers to the interest rate it pays to investors. Treasury yields are closely watched as benchmarks for interest rates on other loans and investments.
  • Treasury bill yields are very short term, with maturities of 1 year or less. Treasury note yields are medium term, with maturities of 2-10 years. Treasury bond yields are long term, with maturities of 10-30 years.
  • Yields on Treasurys fluctuate daily based on supply and demand in the bond market. When demand for Treasurys is high, yields drop as investors accept lower interest rates. When demand is low, yields rise to attract buyers.
  • The yield curve refers to a graph plotting Treasury yields across different maturities. Normally the curve slopes upward, as longer maturity bonds have higher yields. An inverted yield curve signals potential economic trouble.
  • The federal government uses Treasury yields as a benchmark for borrowing costs. Lower Treasury yields mean lower interest costs for the government. Mortgage rates, corporate bond yields, and other interest rates also track Treasury yields.

Let me know if you need any clarification or have additional questions!

Now, the real question…is Claude right?

Finally, some perspective from Mustafa Suleyman:

As I’ve mentioned before, when Mr. Suleyman speaks, we should listen. Here he is talking more about his views on regulating AI safety, on yesterday’s Squawk Box.

Resources:

 
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