Ben Wishovich

Alright! This morning I got into my Tesla and was welcomed with the release notes from last night's software update. As usual, I started reading the release notes casually, until I reached this part: "FSD (Supervised) v12 upgrades the city-streets driving stack to a single end-to-end neural network trained on millions of video clips, replacing over 300k lines of explicit C++ code." Yep, that's it, Tesla boldly bid farewell 300k lines of traditional code and 6 years of development to the archive bin, and they had the bravery (and the audacity) to declare that explicitly in their release notes. Agree or disagree with the efficacy and dependability of Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology that's a topic for another day, but this statement in my view signifies a significant stride towards the future of software development, indicative of the digital era in which we are in. Failure to grasp and adapt to this change may result in us -software developers and digital leaders- becoming obsolete, akin to those 300k lines of code! "Are we at risk of being replaced by AI (and ChatGPT)?" This question has undoubtedly crossed our minds in recent times (yes, ChatGPT is about 18 months old now, everyone!). I don't know, maybe, but what's clear is that AI is reshaping the workforce landscape, and I believe it is already replacing you/me with someone who knows how to use AI to do our job -and more- effectively with higher productivity, and the good news is that we can chose to be that 'someone'! First step? Let's embrace this transformative wave and leverage AI and its potential to the fullest to thrive in the digital age.💡 #AI #DigitalTransformation

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This is such a valuable insight! Documenting and updating technical processes not only scales knowledge but also creates opportunities for deep learning and expertise sharing. 📚💡 I've shared various articles that dive into effective documentation practices, coding tips, and more. If you're interested in more tips and insights on engineering and coding, check out my blogs on Medium and Dev.to. Medium -> https://lnkd.in/eJxunUNV dev.to -> https://dev.to/aneeqakhan 

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Like a lot of other SW engineers, I get offers from various companies trying to hire me. Sometimes, in a weak moment, I'll step up to the game and express interest. After the initial interview, I learn that I'll be going through a three to four round hiring process, like really? Do companies realize that they are pulling the short end of the stick in this case, that they are the ones who want something? That virtually all the risk is borne by the object of their interest? If the company and the new employee don't get along for whatever reason, the company goes on with minimal loss, but the employee is out of a job with no income, stuck in a very difficult life situation! I'll never understand this. It is the employee who should hold a four-round selection process in such a case. The other thing is that companies haven't noticed that we've had 30% inflation here over the last few years and they're offering salaries like they did in the pre-Covid days.

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Okay-level engineers will often do better at the usual technical interviews compared to their world-class counterparts. Why? because 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺 folks come prepared and practiced for the typical challenges posed during these assessments. If you’re serious about your product, what you should be looking for is the engineer’s ability to navigate complex, long-term projects and make critical decisions based on user insights and business implications. That’s why we obsess about product-centricity in our tech talent at Gemography. We invest in finding engineers who not only excel in technical skills but also thrive in real-world scenarios where product development, user experience, and sustainable engineering practices are at the center. You do this by looking for side projects, feature initiatives and crisis ownership in your candidate’s story, while staying aware of how the actual interview performance can be biasing.

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Sad to hear about the *last* carvel meeting. Carvel came up with (1) a sane replacement for k8s operators (2) a really dynamic Yaml substitution model (3) a really easy to use docker image inspector (imgpkg). I love these tools (especially 3 and 1) and still use them sometimes, even after i left VMWare Tanzu. Reminds us that - if you depend on an open source project - as the contributors to donate it to a foundation - esp if its relevant to infrastructure or other critical things that might be mission critical. The CNCF or the ASF have always been great homes for projects - and they live well beyond the scope of any company's ups and downs. Open source foundations are super important, and they're experiencing a loss in contributors due to the economic crunch. Become a contributor to the projects your company cares about so that you can help maintain them in crunchtime :) Also its a good way to make friends. https://lnkd.in/g4DBVuy8

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Buy FSD For $8,000 or Stick To The $99/Month Subscription? Tesla recently lowered both the monthly and outright purchase price of FSD from $199 to $99 per month and from $12,000 to $8,000 for the outright purchase price. This brings up an important question - should you buy FSD outright, or should you stick to the monthly subscription for your Tesla vehicle? We've got everything you need to know and think about. First off, it's important to note that the monthly purchase price was lowered by 50% and the outright purchase price was lowered by 33%. When you look at the numbers, the monthly price is more attractive - in the shorter term because it was given more of a discount. However, there's more to think about, including: * How much the monthly/outright price will increase * If Tesla does a per mile pricing model in the future * How soon Tesla will reach level 3 to level 5 autonomy * How much FSD will increase the value of your Tesla vehicle * How long your Tesla vehicle will last * Whether you want to run your Tesla as a robotaxi or not These 6 criteria will determine which option you should choose for your Tesla vehicle. Full Article: https://lnkd.in/gfejiy8y $TSLA @Tesla @torquenewsauto #fsd #autonomy #software #driverlesscars #robotaxi

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This morning I accidentally learned a lesson on fact-checking. --- One of the content managers of a reputable tech blog recently published an article with significant inaccuracies. How do I know this? My genuine interest led me to investigate the sources, only to realize I had been misled. The article titled "Everything you need to know about Finch, the latest programming language developed by MIT" on The Next Web incorrectly attributes the Finch programming language to MIT. It actually refers to a different Finch language created by an individual 13 years ago and deprecated in 2020. While MIT did in fact publish work on a new programming language(in April, not in May), the article describes the wrong Finch language, even stealing descriptions from the maintainer’s blog to support their inccorectly attributed and nonsense article. This lack of research not only misinforms readers but also undermines the researchers efforts and credibility. This left me quite frustrated, so I wanted to share this and bring awareness to others who may also need to adjust their trust in tech blogs. Lessons learned: from now on, I'll be getting my readings directly from archives when possible. Cornell University manages and maintains a popular choice:

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Well said, Andy Greenwell One of the most underrated skills, especially in the tech world, is #Documentation I insist on this skill to many techies and management. However, it is often prioritized on the lower side and ignored for various reasons. #TechSkills #Documentation #UnderratedSkills #SoftwareIndustry #Management #EngineeringManager #SoftwareDevelopment #staffengineer #architect #seniorengineer #technicallead

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What are the roles of those managers? Someone hired them for a purpose. If some managers are just aggregating the status of their direct reports, that's not much value add. Those roles will soon be taken over by AI. My guess is their roles are much more. When a company does more with less, the question should be, what is that company not doing? Having a lean organization could be one thing, but with fewer people, what work is not being done? And is that a good thing? Has the leaner organization found a more efficient way and removed low-value activity or has the company been cutting corners?

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A fresh perspective from Michael that resonated with both Guang and me: "...running a business lets you capture all the value you create, unlike working for an employer where your compensation is only a fraction of that value." (paraphrased) One of the reasons why Michael would continue building his own businesses (note that optimizing for most money isn't the objective). Catch the full episode to learn how Michael successfully grew and sold TinyPilot! https://lnkd.in/gndd3SsD

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Ever think you're a whiz at something, only to realize you've barely scratched the surface?  That was me, with AI in autonomous vehicles: I thought AI in autonomous vehicles was all about cars driving themselves. Turns out, it's like comparing a tricycle to a Tesla. AI doesn’t just navigate the car from point A to B. It's the brain behind the operation, making split-second decisions, predicting human behavior, and ensuring your coffee doesn’t spill on that sharp turn. It's like having a psychic, a Formula 1 driver, and a barista rolled into one, sitting under the hood of your car. And here’s the kicker: AI is constantly learning. Every mile driven, every near-miss, it’s getting smarter. It’s not just about replacing drivers; it’s about creating a co-pilot that’s seen every road in the world. So, next time you marvel at an autonomous vehicle, remember it's not just tech on wheels. It's a learning machine that's getting smarter every day. Curious about the quirks and marvels of AI in autonomous driving? Follow me for insights on how AI can be adopted into our daily lives! #artificialintelligence #ai

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I have said this for years. Companies are whining about how they can't find any developers, when the only level they are looking for is a Senior Dev. I understand that if you're a startup, trying to get aa product out, then you legit need a Senior dev. However, if you're a mature company, then you can get a LOT more milage out of hiring Juniors and proving some mentoring.

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We've been making some cool examples of things that can be built with substrate.run lately. Here's a simple chatbot that can help you cook: https://lnkd.in/eEZm-nRJ If you're working on building a chatbot, take a look and see what it might look like to use Substrate 🧑‍🍳

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One of the simplest techniques for improving sensitivity in your experiments is eliminating or reducing dilution. Dilution is akin to throwing more hay in the haystack, thus making your ability to find a signal extremely challenging. In this blogpost, David Press and I explain dilution and provide some practical guidance on how to handle it. We also provide some examples showcasing how enormous is the impact from eliminating dilution. For ML applications, having a way to handle dilution can lead to 100x+ sensitivity gain.

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I've been driving a Hyundai Motor Company (현대자동차) Ioniq 5 for about 3 months now. The range is fantastic and the drive is comfortable. But the rest is an absolute dumpster fire of usability problems. In no particular order: If the car is plugged in and you try to turn it on (hold brake, press power button), it goes into Accessories mode instead of turning on. It's impossible to turn the car on **or off** from Accessories mode if your foot is on the brake (but nothing tells you this). If the car is plugged in and unlocked, you can't remove the charger. You have to lock the car, unlock it, and then remove the cable within a few seconds. This happens **all the time** because the car unlocks when you get close. Hyundai seems to assume that everyone is sprinting full speed directly at the charger as their first order of business. If you get in the back seat and close the door with the remote inside, the doors lock and can't be unlocked from the back seat using either the door buttons or the remote. You have to climb over the seat and unlock the car using the buttons on the driver's door. It's **surprisingly difficult** to get the car into Neutral. When you shift to Neutral, it prompts you to press the OK button to confirm. But it's not clear whether the OK button is the button that says OK or the unlabeled button _next_ to the "OK." https://lnkd.in/gDYHvPvV If you want regenerative braking (iPedal mode), you have to turn it on every time you start the car. The Chevy Bolt has no problem keeping this mode engaged across starts. If you try to enable regenerative braking while holding the brake pedal, it says "conditions not met" but doesn't tell you how to fix the problem. You have to be accelerating to enable regenerative braking. Climate controls stay the same across starts (and are even tied to the driver profile!) -- except for the seat heaters and fans.

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In recent conversations with robotics software engineers, I've noticed a pattern: many, especially those transitioning from the defense sector, are eager to join ethical start-ups where they can tackle real-world problems. FarmWise, with its ground-breaking weeding robots, embodies this ethos, Which is why I am proud to champion them! FarmWise's Vulcan weeder robot leverages AI and machine learning to precisely target and remove weeds, reducing reliance on chemical herbicides and boosting crop yields. According to Sébastien Boyer, co-founder and CEO of FarmWise, “Our robots will increasingly act as specialized doctors for crops, monitoring individual health and adjusting targeted interventions”​ (AgFunder News)​. FarmWise's robots not only enhance productivity but also promote environmental stewardship by eliminating the need for chemical herbicides. If you're a Robotics Software engineer, who is looking to make the transition to agriTech, or you have previous experience in the industry, please get in touch and I would be happy to go through your expectations and to recommend some of the companies I am currently representing in the space. If you are an agriTech company that is in need of recruitment support across, Software, Robotics, Engineering and AI. I would be happy to have a conversation and see if Cubiq could be the right partner for you! #FarmTech #Robotics #AI #SustainableFarming #AgriTech #ROS #RoboticsSoftware #AutomationSoftware

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