Research on atomically tunable memristors aims to advance neuromorphic computing.

As a child, the act of sharpening pencils was both a routine and a creative delight. The delicate, spiraling shavings often ended up as flowers in arts and crafts, their intricate beauty born from the friction of a mundane process. This yoga deck borrows from that same poetic analogy: finding beauty and purpose in effort. Just as sharpening a pencil produces elegant shavings, practicing challenging yoga asanas strengthens the body and mind, yielding a longer, healthier life.Designer:Thilina LiyanageThe yoga decks roof is the most striking feature, mirroring the delicate forms of pencil shavings. Constructed from wood and bamboo, the roof gently curves outward, resembling those iconic spirals while providing practical shade over the deck. The choice of bamboo and cane as primary materials enhances the structures connection to nature, creating a serene environment that harmonizes with the surrounding landscape.Two central bamboo pillars act as the spine of the structure, holding the roof aloft. Meanwhile, the woven cane walls evoke a traditional jaali aesthetic, with their intricate patterns allowing gentle breezes to pass through. This clever design naturally cools the space, a thoughtful adaptation to the tropical climate.Every element of this deck is designed to heighten the yoga experience. The open structure brings practitioners closer to nature, while the interplay of light and shadow through the woven walls adds to the tranquil atmosphere. The materials earthy tones blend seamlessly with the lush greenery, fostering mindfulness and focus.At night, recessed floor lights outline the decks circumference, creating a soft, inviting glow. This feature not only highlights the decks architectural beauty but also ensures its functionality extends into the evening, perfect for twilight or moonlit yoga sessions.This yoga deck is more than a functional space; it is a metaphor for resilience and balance. The process of sharpening pencils mirrors the effort and discipline required in yoga, while the resulting flowers symbolize the beauty that emerges from such endeavors. The choice of natural materials and the clever use of ventilation reflect a respect for the environment and an emphasis on sustainability.The post Yoga Deck Inspired by Pencil Shavings Combines Sustainable Design With Mindful Living first appeared on Yanko Design.

George Norman Barnard (December23, 1819 February4, 1902) was an American photographer who was one of the first to use daguerreotype, the first commercially available form of photography, in the United States. A fire in 1853 destroyed the grain elevators in Oswego, New York, an event Barnard photographed. Historians consider these some of the first "news" photographs. Barnard also photographed Abraham Lincoln's 1861 inauguration. Barnard is best known for American Civil War era photos. He was the official army photographer for the Military Division of the Mississippi commanded by Union general William T. Sherman; his 1866 book, Photographic Views of Sherman's Campaign, showed the devastation of the war. This photograph, by Mathew Brady, shows Barnard c.1865.Photograph credit: Mathew Brady; restored by Adam CuerdenRecently featured: Common starlingCholatseMarie Antoinette and Her ChildrenArchiveMore featured pictures

The Large Language Models (LLMs) are highly promising in Artificial Intelligence. However, despite training on large datasets covering various languagesand topics, the ability to understand and generate text is sometimes overstated. LLM applications across multiple domains have proven to have little impact on improving human-computer interactions or creating innovative solutions. This is because the deep layers of the LLMS dont contribute much and, if removed, dont affect their performance. This underutilization of deep layers shows inefficiency within the models.Current methods showed that deeper layers of LLMs contributed little to their performance. Although used to stabilize training, techniques like pre-LN and post-LN showed significant limitations. Pre-LN reduced the magnitude of gradients in deeper layers, limiting their effectiveness, while post-LN caused gradients to vanish in earlier layers. Despite efforts to address these issues through dynamic linear combinations and Adaptive Model Initialization, these techniques do not fully optimize LLM performance.To address this issue, researchers from the Dalian University of Technology, the University of Surrey, the Eindhoven University of Technology, and the University of Oxford proposed Mix-LN. This normalization technique combines the strengths of Pre-LN and Post-LN within the same model. Mix-LN applies Post-LN to the earlier layers and Pre-LN to the deeper layers to ensure more uniform gradients. This approach allows both shallow and deep layers to contribute effectively to training. The researchers evaluated the hypothesis that deeper layers in LLMs were inefficient due to pre-LN. The main difference between post-LN and pre-LN architectures is layer normalization (LN) placement. In post-LN, LN is applied after the residual addition, while in pre-LN, it is used before.Researchers compared pre- and post-LN models in large-scale open-weight and small-scale in-house LLMs. Metrics such as angular distance and performance drop assessed layer effectiveness. Early layers were less effective in BERT-Large (Post-LN) than in deeper layers. In LLaMa2-7B (Pre-LN), deeper layers were less effective, and pruning them showed minimal performance impact. Researchers observed similar trends in LLaMa-130M, where Pre-LN layers were less effective at deeper levels, and Post-LN maintained better performance in deeper layers. These results suggested that Pre-LN caused the inefficiency of deeper layers.The optimal Post-LN ratio for Mix-LN was determined through experiments with LLaMA-1B on the C4 dataset. The best performance occurred at = 0.25, where perplexity was lowest. For the remaining layers, performance decreased but remained higher than the performance recorded by Pre-LN compared to the layers that adopted Post-LN. Mix-LN also supported a broader range of representations and maintained a healthier gradient norm for deeper layers to contribute effectively. Mix-LN achieved significantly low perplexity scores, outperforming other normalization methods.In conclusion, the researchers identified inefficiencies caused by Pre-LN in deep layers of large language models (LLMs) and proposed Mix-LN as a solution. Experiments showed that Mix-LN outperformed both Pre-LN and Post-LN, improving model performance during pre-training and fine-tuning without increasing model size. This approach can act as a baseline for future research, offering a foundation for further enhancements in training deep models and advancing model efficiency and capacity.Check out the Paper. All credit for this research goes to the researchers of this project. Also,dont forget to follow us onTwitter and join ourTelegram Channel andLinkedIn Group. Dont Forget to join our60k+ ML SubReddit. Divyesh Vitthal Jawkhede+ postsDivyesh is a consulting intern at Marktechpost. He is pursuing a BTech in Agricultural and Food Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. He is a Data Science and Machine learning enthusiast who wants to integrate these leading technologies into the agricultural domain and solve challenges. [Download] Evaluation of Large Language Model Vulnerabilities Report (Promoted)

Time groweth short if you're not planning on not being a Grinch this holiday season. Bargain-priced presents (which I suspect are early Boxing Day deals leaked early) can still be yours, particularly if you have the Super Fast Delivery perk unlocked via an Amazon Prime membership. I'll still be on board over these holiday periods because I'm right there with your mentalityI cannot resist discounts and kick myself if I've missed them. In retro news, I'm celebrating the Aussie birthday of a rare and expensive bird, the SNK Neo Geo CD. Released in limited numbers in Oz around the $600 ballpark ($1,299 in '24 bux), this bad boy delivered near-perfect arcade-quality games, though it was a "budget" alternative to the hilari-expensive, cartridge-based Neo Geo AES. Being CD-based marred this unit with lonnng load times, though the gruelling wait for Metal Slug, Samurai Shodown, and Fatal Fury was always worth it. Here's a shot of the beast I sold a kidney and a lung for. Laser: still going strong. This Day in Gaming Aussie birthdays for notable games.- Neo Geo CD launch, 1994. eBay- Kirby & the Amazing Mirror (GBA) 2004. eBay- WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007 (PSP) 2006. eBay- Harvest Moon DS: Sunshine Islands (DS) 2010. eBayTable of ContentsNice Savings for Nintendo SwitchFC 25Introduces some interesting new features, particularly the fast-paced and compelling Rush mode, but much of the package beyond that feels overly familiar.NBA 2K25 (-70%) - A$30Nintendo World Champs (-32%) - A$34Metal Gear Col. (-61%) - A$35.52Metroid Dread (-29%) - A$56.95Expiring Recent DealsStreets of Rage 4 (-60%) - A$15Golf Story (-82%) - A$3.99Super Mario RPG (-20%) - A$64Crisis Core: FF7 Reunion (-25%) - A$63.62Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (-75%) - A$17.48Or gift a Nintendo eShop Card.Switch Console PricesHow much to Switch it up?Switch Zelda: $629 $539 | Switch Original: $499 $449 | Switch OLED Black: $539 $479 | Switch OLED White: $539 $479 | Switch Lite: $329 $299 | Switch Lite Hyrule: $339 $309See itBack to topPurchase Cheap for PCAge of Empires II: Def. (-65%) - A$13.98Elden Ring: SotET (-12%) - A$57.19Helldivers 2 (-25%) - A$44.96God of War: Ragnarok (-25%) - A$71.21Metaphor: ReFantazio (-35%) - A$74.71Resi 4 (-49%) - A$37Spidey Miles Morales (-56%) - A$33.35Spidey Remastered (-56%) - A$42.25Expiring Recent DealsOddworld Complete Col. [6 games] (-99%) - A$1.69Mass Effect: Andromeda Del. (-90%) - A$4.99Hitman: WoA (-90%) - A$4.39Spelunky 2 (-60%) - A$11.58Or just get a Steam Wallet CardPC Hardware PricesSlay your pile of shame.Official launch in NovSteam Deck 256GB LCD: $649 | Steam Deck 512GB OLED: $899 | Steam Deck 1TB OLED: $1,049See it at SteamBack to topExciting Bargains for XboxTekken 8Interesting tweaks to Tekkens classic fighting systems, a full suite of fun offline modes, great new characters, incredible training tools, and a vastly improved online experience all add up to a fighting game. 9/10, amazing.FC 25 (-65%) - A$39Starfield (-73%) - A$32Fancy X/S cont. (-17%) - A$79Star Wars Outlaws (-46%) - A$59F1 24 (-46%) - A$59NBA 2K25 (-63%) - A$44Marvels GotG Cosmic (-50%) - A$54Expiring Recent DealsTomb Raider Survivor Trilogy (-70%) - A$20.98Star Wars Outlaws Gold (-55%) - A$77FFXII: Zodiac Age (-66%) - A$26.86CoD: BLOPS 6 (-31%) - A$75.95Metaphor: ReFantazio (-42%) - A$67.03Or just invest in an Xbox Card.Xbox Console PricesHow many bucks for a 'Box? Series X: $799 $671 | Series S Black: $549 $545 | Series S White:$499 $471 | Series S Starter: N/ASee itBack to topPure Scores for PlayStationDragon Ball: Sparking! ZeroReliving a story that was foundational to my youth, looking and sounding as great as I remember it, with the opportunity to alter it in sometimes dramatic new ways is clever.DualSense Purple (-30%) - A$84Rise of the Ronin (-45%) - A$69FC 25 (-65%) - A$39The Last of Us Part 1 (-57%) - A$54Gran Turismo 7 (-56%) - A$55Red Dead Redemption II (-75%) - A$19FF VII: Rebirth (-50%) - A$57Expiring Recent DealsStar Wars Outlaws (-46%) - A$59Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero (-14%) - A$99CoD: BLOPS 6 (-42%) - A$64Metaphor: ReFantazio (-40%) - A$68.55Or purchase a PS Store Card.What you'll pay to 'Station.PS5 Slim Disc:$799 $798 | PS5 Slim Digital:679 $529 | PS VR2: $899 | PS VR2 + Horizon: $899 | PS5 Pro $1,199 | PS Portal: $329See itBack to topLegit LEGO DealsAnimal Crossing: Dodo AirlinesWhen you think safe air travel, think extinct bird airlines.Expiring Recent DealsSonic: Knuckles Shrine (-40%) - A$35.99Creator: Exotic Parrot (-40%) - A$23.99City: Excavator, Digger (-35%) - A$52LEGO Advent Calendar Face Off 2024This holiday season, I'm doing something different with the LEGO section. In Mathew Manor, my sons and I are racing LEGO Advent Calendarswe open our respective ones daily and compare the mini-prizes for "Coolness" and "Actual Xmas-ness". Winner gets extra eggnog.If you're also feeling festive, here are the cheapest prices for the three calendars we're using. Or just live vicariously through us.LEGO Star Wars Advent 2024 - A$59.95 $45LEGO Spider-Man Advent 2024 - A$59.95 $45LEGO City Advent 2024 - A$59.95 $45Back to top Adam Mathew is our Aussie deals wrangler. He plays practically everything, often on YouTube.

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In-House Counsel 'United Healthcare' Using DMCA Against Luigi Mangione Images Which Is Bizarre & Wildly InappropriateBecause this isn't how copyright law works.ByJoe PatriceonDecember 19, 2024 at 4:02 PMDecember 20, 2024 at 10:27 AM We KNOW Getty owns this picture though that might not stop UHC. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)Someone purporting to be United Healthcare is filing DMCA requests to scrub the internet of artists depictions of the surveillance video of Luigi smiling, parody merchandise of Deny, Defend, Depose, and other merchandise showing the alleged shooter.If it is really the health insurer filing these notices, it wildly oversteps any legal rights the company might have, but if theres any company willing to preemptively breach the law and dare the other side to spend their limited resources trying to protect their rights it would be a health insurer.404 Media reports that a number of DMCA takedown requests from United Healthcare have hit artists depicting the newsworthy event. The publication reached out to the company to confirm that its behind the filings but didnt hear back.For those keeping score at home, the DMCA provides that a copyright owner must inform an internet entity that their intellectual property is being abused and the service provider then has an opportunity to expeditiously remove the material and avoid possible liability. That said, the DMCA only provides a shield against legal action and if the copyright claim is to use the precise legal term utter bullshit, they dont have to comply. Unfortunately, hosts routinely err on the side of caution and remove content when theres zero cognizable claim.If this is someone acting on behalf of United Healthcare, what an irony to lodge a falsified claim without it getting denied.From 404:An entity claiming to be United Healthcare is sending bogus copyright claims to internet platforms to get Luigi Mangione fan art taken off the internet, according to the print-on-demand merch retailer TeePublic. An independent journalist was hit with a copyright takedown demand over an image of Luigi Mangione and his family she posted on Bluesky, and other DMCA takedown requests posted to an open database and viewed by 404 Media show copyright claims trying to get Deny, Defend, Depose and Luigi Mangione-related merch taken off the internet, though it is unclear who is filing them.Its a bizarre and grimly ironic turn if United Healthcare wanted to own the words Deny, Defend, Depose. The takedown request for that piece objects to the artist styling the D with elements of the United Healthcare logo which would be the very definition of protected parody. The 404 story has images if you want to see what these all look like.Beyond tying itself to the gunmans catchphrase, the idea of UHC trying to own any and all fixations of the alleged shooters likeness would be a wild leap. An artists depiction of Mangione could only belong to the artist (Mangione might be able to assert some rights to his likeness a dubious claim under the circumstances and in light of the First Amendment but in no case would UHC have such a claim).What is the circumstance under which United Healthcare might come to own the copyright to a watercolor painting of the guy who assassinated their CEO? tech rights expert and science fiction author Cory Doctorow told 404 Media in a phone call. Its just like, its hard to imagine a lawyer thinking that, he added, saying that its an example of copyfraud.It is illegal to file DMCA notices if you dont own the copyright (or at least have a good faith belief that you do). The idea that UHC now owns every depiction of the guy accused of killing their employee is laughably frivolous and one hopes that its legal department understands this and these requests are coming from a third party troll impersonating the carrier.An independent journalist posting a photo of Mangione with his family also received a DMCA request from a lawyer claiming to represent a family member holding the copyright even though the image was originally posted on the campaign website of Maryland assemblymember Nino Mangione. That site apparently deleted the image and turned around to threaten anyone using it now which is not how fair use works. But at least this request can claim they have a good faith claim, though the system probably shouldnt reward people for trying to retroactively claim rights after they try to memory-hole their internet history.But the disturbing thread running through all these requests is how easy its become for copyright trolls to leverage the DMCA to intimidate providers into accepting facially invalid requests. The statute has given way to a sort of asymmetrical warfare over IP where bad faith actors can pepper sites with ownership claims and trust that their targets will back down rather than deal with the litigation risk. As 404s coverage notes, this doesnt bode well in a country about to inaugurate an administration openly encouraging retribution against journalists in an effort to silence criticism.This sure looks like a company (and a local politician) trying to use copyright law as a square peg-round hole solution to erasing any humanizing or sympathetic depiction of Mangione. And unfortunately, everyone seems to be obeying in advance.Copyright Abuse Is Getting Luigi Mangione Merch Removed From the Internet [404 Media]Joe Patriceis a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free toemail any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him onTwitteror Bluesky if youre interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

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Incoming president Donald Trump has confirmed reports that Sriram Krishnan, until recently a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), will serve as senior policy advisor for AI at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.Trump said in a statement that Krishnan will help shape and coordinate AI policy across government, working with the presidents council of advisors on science and technology. And in a post on X, Krishnan said that hell be working closely with ex-PayPal COO David Sacks, who was recently named Trumps crypto and AI czar.Im honored to be able to serve our country and ensure continued American leadership in AI, Krishnan wrote. Thank you, Donald Trump, for this opportunity. Krishnan, an entrepreneur and VC, previously led product teams at Microsoft, Twitter, Yahoo! (disclosure: TechCrunchs parent company), Facebook, and Snap.He and his wife, Aarthi Ramamurthy, rose to additional prominence in 2021 as hosts of the podcast The Aarthi and Sriram Show (which was then called the Good Time Show).Krishnan has a close relationship with billionaire Elon Musk, with whom he worked to rebuild Twitter (now X) following Musks acquisition of the company in 2022. Musk co-leads the Department of Government Efficiency, a policy group to recommend government restructuring and cuts to federal spending.Krishnan was appointed a general partner at a16z in February 2021, and in 2023, was selected to lead the firms London office, its first non-U.S. location. He left in late November.Krishnan expressed a few of his views on current AI trends in an opinion piece last year in The New York Times. He called for a fundamentally different mechanism for websites to exchange value with OpenAIs ChatGPT and other AI-powered chatbots.Large internet sites are fighting back against AI models with the internet equivalent of raising the castle drawbridge, he said, referring to user protests on Reddit and Stack Exchange and those platforms data licensing programs. Some industry experts believe the answers are in legal action and older sites forming content alliances. As a technologist, my hope is that the answers lie in code rather than lawyers and that we see creative technology solutions to help keep the internet open.

In BriefPosted:2:12 PM PST December 22, 2024Image Credits:Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg / Getty ImagesPalantir and Anduril reportedly building a tech consortium to bid on defense contractsTwo big defense tech players, Palantir and Anduril, are talking to tech companies including SpaceX, OpenAI, Saronic, and Scale AI about forming a consortium to bid on Pentagon contracts, according to a report in the Financial Times.The goal, the FT says, is to challenge the dominance of prime defense contractors like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Boeing. One unnamed participant described this as an effort to provide a new generation of defense contractors, while another said this will be a more efficient way to sell the government cutting-edge weapons and other tech.Initial partnerships could be announced as soon as January, according to the report.Palantir and Anduril (both named after magical items in J.R.R. Tolkiens Lord of the Rings) hinted that something like this was in the works earlier this month, with an integration announcement between Palantirs AI Platform and Andurils Lattice software. At the time, the companies said they were launching a new consortium to ensure that the U.S. government leads the world in artificial intelligence.Topics