Tech Brew Ride Home - Fri. 05/26 – AI Google Search Is Here

Starting point is 00:00:04 Welcome to the Tech meme right home for Friday, May 26, 2023. I'm Brian McCullough. Today, we get our first look at how Google is integrating AI into search. You heard me warn you, but the most concrete example yet that CryptoVCs might be turning their attention to AI. WhatsApp is probably moving to usernames, the weekend long read suggestions, and for this long weekend, Brian's book recommendations is back. Here's what you miss today in the world of tech. It's here. Google has begun rolling out. its LLM-powered search generative experience with features like a conversational mode and shopping aspects. This is available to search labs members only for now, quoting 9 to 5 Google. SGE is aimed at answering longer multi-step searches. These queries might not necessarily be answered by one website.

Starting point is 00:00:57 Examples suited for SGE include, maybe you're starting to map out a decision that you typically need to break down into smaller parts like learning ukulele versus guitar, search will provide an AI-powered snapshot so you can get help understanding what factors to consider. Another example, if you're curious to learn more about starting your own company, try looking up benefits of incorporating your business before freelancing. You can quickly get the lay of the land and then dive deeper with links and articles. If you're getting ready for an international trip but need to make sure your documents are up to date, search for how can I renew my passport quickly, now you can easily find pointers for the key info you need to know or see a range of options

Starting point is 00:01:36 available and take the next step with help from the web. That's quoting from Google itself. Then continuing with the article. Instead of just seeing 10 blue links, search will now generate an AI-powered snapshot of information and other insights slash tips to answer your question, brought in from multiple sources, and then summarized by Google. It will appear beneath the search bar with a color background used to differentiate it from the usual light-slash-dark theme. Google immediately notes how generative AI is experimental before providing the generated responses that leverages various Google large language models, including Mum and Palm 2. These models have been optimized to return high-quality results, as well as answers that lack a

Starting point is 00:02:16 persona and are not given in a first-person POV. Google is opting for objective, neutral responses. SGE will not provide an AI snapshot when there's a lack of information or Google has low confidence in its response. On desktop search, Google will surface websites that informed the answer to the right while it appears in a carousel on mobile. One cool aspect of SGE is a button in the top right corner that lets you expand and see how information was corroborated. This will essentially show links that inform the answer on a sentence-by-sentence basis. At the bottom of the AI powered snapshot are suggested follow-up questions and the ability to ask your own. This launches conversational mode with a chatbot UI geared towards follow-up questions. Google will keep in

Starting point is 00:02:58 mind previous contexts and questions to inform new answers. For buying related queries, SGE will surface factors you might want to consider and will suggest options that fit the bill complete with generated overviews. Google's shopping graph is being leveraged here. For example, if you're buying an outdoor Bluetooth speaker, SGE will surface, quote, important considerations for that environment like water resistance and battery life and a host of options to choose from, end quote. If someone for whatever reason is going through old episodes from the fourth quarter of last year, old episodes of this show around the end of the year. I'd love to know the date of the episode where I warned that crypto and Web3 folk, you'd better beware all those VCs voiciferously

Starting point is 00:03:45 backing your space recently. Get ready for their heads to be turned by AI. I'm pretty sure I said it at the end of a bonus episode with Chris. I'd just love to know the date I pretty much called all of this. Paradigm appears to have removed crypto and Web3 mentions from its website's homepage, as sources say, the VC is expanding its focus to frontier tech like AI, quoting the block. Crypto Venture Capital Firm Paradigm, one of the most established and active players in the space, is going beyond just blockchain and highlighting a focus on a broader array of what it calls frontier tech that includes artificial intelligence to sources with knowledge of the matter told the block. The change is subtly visible on the firm's website, with the company now calling itself a

Starting point is 00:04:28 research-driven technology investment firm as opposed to one that specifically invested in, quote, disruptive crypto slash web3 companies and protocols. The revision appears to have gone live on May 3rd, according to the Wayback Machine that's operated by the Internet Archive. A line that said, quote, we believe crypto will define the next few decades was removed from the homepage, which now makes no mention of Web3 or blockchains. One source who was not authorized to speak publicly said the change didn't mean the company was shying away from crypto, but rather highlighting its reach into adjacent areas. The person familiar with the strategy said the company had not changed its mandate and continued to focus on crypto and Web 3 with no practical change.

Starting point is 00:05:07 The updated website copy was meant to emphasize its technical research. The person said, noting that Paradigm had backed companies that have explored new technologies within their core strategies such as AI Arena. Paradigm was co-founded in 2018 by Coinbase co-founder Fred Ersham and former Sequoia partner Matt Huang. In November 2021, the firm raised a $2.5 billion fund, which at the time was the biggest ever crypto-focused venture fund. portfolio includes high-profile companies including uniswop, OpenC, and Fireblocks, according to the Block's Pro Deals dashboard. Paradigm has invested in over 100 crypto startups to date, according to the

Starting point is 00:05:43 dashboard, but can crypto and AI work together? There has been much industry chatter about how AI and blockchain technology can be integrated. Jeremy Aller, the co-founder and CEO of Stablecoin issuer Circle, said Thursday that he was already hearing about AI bots spinning up on-chain wallets and using USDC. AI and blockchains are made for each. other, he wrote on Twitter, provenance of data, machine-generated, and enforced contracts, and machine-to-machine value exchange, end quote. Well, but of course, this news doesn't help. DCG just announced plans to shut down its institutional crypto trading platform trade block,

Starting point is 00:06:21 citing what it called the crypto winner and regulatory uncertainties. The shutdown is effective May 31st. A WhatsApp beta on Android suggests that that company is working on adding user-dusts usernames, which may let users chat without having to share their phone numbers. Coding WhatsApp Beta Info. With the ability to choose a username, WhatsApp users will have the opportunity to add another layer of privacy to their accounts. This means that instead of relying solely on phone numbers to identify contacts, users will be able to opt for a unique and memorable username. By allowing users to choose usernames, WhatsApp may offer users the ability to reach other people

Starting point is 00:07:01 by entering a username within the app without knowing their phone numbers. Since this feature is still in development, it is too early to understand how usernames work on WhatsApp. They may allow users to communicate with businesses privately, thus safeguarding their phone numbers, or perhaps their usage will be even more extensive allowing private communication with any user. Only time will provide us with further answers, but we are confident that they will revolutionize the way we communicate on WhatsApp in the future. Currently, we can only confirm that conversations initiated through usernames will still be protected by end-to-end encryption, end quote. Maybe that story about the guy being able to walk again via implants is not a one-off.

Starting point is 00:07:43 Neurrelink says, the company has received U.S. FDA approval to launch its first inhuman clinical study of brain implants and plans to offer more details soon. Quoting the verge. Elon Musk's Neurrelink would not be the first to implant a brain computer interface in a human. Synchron was approved by the FDA to begin U.S. trials in 2021 and announced the first U.S. brain computer implant last July. This January, it published the results of an earlier study of four human patients in Australia. If you're thinking that you yourself would like to be part of the Neurrelink trial,

Starting point is 00:08:17 there's nothing for you to do now. Neurrelink says that recruitment isn't open yet and that it will announce more information soon, end quote. Time for the week in Long Range suggestions. I keep seeing stories like this, so think of this as a placeholder. According to Bloomberg, some meta employees say important work has been at a standstill, and the company's 2023 product roadmap is undecided as the final round of layoffs is ending right about now. Notably, META is still deciding on its product roadmap for the rest of the year while it sorts

Starting point is 00:08:55 out resources following cuts in the tech group, a person familiar with the matter said. During the limbo, employees have been unsure who to collaborate with, how to shift responsibilities on their teams, or who would be cut next, according to current and recently let go employees, who asked not to be named discussing internal issues. Zuckerberg announced which business units would be impacted weeks ago, leaving workers anxious and demotivated, making up tasks for themselves or avoiding work until there's a clearer directive. Others said, end quote. Then, he's tried this before investing in modern blimp and airship companies.

Starting point is 00:09:28 Some of those investments haven't worked out, but Businessweek says Google co-founder Sergey Bryn is still at it, investing in modern airship companies. The business case here is largely that proper modern airships could move much large. and heavier cargoes than planes can, but also, I still maintain we could bring airship travel back. If the cruise ship industry can be a thing at sea, wouldn't you pay for a leisurely, I don't know, four-day trip across the country via the sky or, you know, floating around the Alps? I know I would. Quote, the advantages of airship travel are obvious from the time you leave the ground, as I felt

Starting point is 00:10:03 firsthand earlier this year, unlike in an airplane where you're pushed against your seat or on a helicopter where you're praying to a God that favors you, the initial assessment. in an airship is slow and smooth. Once at altitude, you float gently, effortlessly. The experience seems to be some kind of wizardry. You can even open the windows, stick your head outside, and take in the glorious countryside below. The world once shared in the town's enthusiasm for dirigible, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, and the UK built hundreds of them in the early part of the 20th century, and no country made more than the U.S. At its peak, Goodyear aircraft could pump out 11 a month. militaries wanted them to perform bombings and reconnaissance missions. There were ships of all different sizes and some that could perform unique functions. The U.S. Navy, for example, had one type of airship that could grab a plane on a hook in midair, refuel it, and then send it on its way. For tourists, airships were cruise ships in the sky. Some voyages took them all the way from Germany to Brazil, end quote. I think I've shared this anecdote before, but you know, the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building have those pointy tops because they figured people could disembark from derisibles there.

Starting point is 00:11:07 Bring back this future, please, to paraphrase that Peter Thiel quote, We were promised dirigible travel, and we got 180 characters. Then, if you step back from all the AI hype and look at it from a different angle, what if what we're doing right now in this moment in time is figuring out in real time how the brain actually works? A new study suggests that the human brain and artificial general-purpose neural networks process language sounds in similar ways. This is from Kwanam magazine. The likeness between human and machine activity levels suggested that the two systems are engaging in similar activities.

Starting point is 00:11:40 Just as research has shown that feedback from caregivers shapes infant productions of sound. Feedback from the discriminator network shapes the sound productions of the generator network, said Kapitinsky, who did not take part in the study. The experiment also revealed another interesting parallel between humans and machines. The brain waves showed that the English and Spanish speaking participants heard the bah sound differently. Spanish speakers heard more of a pa. And the GAN's signals also showed that the English-trained network processed the sounds somewhat differently than the Spanish-trained ones. And those differences work in the same direction, explains Begus. The brainstem of English speakers responds to the boss sound slightly earlier than the brainstem of Spanish speakers, and the GAN trained in English

Starting point is 00:12:22 responded to that same sound slightly earlier than the Spanish-trained model. In both humans and machines, the difference in timing was almost identical roughly a thousandth of a second. This provided additional evidence, Bigas said, that humans and artificial networks are, quote, likely processing things in a similar fashion, end quote. CNBC has a look at a very modern phenomenon, the modern private investigators who find the hidden stashes of crypto scrolled away by one side of a modern divorce proceeding. Quote, Hymotus, who is a licensed private investigator and a computer forensics expert, estimates that 25% of his divorce-related cases involve some elements of cryptocurrency. Some of those cases, he said, are simple and straightforward situations where,

Starting point is 00:13:02 for example, a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin is a custodial asset held in a brokerage account or on a trading platform such as Coinbase. These companies keep records just like your broker at Morgan Stanley would keep records of your trades, he said. Other cases are what Hymotis describes as the whole enchilada. They're calling us because they want to get appointed as the neutral forensic cryptocurrency expert to marshal and account for the party's crypto assets and track down any undisclosed crypto assets that one party may have, he said, end quote. And finally, this is one where you'll want to click through for the pictures and video, but let me introduce you to Shift, and it's robot shoes, quoting TechCrunch. People working in warehouses do a lot of walking. The company's

Starting point is 00:13:46 Moonwalker shoes have the potential to help people walk smarter, not harder. The shoes have 10 wheels total. There are four motorized two-wheel clusters and a pair of non-motorized wheels up front. The thinking behind the latter is that the ball of the foot is used to activate the wheels movement, similar to roller skates or roller blades, so motorizing them could present a potential hazard. The wheels themselves are made of polyurethane. The moonwalkers are very much mobility focus, though fun is to be had. They're capable of traveling up to seven miles an hour or roughly 2.5 XA standard human gate. Pleda adds that you can really catch some speed on the moving walkway at the airport getting closer to 12 miles per hour.

Starting point is 00:14:25 They should also get through airport security without much of an issue. In spite of the name, the moonwalkers are fairly heavy at four pounds. That takes some getting used to. Likely, your muscles will be a bit sore after day one. The weight is due to the drive trains and battery. Schiff says you should get about a six-mile range on a charge, though there are a bunch of different variables including incline. The shoes themselves take getting used to as well. You leave your shoes on, adjusting the Velcro straps over them. The wheels remain locked in place until you give the right shoe a heel pivot, turning the white light on the side green. From there, operation is quite a bit like roller skating, only the shoes themselves are doing most of the heavy lifting. I found myself

Starting point is 00:15:04 accidentally stopping them mid-stride at points, jilting me a bit in the process. Pleda says the company is constantly tweaking the algorithms, which will be available through a firmware over-the-air update. Granted, I skated down half a convention center aisle and back. I feel pretty confident. that I would have had a decent mastery of the things after another 20 to 30 minutes. The workplace path is going to be an interesting one for the company. I likened it to the journey that Magic Leap is currently undergoing, pivoting from $3,000 consumer headsets to Enterprise. Clearly there's much more money to be made selling these things in bulk,

Starting point is 00:15:36 though you've got to jump through OSHA and other regulatory hoops, end quote. Okay, lots of big announcements followed by something I haven't done in a while, book recommendations. First, the announcements. It is Memorial Day, weekend. and here in the U.S., so I'm going to take Monday off. There won't be much news anyway, and, you know, three straight days of being able to play Zelda with the kids is not something I can pass up at the moment. But I'm not going to leave you hanging. The response to the Internet History Podcast archive episodes has been so positive.

Starting point is 00:16:13 I've got three gems for you this weekend. On Saturday, you'll hear my History of Internet Porn episode. On Sunday, part one of the history of Google, and on Monday, part two. Or should I say the History of Google, part do? But if you want more things to occupy yourself in my absence, three book recommendations for you in prep for that new movie Oppenheimer from Christopher Nolan. I've been rereading the classic The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes. It's huge, but it is amazing.

Starting point is 00:16:44 It's basically a history of physics from Rutherford and the atom through the bomb itself. Then, somehow that led me to do a nightly fall asleep to the audiobook of Post-war, A History of Europe since 1945 by Tony Jutt. Again, a classic, one that I've read before, but it explains so much about the 20th century. It's well worth it. And then finally, I just started a new one. Just started Americana, a 400-year history of American capitalism.

Starting point is 00:17:11 Company by company, industry by industry. It does fundamental business history, which is my sort of niche nerd history sort of thing. Each chapter is almost like a self-contained lesson on business history. As I say, I just started this one, but it's very snackable. So, special section at the end of the show notes today with links to all those books. Talk to you on Tuesday.

Tech Brew Ride Home - Fri. 05/26 – AI Google Search Is Here

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