Really enjoyed this, interesting read as always! It reminded me of Google Labs’ recent GenTabs project [1], and also of a recent ACM paper on user-assembled LLM-mediated tools from web content [2]. Feels like similar concepts are emerging in multiple places, all centered around lightweight intent-driven tools rather than traditional apps, which I think makes a lot of sense. Curious how this will evolve!
I think UIs will become more "generative" or "on demand". Not necessarily always generated anew, but assembled from pre-generated (reproducible) components, to suit a specific workflow.
I think especially in context of software that is complex and takes a long time to master, this could be the next breakthrough. Instead of paths-to-goal being buried in sequences of menus and config panels, workflow pathways would be invocable with plain language.
A lot of investment at some very large companies you know are trying to achieve this right now, and betting big on it. So far the lack of determinism when it is required gets in the way, but we’ll see: it feels surmountable.
It's interesting how number 5 on the list is the same as today's: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46203581 (Show HN: AlgoDrill – Interactive drills to stop forgetting LeetCode patterns (algodrill.io)).
I'm hoping we'll have gotten rid of current-style LeetCode interviews in 10 years from now :D
International students are not displacing Americans; they pay tuition, often at higher rates, and help sustain universities. The real problem is that higher education has been underfunded for years, and the current administration has only made things (much) worse by cutting funding further.
Universities and research are already struggling because of poor leadership and lack of investment, not because of international students. In the 2023-2024 academic year, international student numbers only comprised ~6% of the total U.S. enrollments.
Tuition has been increasing at a rate much greater than inflation for several decades, largely through price-insensitive loans. The idea that universities are struggling for money is not supported.
We need these Unis to cut costs and administrators. Propping up waste through courting rich foreigners is not a long-term solution.
I agree that costs and administrative growth need to be cut, and that relying on international tuition is and should not a long-term fix. But international students are not the primary cause of rising costs or problems in universities as the original comment I responded to implied; tuition inflation, loan structures, and administrative expansion are.
Actually, yes, the state pays less per American student then it used it. That is large component of why the price went up, along with the expectation that universities act like a business.
The loans not being dischargable in bankruptcy does not help, but it was Republicans who were against those reforms.
At Stanford, 36% of graduate students are international students (2024-2025 AY). While there are very good reasons for this, I think it's hard to argue that international students are not displacing US students, at least in grad school. For undergraduates, the number is 9% (2023-2024 AY). Stanford has tremendous financial resources and a main campus that is more than 12 square miles in size. They could grow the size of their student body if they wanted to.
International students at places like Stanford are not displacing Americans. Stanford is one of the top-ranked universities in the world, so the competition pool is global by definition. There is no evidence that equally qualified Americans are rejected in favor of international students. U.S. students remain the majority in both undergraduate and graduate programs.
The real barrier for many Americans is the cost of tuition, not competition with international students. That is where government and universities need to step up with better funding and support. Also, many international students stay in the U.S. after graduating, contributing to the economy and research. The problem is underfunding and poor policy decisions at the national level, not the presence of international students.
A few of the very most prestigious schools have chosen to keep their total enrollment low. In this case, sure, an international student is taking a slot away from a domestic student by having a more impressive resume. Once you leave behind a few highly exclusive schools, this pattern collapses and you just see universities growing their enrollment.
Stanford also has a unique relationship with Palo Alto where it is actually really difficult for them to build new facilities without approval from the surrounding area, but that is very specific to Stanford.
Stanford is skimming the absolute top students from around the world into its programs. There's more than enough capacity in US schools for the top 10% of US grad students and then the US gets the benefit of also getting the top 10% of other countries' grad students.
I'm not actually sure they could: remember we're talking about California. UC Berkeley, just a few miles northeast, tried to increase their enrollment count and was tangled in years of NIMBY lawsuits from people blocking the construction of additional student housing, using CEQA to claim that students were an environmental hazard.
Nice work! You may be interested in a paper that explored a similar concept and included some interesting ways of dealing with latency called WorldScribe: https://worldscribe.org.
The main difference in peanut butter isn’t about being European or American actually—it’s about the recipe. Some brands add extra oil, like palm oil, to keep it from separating (Skippy (US) and Calvé (EU), for instance). Without it, peanut butter can separate, leaving oil on top.
I believe that they actually remove the peanut oil as it can fetch more money sold as cooking oil. They substitute an inexpensive oil that they also hydrogenate. The hydrogenation is what keeps the oil from separating.
Peanut oil is also sold as an industrial lubricant. So they inject crap like palm oil and then use stuff like cane sugar to mask the taste. It is a CRIME.
The moral of the story is: Accept only peanuts and salt as ingredients; all else is duplicitous garbage.
The concept of the metaverse also involves doing those activities (e.g., work, fitness, entertainment) inside the metaverse. For instance, the home workout videos that people watch on their TVs these days could someday be replaced by an immersive fitness experience on AR glasses.
