Goutham Kurra
@gkurra.bsky.social
Co-founder of Wisq & Glint (acquired by LinkedIN)
Building, Writing, Music, Philosophy, AI.
https://hyperstellar.substack.com
Building, Writing, Music, Philosophy, AI.
https://hyperstellar.substack.com
Before humans could write, how did we think? The leap from oral culture to literacy fundamentally reshaped human consciousness. What does that have to do with LLMs and AI today? My latest piece on substack:
hyperstellar.substack.com/p/magic-spel...
hyperstellar.substack.com/p/magic-spel...
Magic Spells for Intelligence
From Icelandic Sagas to Reasoning in LLMs
hyperstellar.substack.com
July 3, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Before humans could write, how did we think? The leap from oral culture to literacy fundamentally reshaped human consciousness. What does that have to do with LLMs and AI today? My latest piece on substack:
hyperstellar.substack.com/p/magic-spel...
hyperstellar.substack.com/p/magic-spel...
The new vision-language-action model can help robots operate in entirely new environments - clean a kitchen or tidy a bedroom that the robot has never seen before during training. A notable advance.
www.pi.website/blog/pi05
www.pi.website/blog/pi05
A VLA with Open-World Generalization
Our latest generalist policy, π0.5, extends π0 and enables open-world generalization. Our new model can control a mobile manipulator to clean up an entirely new kitchen or bedroom.
www.pi.website
April 25, 2025 at 3:50 PM
The new vision-language-action model can help robots operate in entirely new environments - clean a kitchen or tidy a bedroom that the robot has never seen before during training. A notable advance.
www.pi.website/blog/pi05
www.pi.website/blog/pi05
"So long and thanks for the fish" :-)
(in all seriousness, really excited for applications like this)
blog.google/technology/a...
(in all seriousness, really excited for applications like this)
blog.google/technology/a...
DolphinGemma: How Google AI is helping decode dolphin communication
Dolphin researchers are using Gemma and Google Pixel phones to try to decipher how dolphins talk to one another.
blog.google
April 15, 2025 at 5:27 PM
"So long and thanks for the fish" :-)
(in all seriousness, really excited for applications like this)
blog.google/technology/a...
(in all seriousness, really excited for applications like this)
blog.google/technology/a...
Two cool real world applications of AI (Diffusion/DL) - 1. Designing antidotes for snake venom (>100K/year global snakebite deaths) and, even cooler, 2. Sifting thru venom-derived peptides to fight drug-resistant bacteria (snake venom has antimicrobial properties)
blog.asimov.com/p/antivenom-...
blog.asimov.com/p/antivenom-...
Antivenom Renaissance
Two new papers use AI tools to explore antivenoms in different ways.
blog.asimov.com
January 22, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Two cool real world applications of AI (Diffusion/DL) - 1. Designing antidotes for snake venom (>100K/year global snakebite deaths) and, even cooler, 2. Sifting thru venom-derived peptides to fight drug-resistant bacteria (snake venom has antimicrobial properties)
blog.asimov.com/p/antivenom-...
blog.asimov.com/p/antivenom-...
“One of my fav Kaggle facts: after a long leaderboard stagnation period for a competition, seeing one team make a sudden breakthrough will often cause multiple independent teams to quickly reproduce the same breakthrough—with no knowledge of how the first team did it.”
gwern.net/on-really-tr...
On Really Trying
What are the true limits to motivation?
gwern.net
January 15, 2025 at 5:08 PM
“One of my fav Kaggle facts: after a long leaderboard stagnation period for a competition, seeing one team make a sudden breakthrough will often cause multiple independent teams to quickly reproduce the same breakthrough—with no knowledge of how the first team did it.”
gwern.net/on-really-tr...
"Imagine a fictional society that has unlimited wealth, unlimited health, and permanent peace. Would they be overflowing with joy? Probably not. I think their defining characteristic would be how trivial and absurd their grievances would be."
collabfund.com/blog/minimum...
collabfund.com/blog/minimum...
Minimum Levels of Stress
A day after the September 11th terrorist attacks, every member of Congress stood on the steps of the U.S.
collabfund.com
January 14, 2025 at 7:09 PM
"Imagine a fictional society that has unlimited wealth, unlimited health, and permanent peace. Would they be overflowing with joy? Probably not. I think their defining characteristic would be how trivial and absurd their grievances would be."
collabfund.com/blog/minimum...
collabfund.com/blog/minimum...
Regardless of AGI & ASI, as soon as AI agents can own assets, we’ll have to deal with new ideas of person-hood. AI owning assets (crypto is a natural fit) will introduce a new kind of competitive surface with humans and new frontiers for what it means to be a person.
December 26, 2024 at 6:46 PM
Regardless of AGI & ASI, as soon as AI agents can own assets, we’ll have to deal with new ideas of person-hood. AI owning assets (crypto is a natural fit) will introduce a new kind of competitive surface with humans and new frontiers for what it means to be a person.
This would've been mindbogglingly reeking of magic just a few years ago but now it barely makes the news (even if it's a still mindboggling).
Generative AI (VLM) leveraging Physics Solvers to create physically accurate simulations. AI + Physics!
genesis-embodied-ai.github.io
Generative AI (VLM) leveraging Physics Solvers to create physically accurate simulations. AI + Physics!
genesis-embodied-ai.github.io
Genesis
genesis-embodied-ai.github.io
December 22, 2024 at 9:43 PM
This would've been mindbogglingly reeking of magic just a few years ago but now it barely makes the news (even if it's a still mindboggling).
Generative AI (VLM) leveraging Physics Solvers to create physically accurate simulations. AI + Physics!
genesis-embodied-ai.github.io
Generative AI (VLM) leveraging Physics Solvers to create physically accurate simulations. AI + Physics!
genesis-embodied-ai.github.io
This. Narrative is sense-making. It is thinking. Descriptive writing processes sensory data through multiple lenses of meaning to create connections that may not pre-exist in the reader's mind.
The purpose of descriptive writing comes from the fact that sensory experience is not direct. Your senses occur in your brain, and are influenced by your understanding. Descriptive writing can give you an experience that you would not have in person.
December 18, 2024 at 2:06 AM
This. Narrative is sense-making. It is thinking. Descriptive writing processes sensory data through multiple lenses of meaning to create connections that may not pre-exist in the reader's mind.
Reposted by Goutham Kurra
HOT 🔥 fastest, most precise, and most capable hand control setup ever...
Less than $450 and fully open-source 🤯
by @huggingface, @therobotstudio, @NepYope
This tendon-driven technology will disrupt robotics! Retweet to accelerate its democratization 🚀
A thread 🧵
Less than $450 and fully open-source 🤯
by @huggingface, @therobotstudio, @NepYope
This tendon-driven technology will disrupt robotics! Retweet to accelerate its democratization 🚀
A thread 🧵
December 15, 2024 at 8:22 AM
HOT 🔥 fastest, most precise, and most capable hand control setup ever...
Less than $450 and fully open-source 🤯
by @huggingface, @therobotstudio, @NepYope
This tendon-driven technology will disrupt robotics! Retweet to accelerate its democratization 🚀
A thread 🧵
Less than $450 and fully open-source 🤯
by @huggingface, @therobotstudio, @NepYope
This tendon-driven technology will disrupt robotics! Retweet to accelerate its democratization 🚀
A thread 🧵
Reposted by Goutham Kurra
A whole bunch of systems that depend on effort being costly are going to be breaking.
Academic journals are seeing this happen already.
Academic journals are seeing this happen already.
December 13, 2024 at 6:56 PM
A whole bunch of systems that depend on effort being costly are going to be breaking.
Academic journals are seeing this happen already.
Academic journals are seeing this happen already.
Reposted by Goutham Kurra
Dommaraju unseated China's Ding Liren to become the new world chess champion. "Every chess player wants to experience this moment, and very few get the chance," Dommaraju said after the match.
At 18, India's Gukesh Dommaraju becomes the youngest world chess champion ever
Dommaraju unseated China's Ding Liren to become the new world chess champion. "Every chess player wants to experience this moment, and very few get the chance," Dommaraju said after the match.
www.npr.org
December 12, 2024 at 11:19 PM
Dommaraju unseated China's Ding Liren to become the new world chess champion. "Every chess player wants to experience this moment, and very few get the chance," Dommaraju said after the match.
An illustrative timeline of how kernel smoothing ideas ultimately became "attention" in Transformers. This reminded me of Cosma Shalizi's earlier piece on this topic:
bactra.org/notebooks/nn...
bactra.org/notebooks/nn...
December 9, 2024 at 7:00 PM
An illustrative timeline of how kernel smoothing ideas ultimately became "attention" in Transformers. This reminded me of Cosma Shalizi's earlier piece on this topic:
bactra.org/notebooks/nn...
bactra.org/notebooks/nn...
Any space that AI can proliferate in will be flooded with slop, inauthenticity, and fraud (as is already happening)
I don't really see a clear path where we keep an open internet that is not mostly full of AIs talking to each other. We can't reliably detect AI content, it is cheap and easy to generate, and there are lots of incentives to do so, even besides scams.
You can see the problem on all the social sites.
You can see the problem on all the social sites.
December 3, 2024 at 8:18 PM
Any space that AI can proliferate in will be flooded with slop, inauthenticity, and fraud (as is already happening)
Happiness doesn't always require positive emotional valence. Interview with Susan Cain - www.econtalk.org/susan-cain-o...
Susan Cain on Bittersweet and the Happiness of Melancholy - Econlib
Why do we like sad music or that poignant feeling that comes from attending a funeral? Author Susan Cain talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about her book Bittersweet and the seductive and sometime...
www.econtalk.org
December 1, 2024 at 4:04 PM
Happiness doesn't always require positive emotional valence. Interview with Susan Cain - www.econtalk.org/susan-cain-o...
Reposted by Goutham Kurra
A thread of books I finished in 2024
Book 1
Lesson:
Nothing inhibits progress as much as the isolation between minds.
Book 1
Lesson:
Nothing inhibits progress as much as the isolation between minds.
November 14, 2024 at 11:42 PM
A thread of books I finished in 2024
Book 1
Lesson:
Nothing inhibits progress as much as the isolation between minds.
Book 1
Lesson:
Nothing inhibits progress as much as the isolation between minds.
What do you do when you hit a plateau? Here are a few ideas:
hyperstellar.substack.com/p/a-guide-to...
hyperstellar.substack.com/p/a-guide-to...
A Guide to Overcoming Plateaus
The cognitive science behind growth ruts, and how to break through to the next level
hyperstellar.substack.com
November 17, 2024 at 9:38 PM
What do you do when you hit a plateau? Here are a few ideas:
hyperstellar.substack.com/p/a-guide-to...
hyperstellar.substack.com/p/a-guide-to...
In my latest essay, I explore Mastery by connecting the dots between eastern philosophical ideas, modern cognitive science, and the study of expert performers. Plus some unexpected analogies from training AI models. Enjoy!
hyperstellar.substack.com/p/how-to-mas...
hyperstellar.substack.com/p/how-to-mas...
How to Master Just About Anything (Part 1)
Effortless mastery through eastern philosophy, cognitive science, and AI.
hyperstellar.substack.com
December 11, 2023 at 4:57 PM
In my latest essay, I explore Mastery by connecting the dots between eastern philosophical ideas, modern cognitive science, and the study of expert performers. Plus some unexpected analogies from training AI models. Enjoy!
hyperstellar.substack.com/p/how-to-mas...
hyperstellar.substack.com/p/how-to-mas...
John McLaughlin at 81 still has the chops, and so does Zakir at 72. A wonderful 20 mins of Shakti performing at Tiny Desk.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx8A...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx8A...
Shakti: Tiny Desk Concert
Felix Contreras | October 30, 2023It's hard to get past the significance of this performance by the Indian jazz fusion band, Shakti. Initially formed in 1973...
www.youtube.com
November 1, 2023 at 4:09 PM
John McLaughlin at 81 still has the chops, and so does Zakir at 72. A wonderful 20 mins of Shakti performing at Tiny Desk.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx8A...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx8A...
Nice framing of "unwanted drives" in AI without invoking agency
"... if a model hallucinates a fact, it is unwanted behavior (but not drive); if it insists on the hallucinated fact & works to convince the user it is true... that would be an unwanted drive."
bounded-regret.ghost.io/intrinsic-dr...
"... if a model hallucinates a fact, it is unwanted behavior (but not drive); if it insists on the hallucinated fact & works to convince the user it is true... that would be an unwanted drive."
bounded-regret.ghost.io/intrinsic-dr...
Intrinsic Drives and Extrinsic Misuse: Two Intertwined Risks of AI
Given their advanced capabilities, future AI systems could pose significant risks to society. Some of this risk stems from humans using AI systems for bad ends (misuse), while some stems from the diff...
bounded-regret.ghost.io
November 1, 2023 at 1:59 AM
Nice framing of "unwanted drives" in AI without invoking agency
"... if a model hallucinates a fact, it is unwanted behavior (but not drive); if it insists on the hallucinated fact & works to convince the user it is true... that would be an unwanted drive."
bounded-regret.ghost.io/intrinsic-dr...
"... if a model hallucinates a fact, it is unwanted behavior (but not drive); if it insists on the hallucinated fact & works to convince the user it is true... that would be an unwanted drive."
bounded-regret.ghost.io/intrinsic-dr...
"So if ultimate impact on the world is what you crave, becoming a top science fiction writer is probably the best bang for your buck."
Love this framing as a reason to write sci-fi:
www.strangeloopcanon.com/p/so-you-wan...
Love this framing as a reason to write sci-fi:
www.strangeloopcanon.com/p/so-you-wan...
So You Want To Have Impact!
New cause area: invest in science fiction
www.strangeloopcanon.com
October 27, 2023 at 5:47 PM
"So if ultimate impact on the world is what you crave, becoming a top science fiction writer is probably the best bang for your buck."
Love this framing as a reason to write sci-fi:
www.strangeloopcanon.com/p/so-you-wan...
Love this framing as a reason to write sci-fi:
www.strangeloopcanon.com/p/so-you-wan...
A long-form essay on what AI can reveal to us about human cognition. In which I somehow connect Elena Ferrante with LLMs. Enjoy!
hyperstellar.substack.com/p/let-me-fin...
hyperstellar.substack.com/p/let-me-fin...
We're all Stochastic Parrots
What AI can teach us about being Human
hyperstellar.substack.com
October 25, 2023 at 4:23 PM
A long-form essay on what AI can reveal to us about human cognition. In which I somehow connect Elena Ferrante with LLMs. Enjoy!
hyperstellar.substack.com/p/let-me-fin...
hyperstellar.substack.com/p/let-me-fin...