e509 — Maverick and Marbles

e509 — Maverick and Marbles

Author: Michael Rowe, Michael Martine, Andy Piper April 14, 2025 Duration: 32:10
two brown llamas in a field
Photo by Josiah Farrow on Unsplash

Published 14 April 2025

e509 with Michael and Michael – stories and discussion all around AI, LLMs, llamas, generated Quake, grokking, generalization and much more.

Michael and Michael get things rolling while Andy is away with a series of AI stories, beginning with Siri, continuing on to the latest iteration of Meta’s Llama 4 models, Scout and Maverick.  Following on the llama theme, Michael R is reminded of the intro credits from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  After reflecting on an AI generated version of Quake, Michael and Michael turn to an article from the MIT Technology Review, which explores how models would all of a sudden be able to complete a task without a clear explanation as to why.  This made Michael M think about a Ted Talk describing how some polyglots acquire languages – check out Lýdia Machová’s talk below for more.

The team touches on the latest app from IconFactory called Tapestry.  Tapestry allows users to follow people across a multiplicity of social services, and eliminate duplicate posts.  Then, they consider the AR capabilities of the Zeiss Holographic Transparent Display technology.  Last up, is the Busy Bar, a device to help others know that you are not in an interruptible state.  Check out the bonus links below to find the Rube Goldberg marbles-powered device that influenced the name of the episode.

What information would you most like to see in your airplane window?  Have your bots 🤖 drop our bots 🤖 a line at @gamesatwork_biz@mastodon.social (our home for now) and let us know! 

These show notes were lovingly hand crafted by a real human, and not by a bot.  All rights reserved.  That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.

Selected Links

AI

9 to 5 Mac article: Craig Federighi’s leadership has already resulted in this major Siri pivot, per report

Visual Studio IDE: AI-assisted development in Visual Studio

The Verge article: Meta got caught gaming AI benchmarks

Intro Credits from Monty Python and the Holy Grail

The Verge article: Microsoft has created an AI-generated version of Quake

Wikipedia article: Quake

MIT Technology Review article: Large language models can do jaw-dropping things. But nobody knows exactly why.

arXiv paper: DEEP DOUBLE DESCENT: WHERE BIGGER MODELS AND MORE DATA HURT

arXiV paper: UNDERSTANDING DEEP LEARNING REQUIRES RE-THINKING GENERALIZATION

Boy Genius Report article: This is the difference between how humans and AI ‘think’

OpenReview: Evaluating the Robustness of Analogical Reasoning in Large Language Models

Cool Stuff

:tapestry_app: Tapestry 1.1 brings a host of great new features: Follow individual accounts & lists on Bluesky & Mastodon, automatically remove duplicates from the timeline with Crosstalk, and quickly switch your timelines with Tapestry’s redesigned navigation.

Learn more about these features plus dozens of other improvements in today's FREE update of Tapestry – Your personal timeline app.

blog.iconfactory.com/2025/04/t

— The Iconfactory (@Iconfactory@iconfactory.world)2025-04-08T15:33:42.712Z

Iconfactory blog post: Tapestry: What’s New? No Déjà Vu!

Popular Science article: Smart glass windows would beam in-flight info over scenic views

Busy Bar

Bonus Links: More Cool Stuff 

The Verge article: Samsung is finally releasing Ballie

The Verge article: You can build these marble runs and connect them to your smart home over Wi-Fi

Wikipedia article: Rube Goldberg

The Verge article: 22 years later, modders are keeping SimCity 4 alive


The weekly conversation hosted by Michael Rowe, Michael Martine, and Andy Piper, Games At Work dot Biz, explores the intersection where our digital play and professional lives collide. This isn't just a review show; it's a deep dive into the technology that powers our hobbies, the business behind the leisure, and the cultural news shaping both worlds. Each episode feels like pulling up a chair with three friends who are as passionate about the craft of game development and the evolution of hardware as they are about the pure joy of finding a great new title. You'll hear specific discussions on everything from the latest graphics card impacting performance to the narrative design of an indie darling, all filtered through the lens of professionals who live in the tech space. The Games At Work dot Biz podcast operates on the belief that the games we play and the tools we use are inextricably linked, offering listeners a consistently thoughtful and engaging analysis that goes far beyond a simple score. Tune in for a regular dose of insightful commentary where the serious business of technology meets the serious fun of games.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 55

Games At Work dot Biz
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