All posts tagged: aims

Beyond transformers: Nvidia’s MambaVision aims to unlock faster, cheaper enterprise computer vision

Beyond transformers: Nvidia’s MambaVision aims to unlock faster, cheaper enterprise computer vision

Published by skeptic

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More Transformer-based large language models (LLMs) are the foundation of the modern generative AI landscape. Transformers aren’t the only way to do gen AI, though. Over the course of the last year, Mamba, an approach that uses Structured State Space Models (SSM), has also picked up adoption as an alternative approach from multiple vendors, including AI21 and AI silicon giant Nvidia.  Nvidia first discussed the concept of Mamba-powered models in 2024 when it initially released the MambaVision research and some early models. This week, Nvidia is expanding on its initial effort with a series of updated MambaVision models available on Hugging Face. MambaVision, as the name implies, is a Mamba-based model family for computer vision and image recognition tasks. The promise of MambaVision for enterprise is that it could improve the efficiency and accuracy of vision operations, at potentially lower costs, thanks to lower computational requirements. What are SSMs and how do they compare to transformers? SSMs are …

Teacher aims to extinguish Wrack’s leadership bid

Teacher aims to extinguish Wrack’s leadership bid

Published by skeptic

History teacher Luke Akhurst seeks branch nominations in attempt to force a contested election History teacher Luke Akhurst seeks branch nominations in attempt to force a contested election More from this theme Recent articles A member of the NASUWT is seeking nominations to challenge Matt Wrack for the job of general secretary, insisting the teaching union “should be led by a teacher”. Luke Akhurst, a head of history and secretary of the Leicestershire branch of the union, said he wants members to be given a “genuine choice” in an election. Schools Week revealed earlier this month that NASUWT’s executive had nominated Wrack, the former head of the Fire Brigades Union, as its preferred candidate to replace Dr Patrick Roach as general secretary. The move came as a surprise to many, particularly given Wrack’s background outside education. The union – which styles itself as “the teachers’ union” because it is the only one not to admit other staff – has always been led by former educators. Technically, any member of the union can challenge Wrack if …

Thailand aims for Formula 1 street race in 2028: PM Paetongtarn

Thailand aims for Formula 1 street race in 2028: PM Paetongtarn

Published by Sam

BANGKOK: Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra met Formula 1 chief Stefano Domenicali on Tuesday (Mar 18) and said the government would commission a feasibility study into hosting a Grand Prix on a Bangkok street circuit from 2028. Formula 1 already has a crowded schedule of 24 races around the world with four in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Singapore Grand Prix in Southeast Asia. Thailand has an FIA-accredited track in Buriram in the northeast of the country, which currently hosts a round of the MotoGP motorcycling world championships but the proposal is for a street race in the kingdom’s capital. “We had the opportunity to discuss the opportunity of Thailand to host the Formula 1 race, which is a great sport with a worldwide following,” the Thai Prime Minister posted on X after the meeting with Domenicali at Government House. “The government confirmed that it will study this joint investment, including the study of the race route, the investment budget, and the value for Thailand to receive from hosting the race.” Paetongtarn said she thought …

This international surveillance project aims to protect wheat from deadly diseases

This international surveillance project aims to protect wheat from deadly diseases

Published by skeptic

Their automated system sends data to Chris Gilligan, who leads the modeling arm of Wheat DEWAS at the University of Cambridge. With his team, he works with the UK’s Met Office, using their supercomputer to model how the fungal spores at a given site might spread under specific weather conditions and what the risk is of their landing, germinating, and infecting other areas. The team drew on previous models, including work on the ash plume from the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull, which caused havoc in Europe in 2010. Each day, a downloadable bulletin is posted online with a seven-day forecast. Additional alerts or advisories are also sent out. Information is then disseminated from governments or national authorities to farmers. For example, in Ethiopia, immediate risks are conveyed to farmers by SMS text messaging. Crucially, if there’s likely to be a problem, the alerts offer time to respond. “You’ve got, in effect, three weeks’ grace,” says Gilligan. That is, growers may know of the risk up to a week ahead of time, enabling them …

Trump’s transition team aims to kill Biden EV tax credit: Reuters

Trump’s transition team aims to kill Biden EV tax credit: Reuters

Published by Sam

U.S. President Joe Biden answers questions from reporters after driving a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Xe around the White House driveway following remarks during an event on the South Lawn of the White House on Aug. 5, 2021, in Washington, D.C. Biden delivered remarks on the administration’s efforts to strengthen American leadership on clean cars and trucks. Win Mcnamee | Getty Images News | Getty Images President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is planning to kill the $7,500 consumer tax credit for electric-vehicle purchases as part of broader tax-reform legislation, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Ending the tax credit could have grave implications for an already stalling U.S. EV transition. And yet representatives of Tesla — by far the nation’s largest EV seller — have told a Trump-transition committee they support ending the subsidy, said the two sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Elon Musk, one of Trump’s biggest backers and the world’s richest person, said earlier this year that killing the subsidy might slightly hurt Tesla sales but would devastate its U.S. EV competitors, which include …

K2 Pictures Aims to Revolutionize Film Financing in Japan

K2 Pictures Aims to Revolutionize Film Financing in Japan

Published by Sam

Veteran Japanese film producer Muneyuki Kii has assembled a bold new venture to shake up Japan’s traditionally sclerotic and risk-averse approach to movie financing. The executive, formerly a lead producer at Tokyo-based studio Toei, revealed the launch Thursday of K2 Pictures, a mini-studio that aims to bring a more direct, Hollywood-style model of film funding to Japan’s industry.  The new company will launch a content fund — dubbed the “K2P Film Fund I” — to finance both live-action and animated Japanese features. K2P also has lined up an impressive roster of Japanese directors to collaborate with on its first slate, including Palme d’Or winner Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters), local industry mainstay Takashi Miike (Ichi the Killer, 13 Assassins), Shunji Iwai (Love Letter), Miwa Nishikawa (Sway), Kazuya Shiraishi (The Devil’s Path) and leading anime studio MAPPA, known for mega-hits like Jujutsu Kaisen 0 and Attack on Titan. Kii will serve as K2P’s CEO, while other senior leadership at launch include Tetsuro Koda, co-founder of Japanese gaming and comics publishing company Akatsuki, and Fred Schmidt, chairman in Asia for investment management company BentallGreenOak. Kii spent over 25 years …

New Rule Aims to Speed up Removal of Limited Group of Migrants Who Don’t Qualify for Asylum

New Rule Aims to Speed up Removal of Limited Group of Migrants Who Don’t Qualify for Asylum

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WASHINGTON (AP) — A new Biden administration rule announced Thursday aims to speed up asylum processing at the southern border for a a limited group of people believed to have committed serious crimes or who have terrorist links and ultimately more quickly eject them from the country. The change comes as the administration has been struggling to demonstrate to voters during an election where immigration is a key issue that it has a handle on the southern border. Republicans have consistently slammed the Biden administration over policies that they say have worsened problems at the southern border. In a statement announcing the changes, the Department of Homeland Security said migrants who are deemed to pose a public threat are taken into custody but a determination on whether they’re eligible for asylum isn’t made until later in the asylum process. Under the proposed rule, asylum officers hearing cases at an initial screening stage called credible fear screening — that’s intended to happen just days after a person arrives in the country will now be able to …

US Asylum Change Aims to Speed up Some Rejections at Mexico Border

US Asylum Change Aims to Speed up Some Rejections at Mexico Border

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A new U.S. asylum change announced on Thursday aims to more quickly reject asylum seekers caught illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border if they pose certain criminal and national security concerns, a limited move to cut down on crossings. A proposed regulation would allow asylum officers to deny claims of migrants convicted of a serious crime, linked to terrorism or posing other dangers to public safety, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a press release. The rejections could take place in days instead of a process that can take years, DHS said. Reuters and other outlets reported the plans on Wednesday. The measure will be limited in scope, potentially applying to thousands of asylum seekers per year, sources told Reuters. That would be a fraction of the 1 million caught crossing illegally from Oct. 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024. A DHS official on a call with reporters declined to offer an estimate of how many asylum seekers could be rejected under the proposal. “We don’t think that the rule will apply …

Xi’s European tour: where is Chinese leader going and what are visit’s aims? | China

Xi’s European tour: where is Chinese leader going and what are visit’s aims? | China

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China’s president, Xi Jinping, has begun a three-country tour of Europe – his first state visit to the continent in five years – at a time when China-EU ties are under strain from trade disputes and Russia’s war on Ukraine. Where is Xi visiting and who will he meet? The Chinese leader’s visit begins on Monday in Paris, where he is meeting the French president, Emmanuel Macron, for a day of talks that will include a trilateral meeting with the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and a state banquet at the Élysée Palace in the evening. On Tuesday, Macron will accompany Xi to the Tourmalet pass 2,000 metres up in the Hautes-Pyrénées mountains, an area where the French president spent childhood holidays visiting his grandmother, for a day of less formal discussions. The two last met in April 2023 during a three-day state visit to China by Macron. On Wednesday, Xi will travel to Belgrade for talks with Serbia’s president, Aleksandar Vučić, and on Thursday he will go to Budapest where …

Inter’s Inzaghi aims to keep title-winning squad intact for next season

Inter’s Inzaghi aims to keep title-winning squad intact for next season

Published by Sam

Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi hopes he can keep his Serie A title winning squad intact for next season. The champions suffered only their second league defeat of the season on Saturday, once again falling to Sassuolo who had also beaten them at the San Siro in September. The two losses to Sassuolo were the only blips suffered by Inter, who wrapped up the Serie A title last month with five matches to spare. “I already told the club that I want to go into next season with all the players I had this term, not losing a single one,” Inzaghi told Sky Sports Italia. Inzaghi, however, does want to expand the roster to provide more options for rotating players. “Considering all the games we need to play and the length of the season, we do need a bigger squad,” he said, adding that the club had relatively few injuries this season and that might not be the case next time. Against Sassuolo, Inter lacked their usual aggressiveness. “We started sluggish and didn’t have the …