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Discovery Loop

discoveryloop.com

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Re: Discovery Loop

#271

Post by bossyTeacher »

Marha01 wrote: post #206
Sivart13 wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The solution to most of these problems lies in policy, not in new tech advancements. Maybe if our biggest companies did something other than suck up to science denying wackos, some progress could be made in these areas.

> The solution to most of these problems lies in policy, not in new tech advancements. That is not mutually exclusive. If technological advances result in a given technology becoming cheaper, more scalable, and easier to deploy, they also make it easier to advocate for and implement the relevant policies. You can think of it like this: our "political technology" is not good enough to use solar energy at its current p…

> If technological advances result in a given technology becoming cheaper, more scalable, and easier to deploy, they also make it easier to advocate for and implement the relevant policies.

Your thinking reminds me of this https://xkcd.com/538/

Re: Discovery Loop

#272

Post by tmoertel »

2001zhaozhao wrote: post #166
tmoertel wrote: post #120

Note that Jeff and crew have cleverly structured their company to avoid problematic uses of AI (e.g., weapons or tracking humans). I suspect that many top researchers will want to work there for this reason, and to work with other top researchers who have a history of delivering results.

> Note that Jeff and crew have cleverly structured their company to avoid problematic uses of AI Do you have more sources/info on this?

They do not call attention to this aspect of their new company, but it is implicit in their business model:

https://xcancel.com/JeffDean/status/2085034604172603724

In short, they are in the business of using AI to automate the discovery of useful knowledge, not to sell general-purpose AI capabilities that could be directly used in troubling ways.

Re: Discovery Loop

#273

Post by xnx »

hiddencost wrote: post #200
tcp_handshaker wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Acquisition back by Google in 3 years, with nothing to show for it. VCs will make a ton.

These people are all already making 9 figure compensation packages, I think if they thought they could do the work they wanted at Google, they would.

Given the resources that would be available to them at Google: compute resources, data, etc. It's clear they want absolute freedom. Good for them. At this revolutionary turning point in history, I want the smartest people working in whatever area they want.

Re: Discovery Loop

#274

Post by maCDzP »

I have used something similar. I set up a team of agents that researches, proposes, builds and audits. Then rinse and repeat. I have used it for different topics. It hasn’t made me a millionaire, but I haven’t lost money either - so that’s some sort of win, right? But I would not have been able to ideate, test at that speed and quality without an LLM.

Re: Discovery Loop

#275

Post by skinfaxi »

maCDzP wrote: post #274

I have used something similar. I set up a team of agents that researches, proposes, builds and audits. Then rinse and repeat. I have used it for different topics. It hasn’t made me a millionaire, but I haven’t lost money either - so that’s some sort of win, right? But I would not have been able to ideate, test at that speed and quality without an LLM.

> It hasn’t made me a millionaire, but I haven’t lost money either - so that’s some sort of win, right?

I'm curious if that is before or after token costs?

Re: Discovery Loop

#276

Post by zahlman »

cjbarber wrote: post #18

From Jeff's twitter post: > Our general approach is to automate the experimental loop. We think this approach is broadly applicable across many different fields of science and engineering. We’ll initially focus on ML research and engineering, but believe the approach can help with important subproblems in nearly every one of the fourteen NAE Grand Challenge problems. We think doing this well requires strong expertise…

In what sense is solar energy not already economical?

Re: Discovery Loop

#277

Post by zahlman »

Sivart13 wrote: post #130
cjbarber wrote: post #18

From Jeff's twitter post: > Our general approach is to automate the experimental loop. We think this approach is broadly applicable across many different fields of science and engineering. We’ll initially focus on ML research and engineering, but believe the approach can help with important subproblems in nearly every one of the fourteen NAE Grand Challenge problems. We think doing this well requires strong expertise…

The solution to most of these problems lies in policy, not in new tech advancements. Maybe if our biggest companies did something other than suck up to science denying wackos, some progress could be made in these areas.

Making progress requires first not dismissing your ideological outgroup along such lines, and instead trying to understand what actually motivates them.

Re: Discovery Loop

#278

Post by cm2012 »

dbgrman wrote: post #128
cjbarber wrote: post #18

From Jeff's twitter post: > Our general approach is to automate the experimental loop. We think this approach is broadly applicable across many different fields of science and engineering. We’ll initially focus on ML research and engineering, but believe the approach can help with important subproblems in nearly every one of the fourteen NAE Grand Challenge problems. We think doing this well requires strong expertise…

Why is "12. Enhance Virtual Reality" in there? T_T

You dont see making heaven on earth worth doing?

Re: Discovery Loop

#279

Post by delta_p_delta_x »

cjbarber wrote: post #18

From Jeff's twitter post: > Our general approach is to automate the experimental loop. We think this approach is broadly applicable across many different fields of science and engineering. We’ll initially focus on ML research and engineering, but believe the approach can help with important subproblems in nearly every one of the fourteen NAE Grand Challenge problems. We think doing this well requires strong expertise…

> Provide Access to Clean Water

??? We don't need any AI for this.

Start with separated sewage/wastewater and stormwater drains. Then accredited and highly scrutinised wastewater treatment and discharge into water bodies (or see below for a high-tech solution). As for clean water to the home, direct those stormwater drains to new reservoirs which sustain freshwater aquatic life. Protect aquifers from over-drainage, and build pipelines from water-abundant regions to water-scarce regions.

To reclaim waste water or treat unknown water sources back to potable/semiconductor standards we have ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, UV treatment, pH adjustment, fluoridation, desalination, softening (which is generally obviated by RO...). This is basically Singapore's NEWater.

Good sanitation is a financial and political problem. The engineering has been solved for decades now.

Re: Discovery Loop

#280

Post by zahlman »

jarpschope wrote: post #232
frollogaston wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People on HN keep saying it is, but I'm still not seeing it. Companies are building datacenters in vast, sun-blasted deserts and still choosing to power those with natural gas. This in turn makes people complain about emissions pledges being reversed, but if it were economical, no pledge would be needed. Of course, USA has cheaper oil/gas than other countries. But if you look elsewhere, rich countries are subsidizing…

I don't think you have an updated view of energy production. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/07/20/how-globa... In the chart for section 3, how many countries have seen their share of electricity being generated by fossil fuels increase in the last 5 years? Only Canada. Take a look at the charts for Pakistan, Australia, Nigeria, and China for the last few years. Pretty dramatic drops for fossil fuels gen…

Oof. What's going on here in Canada with that recent uptick? Last I checked it seemed like all the trends were good.
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