Data Science Briefing #263


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Nov 18th

Next webinar:
Nov 20, 2024 - LangChain for Generative AI Pipelines [Register]
Count down to 2024-11-20T18:00:00.000Z

Welcome to the 263rd edition of the Data Science Briefing!

The next edition of the LangChain for Generative AI Pipelines webinar is coming up in just two days. There are still a few spots left, so Register now so you don't miss out!

In our regularly scheduled content, we Understand Hierarchical Navigable Small Worlds (HNSW), explore Virality in cartography: What makes a map go viral?, dive into SQL Style Guide and why Misinformation really does spread like a virus.

On the academic front, we explore an embedding-based distance for temporal graphs, learn how BERTs are Generative In-Context Learnersand how to Distinguish Ignorance from Error in LLM Hallucinations.

This week's book recommendation is "Life as No One Knows It: The Physics of Life's Emergence" by S. I. Walker. You can find all the previous book recommendations on our website. In this week's video, we have a discussion on AI Scaling Hits Wall, Rumours Say. How Serious is it?

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Semper discentes,

The D4S Team


This weeks book is "Life as No One Knows It: The Physics of Life's Emergence" by S. I. Walker. In this book, Walker offers a groundbreaking reimagining of life’s nature, challenging traditional definitions and exploring the origins of living systems from a fresh perspective. At the heart of the book lies Assembly Theory, which proposes that all matter can be viewed as information, with life representing a highly complex assembly of causal information. This paradigm-shifting framework not only redefines life universally but also paves the way for identifying non-terrestrial life forms.

In an interdisciplinary approach that blends insights from Physics and Philosophy, the book explores key distinctions between knowledge, information, and consciousness. It encourages readers to move beyond anthropocentric perspectives, prompting us to consider the existence of life forms vastly different from anything encountered on Earth.


  1. Understanding Hierarchical Navigable Small Worlds (HNSW) [datastax.com]
  2. garak, LLM vulnerability scanner [github.com/NVIDIA/]
  3. Virality in cartography: What makes a map go viral? [geoawesome.com]
  4. SQL Style Guide [sqlstyle.guide]
  5. BAML is a domain-specific language to write and test LLM functions [github.com/BoundaryML]
  6. From prediction markets to info finance [vitalik.eth.limo]
  7. Misinformation really does spread like a virus, suggest mathematical models drawn from epidemiology [theconversation.com]


AI Scaling Hits Wall, Rumours Say. How Serious is it?

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