cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/8459880

Paris-based Mistral wanted to develop a top-tier AI model to rival OpenAI and Anthropic. That didn’t work out. But it turns out lots of folks don’t care if the AI is bleeding edge – as long as it wasn’t made in America or China.

Archived version

... [Cofounder and CEO of Mistral Arthur] Mensch’s vision for Mistral, and AI itself, can be summed up in one word: independence. Unlike its black-box Silicon Valley rivals, most of Mistral’s AI models are what techies call “open weight.” In this sort of open-source model, customers are free to get under the hood, customize the AI using their own data or download it for free to run offline (or from a laptop).

The message resonates. Old-school execs are spooked by the world-consuming rhetoric of OpenAI and Anthropic and the emerging threat of Chinese AI companies. Mensch’s talk of control and sovereignty is soothing, as is his pitch that Mistral will deploy engineers to set up and run the tech for them. Your data doesn’t even need to leave the office, let alone the country.

“We are really the only company that allows [building] core business automation and products on top of an open stack, and that is something that is valuable everywhere in the world,” says Mensch, 33, from Mistral’s offices in the trendy 10th arrondissement of Paris, as kids play soccer in the courtyard out back.

...

I've dealt with my share of disk expansions and failures, and it's never taken 3 weeks.

I've heard of a case where an American man was ranting about "why can't they speak English" despite him being in a country where it's not even spoken (in this case: Japan), like WTF? He's literally in another country where a different language is spoken, isn't that already common sense? Yes, there are (some) Americans who are like this: assuming that everyone all over the world just knows English from the get go, but that's not always the case.

Another was when an American woman wanted to pay for the bread at a French bakery using a crisp US$20 bill, but that was not accepted since France uses Euros as their main currency. I guess it stems from the fact Mexico accept that assuming that's universal in countries where their own currency (like the Korea uses Won, UK uses the Pound, Oman uses Rials & etc). I mean, why do (some) Americans think that every country uses US Dollars?

Paris-based Mistral wanted to develop a top-tier AI model to rival OpenAI and Anthropic. That didn’t work out. But it turns out lots of folks don’t care if the AI is bleeding edge – as long as it wasn’t made in America or China.

Archived version

... [Cofounder and CEO of Mistral Arthur] Mensch’s vision for Mistral, and AI itself, can be summed up in one word: independence. Unlike its black-box Silicon Valley rivals, most of Mistral’s AI models are what techies call “open weight.” In this sort of open-source model, customers are free to get under the hood, customize the AI using their own data or download it for free to run offline (or from a laptop).

The message resonates. Old-school execs are spooked by the world-consuming rhetoric of OpenAI and Anthropic and the emerging threat of Chinese AI companies. Mensch’s talk of control and sovereignty is soothing, as is his pitch that Mistral will deploy engineers to set up and run the tech for them. Your data doesn’t even need to leave the office, let alone the country.

“We are really the only company that allows [building] core business automation and products on top of an open stack, and that is something that is valuable everywhere in the world,” says Mensch, 33, from Mistral’s offices in the trendy 10th arrondissement of Paris, as kids play soccer in the courtyard out back.

...

A friend of mine was in the States for two weeks, added credit to his Uber account and is now back in Europe. Uber Europe won't accept the credit as it's a different region, and he can't withdraw it, or can't figure out how to withdraw it, because he's in a different region.

He's going to try a VPN set to the US where he was, and hopefully that will work for withdrawing it. But does anyone know of a way that he can get his cash back? Over $230 left in it.

He didn't use Uber as much as he thought he would need to, and had topped it up with credit once over there after advice he got from somebody else. I don't know anything else, but that's how he got to this..

It takes most college students at least four years to earn a bachelor’s degree. Christie Williams finished in three months.

The North Carolina human resources executive spent two months racking up credits through web tutorials after work in 2024, then raced through 11 online classes at the University of Maine at Presque Isle in four weeks. Later that year, she went back to earn her master’s – in just five weeks. The two degrees cost a total of just over $4,000.

Since then, she has coached a thousand other students on how to speed through the state college, shaving off years and thousands of dollars from the usual cost of a degree.

“Why wouldn’t you do that?” Williams asked. “It’s kind of a no-brainer if you know about it.”

Many U.S. schools have been experimenting with ways to speed up traditional college programs to reduce the burgeoning cost and help students move into the workforce faster. Some offer three-year bachelor’s programs, reducing the number of credits needed for a diploma by one quarter. Many more allow students to enroll in college classes while still in high school.

But the breakneck pace of the fastest online programs concerns some academics, who say there is a big difference in what students can learn in weeks or months compared with three or more years.

The phenomenon – sometimes referred to as degree hacking, college speed runs or hyperaccelerated degrees – has spawned a cottage industry of influencers making videos about how quickly they earned their degrees and encouraging others to follow suit.

Supporters of the approach tout it as an affordable, convenient way for people to earn credentials they need for their careers. Others, including some online students and academic officials, expressed concern about what the super-accelerated students are missing, and whether a quick path devalues degrees.

Source

Warehouse now, moved to Yizhuang in 2010

You probably saw the post that zero_gravitas put up 3 days ago. Well, in case you didn't read it here's FDotM' cartoon version which you can read quicker. The indignation is the same at the lack of care and responsibility.

Sometimes an inner monologue isn’t just a single patronizing voice, but a cacophony of interconnected intuitions that spawn action and art ex nihilo in ways that are ineffable.

No? Just me? Nevermind, I’ll be over there.

Today’s game is Stardew Valley. We completed the Community Center today with some crazy good luck from the Night Market sales man. He had the last few things we needed. It was really fortunate because otherwise we’d have needed to wait.

I would just like to add that the community center during the night is super pretty in winter. Definitely a pretty sight to me. It almost makes it feel like a beacon of warmth in the cold winter night.

We’ve also spent the last few days just messing around. Since winter is kind of barren me and a friend have been playing this game where we try to make it to bed without letting the other guy get in bed with us. Highly risky? yes because you can lose a bunch of your money. It makes for a hell of a fun game though when you’re chilling in winter.

Going on from here it’s all new territory, and partly why today is short, amongst also just not getting free time today to do it. I’ve never made it too the post game outside the initial launch, so I’m excited to get too it and see other people’s reactions and opinions.

"GLOBALIZE THE INTIFADA"

"Oh wait, not like this"