Nicholas Jitkoff

A terrific intro into how AI code generation is reshaping the UI design process. Food for thought for back end engineers, you might be able to boldly go into trying hands-on front end design, the tools are making it a lot easier! Not clear how sophisticated these AI-based UIs can get, but it's definitely something to get familiar with.

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It's simple. More functionality = more power. The Ray-Ban Meta upgrades with enhanced AI functionality mean that power management and seamless charging experiences become increasingly important for all smart glasses and wearables. Learn more in the #ProofPoints video below.

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💡 As an early-stage startup, I’ve found adopting a 'no systems policy' to be incredibly useful. Not a single second gets wasted on over-engineering processes or workflows. I’ve spent time in the past trying to systematize everything, only to realize that most of those systems were never used, and we often hacked together better solutions on the fly. ❓Have you ever been in a similar situation? #startup #system #earlystage

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The newest issue of The Pragmatic Engineer found a surprise uptick in eng hiring in the typically slow summer season - I'm curious to see how the macro environment impacts this uptick as we head into the fall, but I remain hopeful. I asked Gemini to give me the tldr of the article to share with my team (sorry, Gergely Orosz) and found it missed one of the most interesting pieces of the article. Gemini's highlights - Unexpected surge: Tech recruitment has seen an unusual spike in June and July, contrary to typical trends. Increased demand: Startups, especially AI-focused ones, are driving the hiring uptick. Global phenomenon: This trend isn't just limited to the US; Europe is also experiencing increased recruitment activity. Reasons for hiring: Companies are backfilling positions, investing in growth due to improved financials, and responding to increased VC funding. Challenges remain: While the job market is improving, finding qualified candidates and offering competitive compensation remains difficult for many companies. What I found most interesting - The nature of the backfills: the article finds that a lot of new headcount are actually backfills of folks that were "over-slashed" during rounds of layoffs. Not entirely surprising with the "trim the fat" and "rebuild lean" mentality, but interesting nonetheless. Either way, the uptick is encouraging (and don't always rely on Gemini's tldrs). #hiring #startups #VCbacked #softwareengineering

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Interested in how to kickstart and scale design engineering in your organization? Check out the latest episode with Steve Saul!

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Last week was a blast! It was so much fun meeting so many AI enthusiasts at SF Tech Week and getting to hear firsthand how folks are using AI agents to transform their businesses. The energy was incredible, and being around all that excitement really fueled my own passion for what we do. Curious about how AI agents are delivering real ROI and changing the game for businesses? Our full panel discussion dives deep into the practical use cases and the incredible impact AI is having right now. Filming it was quite the adventure—I juggled two cameras, four mics, and a lot of creative problem-solving. It felt like a high-stakes production at times, but seeing it all come together, surrounded by people pushing the boundaries of what's possible, made it worth every second. surrounded by people genuinely pushing the boundaries of what's possible. Check out the full discussion and feel that buzz! #SFTechWeek #AI #AIAgents #Wayfound #FutureOfWork #Excitement #BusinessGrowth #TechInnovation

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Weird things arehappening at OpenAI lately and it's raising eyebrows. In the past 24 hours alone, key figures like Cofounder John Schulman, Cofounder Greg Brockman, and Product leader Peter Deng are all stepping away. This follows earlier departures this year, including Cofounder Andrej Karpathy, Jan Leike, and Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever. The company is seeing a significant exodus of talent, some even moving to competitors like Anthropic and Google. Not only that, but OpenAI faces challenges from Google's Gemini, which recently surpassed GPT-4o. Additionally, Meta's open-source AI model strategy is putting pressure on OpenAI's business model. Despite these hurdles, early reviews of OpenAI's new voice feature suggest it could be a game-changer in the AI landscape. Tough times may be ahead, but there could be a silver lining on the horizon. #ai #openai ##anthropic

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AI Virtual Staging? Just a gimmick. Or is it? For those who thought AI couldn’t match human creativity, Zillow's recent acquisition of an AI virtual staging company proves otherwise. Building AI that can think, adapt, and create like human designers is no easy feat, but it’s happening now. At Styldod, Inc, we’re proud to be leading this movement with REimagineHome.ai. And soon, this will be available as a free tool for all 110,000 members of California Regional MLS (CRMLS). Don’t take my word for it — experience the magic for yourself! #VirtualStaging #AI #RealEstate #Innovation Venture MLS (Ad concept inspired by the bold storytelling of Patagonia)

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I have a similar bias to Marty Cagan - I'm a Scientist by training (PhD), but moved to Product after learning the ropes via an Entrepreneurship route. Is Product an Art or a Science? We at Iteraite think it should be made more into a Science. And one of the ways we're doing it is helping #ProductManagers create with the help of #AI (of course) and generate ideas. Here's what I can say from years of experience working with some of the most brilliant people at places like University of California, Berkeley and various companies: Many people may be "brilliant", but have very low #creativity - which is something we usually associate with "Art". So what happens if you're a PM, and you have a low Creativity capability? Or are highly Creative, but don't know how to do things in a rigorous manner? That's where AI-Frameworks really shine - doing things Methodically can help both creative people become more scientific (use rigorous approaches, utilize data, etc), whereas it can help spark the creativity in those who lack it by helping them think and sift through ideas that the AI generates. You can try out some of our tools for free by logging into iteraite.com and using the free access code FreePRD2024 to help you generate ideas (we have better tools in the paid version, like OST).

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My bets where AI won't replace humans: 1) Human connection: Like the one that many of us just had at Config. 2) Shared human experience: When you look at another person's eye and you know you've been through a similar joyful and painful journey. 3) Real stories behind art and culture: I listen to music, and I like paintings not just because they feel good, but because there's a real human story behind it that speaks back to 2. 4) Ingenious net new creative fields: AI can use past things to create something new by mixing them, but it's mostly always can't really create something completely new and unseen. 5) What's your bet?

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Meta's latest AI model release, MovieGen, shows how they're strategically positioning themselves at the forefront of creative AI. They've been doing fantastic open-source work on AI models for a while now, but until this release, it wasn't entirely clear how they would leverage this commercially. With MovieGen, we see it: the most advanced video generation and editing tools, accessible from your mobile phone, with simple text-based commands. Imagine Instagram evolving into an interactive creative playground, where anyone can generate and edit video content seamlessly. Then, distribute it globally at the click of a button. This move will undoubtedly drive engagement, and engagement is where Meta shines in monetisation. Smart move by Meta, and an incredibly impressive tech demo. The future of content creation might just be in our pockets. Check out the release here: https://lnkd.in/e3k89AWi Please share this if you found this valuable, it helps me and you help other people.

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We’ve got starting progress on development. I also made the OPEN V.C.S. website more clear. (formerly ‘TGN’) What do you think? https://tangerinefocus.com OPEN V.C.S., a lens for looking at models For Visual Close Study of Digital Models

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Join the convo! Details below 👇

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Nick Hobbs on why we need AI designers: “Until you throw an LLM in the mix. Then, all of the sudden, there’s an alien in the middle of your software stack that defies all attempts to be specified. What makes the models so compelling — the ability to turn infinite input possibilities into infinite creative outputs — is exactly what makes them so hard to pin down into a shippable product.” Full post here: https://lnkd.in/gx4gcEqf

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I remember chatting with Steve Jobs when he would come to our office at IDEO with his most intractable design problems. He was so much more than the co-founder of Apple. He was the man who truly merged technology and design. The man who raised consumer expectations for thoughtfully made products. The man who gave users not what they asked for, but what upon seeing it, is what they wanted all along. His influence still looms large more than a dozen years after his passing. Even the staunchest critics of Apple can’t deny he helped shape the modern design and business world. We often ask: “What does it take to make the next Steve Jobs?” I interviewed dozens of designers, design scholars, entrepreneurs, and CEOs on the role of design in Silicon Valley. My research led me to identify five traits (what I call ‘Jobsian’ traits) that could shape the next great design-tech leader. If you want to be the next great leader in design-tech, this is *all* you need.

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Exciting Announcement! 🚀 Join us on Thursday, October 4th at 3 PM EST for a dynamic A11Y webinar: Shift Left – Integrating Accessibility from the Start! I’ll be speaking alongside Daryn Harpaz and Juliette Alexandria from Zenyth,  as we dive into best practices for building accessibility into your design and development process from day one. Here’s what we’ll cover: • The importance of “shifting left” with accessibility to create more inclusive digital experiences • How early integration of accessibility saves time, reduces costs, and improves user satisfaction • Practical strategies to embed accessibility within your workflow, ensuring WCAG 2.2 compliance Whether you’re a designer, developer, project manager, or business leader, this webinar will provide actionable insights to make your digital projects more accessible and user-friendly from the ground up. Date: Thursday, October 4th Time: 3 PM EST Don’t miss out – Register now: https://lnkd.in/etvz9Rph #ShiftLeft #Accessibility #A11Y #DigitalInclusion #WCAG #InclusiveDesign

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Roblox Announces Open Source AI Tool That Builds 3D Environments From Text: Scott J Mulligan writes for MIT Technology Review: Roblox plans to roll out a generative AI tool that will let creators make whole 3D scenes just using text prompts, it announced today. Once it's up and running, developers on the hugely popular online game platform will be able to simply write "Generate a race track in the desert," for example, and the AI will spin one up. Users will also be able to modify scenes or expand their scope -- say, to change a daytime scene to night or switch the desert for a forest. Although developers can already create similar scenes like this manually in the platform's creator studio, Roblox claims its new generative AI model will make the changes happen in a fraction of the time. It also claims that it will give developers with minimal 3D art skills the ability to craft more compelling environments. The firm didn't give a specific date for when the tool will be live. [...] The new tool is part of Roblox's push to integrate AI into all its processes. The company currently has 250 AI models live. One AI analyzes voice chat in real time and screens for bad language, instantly issuing reprimands and possible bans for repeated infractions. Roblox plans to open-source its 3D foundation model so that it can be modified and used as a basis for innovation. "We're doing it in open source, which means anybody, including our competitors, can use this model," says [Anupam Singh, vice president of AI and growth engineering at Roblox]. Getting it into as many hands as possible also opens creative possibilities for developers who are not as skilled at creating Roblox environments. "There are a lot of developers that are working alone, and for them, this is going to be a game changer, because now they don't have to try to find someone else to work with," says [Marcus Holmstrom, CEO of The Gang, a company that builds some of the top games on Roblox]. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Ever wonder how teams at Airbnb & directors like Spielberg turn big ideas into unforgettable experiences? ✨ It all starts with storyboarding - it’s like sketching out your project with a comic strip to visualize each step before you begin. We’re launching a "Multimodal Storyboarding Starter Kit" for developers, enabling you to unlock GenAI storyboarding in your apps. Check out StoryFlow, a demo app built on VideoDB: 1. Enter your app description. 2. List user steps. 3. Hit Generate & watch your user journey come to life! Want early access? Reply or like this post! :)

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In a recent interview with Metaverse Post, I shared how Gaia 🌱 is bringing our mission of democratizing AI development and creating a transparent ecosystem for AI agents and models to life. Here's the tldr: - We’re enabling folks to take open source LLMs from Hugging Face and build their own agentic workflows and agents and nodes. - We help you package them together in under two minutes. As a developer you can deploy your own node in two minutes from the command line. - In the future, this will be a low-code solution where people can do this even quicker. - You don’t need to use our systems. We don’t have access to your data. This is truly open-source software. Full interview linked below in comments.

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