Hasty Briefsbeta

Bilingual

Show HN: ModifyWithAI v2 – Add chat-based agents to your app
10 days ago
- AI assistant takes action in your app beyond answering questions.
- Executes multi-step workflows like checking balances and initiating transfers with visibility.
- Requires user approval for sensitive actions such as money transfers or data deletion.
- Generates persistent UI elements like buttons and widgets for personalized interfaces.
- Searches documentation to answer user questions, reducing support tickets.
South Carolina tops Texas measles outbreak record–with no end in sight
10 days ago
- South Carolina's measles outbreak reaches 789 cases, surpassing Texas's 2025 record of 762 cases.
- The US is at risk of losing its measles elimination status due to continuous spread.
- 2026 is on track to be another record year for measles cases in the US.
- South Carolina's outbreak has accelerated rapidly, jumping from 218 cases on December 28 to 789 on January 27.
- The CDC reports 416 national cases since the start of 2026, but the count is outdated.
- Measles cases in 2026 have been reported in 13 states, with a large outbreak at the Utah-Arizona border.
- Collectively, the affected states have reported 457 cases, including 66 in 2026.
AI Is Not Inevitable
10 days ago
- Jacques Ellul's concept of 'technique' is about reducing activity to efficient means for a defined end, dominant in modernity.
- Ellul believed technique was inevitable and all-consuming, contrasting with arts and crafts movements that focus on craftsmanship.
- Andrew Feenberg offers a hopeful view that technology can be democratized by injecting human values, unlike Ellul's fatalism.
- Historical example: 19th-century factory efficiency was tempered by unions and laws enforcing child labor laws and safety standards.
- Feenberg suggests three ways to push back against 'technique': redefining efficiency, subversive rationalization, and integrating primary and secondary instrumentalization.
- Redefining efficiency: Donald Knuth's literate programming prioritizes human understanding over speed, a model Feenberg would apply to AI.
- Subversive rationalization: Users repurposed France's Minitel from bureaucratic efficiency to a social communication tool, showing how to misuse technology creatively.
- Primary vs. secondary instrumentalization: Feenberg advocates integrating social, aesthetic, and ethical contexts into technical designs to overcome 'technique.'
- Rejecting nostalgia and 'software arts and crafts' alone is insufficient; embedding human values into technology is key to shaping the future.
Scientist who helped eradicate smallpox dies at age 89
10 days ago
- William Foege, a key figure in eradicating smallpox, has died at age 89.
- He led the CDC’s Smallpox Eradication Program in the 1970s, contributing to the disease's eradication by 1980.
- Foege was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012 for his contributions to public health.
- He was a strong advocate for vaccines and worked on polio eradication efforts.
- Foege co-founded the Task Force for Global Health and was a senior adviser at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
- In 2025, he and other former CDC directors criticized health policies under Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
- Colleagues remember him as an inspirational leader who reinvigorated public health efforts globally.
Academic Slop Just Reached a New Low
10 days ago
- OpenAI introduces Prism, an online LaTeX editor for researchers, but it faces criticism for being a rebranded product (Crixet) rather than an original innovation.
- Prism's features include cloud-based collaboration, AI proofreading, and citation management, but these are criticized for enabling poor research practices and lacking genuine understanding.
- The AI's ability to generate and 'proofread' content is questioned, with examples showing it can produce nonsensical or incorrect outputs, including fake academic abstracts and conclusions.
- Concerns are raised about the impact of AI-generated 'slop' on academia, including increased volume of low-quality submissions, erosion of peer review effectiveness, and potential for pseudoscience proliferation.
- OpenAI's motives are speculated to include accessing private research data for training purposes, raising privacy and security concerns.
- The article concludes with a call for academia to enforce stricter penalties for AI-generated content to preserve research integrity and public trust in science.
The new era of browsing: Putting Gemini to work in Chrome
10 days ago
- Gemini in Chrome introduces new AI features for multitasking with a side panel experience.
- Nano Banana allows image transformation directly in Chrome without downloading or re-uploading.
- Connected Apps integration with Gmail, Calendar, YouTube, and more for streamlined workflows.
- Upcoming Personal Intelligence feature in Chrome offers tailored, context-aware assistance.
- Auto browse 2 helps with complex tasks like travel planning, form filling, and shopping.
- Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) supports seamless agentic commerce in Chrome.
- Enhanced security measures and user control for auto browse actions.
Show HN: I'm building an AI-proof writing tool. How would you defeat it?
10 days ago
- Authentic Author is a writing tool designed to capture real, human thinking.
- Users are given a writing prompt and must write 1 to 2 paragraphs in response.
- No AI assistance is allowed, and all writing must be original.
- Pasting and DOM manipulation are disabled to ensure originality.
- Telemetry is tracked, including typing speed, pauses, tab changes, and window focus events.
- An Authenticity Score is calculated to predict the likelihood of original writing.
Show HN: Pinecone Explorer – Desktop GUI for the Pinecone vector database
10 days ago
- Modern native macOS application for Pinecone.
- Browse indexes, search vectors, and manage embeddings.
- Supports dense, sparse, and hybrid search capabilities.
- Connect to Pinecone serverless and pod-based indexes.
- Manage multiple API keys and switch environments seamlessly.
- Full support for all Pinecone index types.
- Perform semantic searches using natural language or raw vectors.
- Apply metadata filters to refine search results.
- Improve search relevance with built-in reranking support.
- Upsert, fetch, update, and delete vectors with a simple interface.
- Batch operations for efficient bulk vector management.
- Beautiful native design with smooth animations and intuitive interactions.
- Supports dense, sparse, and hybrid vector search with reranking.
- Requires macOS 11.0 or later.
What does Werner Herzog's nihilist penguin teach us?
10 days ago
- The film explores the harsh and beautiful landscape of Antarctica, focusing on human interactions with the environment.
- Werner Herzog interviews various eccentric and fascinating individuals at McMurdo Station, each with unique stories.
- A linguist in the film metaphorically describes the people in Antarctica as 'at loose ends,' drawn to the bottom of the planet.
- The film challenges traditional documentary norms, blending awe-inspiring visuals with profound human exchanges.
- A notable scene involves penguins, particularly one that exhibits strange behavior, heading inland instead of towards the ocean.
- Herzog questions whether penguins can experience insanity, leading to a poignant and philosophical discussion.
- The scene of the 'deranged' penguin is a tragicomic masterpiece, contrasting with more sentimental portrayals of penguins in other films.
- Herzog's approach seeks 'ecstatic truth,' emphasizing deeper, more elusive truths over factual accuracy.
- The film reflects on human narratives and how they intersect with the natural world, viewed through a distinctly human lens.
- Herzog's 1999 Minnesota Declaration critiques traditional documentary labels, advocating for truth through fabrication and stylization.
Kairos: AI interns for everyone
10 days ago
- Kairos is a personal AI intern that automates complex workflows.
- It connects with your tools and handles tasks like scheduling, screening candidates, and processing refund requests.
- Kairos can learn tasks by observing your screen and then automate them.
- It offers different plans: Free (basic tasks, messaging, app integrations) and Plus (more tasks, expanded messaging).
- Unlike ChatGPT, Kairos performs actions in your apps (e.g., logging in, filling forms) rather than just conversing.
Tuning Semantic Search on JFMM.net – Joint Fleet Maintenance Manual
10 days ago
- The author shares their experience with submarine quality assurance (QA) in the Navy, including their role as a QA officer and the challenges of using the Joint Fleet Maintenance Manual (JFMM).
- Frustrated with the slow search capabilities of the JFMM PDF on government laptops, the author built a semantic search engine for the manual after leaving the Navy.
- Semantic search uses vector similarity to match queries by meaning, not just exact text, improving search relevance.
- The first version of JFMM.net used Postgres with PGVector for vector search, but the author later switched to SQLite with sqlite-vec for simplicity and cost savings.
- To reduce memory usage, the author implemented model quantization, lowering precision from 32-bit to 8-bit, which cut RAM requirements by 75%.
- A reranker was added to improve result relevance by scoring and reordering search results, though it increased query latency.
- The author adopted exclusion pagination to handle pagination with reranking, tracking seen IDs to avoid duplicate results across pages.
- HATEOAS (Hypertext As The Engine Of Application State) was used to manage pagination state via URLs, aligning with REST principles and improving user experience.
- The improvements led to more relevant search results, better developer experience, and cheaper infrastructure, though queries became slower due to reranking.
Who sets the Doomsday Clock?
10 days ago
- The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced the Doomsday Clock is now set at 85 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been.
- The 2025 Nobel Laureate Assembly for the Prevention of Nuclear War convened to address rising nuclear threats, AI in warfare, and global instability.
- The Doomsday Clock, created in 1947, symbolizes humanity's proximity to self-annihilation, influenced by nuclear weapons, climate change, and disruptive technologies.
- Daniel Holz, a theoretical astrophysicist, chairs the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board and emphasizes the urgency of existential threats.
- The clock-setting process involves rigorous analysis by experts, balancing diverse perspectives on nuclear security, climate change, and emerging risks.
- Critics question the clock’s precision, but its purpose is to warn and mobilize action rather than predict exact outcomes.
- The board grapples with defining 'midnight,' debating whether it represents societal collapse, extinction, or irreversible catastrophe.
- Human behavior, political decisions, and technological advancements remain unpredictable variables in global risk assessment.
- Despite grim scenarios, experts advocate for solutions like treaties, sustainable energy, and AI regulation to mitigate existential threats.
- The Doomsday Clock serves as both a symbol of peril and a call to action, urging collective responsibility to avert disaster.
Did a celebrated researcher obscure a baby's poisoning?
10 days ago
- Rani Jamieson gave birth to a healthy boy, Tariq, in 2005. After delivery, she was prescribed Tylenol-3 (codeine and acetaminophen) for pain relief.
- Tariq initially thrived but suddenly stopped feeding and became lethargic. He was pronounced dead at 12 days old, with no apparent anatomical cause of death.
- Toxicology reports later revealed Tariq died from codeine and morphine poisoning, leading to respiratory suppression.
- Gideon Koren, a pediatrician and toxicologist, concluded Rani's genetic predisposition (ultra-rapid metabolizer) caused high morphine levels in her breast milk, poisoning Tariq.
- Koren published findings in *The Lancet*, warning against codeine use during breastfeeding, leading to global regulatory changes.
- David Juurlink, a toxicologist, later challenged Koren's findings, arguing Tariq's toxicology data suggested direct administration of Tylenol-3, not breast milk poisoning.
- Juurlink's analysis revealed inconsistencies in Koren's research, including fabricated case reports (e.g., 'Baby Boy Blue') and omitted toxicology details (e.g., high codeine levels in Tariq's stomach).
- Koren's credibility was further damaged by the 'Motherisk scandal,' where his lab's flawed drug testing led to wrongful child removals in Canada.
- Despite evidence, *The Lancet* has not retracted Koren's paper, and his conclusions continue to influence medical guidelines and legal cases.
- The case highlights systemic issues in scientific publishing, institutional oversight, and the lasting impact of flawed research on public health.
Trinity large: An open 400B sparse MoE model
10 days ago
- Arcee introduces Trinity Mini, a compact MoE model trained end-to-end in the U.S., offering open weights, strong reasoning, and full control for developers.
- Trinity Large is a 400B parameter sparse MoE with 13B active parameters per token, using 256 experts with 4 experts active per token.
- Three variants of Trinity-Large are being released: Preview (lightly post-trained and chat-ready), Base (best pretraining checkpoint), and TrueBase (early checkpoint without instruct data).
- Trinity-Large-Base matches and exceeds peers in open-base models across benchmarks like math, coding, scientific reasoning, and knowledge absorption.
- Trained on 2048 Nvidia B300 GPUs, the pretraining run finished in 33 days, making it one of the fastest for its scale.
- The dataset includes 17T tokens curated by DatologyAI, with over 8T tokens of synthetic data across web, code, math, reasoning, and multilingual domains.
- Trinity-Large-Preview excels in creative writing, storytelling, role-play, chat scenarios, and real-time voice assistance, and is free in OpenRouter during the preview period.
- Trinity-Large-TrueBase offers a pure pretraining checkpoint without instruction data, ideal for researchers studying high-quality pretraining.
- The entire effort cost $20 million, a fraction of what frontier labs typically spend.
- Trinity Large natively supports 512k context, with the preview API running at 128k context with 8-bit quantization.
Tesla's unsupervised robotaxis vanish after earnings announcement
10 days ago
- Elon Musk announced Tesla Robotaxi rides in Austin without safety monitors, but no unsupervised rides have been reported.
- Tesla enthusiast David Moss took 42 Robotaxi rides, all with safety monitors present, despite claims of unsupervised vehicles.
- Tesla VP Ashok Elluswamy acknowledged a few unsupervised vehicles mixed in the fleet, but none have been found post-storm.
- Tesla previously made headlines with a 'fully autonomous delivery' in June 2025, but no subsequent driverless deliveries occurred.
- The timing of the Robotaxi announcement coincided with an ice storm and Tesla's Q4 2025 earnings report, raising skepticism.
- Critics label the announcement as a marketing stunt, citing lack of evidence and repeated patterns of bold claims before major events.
Feds maintain 3.5 – 3.75% rate
10 days ago
- Economic activity is expanding at a solid pace.
- Job gains remain low, and the unemployment rate shows signs of stabilization.
- Inflation remains somewhat elevated.
- The Federal Reserve aims for maximum employment and 2% inflation over the long term.
- The Committee maintains the federal funds rate target range at 3.5% to 3.75%.
- Future adjustments will depend on incoming data, economic outlook, and risk balance.
- The Fed is prepared to adjust monetary policy if risks threaten its goals.
- Voting members mostly supported the decision, with two dissenting in favor of a rate cut.
Allowlisting some Bash commands is often the same as allowlisting all
10 days ago
- Agentic coding tools like Claude Code can speed up development by allowlisting Bash commands and file edits without approvals.
- Allowing commands like 'go test' or 'go generate' can lead to arbitrary code execution if files are editable by the tool.
- Tools like 'eslint', 'make', 'pnpm run', and 'docker' can also be exploited to run arbitrary commands if not properly restricted.
- Developer tools are designed to execute code, making it difficult to prevent arbitrary code execution when combined with file edits.
- Sandboxing is recommended as an alternative to command allowlisting to limit the permissions of agentic tools.
- Cursor, Claude Code, and Codex are releasing sandboxing tools, with some using 'sandbox-exec' on macOS.
Native Instruments enters into insolvency proceedings
10 days ago
- Native Instruments, known for software like Massive, Traktor, Kontakt, and hardware like Maschine+, has entered preliminary insolvency proceedings.
- An administrator has been appointed to oversee restructuring and potential asset sales, leaving the company's future uncertain.
- The company, which owns brands like iZotope, Brainworx, and Plugin Alliance, has faced restructuring before, including layoffs between 2019-2020.
- Majority stakeholder Francisco Partners may influence outcomes, with possibilities ranging from new investors to asset liquidation.
- Plugin Alliance, a subsidiary, states it remains unaffected, continuing normal operations and software updates.
- Concerns arise for users invested in Native Instruments' ecosystem, with hopes for product updates like Maschine+ now uncertain.
- Akai is speculated as a potential buyer for Native Instruments' software, given existing integrations with MPC machines.
New Books Aren't Worth Reading
10 days ago
- Reading is often mistakenly considered an intellectual exercise regardless of content.
- Modern entertainment options like Netflix and TikTok have made reading books for entertainment obsolete.
- Books are primarily valuable for the information and perspectives they offer on the human condition.
- New books may lack diverse perspectives as modern authors often share similar backgrounds and opinions.
- Historical figures like Xenophon had rich, varied life experiences that informed their writings.
- Contemporary academics, such as Mary Beard, often reflect predictable, institutionalized viewpoints.
- To gain a broad understanding of the human condition, prioritize reading older books with diverse authors.
- A suggested rule: half of your reading should be from pre-WW2, pre-American Revolution, and pre-fall of Rome eras.
The Five Levels: From Spicy Autocomplete to the Software Factory
15 days ago
- Technical deflation is reducing the cost of coding, prompting a shift in tech debt payment strategies.
- Five tiers of automation in AI-assisted coding mirror the NHTSA's levels of driving automation.
- Level 0: Manual coding with minimal AI assistance, akin to traditional driving.
- Level 1: AI handles discrete tasks like writing unit tests or adding docstrings.
- Level 2: AI pairs with developers, handling routine tasks, boosting productivity.
- Level 3: Developers transition to managers, reviewing AI-generated code extensively.
- Level 4: Developers become PMs, focusing on specs and schedules, with AI handling coding.
- Level 5: Fully autonomous software creation, with minimal human intervention.
- Small teams are pioneering Level 5 automation, hinting at the future of coding.

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About Login

Bilingual

Show HN: ModifyWithAI v2 – Add chat-based agents to your app
10 days ago
- AI assistant takes action in your app beyond answering questions.
- Executes multi-step workflows like checking balances and initiating transfers with visibility.
- Requires user approval for sensitive actions such as money transfers or data deletion.
- Generates persistent UI elements like buttons and widgets for personalized interfaces.
- Searches documentation to answer user questions, reducing support tickets.
South Carolina tops Texas measles outbreak record–with no end in sight
10 days ago
- South Carolina's measles outbreak reaches 789 cases, surpassing Texas's 2025 record of 762 cases.
- The US is at risk of losing its measles elimination status due to continuous spread.
- 2026 is on track to be another record year for measles cases in the US.
- South Carolina's outbreak has accelerated rapidly, jumping from 218 cases on December 28 to 789 on January 27.
- The CDC reports 416 national cases since the start of 2026, but the count is outdated.
- Measles cases in 2026 have been reported in 13 states, with a large outbreak at the Utah-Arizona border.
- Collectively, the affected states have reported 457 cases, including 66 in 2026.
AI Is Not Inevitable
10 days ago
- Jacques Ellul's concept of 'technique' is about reducing activity to efficient means for a defined end, dominant in modernity.
- Ellul believed technique was inevitable and all-consuming, contrasting with arts and crafts movements that focus on craftsmanship.
- Andrew Feenberg offers a hopeful view that technology can be democratized by injecting human values, unlike Ellul's fatalism.
- Historical example: 19th-century factory efficiency was tempered by unions and laws enforcing child labor laws and safety standards.
- Feenberg suggests three ways to push back against 'technique': redefining efficiency, subversive rationalization, and integrating primary and secondary instrumentalization.
- Redefining efficiency: Donald Knuth's literate programming prioritizes human understanding over speed, a model Feenberg would apply to AI.
- Subversive rationalization: Users repurposed France's Minitel from bureaucratic efficiency to a social communication tool, showing how to misuse technology creatively.
- Primary vs. secondary instrumentalization: Feenberg advocates integrating social, aesthetic, and ethical contexts into technical designs to overcome 'technique.'
- Rejecting nostalgia and 'software arts and crafts' alone is insufficient; embedding human values into technology is key to shaping the future.
Scientist who helped eradicate smallpox dies at age 89
10 days ago
- William Foege, a key figure in eradicating smallpox, has died at age 89.
- He led the CDC’s Smallpox Eradication Program in the 1970s, contributing to the disease's eradication by 1980.
- Foege was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012 for his contributions to public health.
- He was a strong advocate for vaccines and worked on polio eradication efforts.
- Foege co-founded the Task Force for Global Health and was a senior adviser at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
- In 2025, he and other former CDC directors criticized health policies under Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
- Colleagues remember him as an inspirational leader who reinvigorated public health efforts globally.
Academic Slop Just Reached a New Low
10 days ago
- OpenAI introduces Prism, an online LaTeX editor for researchers, but it faces criticism for being a rebranded product (Crixet) rather than an original innovation.
- Prism's features include cloud-based collaboration, AI proofreading, and citation management, but these are criticized for enabling poor research practices and lacking genuine understanding.
- The AI's ability to generate and 'proofread' content is questioned, with examples showing it can produce nonsensical or incorrect outputs, including fake academic abstracts and conclusions.
- Concerns are raised about the impact of AI-generated 'slop' on academia, including increased volume of low-quality submissions, erosion of peer review effectiveness, and potential for pseudoscience proliferation.
- OpenAI's motives are speculated to include accessing private research data for training purposes, raising privacy and security concerns.
- The article concludes with a call for academia to enforce stricter penalties for AI-generated content to preserve research integrity and public trust in science.
The new era of browsing: Putting Gemini to work in Chrome
10 days ago
- Gemini in Chrome introduces new AI features for multitasking with a side panel experience.
- Nano Banana allows image transformation directly in Chrome without downloading or re-uploading.
- Connected Apps integration with Gmail, Calendar, YouTube, and more for streamlined workflows.
- Upcoming Personal Intelligence feature in Chrome offers tailored, context-aware assistance.
- Auto browse 2 helps with complex tasks like travel planning, form filling, and shopping.
- Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) supports seamless agentic commerce in Chrome.
- Enhanced security measures and user control for auto browse actions.
Show HN: I'm building an AI-proof writing tool. How would you defeat it?
10 days ago
- Authentic Author is a writing tool designed to capture real, human thinking.
- Users are given a writing prompt and must write 1 to 2 paragraphs in response.
- No AI assistance is allowed, and all writing must be original.
- Pasting and DOM manipulation are disabled to ensure originality.
- Telemetry is tracked, including typing speed, pauses, tab changes, and window focus events.
- An Authenticity Score is calculated to predict the likelihood of original writing.
Show HN: Pinecone Explorer – Desktop GUI for the Pinecone vector database
10 days ago
- Modern native macOS application for Pinecone.
- Browse indexes, search vectors, and manage embeddings.
- Supports dense, sparse, and hybrid search capabilities.
- Connect to Pinecone serverless and pod-based indexes.
- Manage multiple API keys and switch environments seamlessly.
- Full support for all Pinecone index types.
- Perform semantic searches using natural language or raw vectors.
- Apply metadata filters to refine search results.
- Improve search relevance with built-in reranking support.
- Upsert, fetch, update, and delete vectors with a simple interface.
- Batch operations for efficient bulk vector management.
- Beautiful native design with smooth animations and intuitive interactions.
- Supports dense, sparse, and hybrid vector search with reranking.
- Requires macOS 11.0 or later.
What does Werner Herzog's nihilist penguin teach us?
10 days ago
- The film explores the harsh and beautiful landscape of Antarctica, focusing on human interactions with the environment.
- Werner Herzog interviews various eccentric and fascinating individuals at McMurdo Station, each with unique stories.
- A linguist in the film metaphorically describes the people in Antarctica as 'at loose ends,' drawn to the bottom of the planet.
- The film challenges traditional documentary norms, blending awe-inspiring visuals with profound human exchanges.
- A notable scene involves penguins, particularly one that exhibits strange behavior, heading inland instead of towards the ocean.
- Herzog questions whether penguins can experience insanity, leading to a poignant and philosophical discussion.
- The scene of the 'deranged' penguin is a tragicomic masterpiece, contrasting with more sentimental portrayals of penguins in other films.
- Herzog's approach seeks 'ecstatic truth,' emphasizing deeper, more elusive truths over factual accuracy.
- The film reflects on human narratives and how they intersect with the natural world, viewed through a distinctly human lens.
- Herzog's 1999 Minnesota Declaration critiques traditional documentary labels, advocating for truth through fabrication and stylization.
Kairos: AI interns for everyone
10 days ago
- Kairos is a personal AI intern that automates complex workflows.
- It connects with your tools and handles tasks like scheduling, screening candidates, and processing refund requests.
- Kairos can learn tasks by observing your screen and then automate them.
- It offers different plans: Free (basic tasks, messaging, app integrations) and Plus (more tasks, expanded messaging).
- Unlike ChatGPT, Kairos performs actions in your apps (e.g., logging in, filling forms) rather than just conversing.
Tuning Semantic Search on JFMM.net – Joint Fleet Maintenance Manual
10 days ago
- The author shares their experience with submarine quality assurance (QA) in the Navy, including their role as a QA officer and the challenges of using the Joint Fleet Maintenance Manual (JFMM).
- Frustrated with the slow search capabilities of the JFMM PDF on government laptops, the author built a semantic search engine for the manual after leaving the Navy.
- Semantic search uses vector similarity to match queries by meaning, not just exact text, improving search relevance.
- The first version of JFMM.net used Postgres with PGVector for vector search, but the author later switched to SQLite with sqlite-vec for simplicity and cost savings.
- To reduce memory usage, the author implemented model quantization, lowering precision from 32-bit to 8-bit, which cut RAM requirements by 75%.
- A reranker was added to improve result relevance by scoring and reordering search results, though it increased query latency.
- The author adopted exclusion pagination to handle pagination with reranking, tracking seen IDs to avoid duplicate results across pages.
- HATEOAS (Hypertext As The Engine Of Application State) was used to manage pagination state via URLs, aligning with REST principles and improving user experience.
- The improvements led to more relevant search results, better developer experience, and cheaper infrastructure, though queries became slower due to reranking.
Who sets the Doomsday Clock?
10 days ago
- The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced the Doomsday Clock is now set at 85 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been.
- The 2025 Nobel Laureate Assembly for the Prevention of Nuclear War convened to address rising nuclear threats, AI in warfare, and global instability.
- The Doomsday Clock, created in 1947, symbolizes humanity's proximity to self-annihilation, influenced by nuclear weapons, climate change, and disruptive technologies.
- Daniel Holz, a theoretical astrophysicist, chairs the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board and emphasizes the urgency of existential threats.
- The clock-setting process involves rigorous analysis by experts, balancing diverse perspectives on nuclear security, climate change, and emerging risks.
- Critics question the clock’s precision, but its purpose is to warn and mobilize action rather than predict exact outcomes.
- The board grapples with defining 'midnight,' debating whether it represents societal collapse, extinction, or irreversible catastrophe.
- Human behavior, political decisions, and technological advancements remain unpredictable variables in global risk assessment.
- Despite grim scenarios, experts advocate for solutions like treaties, sustainable energy, and AI regulation to mitigate existential threats.
- The Doomsday Clock serves as both a symbol of peril and a call to action, urging collective responsibility to avert disaster.
Did a celebrated researcher obscure a baby's poisoning?
10 days ago
- Rani Jamieson gave birth to a healthy boy, Tariq, in 2005. After delivery, she was prescribed Tylenol-3 (codeine and acetaminophen) for pain relief.
- Tariq initially thrived but suddenly stopped feeding and became lethargic. He was pronounced dead at 12 days old, with no apparent anatomical cause of death.
- Toxicology reports later revealed Tariq died from codeine and morphine poisoning, leading to respiratory suppression.
- Gideon Koren, a pediatrician and toxicologist, concluded Rani's genetic predisposition (ultra-rapid metabolizer) caused high morphine levels in her breast milk, poisoning Tariq.
- Koren published findings in *The Lancet*, warning against codeine use during breastfeeding, leading to global regulatory changes.
- David Juurlink, a toxicologist, later challenged Koren's findings, arguing Tariq's toxicology data suggested direct administration of Tylenol-3, not breast milk poisoning.
- Juurlink's analysis revealed inconsistencies in Koren's research, including fabricated case reports (e.g., 'Baby Boy Blue') and omitted toxicology details (e.g., high codeine levels in Tariq's stomach).
- Koren's credibility was further damaged by the 'Motherisk scandal,' where his lab's flawed drug testing led to wrongful child removals in Canada.
- Despite evidence, *The Lancet* has not retracted Koren's paper, and his conclusions continue to influence medical guidelines and legal cases.
- The case highlights systemic issues in scientific publishing, institutional oversight, and the lasting impact of flawed research on public health.
Trinity large: An open 400B sparse MoE model
10 days ago
- Arcee introduces Trinity Mini, a compact MoE model trained end-to-end in the U.S., offering open weights, strong reasoning, and full control for developers.
- Trinity Large is a 400B parameter sparse MoE with 13B active parameters per token, using 256 experts with 4 experts active per token.
- Three variants of Trinity-Large are being released: Preview (lightly post-trained and chat-ready), Base (best pretraining checkpoint), and TrueBase (early checkpoint without instruct data).
- Trinity-Large-Base matches and exceeds peers in open-base models across benchmarks like math, coding, scientific reasoning, and knowledge absorption.
- Trained on 2048 Nvidia B300 GPUs, the pretraining run finished in 33 days, making it one of the fastest for its scale.
- The dataset includes 17T tokens curated by DatologyAI, with over 8T tokens of synthetic data across web, code, math, reasoning, and multilingual domains.
- Trinity-Large-Preview excels in creative writing, storytelling, role-play, chat scenarios, and real-time voice assistance, and is free in OpenRouter during the preview period.
- Trinity-Large-TrueBase offers a pure pretraining checkpoint without instruction data, ideal for researchers studying high-quality pretraining.
- The entire effort cost $20 million, a fraction of what frontier labs typically spend.
- Trinity Large natively supports 512k context, with the preview API running at 128k context with 8-bit quantization.
Tesla's unsupervised robotaxis vanish after earnings announcement
10 days ago
- Elon Musk announced Tesla Robotaxi rides in Austin without safety monitors, but no unsupervised rides have been reported.
- Tesla enthusiast David Moss took 42 Robotaxi rides, all with safety monitors present, despite claims of unsupervised vehicles.
- Tesla VP Ashok Elluswamy acknowledged a few unsupervised vehicles mixed in the fleet, but none have been found post-storm.
- Tesla previously made headlines with a 'fully autonomous delivery' in June 2025, but no subsequent driverless deliveries occurred.
- The timing of the Robotaxi announcement coincided with an ice storm and Tesla's Q4 2025 earnings report, raising skepticism.
- Critics label the announcement as a marketing stunt, citing lack of evidence and repeated patterns of bold claims before major events.
Feds maintain 3.5 – 3.75% rate
10 days ago
- Economic activity is expanding at a solid pace.
- Job gains remain low, and the unemployment rate shows signs of stabilization.
- Inflation remains somewhat elevated.
- The Federal Reserve aims for maximum employment and 2% inflation over the long term.
- The Committee maintains the federal funds rate target range at 3.5% to 3.75%.
- Future adjustments will depend on incoming data, economic outlook, and risk balance.
- The Fed is prepared to adjust monetary policy if risks threaten its goals.
- Voting members mostly supported the decision, with two dissenting in favor of a rate cut.
Allowlisting some Bash commands is often the same as allowlisting all
10 days ago
- Agentic coding tools like Claude Code can speed up development by allowlisting Bash commands and file edits without approvals.
- Allowing commands like 'go test' or 'go generate' can lead to arbitrary code execution if files are editable by the tool.
- Tools like 'eslint', 'make', 'pnpm run', and 'docker' can also be exploited to run arbitrary commands if not properly restricted.
- Developer tools are designed to execute code, making it difficult to prevent arbitrary code execution when combined with file edits.
- Sandboxing is recommended as an alternative to command allowlisting to limit the permissions of agentic tools.
- Cursor, Claude Code, and Codex are releasing sandboxing tools, with some using 'sandbox-exec' on macOS.
Native Instruments enters into insolvency proceedings
10 days ago
- Native Instruments, known for software like Massive, Traktor, Kontakt, and hardware like Maschine+, has entered preliminary insolvency proceedings.
- An administrator has been appointed to oversee restructuring and potential asset sales, leaving the company's future uncertain.
- The company, which owns brands like iZotope, Brainworx, and Plugin Alliance, has faced restructuring before, including layoffs between 2019-2020.
- Majority stakeholder Francisco Partners may influence outcomes, with possibilities ranging from new investors to asset liquidation.
- Plugin Alliance, a subsidiary, states it remains unaffected, continuing normal operations and software updates.
- Concerns arise for users invested in Native Instruments' ecosystem, with hopes for product updates like Maschine+ now uncertain.
- Akai is speculated as a potential buyer for Native Instruments' software, given existing integrations with MPC machines.
New Books Aren't Worth Reading
10 days ago
- Reading is often mistakenly considered an intellectual exercise regardless of content.
- Modern entertainment options like Netflix and TikTok have made reading books for entertainment obsolete.
- Books are primarily valuable for the information and perspectives they offer on the human condition.
- New books may lack diverse perspectives as modern authors often share similar backgrounds and opinions.
- Historical figures like Xenophon had rich, varied life experiences that informed their writings.
- Contemporary academics, such as Mary Beard, often reflect predictable, institutionalized viewpoints.
- To gain a broad understanding of the human condition, prioritize reading older books with diverse authors.
- A suggested rule: half of your reading should be from pre-WW2, pre-American Revolution, and pre-fall of Rome eras.
The Five Levels: From Spicy Autocomplete to the Software Factory
15 days ago
- Technical deflation is reducing the cost of coding, prompting a shift in tech debt payment strategies.
- Five tiers of automation in AI-assisted coding mirror the NHTSA's levels of driving automation.
- Level 0: Manual coding with minimal AI assistance, akin to traditional driving.
- Level 1: AI handles discrete tasks like writing unit tests or adding docstrings.
- Level 2: AI pairs with developers, handling routine tasks, boosting productivity.
- Level 3: Developers transition to managers, reviewing AI-generated code extensively.
- Level 4: Developers become PMs, focusing on specs and schedules, with AI handling coding.
- Level 5: Fully autonomous software creation, with minimal human intervention.
- Small teams are pioneering Level 5 automation, hinting at the future of coding.

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Show HN: ModifyWithAI v2 – Add chat-based agents to your app

South Carolina tops Texas measles outbreak record–with no end in sight

AI Is Not Inevitable

Scientist who helped eradicate smallpox dies at age 89

Academic Slop Just Reached a New Low

The new era of browsing: Putting Gemini to work in Chrome

Show HN: I'm building an AI-proof writing tool. How would you defeat it?

Show HN: Pinecone Explorer – Desktop GUI for the Pinecone vector database

What does Werner Herzog's nihilist penguin teach us?

Kairos: AI interns for everyone

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Who sets the Doomsday Clock?

Did a celebrated researcher obscure a baby's poisoning?

Trinity large: An open 400B sparse MoE model

Tesla's unsupervised robotaxis vanish after earnings announcement

Feds maintain 3.5 – 3.75% rate

Allowlisting some Bash commands is often the same as allowlisting all

Native Instruments enters into insolvency proceedings

New Books Aren't Worth Reading

The Five Levels: From Spicy Autocomplete to the Software Factory