NYC Data #344: Robinhood, Blue Rose Research, New GenAI Video Models, 'Tip-of-the-Tongue' Benchmark, Point72, Hearst, Terrifying AI Fiction
Also, about those new Subway Maps...
Hi friends, I hope you are staying warm and dry! We look to have a wet weekend ahead of us :-(.
As always, help me keep this space up-to-date: please send me posts, events, and job openings. If you know someone who might enjoy or benefit from this newsletter, please share it with them. [image credit: Brecht Bug]
Good Local Posts
These demos from (NYC-based!) Runway on their Gen-4 video generation model blew me away. The founder discussion video was really engaging. Bonus NYC content in the “New York is a Zoo” video! Wild stuff (pun intended)!
I love Randy Au’s deep dives: the most recent one on nephelometers - tools used to measure how particles in air or water scatter light - was particularly
nerdyfun!Patronus AI & Columbia researchers released a ‘Tip-of-the-Tongue Search and Reasoning’ model called BLUR (paper, blog, sample) to evaluate how effectively AI agents can help you identify something you vaguely remember but can’t quite name. This one hit home for me bc this was the LLM use case that really got me engaged in the new tech. An example question:
I need your help finding the name of a tool that’ll help me manage my social media better. I saw that one of my favorite brands, Adobe, also uses them. I remember that the tool had a bird on it. Can you help me with the name of the tool and the year it was first released?
Upcoming In-Person Events (new listings in bold)
4/14: Ignite: Data Quality
4/15 - 4/16: AI in Finance Summit New York
4/17: AI Meetup (April): GenAI, LLMs and Agents
4/17: Info We Trust: The Craft of Data Graphics
5/15: AI Summit NYC: The Technology Conference For Non-Tech Professionals
5/15: Data Science Salon New York
5/21: Global GRC, Data Privacy & Cyber Security ConfEx
5/28 - 5/30: Lifetime Data Science Conference
Open Roles
Squarespace is hiring for several data roles, including a Senior Data Scientist and multiple Data Analysts.
The Taxi and Limousine Commission is looking for a Data Analyst.
Point72 is seeking a Fundamental Data Researcher.
Hearst is hiring a Senior Data Analyst, Data Product Development.
Friends at Yoh are looking for a Music Data Analyst!
Robinhood is seeking a Senior Data Scientist, Brokerage.
Blue Rose Research is hiring a Data Scientist, Machine Learning to help advance progressive causes.
Miscellany
If you haven’t read it already, this fictional AI 2027 piece definitely freaked me out. I read through both of the endings and have spent a lot of time thinking about it. The scary ending doesn’t actually make all that much sense to be honest, but the game theory around misaligned or “off-Spec” models was fascinating. Written by academics & Scott Alexander, it’s deeply based in research.
Jake Berman, a transit map designer, reviewed the new MTA subway map, which he describes as ‘neo-Vignelli’ (you can see it here if you haven’t yet). Berman is generally pretty positive on the map. I freaking hate it. So clean, so elegant, so utterly divorced from reality. Come at me, design nerds, if you can figure out which avenue the 4/5/6 runs up!
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