News for 14th March: What lurks in LLMs, Ableton 12, and Star Trek musical instruments

Chinchilla Squeaks

It’s been a while! I have decided to split my podcast and newsletter into two streams:

Every two weeks a news and resources round up. You’re reading it! I am not 100% sure where else I will archive those yet.

With that out the way, time to dig in. AI (of course), music, and SciFi this issue.

Rise of Local LLMs ? →

In the not-so-distant past, dabbling in generative AI technology meant leaning heavily on proprietary models. The routine was straightforward: snag an OpenAI key, and you're off to the races, albeit tethered to a pay-as-you-go scheme.

Large language models can do jaw-dropping things. But nobody knows exactly why. →

Two years ago, Yuri Burda and Harri Edwards, researchers at the San Francisco–based firm OpenAI, were trying to find out what it would take to get a language model to do basic arithmetic.

AI Prompt Engineering Is Dead →

Since ChatGPT dropped in the fall of 2022, everyone and their donkey has tried their hand at prompt engineering—finding a clever way to phrase your query to a large language model (LLM) or AI art or video generator to get the best results or sidestep protections.

Build a Website with ChatGPT, byPaul McFedries

A new book published by Manning covers how to use OpenAI’s chatbot to build all you need for a website. How deep will it go?

“A generous update stuffed with ideas and real potential”: Ableton Live 12 Suite review →

MusicRadar's got your back Our team of expert musicians and producers spends hours testing products to help you choose the best music-making gear for you. Find out more about how we test.

“Wherever you get your podcasts” is a radical statement →

You've heard the call to action at the end of nearly every podcast you've ever listened to: "Listen to us on your favorite podcast app", or in the phrasing of podcaster extraordinare Roman Mars, "...wherever you find podcasts".

Lessons in instrument design from Star Trek →

Editor’s Note: Longtime fans of this site may be familiar with its “tag line,” “Stop watching sci-fi. Start using it.