Stephen Downes,
stephen@downes.ca,
Casselman
Canada
Generative AI exists because of the transformer: This is how it works
This is an outstanding explainer that is (unusually for the Financial Times) open access so anyone can see it. It takes the reader step by step through a clear and logical explanation of how generative AI works, and in particular, the innovation that results in transformers (the T in GPT). It should (in my opinion) put to rest fears that such systems are 'copying' content. True, they learn from it, but what they learn amounts really to nothing more than how words are arranged in a sequence, and what sequences are most common. Don't miss this! Via Bryan Alexander.
Today: 311 Total: 311
Madhumita Murgia,
Financial Times, 2023/09/21 [Direct Link]
WordPress blogs can now be followed in the fediverse, including Mastodon
As the title suggests. This includes my WordPress blog leftish.media. I installed the mplugin last May and already have 12 followers! To follow it, click on the Follow button on my blog, or search for downes@leftish.media in Mastodon and follow! Note that this is my political blog (as the title suggests) and has nothing to do with edtech, photography, or any of my usual interests. Also, I haven't added much to it recently - maybe this should change now that I might get (more) readers. Anyhow, here's the WordPress announcement with instructions, from Matthias Pfefferle & Automattic. This plugin provides 2 blocks: 'Follow me on the Fediverse' and 'Fediverse Followers', which will display your followers from the Fediverse on your website.
Today: 26 Total: 203
Haje Jan Kamps,
TechCrunch, 2023/09/21 [Direct Link]
Fixing Search
This article makes a convincing case that search engines have not kept up their end of the bargain they originally struck with content providers. Originally, the exchange of content (from the provider) for traffic (from the search engine) was a fair one. But over time the search engine, which is itself an advertising vehicle, has provided less and less traffic, redirecting it instead to services it - and not the publishers - controls.The proposed solution is attractive: an API-based search that provides algorithmic choice, multi-sourcing, provacy, and much more. But how, then, would the search engine make money? This is where the article is much weaker. "One option is that the browser would itself show ads as part of its displaying the results." Ick. From where I sit, the answer is more obvious: the content providers provide the API search. This is what RSS was, originally, and what JSON feeds are today. The publishers have only themselves to blame for not pursuing this approach. Via Boris Mann.
Today: 31 Total: 137
Robin Berjon,
2023/09/21 [Direct Link]
8 micro tips for remarkably better typography
These eight tips will definitely improve your typography, but the best bit is at the end: "Typography is so much more than just tips.... Great typography, meaning typography that blends perfectly with the content, consumes the reader completely, and makes a text easy to read, requires a holistic approach." Quite right. Via Mike Taylor.
Today: 11 Total: 196
Matej Latin,
UX Collective, 2023/09/15 [Direct Link]
Global visibility of publications through Digital Object Identifiers
This article looks at the use of digital object identifies (DOI) worldwide and reaches exactly the conclusion you would expect. "The study reveals that a considerable amount of publications from developing countries are excluded from the global flow of scientific information due to the absence of DOIs, emphasizing the need for alternative publishing models." Why as this? "The main DOI providers correspond to 15 large scholarly publishing houses, mostly created in the 19th century... The oligopoly of scholarly journal publishing, which is mainly controlled by companies in developed countries, makes it difficult for developing countries to establish their own scholarly publishing traditions... direct registration of DOIs in Crossref, the main DOI provider, is subject to a fee even for non-profit organizations and public institutions. This can be a barrier for these institutions." Via DigitalKoans.
Today: 14 Total: 157
Houcemeddine Turki, Grischa Fraumann, Mohamed Ali Hadj Taieb, Mohamed Ben Aouicha,
Frontiers, 2023/09/15 [Direct Link]
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Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca
Last Updated: Sept 21, 2023 7:37 p.m.