Elon pulls Twitter deal 🐦, Uber internal docs leak 🚗, GPT-3 explains code 👨‍💻

Daily Update 2022-07-11

🥖 Bake data privacy into your app from day one by avoiding these common mistakes (Sponsor)

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Big Tech & Startups

Musk ends bid to buy Twitter (3 minute read)

Elon Musk has bailed out of his Twitter deal after his team concluded that it couldn't verify Twitter's figures on spam accounts. The agreement had a $1 billion breakup fee, but Musk may end up paying more as Twitter is planning to take the matter to court. Either party could win an injunction or other relief in court to prevent breaches of the agreement. Twitter has fully complied with the obligations of the purchase agreement. It intends to enforce the merger agreement at the agreed price and terms.

Uber leaks reveal how it spread ‘fucking illegal’ ride-sharing globally (3 minute read)

A trove of internal Uber documents has leaked. The Uber Files consists of over 124,000 documents from between 2013 and 2017. They show how Uber tried to gain support by discreetly courting government bureaucrats and world leaders. The documents also reveal how the company prepared a kill switch to shut off its computer systems to prevent authorities from successfully investigating its business. A list of the most influential people who feature in the documents is available in the article.

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Science & Futuristic Technology

Switzerland Moves Ahead With Underground Autonomous Cargo Delivery (3 minute read)

Cargo Sous Terrain is a multi-billion dollar concept for underground cargo tubes full of automated delivery carts transporting goods between cities and logistics across Switzerland. The project aims to provide long-term freight transport without expanding on the existing road and rail networks. It will commence on August 1. The project will be covered entirely by the private sector and cost up to $35 billion. It is expected to lower the number of heavy trucks on roads by up to 40%. A video explaining the details of the project is available in the article.

Record-setting quantum entanglement connects two atoms across 20 miles (2 minute read)

Researchers in Germany have demonstrated quantum entanglement of two atoms separated by 33 kilometers of fiber optics, a record distance for this kind of communication. The process involved converting the mediating photons into longer wavelengths so they could travel further through fiber-optics commonly used for telecoms. The research was an important step in realizing a practical quantum internet. It can be paired with satellite technology, which can beam entangled photons over thousands of kilometers.

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Programming, Design & Data Science

Using GPT-3 to explain how code works (6 minute read)

GPT-3 can generate explanations of how code works. It is shockingly effective at this. This article demonstrates how GPT-3 can be used to explain code with Python, Regex, JavaScript, SQL, and math examples. It provides tips on how to craft the right questions for GPT-3.

Chumsky (GitHub Repo)

Chumsky is a parser library. It contains many combinators and powerful error recovery strategies. Chumsky features text-specific parsers for u8s and chars, recursive parsers, backtracking, parsing of nesting inputs, and built-in parser debugging.

The Semantic Layer and Why It’s Critical to Analytics Success (Sponsor)

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Miscellaneous

Work on what matters (4 minute read)

Many companies won't know what your impact was at previous roles when interviewing for a new role. They will likely judge you on your prestige, background reputation, and how you present during the interview process. A person who spends their time avoiding work with real impact will be unlikely to be successful with companies that value genuine experience. There is only a finite amount of time, so that time should be spent on work on what matters.

Markov Chat Bot Disaster Story (2 minute read)

Etsy was famous for Chat Ops and Hack Weeks between 2012 and 2014. Chat Ops involved having employees write commands into the company's IRC service for bots to execute. Hack Weeks were events where everyone at the company took a step back from their regular work and created something personal. This article tells the story of how a personal project was archived into a channel with full chat ops access. The bot did not do any significant damage, but it had the potential to tear down servers and kill processes.

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Quick Links

AutoRegex (Website)

AutoRegex uses GPT-3 to generate regular expressions from plain English.

Wayne (GitHub Repo)

Wayne is a Service Worker Routing library for in-browser HTTP requests.

Build software with a team that delivers (Sponsor)

We are a flexible software development agency that can help you go from 0 to MVP or act as an extension of your existing team. Learn more about working with us.

Google proposes moving ad business to Alphabet to keep regulators (2 minute read)

Google may split up its ad business and move it to its parent company due to a possible antitrust lawsuit from the US Justice Department.

Replibyte (GitHub Repo)

Replibyte is a tool for seeding databases with production data while keeping sensitive data safe.

Life lesson: give notice to your current employer at your own peril (1 minute read)

Do what is right for you, not the company you are leaving.

GitHub Copilot is the first real product based on large language models (8 minute read)

The release of GitHub Copilot is a reminder that Large Language Models put large tech companies at an unfair advantage and that they are not democratic.

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Elon pulls Twitter deal 🐦, Uber internal docs leak 🚗, GPT-3 explains code 👨‍💻

Daily Update 2022-07-11

Big Tech & Startups

Science & Futuristic Technology

Programming, Design & Data Science

Miscellaneous

Quick Links

What did you think of today's newsletter?

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Tesla to open charger network ⚡, Twitter layoffs 🐦, electron whirlpools ⚛

Apple Extreme Sports Watch ⌚, Meta open sources translation AI 💻, 2022 developer salaries 💰

Google-backed lockscreen ads 📱, things every dev should know 👨‍💻, DeepMind's Democratic AI 🤖

Amazon's $465M TV show 📺, DALL-E generated icons 🎨, 1 billion Chinese citizens hacked 💻

Zuckerberg "turns up heat" 🔥, Meta's product roadmap 📱, first CRISPR drug 💊

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