The Sunday Brew #72
In this brew - Global Nuclear Warheads in a picture | Focusing Illusion & Social Proof | FTX CEO gets 25 years in prison, MS & OpenAI to build $100B supercomputer & Amazon invests $4B in Anthropic
Welcome to The Sunday Brew, weekly 1-2-3 newsletter by The Percolator. Every Sunday we drop in your inbox 1 story in a picture, 2 concepts, ideas or frameworks to expand your horizons and 3 news from the week, to keep you updated.
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ONE STORY IN A PICTURE
TWO IDEAS, FRAMEWORKS OR CONCEPTS
This week we bring to you two logical fallacy - Focusing Illusion & Social Proof
Focusing Illusion
The focusing illusion is a cognitive bias that occurs when people place too much importance on one aspect of an event or situation, thereby overestimating its significance while neglecting other factors. This bias can lead individuals to overemphasize the impact of certain factors on their overall happiness or satisfaction.
The concept was popularized by Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman and his colleagues in their research on subjective well-being. They found that people tend to focus their attention on specific elements of their lives when evaluating their overall happiness, often giving disproportionate weight to those elements.
For example, someone might believe that living in a particular city will make them significantly happier because of its vibrant nightlife, despite other factors like cost of living, weather, or social connections, which may also play crucial roles in their overall happiness.
Understanding the focusing illusion can help individuals make more balanced and informed decisions by considering a broader range of factors rather than fixating on a single aspect of a situation.
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Social Proof
Social proof is a psychological phenomenon where people assume the actions of others in an attempt to reflect correct behaviour in a given situation. In simpler terms, it's the idea that people will conform to the actions of others under the assumption that those actions represent correct behaviour for a given situation.
This concept is based on the idea of conformity, which is the tendency for individuals to align their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours with those of a larger group.
Social proof suggests that when people are uncertain about how to behave or make decisions, they will look to others for guidance. If they see others engaging in a particular behaviour, they are more likely to follow suit, assuming that those others possess more knowledge about the situation.
Social proof is pervasive in various aspects of life, including consumer behaviour, social media influence, and decision-making. Examples of social proof include customer reviews and testimonials, celebrity endorsements, popularity indicators (such as likes, shares, and followers on social media), and the behaviour of peers and colleagues.
THREE NEWS FROM THE WEEK
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison
In a landmark case, Sam Bankman-Fried, the co-founder of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan. This sentence follows Bankman-Fried's conviction on multiple charges, including fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering, stemming from the spectacular downfall of FTX.
FTX's collapse, fuelled by Bankman-Fried's fraudulent activities, resulted in billions of dollars in losses for investors and customers. Prosecutors successfully argued that Bankman-Fried misappropriated massive amounts of FTX customer funds for personal gain. These funds were allegedly used to prop up his Alameda Research investment firm, bankroll political campaigns, fund risky ventures, and finance extravagant lifestyles for FTX executives.
Judge Kaplan, during the sentencing, excoriated Bankman-Fried for his lack of remorse and the devastating effects his crimes had on victims. Additionally, the judge expressed concern that Bankman-Fried posed a high risk of re-offending. To ensure he doesn't profit from his crimes, a hefty forfeiture order of over $11 billion was also imposed on Bankman-Fried. Read More ยปยปยป
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Microsoft and OpenAI Team Up to Build $100 Billion AI Supercomputer, "Stargate"
Tech titans Microsoft and OpenAI are joining forces to create a ground-breaking supercomputer named "Stargate," with a staggering price tag of $100 billion. This ambitious project marks the culmination of a five-phase collaboration to push the boundaries of artificial intelligence (AI).
Stargate is envisioned as a massive U.S.-based data centre specifically designed for cutting-edge AI research. Housing millions of specialized AI chips, it aims to significantly accelerate the development of OpenAI's powerful AI models. This supercomputer isn't a one-off endeavour; it's the final stage of a multi-year plan. Over the next six years, Microsoft & OpenAI plan to build a series of increasingly powerful data centres, culminating in Stargate's launch by 2028. Read More ยปยปยป
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Amazon Completes $4 Billion Investment in AI Start-up Anthropic
Tech giant Amazon has finalized its investment in Anthropic, a leading artificial intelligence (AI) start-up, by pouring an additional $2.75 billion into the company. This brings Amazon's total stake in Anthropic to $4 billion, fulfilling the commitment made last September.
Anthropic is renowned for its advancements in generative AI, particularly the Claude 3 family of models. These models boast near-human responsiveness, improved accuracy and control, and even new vision capabilities.
The strategic partnership between the two companies goes beyond just funding. Anthropic has chosen AWS as its primary cloud provider, and will utilize Amazon's custom-designed machine learning chips, Tranium and Inferentia, to develop future AI models. Read Moreยปยปยป
The Sunday Brew by The Percolator brings to you curated news on tech, business & entrepreneurship, from across the internet to give your week a perfect start.
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