Chris Albon Profile picture
Director of Machine Learning at the Wikimedia Foundation. We host Wikipedia.
Potato Of Reason Profile picture Yomi Shishio Profile picture 2 subscribed
Dec 31, 2023 15 tweets 3 min read
I write private notes to myself. Mostly these are very personal. But, I want to share one since it relates to 2024.

Disclaimer: This isn't some grand theory of how society should work. This isn't prescriptive to you. This isn't about you. This me talking to me about my life. Looking back from around 2020 until now, the biggest lesson I will take into 2024 is this:

**Focus my attention on things I want to accomplish AND I have significant control over.**
Oct 21, 2023 13 tweets 3 min read
Last week a16z released their "Techno-Optimist Manifesto". Notably, in a section titled "The Enemy" they listed tech ethics -- an inclusion which has received a lot of negative attention.

I spent the week thinking about it, and here are some thoughts.

a16z.com/the-techno-opt…
Image A quick disclaimer: If you want to know why a16z included it, you have to ask them. I don't have any relationship with a16z, they've never funded anything I've done, I don't go to their Christmas party or anything. Basically I don't have any insight into their mind.

Let's begin.
Oct 13, 2023 9 tweets 2 min read
Sigh. I don't normally talk about this stuff because it isn't relevant to machine learning, but my PhD is in quantitative political science, specifically on the public health effects of modern armed conflict. A friend asked me what was going to happen, so here you go. Disclaimer: I don't work in this field. I used to study it a decade ago. So that is the perspective you get.
Apr 20, 2023 12 tweets 2 min read
If you are interested in it, here why I think you should get into AI right now.

Disclaimer: If you are looking for some AI hype thread, go somewhere else. TL;DR when a new thing comes along, there is a window of time where nobody is an expert. There are only people interested in it, playing around with it, and talking with each other. But eventually the thing matures and the window closes. After barriers to entry are much higher.
Apr 19, 2023 8 tweets 7 min read
What a time to be in tech. ImageImageImageImage ImageImageImageImage
Feb 15, 2022 4 tweets 1 min read
Someone at Pixar deleted all of Toy Story 2 and the backup hadn't worked for a month, and the only reason we saw that movie was b/c someone on maternity leave had a copy of it on her home computer.

Her name is Galyn Susman and she is now the producer for the new Lightyear movie! Test your backups, people!