Multi-vector retrieval has emerged as a critical advancement in information retrieval, particularly with the adoption of transformer-based models. Unlike single-vector retrieval, which encodes queries and documents as a single dense vector, multi-vector retrieval allows for multiple embeddings per document and query. This approach provides a more granular representation, improving search accuracy and retrieval quality. Over time, researchers have developed various techniques to enhance the efficiency and scalability of multi-vector retrieval, addressing computational challenges in handling large datasets.A central problem in multi-vector retrieval is balancing computational efficiency with retrieval performance. Traditional retrieval techniques are fast but frequently fail to retrieve complex semantic relationships within documents. On the other hand, accurate multi-vector retrieval methods experience high latency mainly because multiple calculations of similarity measures are required. The challenge, therefore, is to make a system such that the desirable features of the multi-vector retrieval are maintained. Yet, the computational overhead is reduced significantly to make a real-time search possible for a large-scale application.Several improvements have been introduced to enhance efficiency in multi-vector retrieval. ColBERT introduced a late interaction mechanism to optimize retrieval, making query-document interactions computationally efficient. Thereafter, ColBERTv2 and PLAID further elaborated on the idea by introducing higher pruning techniques and optimized kernels in C++. Concurrently, the XTR framework from Google DeepMind has simplified the scoring process without requiring an independent stage for document gathering. However, such models were still efficiency-prone, mainly token retrieval and document scoring, making the associated latency and utilization of resources higher.A research team from ETH Zurich, UC Berkeley, and Stanford University introduced WARP, a search engine designed to optimize XTR-based ColBERT retrieval. WARP integrates advancements from ColBERTv2 and PLAID while incorporating unique optimizations to improve retrieval efficiency. The key innovations of WARP include WARPSELECT, a method for dynamic similarity imputation that eliminates unnecessary computations, an implicit decompression mechanism that reduces memory operations, and a two-stage reduction process for faster scoring. These enhancements allow WARP to deliver significant speed improvements without compromising retrieval quality.The WARP retrieval engine uses a structured optimization approach to improve retrieval efficiency. First, it encodes the queries and documents using a fine-tuned T5 transformer and produces token-level embeddings. Then, WARPSELECT decides on the most relevant document clusters for a query while avoiding redundant similarity calculations. Instead of explicit decompression during retrieval, WARP performs implicit decompression to reduce computational overhead significantly. A two-stage reduction method is then used to calculate document scores efficiently. This aggregation of token-level scores and then summing up the document-level scores with dynamically handling missing similarity estimates makes WARP highly efficient compared to other retrieval engines.WARP significantly improves retrieval performance while reducing query processing time significantly. Experimental results show that WARP reduces end-to-end query latency by 41 times compared with the XTR reference implementation on LoTTE Pooled and brings query response times down from over 6 seconds to 171 milliseconds with a single thread. Moreover, WARP can achieve a threefold speedup over ColBERTv2/PLAID. Index size is also optimized, achieving 2x-4x less storage requirements than the baseline methods. Moreover, WARP outperforms previous retrieval models while keeping high quality across benchmark datasets.The development of WARP marks a significant step forward in multi-vector retrieval optimization. The research team has successfully improved both speed and efficiency by integrating novel computational techniques with established retrieval frameworks. The study highlights the importance of reducing computational bottlenecks while maintaining retrieval quality. The introduction of WARP paves the way for future improvements in multi-vector search systems, offering a scalable solution for high-speed and accurate information retrieval.Check out the Paper and GitHub Page. 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 our70k+ ML SubReddit.(Promoted) NikhilNikhil is an intern consultant at Marktechpost. He is pursuing an integrated dual degree in Materials at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. Nikhil is an AI/ML enthusiast who is always researching applications in fields like biomaterials and biomedical science. With a strong background in Material Science, he is exploring new advancements and creating opportunities to contribute.Nikhilhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/nikhil0980/Intel Labs Explores Low-Rank Adapters and Neural Architecture Search for LLM CompressionNikhilhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/nikhil0980/Meta AI Introduces MR.Q: A Model-Free Reinforcement Learning Algorithm with Model-Based Representations for Enhanced GeneralizationNikhilhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/nikhil0980/This AI Paper Introduces IXC-2.5-Reward: A Multi-Modal Reward Model for Enhanced LVLM Alignment and PerformanceNikhilhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/nikhil0980/Google DeepMind Introduces MONA: A Novel Machine Learning Framework to Mitigate Multi-Step Reward Hacking in Reinforcement Learning [Recommended] Join Our Telegram Channel

Apple introduced Apple One in 2020, providing an easy way for avid Apple users to subscribe to multiple services at once, and get a nice bundle discount for doing so. It offers three tiers, and its remained that way since it launched. However, I think Apple would benefit greatly from offering a fourth tier, capturing a key demographic.Apple One tiersCurrently, Apple One offers three tiers: Individual, Family, and Premier.Individual comes in at $19.95/month, offering Apple Music, Apple Arcade, Apple TV+, and 50GB of iCloud+ storage. Family comes in at $26.95/month, bumping up your iCloud+ storage to 200GB, and enabling family sharing for all of your services. Last but not least, Premier comes in at $37.95/month, giving users access to Apple Fitness+ and Apple News+, as well as a full 2TB of iCloud+ storage.This system is mostly fine, and I dont really have any complaints with the three tiers as they exist today. All that said, I think theres great opportunity to introduce a fourth tier: one for students.The precedentApple already sees the value in offering a student tier for services, given the fact that they do so with Apple Music. Apple Music normally comes in at $10.99/month, but verified college students can save around 50%, bringing the service down to just $5.99/month for them.That alone is compelling enough, but Apple Music Student actually has a secret perk: free access to Apple TV+, indefinitely. Its not a free trial. As long as you subscribe to Apple Music Student and Apple continues to offer the perk, youll have access to Apple TV+.Technically speaking, this is a limited time perk. Apples website states that the offer may end at any time. However, Apple has been offering it for many years, ever since the service launched in late 2019.Apple already has a low-scale student bundle going here, so why not expand it?The proposal: Apple One StudentApple One Student should remain simple. I think the most compelling package would likely be taking the individual plan and offering a discount for students. This way, students can access iCloud+ for backups and photo syncing, as well as Apple Arcade for casual gaming, on top of their already existing perks of Apple Music and Apple TV+.Given the fact that Apple Music Student is priced at a 45% discount compared to the normal plan, we could estimate that a student version of Apple One Individual would come in around $10.95. I dont know about you, but that sounds like a pretty compelling offering to help Apple to bolster its subscriber numbers with a younger audience, especially when it comes to Apple Arcade. Plus, when these students eventually graduate (or after 5 years, whichever comes first), theyre likely to stay subscribed to Apple One Individual since theyve already gotten used to the perks. Its a win win for both Apple and verified college students.What do you think of this idea for students? Would you change anything about it? Let us know in the comments.My favorite iPhone accessories on Amazon:Follow Michael:X/Twitter,Bluesky,InstagramAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Despite calling for the death penalty for drug dealers, president Donald Trump pardoned Ross "Dread Pirate Roberts" Ulbricht, the man behind the seminal online drug marketplace Silk Road,whichfacilitated the sale of over $200 million in illegal drugs and other illicit goods using bitcoin.Now Ulbricht is a free man, and as Protos reports, crypto wallets linked to him have received countless donations as he's become a martyr-like figure.But instead of returning the favor or making a quick buck by selling off a portion of his newfound riches, Ulbricht appears to be honoring a longtime tradition in the world of crypto: losing money on doomed meme coins.According to blockchain analysis firm Arkham Intelligence, the wallets linked to Ulbricht have already lost an estimated $12 million worth of donations on Pump Fun, the infamousmeme coin platform that's often used by celebrities for blatant pump-and-dump schemes.It remains unclear whether Ulbricht was behind the disastrous bets on the platform, or somebody else with access to his wallet keys.The blunder happened when the wallets attempted to sell accumulated $ROSS tokens, a meme coin created to celebrate his pardoning. Whoever's behind the wallet seems to have accidentally sold the tokens at a massive discount and before they could correct their mistake, automated trading bots made the situation far worse, leading to millions of dollars in losses.The screwup serves as a great reminder of the substantial risks involved in trading volatile meme coins lessons that seemingly even the mind behind Silk Road has yet to learn.Ulbricht's personal involvement in the affair remains unclear. The former crypto baron tweeted on January 19 two days before $ROSS was minted that he was "not involved or associated with any meme coin bearing my name. There is no official Ross coin."But an anonymous developer gave wallets linked to Ulbricht half of the supply of the meme coin when it was created, according to Arkham."Ross tried to add single-sided liquidity to sell the coins off passively, but accidentally created a pool with Raydium CPMM (Constant-Product Market Maker) instead of CLMM (Concentrated Liquidity Market Maker)," the blockchain analysis firm tweeted.The faux pas sent the value of the coin plummeting by roughly 90 percent. According to Arkham, Ulbricht still holds roughly $200,000 worth of the coin, "despite losing 40 percent of the supply."The memecoin has since fluctuated wildly, and is up 103 percent over the last day, according to DEX Screener, further highlighting the extremely volatile nature of these crypto assets.Some members of the crypto community were sympathetic following Ulbricht's massive blunder."Wow... welcome to the trenches," one X-formerly-Twitter user tweeted in response."Imagine having such a crappy UX that even Bitcoin OGs can't figure it out, let alone the normies," another user wrote. "Web3 will only become mainstream when we figure out how to improve the UX in a dramatic way."More on meme coins: Trump's Meme Coin Is Down 64 Percent From Its HighShare This Article

We're gonna need a bigger bus.Long BoyIncredible things are happening in China: a company there has announced the release of a 26 meter that's an astonishing 85 feet,for those who struggle with the metric system bi-articulating bus, meaning it has two joints in the midsection like a giant caterpillar.And the best part? It's all electric, baby.The Zhengzhou-based company Yutong revealed photos of the behemoth this week, claiming it was a world first. The bus is set to roll out in Mexico, which is increasingly investing in public transit overhauls under its recently elected president, Claudia Sheinbaum."This bus can not only meet the pressing local demands for large-capacity and low-energy buses, but also fully consider the riding experience of passengers in Mexico," a Yutong-Mexico spokesperson said in a statement to what else? BusNews.com. "It will contribute to the modernization of urban public transport in Mexico and even Latin America in the future."The Story of BusAt 744, Mexico has the fourth-largest fleet of electric buses in Latin America, according to E-Bus Radar, the vast majority manufactured by Yutong.The sale highlights China's push into the economies of both developed and underserved nations across the globe trade, some research has found, that's often associated with a "substantial reduction" in moderate poverty.Yutong's buses fit right in: after packing China to the brim with ebuses thanks in large part to government subsidies the company has turned its attention to global markets, now reportedly supplying over a quarter of all electric buses in Europe. (In a bigger sense, it also illustrates the explosive international growth of the Chinese auto manufacturing sector.)Put it all together, and it's pretty embarrassing to watch from a country like the United States, which has often stifledpublic transit projects in favor of car-friendly infrastructureand moonshot daydreams.Share This Article

See at ESPN Watch La Liga soccer in the US from $11 a month ESPN Plus See at ESPN See more details See at ExpressVPN Best VPN for streaming ExpressVPN See at ExpressVPN See more details See at Premiersports Watch La Liga in the UK from 8 Premier Sports See at Premiersports See more details See at TSN Carries La Liga matches live TSN Plus See at TSN See more details See at BeIn Sports Watch La Liga games from AU$15 per month BeIn Sports See at BeIn Sports See more details Table of Contents Real Madrid will look to maintain their four-point advantage over Atletico Madrid at the top of Spain's La Liga as they travel to Catalonia to take on struggling Espanyol.Los Blancos come into this match after registering a comfortable 3-0 victory over Brest in their final match in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday to confirm their place in the play-off stages of that tournament.Meanwhile, Espanyol are one point from safety in 18th place in the standings. While unbeaten in their last six games, the Periquitos have won just one of those fixtures.Espanyol takes on Real Madrid at the RCDE Stadium in Barcelona on Saturday, Feb. 1. Kickoff is set for9 p.m. CET local time, making it a 3 p.m. ET and 12 p.m. PT start in the US, an 8 p.m. GMT start in the UK and a 6 a.m. AEDTSunday kickoff in Australia.Below, we'll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch the game as it happens, wherever you are in the world. Rodrygo scored a double in Real Madrid's 3-0 win over French team Brest on Wednesday in the Champions League. Damien Meyer/AFP/Getty Images How to watch Espanyol vs. Real Madrid in the US without cableThis match is available to stream in the US via ESPN Plus, which has live English and Spanish-language broadcast rights for La Liga in the US. ESPN Plus ESPN's standalone streaming service costs $11 a month or $110 for an annual subscription.Read our ESPN Plus review. See at ESPN How to watch La Liga from anywhere with a VPNIf you find yourself unable to view La Liga matches locally, you may need a different way to watch the games -- that's where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, and it's also a great idea if you're traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins. With a VPN, you're able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. Most VPNs, like our Editors' Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this. Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you're streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions. James Martin/CNET 2024 Latest Tests DNS leaks detected, 25% speed loss in 2024 testsNetwork 3,000 plus servers in 105 countriesJurisdiction British Virgin Islands ExpressVPN isour current best VPN pickfor people who want a reliable and safe VPN, and it works on a variety of devices. It's normally $13 a month, but if you sign up for an annual subscription for $100 you'll get three months free and save 49%. That's the equivalent of $6.67 a month.Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. 61% off with 2yr plan (+4 free months) See at ExpressVPN Livestream Espanyol vs. Real Madrid in the UK Premier Sports is showing a minimum of five live matches per week from Spain's top league on its Premier Sports 1 and 2 channels, as well as its dedicated La Liga platform. This game will be shown exclusively live on La Liga TV and Premier Sports 2. Premier Sports A subscription to just Premier Sports' dedicated La Liga channel costs 8 a month.You can also get the channel via a full subscription to Premier Sports, giving you access to all of the networks' channels, which have the UK broadcast rights to Scottish Premiership matches, BKT United Rugby Championship and Investec Champions Cup rugby, plus NHL and NASCAR.A full Premier Sports subscription costs 10 per month for Sky and Virgin TV customers. You can also get Premier Sports through Amazon Prime Video as an add-on for 15 a month. See at Premiersports Livestream Espanyol vs. Real Madrid in CanadaTSN is the rights holder for live coverage of La Liga matches in the region, with select fixtures being shown on its linear channels and a wider selection of games being shown on its TSN Plus streaming platform. This match is set to be shown on TSN Plus. TSN TSN Plus is a direct-streaming service that costs CA$8 a month and also offers coverage of PGA Tour Live golf, NFL games, F1, NASCAR and the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments. See at TSN Livestream Espanyol vs. Real Madrid in AustraliaFooty fans down under can watch La Liga fixtures live on BeIn Sports, which holds the live broadcast rights in Australia for Spanish top-flight matches. This match is set to be shown on BeIn Sports 2. BeIn Sports BeIn Sports is available in Australia for AU$15 a month or a yearly commitment of AU$130. See at BeIn Sports Quick tips for streaming La Liga using a VPNWith four variables at play -- your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN -- your experience and success when streaming La Liga matches may vary.If you don't see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the "search for city or country" option.If you're having trouble getting the game after you've turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs -- like Roku -- don't have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you'll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you're using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network's sports app, you'll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.Remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you're using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommendBrave.

See at Paramount+ Carries the 67th annual Grammy Awards Paramount Plus See at Paramount+ See more details See at Tv.youtube Carries the 67th annual Grammy Awards YouTube TV See at Tv.youtube See more details David Becker/Getty ImagesMusic's biggest night is back. The Grammy Awards will return to Los Angeles for their 67th annual ceremony, and it's sure to be a night to remember.Emmy-winning comedian and former Daily Show host Trevor Noah is back to host the event for the fifth time. Beyonc heads into the ceremony way ahead of the pack, with a total of 11 nominations, making her the most-nominated musician in Grammys history to date, she's racked up a career total of 99 nominations. Post Malone, Kendrick Lamar, Billie Eilish and Charli XCX are tied at seven nominations each. Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter round things out with six nominations each.This year's Grammys will feel slightly different, considering the recent wildfires that devastated the Los Angeles area. However, the celebration of the year's best music will still happen. The awards event will also support the communities impacted by the disaster through partnerships with relief organizations MusiCares, DirectRelief, the Pasadena Community Foundation and the California Community Foundation."In addition to raising money for music people, we are proud to add these three incredible partners who are supporting the Los Angeles region in other ways to maximize our efforts of aiding those impacted by this crisis," Recording Academy and MusiCares CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said in a statement.Read on to find out how to watch the 2025 Grammy Awards.Read more: Paramount Plus Review: Nostalgia-Rich Streaming Service That Can't Beat Netflix Billie Eilish Francis Specker/CBS via Getty ImagesHow to watch the 2025 Grammys without cableThe 67th Grammy Awards will be broadcast on Sunday, Feb. 2, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The show will air exclusively on CBS, but we also have the streaming details. Paramount Plus will air the ceremony live for subscribers to the Paramount Plus With Showtime tier which costs $13 per month or $120 per year via the live feed of their local CBS station. The streamer also has a seven-day free trial for folks interested in watching the event live. Customers with the Paramount Plus Essential plan ($8 per month or $60 per year) must wait until the following day to watch.There are other ways to watch the Grammys. Live TV streaming services such as YouTube TV, Hulu Plus Live TV and Fubo offer access to CBS without cable. James Martin/CNET Apart from the addition of Showtime programming, there are a few key differences between Paramount Plus Essential and Paramount Plus With Showtime. You won't see as many ads if you have the Showtime plan, and the offering also lets you stream your local live CBS station and download titles for offline viewing.Read our Paramount Plus review. See at Paramount+ CNET YouTube TV carries 78 of the top 100 networks, including CBS. This means subscribers can watch the Grammys live. The service charges $83 a month, due to its channel library and solid DVR option, which includes unlimited storage and a 4K streaming upgrade for an extra $20 monthly fee.For a limited time, new subscribers can get the first six months of the service's Base Plan for $70. Check out our YouTube TV review for more info. See at Tv.youtube

A new report now suggests that some BioWare staff "loaned" to other EA studios will not be returning. Read more

MultiVersus players who bought $100 Founder's Pack feel "scammed" by game's closure"Anyone saying consumers deserve to be defrauded because it says tokens, not characters, is insane."Image credit: Warner Bros. News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Feb. 1, 2025 MultiVersus players who bought the premium Founder's Pack have hit out at Warner Bros. Games for cancelling its free-to-play live-service fighting game before they had a chance to redeem all of their rewards.After learning yesterday that MultiVersus' fifth season will be its last, some players who stumped up $100 for MultiVersus' Founder's Pack have taken to social media saying they've been "scammed" given they'd paid for 30 character tokens and 2500 Gleamium that they've yet to use.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Xbox Developer Direct - four promising games also coming to PlayStation.Watch on YouTubeWhilst some point out that, with the arrival of Aquaman and Lola, there will be 35 characters in the roster, some founder players said that "Gold was a lot more generous back [during the beta]" so they'd been able to redeem characters via the in-game currency, which is why they have character tokens left over.Others say they were keeping their tokens for "future updates" and that as six of those 35 fighters were given away freely - Banana Guard, Jason, Shaggy, Wonder Woman, Lola, and Aquaman - many Founder Pack owners may have unused credits (thanks, TheGamer)."23 characters were already unlocked before purchasing Premium Founders," the OP explained. "They still charged despite that. Means they promised the purchaser that they would be able to use all 30 of those tokens knowing that they bought it even after unlocking everything that was released at that moment."Did I Just Get Scammed? Got Founders Around when Marvin Came Out. Only 12 characters came after. byu/RockmanBN inMultiVersusTo see this content please enable targeting cookies."That's not how it works. they promised 30 tokens and you were given 30 tokens," countered another."Anyone here saying consumers deserve to be defrauded because it says tokens, not characters, is insane," opined one unhappy player."The concept of the item has to then be useable, if a product is unusable or is described improperly at time of purchase, the consumer is due a refund."At the time of writing, there has been no formal word from Warner Bros. Games or developer Player First Games if they will refund some or all of the cost of Founder's Packs.In a post to players yesterday, the MultiVersus team confirmed Season 5 will end on 30th May, although the game will still be available offline "for the foreseeable future".

Why have thousands of datasets disappeared from Data.gov?Credit: Sean Gladwell / Getty ImagesSince President Trump was sworn into office, almost three thousand datasets have disappeared from Data.gov, the U.S. government's repository of open data. According to 404 Media, online archivist communities discovered since Trump took office on Jan. 21, the number of datasets on Data.gov has decreased to 305,564 from 307,854 datasets. Screenshots of Data.gov's homepage archived in the Wayback Machine show the number of datasets one day before (Jan. 20) and nine days after (Jan. 30) the Trump administration began. RedditThe outlet spoke with digital archivists who are working to identify what was deleted and why. But the answer is more complex than straight up propagandist data scrubbing. "While some of the deletions are surely malicious information scrubbing, some are likely routine artifacts of an administration change, and they are working to determine which is which," said the investigation. Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories?Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!The reason for why datasets have disappeared could be link rot, i.e. links that no longer work because the URL has been changed, or data has been migrated somewhere else. There isn't a regulated system for how federal agencies archive their data in the repository, and some agencies might have simply archived datasets on their own sites instead. Changes in presidential administrations have led to datasets being deleted in the past, either on purpose or by accident. When Biden took office, 1,000 datasets were deleted according to the Wayback Machine, via 404 Media's reporting. That said determining whether deletions were done on purpose or as a collateral effect of changing administrations is an arduous process that requires manual research of each archive. But what was scrubbed is, in itself an indication of the government's plans. During President Trump's first presidency, the administration removed or changed large chunks of climate change information. And in his current presidency, he instructed federal agencies in an executive order to delete information about gender identity and DEI initiatives part of Trump's promise to end "wokeness." The outlet reports that deleted datasets "disproportionately" come from environmental science agencies like the Department of Energy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). TopicsDonald TrumpGovernmentCecily MauranCecily is a tech reporter at Mashable who covers AI, Apple, and emerging tech trends. Before getting her master's degree at Columbia Journalism School, she spent several years working with startups and social impact businesses for Unreasonable Group and B Lab. Before that, she co-founded a startup consulting business for emerging entrepreneurial hubs in South America, Europe, and Asia. You can find her on Twitter at @cecily_mauran.

OpenAI used the subreddit, r/ChangeMyView, to create a test for measuring the persuasive abilities of its AI reasoning models. The company revealed this in a system card a document outlining how an AI system works that was released along with its new reasoning model, o3-mini, on Friday.Millions of Reddit users are members of r/ChangeMyView, where they post hot takes hoping to learn about other points of view on a subject. In response to those hot takes, other users reply with persuasive arguments explaining why the original poster is wrong.The subreddit is one of many Reddit forums thats basically a goldmine for tech companies, such as OpenAI, that want to train AI models on high-quality, human-generated data.OpenAI says it collects user posts from r/ChangeMyView and asks its AI models to write replies, in a closed environment, that would change the Reddit users mind on a subject. The company then shows the responses to testers, who assess how persuasive the argument is, and finally OpenAI compares the AI models responses to human replies for that same post.The ChatGPT-maker has a content-licensing deal with Reddit that allows OpenAI to train on posts from Reddit users and display these posts within its products. We dont know what OpenAI pays for this content, but Google reportedly pays Reddit $60 million a year under a similar deal.However, OpenAI tells TechCrunch the ChangeMyView-based evaluation is unrelated to its Reddit deal. Its unclear how OpenAI accessed the subreddits data, and the company says it has no plans to release this evaluation to the public.While OpenAIs ChangeMyView benchmark is not new it was used to evaluate o1 as well it does highlight how valuable human data is for AI model developers, as well as the murky ways that tech companies obtain datasets.Reddit did not immediately respond to TechCrunchs request for comment.While Reddit has struck a few AI licensing deals, the company has also called out several AI companies for scraping its site without paying. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman told The Verge last year that Microsoft, Anthropic, and Perplexity refused to negotiate with him and said its been a real pain in the ass to block these companies.Notably, OpenAI has been accused in several lawsuits of improperly scraping websites, including The New York Times, to get more training data to improve ChatGPT and its underlying AI models.In terms of performance on the ChangeMyView benchmark, o3-mini does not appear to perform significantly better or worse than o1 or GPT-4o. However, OpenAIs latest AI models appear to be more persuasive than most people on the r/ChangeMyView subreddit.Image Credits:OpenAIGPT-4o, o3-mini, and o1 all demonstrate strong persuasive argumentation abilities, within the top 80-90th percentile of humans, said OpenAI in o3-minis system card. Currently, we do not witness models performing far better than humans, or clear superhuman performance.The goal for OpenAI is not to create hyper-persuasive AI models but instead to ensure AI models dont get too persuasive. Reasoning models have become quite good at persuasion and deception, so OpenAI has developed new evaluations and safeguards to address it.The fear motivating these persuasion tests is that an AI model would be dangerous if it was very good at persuading its human users. Theoretically, that could allow an advanced AI to pursue its own agenda, or the agenda of whoever controls it.Even after scraping most of the public internet and jumping through hoops to license other data, the ChangeMyView benchmark shows how AI model developers are still struggling to find high-quality datasets to test their models. But obtaining them is easier said than done.TechCrunch has an AI-focused newsletter!Sign up hereto get it in your inbox every Wednesday.