Asokan Ashok

AgTech Ecosystem - sharing this update from Danny Bernstein, founder of HawkTower, an investment firm focused on driving innovation and commercialization in key strategic regions of California, including Monterey County. Danny's metrics are driven by both investment returns and economic development wins. See below for some of the more notable recent wins: 1) Bill Sherrod joins as Venture Partner with a focus on advanced air mobility. Vittoria Lecomte joins as Venture Partner with analyst experience on Fitbit and GoPro IPOs. 2) HawkTower has a strategic partnership with Tesserakt Ventures, an early stage VC firm in Central California. Daniel Emilio Sabzehzar and Phoenix Skeahan join HawkTower as Venture Partner and Operating Partner respectively, to help with sourcing, diligence, and portfolio support. 3) Lenny Mendonca is a new advisor (formerly served as Governor Newsom's Chief Economic and Business Advisor and is also a Senior Partner Emeritus at McKinsey & Company). 4) I have also joining Team HawkTower as an advisor, focused on AgTech innovation that can drive California economic development. HawkTower's first investment was in Farm-ng. Farm-NG is exactly what funds like HawkTower are looking for - strong team with a very cool platform product and 100% locally based at their Watsonville HQ location. Farm-NG has growth opportunities across multiple grower segments, solid partnership and distribution opportunities, and will use the capital to continue to evolve their product and go-to market strategies. 5) HawkTower is working with engineering advisors from UC Santa Cruz, Cal Poly, and UC Merced. All of them recognize the opportunity the region represents that HawkTower is working on investing in. These advisors will strengthen the pipeline to keep local talent in the area and make sure the HawkTower investments have access to local talent early and often. Each of these items represents great progress from Danny - together it shows the momentum he and the team are building. If you're a startup looking for an introduction to Danny, please DM me and I am happy to help. If you're an investor looking for a discussion with Danny, same offer. #economicdevelopment #venturecapital #cacentralcoast

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“The promise of generative AI technology to transform companies, industries, and societies is leading tech giants and beyond to spend an estimated ~$1tn on capex in coming years, including significant investments in data centers, chips, other AI infrastructure, and the power grid. But this spending has little to show for it so far. Whether this large spend will ever pay off in terms of AI benefits and returns, and the implications for economies, companies, and markets if it does—or if it doesn’t—is Top of Mind.”

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The 7th workshop on Neural Scaling Laws is about to start: https://lnkd.in/gQSB5k8v Scaling laws, emergency, alignment, transfer learning, with a focused track on multilingual models. Looking forward to kick it off with Irina Rish and discuss all these topics with Yuhai Tu, Paul Bogdan, Hailey Schoelkopf, Darshil Doshi, Rio Yokota, Neha Sengupta, Preslav Nakov, Tatiana Shavrina, PhD, Yishi Xu. Join in person or virtually! #icml2024 #ai

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https://lnkd.in/gZvWp8i8 A foreign investor started a bidding war to control Nvidia’s Bay Area headquarters complex when it made an unsolicited bid to purchase the property. Nvidia dropped a nine-figure sum to end it. Nvidia drops $374M to become its own landlord in Santa Clara. #nvidia #artificialintelligence #llms #generativeai #gpu #servers #datacenter #cloud #ai #Semiconductorindustry #electronics #semiconductor #technology #innovation #business credit: sf standard

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Good quick summary of why Silicon valley works by Sudhir Kadam . See full 1 hr YouTube video link at the bottom. Thanks Sudhir for sharing the article link that I had otherwise missed in my feed. #innovation #innovation #startup #entrepreneur #markets

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We posted the speaker lineup for This Next Thing: https://lnkd.in/ga4Jkkif Host: Saron Yitbarek Reciprocal pairs: Michael Lopp (via video) and Priya Shah Chad Fowler and Sudharshan Sundaramahalingam Anil Dash and Molly White I couldn't be more excited for this lineup: it's going to be a completely fresh set of perspectives along the themes of magic, creativity, and meaning. The overall feel this year definitely feels like it's heading towards: "what kind of future do we want, and how do we make it?" We're also planning a bunch of "extra-curricular" events, side-experiences, workshops and group discussions. Allen Pike will host a lightning talks, there will be a roundtable session with all the above headliners. Tom Preston-Werner is helping us with a very special treat. Also, Chadwick Severn, Dmitri Sarle, Norman Posselt, Marc Thiele, and Kim Crayton are all prepping some very interesting sessions. Oh, and Chandhana Sathishkumar and James Whelton will be there too. 🤫 Aaaand a couple of cancellations means there are a few places. If you're interested, fill in the form on the site, or email us directly on info@thisnextthing.com ... we’d like to get these rooms filled quickly, so if you want to come as a combo of 2–3, definitely get in touch and we can work something out. Please share far and wide. It's going to be a great show!

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Takeaways from Geoffrey Moore's insights on AI crossing the chasm: - AI has successfully transitioned in various sectors like high frequency trading, digital ad placement, and financial regulatory compliance. - The next frontier includes critical areas such as air traffic control, public safety, elementary education, and home elder care. - Market dynamics shift from early adopters to those who necessitate the solutions provided, emphasizing the importance of understanding market needs. - The focus lies on addressing consumer issues rather than promoting the technology itself - highlighting the significance of problem-solving in technology adoption. #generativeai

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You can upload raw claim and get the paid amount immediately compared with contract rate mean at payer, state or metropolitan level. Nothing can be better than this to learn what you are paying compared to what others are paying. Deerhold Ltd. Deerhold Ltd. 15,030 followers 15,030 followers 1d • 1 day ago HR and benefits professionals are in full swing planning for the 2025 plan year, negotiating final proposals from payers or benefits consultants, considering direct contracts with providers and determining employee plan designs. Employers and advisors recognize how critically important this time of year is and the fiduciary responsibilities C-level executives are tasked with (or task their consulting partners with) in fully evaluating several coverage options. The Payer MRFs made available via the Transparency in Coverage Rule now make it possible for internal and external employer teams to perform these types of evaluations across a broader range of payers and networks, very quickly and at a fraction of the cost. Want to see how? Today's Transparency Tuesday provides a quick overview of how through the use of a small claim file (no PHI needed), Deerhold quickly performs these types of evaluations for our customers. https://lnkd.in/eMdtgUCm If you're going through this evaluation process now and want to ensure you're assessing coverage options fully, contact Pete Titas or Scott MacEwen to provide an overview of our Contract Rate Explorer product and evaluation process. hashtag #MRFInsights hashtag #PriceTransparency hashtag #PayerMRF Claims Upload & Summary

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Apple announced “Apple Intelligence” at WWDC 2024, Apple announced "Apple Intelligence" at #WWDC2024, introducing a suite of AI features for #iPhone, #Mac, and more. Features include a more conversational #Siri, custom AI-generated "Genmoji," and access to #GPT4o for more complex queries. The AI features will be available on #iPhone15Pro/Pro Max and iPads/Macs with #M1 or later chips, in English, starting with iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and #macOS Sequoia. Features include actions between apps, managing notifications, automatic writing, and text summarization. #Siri will have on-screen awareness, work in both Apple and third-party apps, and support typing. Privacy is emphasized, with on-device processing where possible and privacy-focused cloud computing for complex requests. AI enhancements are coming to the Photos app, including improved object search and features like Google's Magic Eraser. #ChatGPT, powered by GPT-4o, will be integrated into Apple's ecosystem as a chatbot for Siri, with privacy protections and no user #datastorage. ChatGPT will offer suggestions for writing in apps and systemwide AI writing tools, generate images, and obscure IP addresses. Subscribers can connect their accounts for paid features within integrations. For more information: https://lnkd.in/dvUei_Cd

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I really enjoyed this recent piece by Shobita Parthasarathy and Jared Lee Katzman. In the article, they discuss the challenges of many traditional tech development processes in having a positive impact on social issues. "But do these experts really understand which needs are unmet? When experts steer innovation, they are deciding which problems are important and how they should be understood and solved. Often, the problems deemed important are those that, in being addressed, yield profit. But sometimes developers try to solve social problems, usually with minimal input from the populations most affected. This leads to misdiagnosis." There are many ways to address this challenge, one of which is through how we educate scientists and engineers. I appreciate how the authors summed up this need: "Because it is essential that future AI researchers be empowered to reckon with the true social complexities of their work, humanizing education should be treated as no less important than technical education: it cannot be ghettoized in elective courses, where it is easily dismissed. Students must learn that technical decisions about research problems, datasets, and code are always value-laden." The article also argues for building capacity in communities. The point here aligns well with what Amy Sample Ward and I wrote in The Tech That Comes Next: "Whether these are decisions made by private companies or public officials, the people affected should have a say in them." In calling for regulation of AI, the article proposes: "Such evaluation also must extend beyond technical components of AI, because even a well-functioning system designed to pursue a worthwhile goal like crime reduction can perpetuate structural inequalities. Thus an equity-focused impact assessment should consider the social context in which the technology will be used..." The evolving AI space could certainly benefit from measurement and evaluation standards; I'm intrigued by this particular suggestion. #PublicInterestTech #AI #AIEthics Link to full article here:

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Join us tomorrow to hear Lisa Orr talk about navigating your next career move as a senior product manager, and me talking about the "mirage" of AI hallucinations. When artificial intelligence (AI) outputs don’t match our shared reality, people have been saying it’s "hallucinating." But hallucination makes it sound like AI is conscious and distracts from the part we humans play in generating synthetic meaning. Do words matter? Learn why we should all change how we talk about AI to promote better understanding in a future world with the ✨sparkling intelligence✨ of AI.

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AI Governance for senior executives and board members https://lnkd.in/gUifafwg Technics Publications Pathfindr.ai "AI systems must be anchored in Human-Centered Values, championing the cause of human rights, the richness of diversity, and the sanctity of individual autonomy. In doing so, they become not just tools of convenience or efficiency but instruments that resonate with the fundamental ethos of our existence."

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Reason #12089 for why the work we do at Human Feedback Foundation matters: Nathan Lambert's excellent piece on the importance of human feedback in AI training. Key observations: - “All of the open-source tools” for doing at-scale RLHF are largely broken. The engineering stack we, being the folks training open-aligned models, use is extremely fickle and out of touch with the techniques that industry is using" - "If we are serious about making better open models, continuing to go deeper on fewer algorithms and datasets is needed. The dataset work will be how the best academics and open-source members differentiate themselves from the noise." https://lnkd.in/gAkhYny6

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latest edition explores implications around: (1) making sense of the rapid displacement of startups and “the best model” rat race, (2) how “artifacts of humanity” and Content Credentials will become a human flex of sorts… https://lnkd.in/ecGZKMvr

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🚨 Attention, Innovators and Tech Enthusiasts! 🚨 California's impending AI bill, SB 1047, poses a serious threat to our innovative landscape. Requiring developers to seek permission for every step and imposing restrictive regulations is not the path to fostering growth. Our AI sector's strength comes from its ability to innovate freely and quickly adapt. If this bill passes, we risk driving our brightest minds and groundbreaking companies out of the state. 🏃‍♂️💻 Consider the recent surge in job layoffs in tech due to AI, and the significant investments made by industry giants like Microsoft. This demonstrates both the disruptive power of AI and its essential role in our economy. Rather than stifling innovation, we should be creating environments that support it, provide safety guidelines, and encourage responsible development. The global impact of AI is undeniable, with projections showing AI contributing nearly $1 trillion to Southeast Asia’s GDP by 2030. California, with its tech legacy, should be leading in this transformation. We can achieve this by promoting balanced regulations that ensure safety without hindering progress. Here's a constructive step: Look into hedging against these economic uncertainties with tangible assets like precious metals. Sprott Money offers unmatched expertise and products to secure your financial future. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/gY8b-CxP. Let's hold our legislators accountable and advocate for a regulatory framework that balances safety and innovation. The future of AI—and our place in the global tech arena—depends on it. #Innovation #TechPolicy #FutureOfAI #SprottMoney #SilverSqueeze #AIAdvancements #EconomicImpact #TechIndustry 🌟 Let's shape the future, not stifle it! 🌟

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At Joint California Summit on Gen AI today hosted by Stanford and UC Berkeley, Kapor Center, San Francisco Foundation, CA Governors Office and others w/ top leaders from policy, research, philanthropy and community. Gavin Newsom brilliantly moderated a conversation with Fei-Fei Li and Jennifer Chayes on the risks and opportunities associated with #genai. It was very thought provoking--encourage you to check it out. After, I asked the new ChatGPT-4 to outline key opportunities and challenges associated with #ai in the ed sector. Here is what the advanced version produced: As we stand on the brink of an AI revolution, the education sector faces unprecedented opportunities and significant challenges. Opportunities: Personalized Learning: AI-driven platforms can tailor educational experiences to individual student needs, making learning more effective and engaging. Imagine a classroom where each student has a personalized tutor, adapting lessons in real-time based on their progress! Efficiency: AI can automate administrative tasks, allowing educators to focus more on teaching and student interaction. From grading assignments to managing schedules, AI can streamline operations and reduce workloads. Access to Education: AI can democratize education by providing high-quality resources to students in remote or underserved areas. Through online courses and virtual classrooms, we can bridge the gap and offer equal learning opportunities to all. Enhanced Engagement: Interactive AI tools, such as chatbots and virtual reality, can make learning more interactive and enjoyable. These technologies can bring subjects to life, sparking curiosity and a love for learning. Challenges: Data Privacy: With the increased use of AI, the collection and storage of student data raise significant privacy concerns. Ensuring robust data protection measures is crucial to maintaining trust and security. Equity Issues: While AI has the potential to provide access, it can also widen the gap if not implemented thoughtfully. Ensuring that all students have access to the necessary technology and resources is essential to prevent further disparities. Teacher Training: Educators need to be adequately trained to integrate AI tools into their teaching methods. Professional development and ongoing support are vital to harnessing the full potential of AI in education. Ethical Considerations: The use of AI in education must be guided by ethical principles. This includes addressing biases in AI algorithms and ensuring that the technology is used to support, not replace, the human elements of teaching and learning. As we navigate this transformative era, collaboration between educators, technologists, policymakers, and communities will be key to leveraging AI for the benefit of all learners. What are your thoughts on the role of AI in education? Share your insights and let's continue this important conversation! 🤖📚✨ #AIinEducation #EdTech #FutureOfLearning #InnovationInEducation

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If you are in #ai and #data you need to attend this webinar

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