Cajetan Oriekezie

Written in invisible ink.

[Mariya I. Vasileva @mariyaivasileva]

I’m finalizing my ICLR submissions and realizing how much I miss the “old school” way of writing papers.

My favorite part of writing a paper used to be figuring out how to creatively present the results in visual form. My advisor insisted that figures were the most important anchors of a paper: the first thing reviewers would look at, and often the only thing they’d remember. I always start there, and try to fit all of my findings into a visual story, iterating on my figures in lieu of a first draft.

Now we can have LLMs one-shot our graphics into homogeneous oblivion.

I wonder how often people still ask, “What would make this paper even better?”

I’m thinking about how someone with no background in the subject might read it versus how an expert might read it, and what would be in it for either of them. I’m thinking about the simplest, most representative example of the phenomenon I’m trying to measure and characterize, and how to put it right at the beginning so the reader has something concrete to carry through the paper. I’m debating how to introduce notation only insofar as it’s meaningful, instead of adding more clutter, so I can keep referring back to those pointers throughout the paper and ground all sections in a common vocabulary.

I’m noticing related work sections shrink over the years or be demoted to placement just before the conclusion, and wondering how much that reflects a change in what we value. With 60k abstract registrations this year, it’s hard to imagine that someone else isn’t doing the exact same thing, if it hasn’t already been done. And if references only stretch back to a year ago at best, what’s the point of adding context no one is going to care about?

And then I start wondering if I’m overthinking it. Maybe research communication has fundamentally changed. Maybe hardly anyone will read the paper, and I’m better off fitting everything interesting into the abstract.

[Alex Onyia @winexviv]

Some master’s and PhD students at UNN, UI, and ABU Zaria will be on Educare scholarships for the duration of our research programme, which will run for a minimum of 18 months.

Our research grants will be extremely valuable to these students while also helping us achieve our broader research mission.

In reality, this represents only a fraction of what it would cost if Educare had to recruit and maintain an internal team of researchers to carry out the same work.

This is how industry and universities should collaborate.

One major problem I have observed is that university bureaucracy can frustrate research. When research funds are paid directly to universities, researchers can sometimes struggle to access the funds when they need them, creating delays that can weaken or even derail important research projects.

For our project, we intend to rethink this model and develop a more efficient framework for funding and executing university-based research.

If we get it right, we won’t just complete our own research. We could create a practical blueprint for other organisations that want to fund serious academic research in Nigeria in the future.

Nigeria needs stronger bridges between industry and academia. Research should not end on university shelves; it should solve real problems, influence industry, and help build the country.

[XY Han @XYHan_]

clear writing is writing that readers don't need to put into an llm to understand and enjoy.

ideas and concepts should be clear and self-explanatory enough that readers shouldn't need to ask an llm for clarifications.

the logic should be tight enough that having an llm rewrite it will only add noise.

the style should be self-consistent enough that asking llm to revise even a sentence will disrupt the tone.

i can't say i'm actually able to pull this off, but it is what i aim for.

[Peter Obi @PeterObi]

Debunking the Phantom Debts and Ecological Loan Fallacy

My attention has been drawn to trending claims by the Anambra State Government that my administration left behind inherited debts, including a ₦2 billion ecological loan, contractor liabilities, and unpaid salaries, gratuities, and pensions. This is completely false.

We systematically liquidated historical gratuities and arrears dating back several years, amounting to over ₦35 billion. At the point of handover, the state owed nothing in salaries, gratuities, or pensions, nor did we owe anything to any contractor for projects duly executed and certified.

The ₦2 billion ecological fund in question was released barely three months before the end of my tenure for the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis. Despite pressure to spend the money, I refused, insisting that it should be left for my successor because government is a continuum and the funds were tied to a specific project.

The money was therefore left 100 per cent intact in First Bank, in Account No. 2018779464, with a balance of over ₦2.13 billion.

It is important to stress that funds tied to specific projects or set aside for particular purposes were not even included in the over ₦75 billion in savings we left behind.

If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning. -PO

[Yann LeCun @ylecun]

I would try to figure out why LLMs can write my essays but not clean my bedroom.
Then I would study topics in college and grad school that could help solve that problem.
I'll figure out a set of methods and architectures beyond LLMs that can quickly learn to perform physical tasks as efficiently as humans and animals.
That last item is also what I would if I were 30, 40, 50, or 66 years old 😉

[Paul Röttger @paul_rottger]

Here is the Google form, which also includes some more details on the group and mission: https://t.co/cwR7brjrbE

[Cajetan Oriekezie @OCchukwuemeka]

@JohnFanimokun Thank you @elonmusk for buying x.
Imagine if there was no free media and this is all we had to listen to!

[Peter Obi @PeterObi]

Hunger and the Insensitivity of Mr. President

I watched with deep concern the statement made by President Bola Tinubu to the Catholic Bishops who visited his office, that there has always been hunger in Nigeria, even before he was born.

While it is true that hunger has been a part of human life and has existed in our country for decades, such a statement appears insensitive to the plight of the millions of Nigerians who face worsening economic hardship today. More importantly, we must focus on the facts and the measurable outcomes of governance.

Before the present administration assumed office in 2023, an estimated 17 million Nigerians were facing acute food insecurity, primarily caused by insecurity, armed conflict, widespread banditry, and devastating floods. Today, less than three years later, that number has risen to about 35 million Nigerians. Instead of improving the situation, the crisis has worsened significantly under the current administration.

The same trend is evident in poverty. Before this government took office in 2023, Nigeria’s extreme poverty was estimated at 87 million people. Current projections suggest that this number is approaching 140 million people, making Nigeria home to the largest population of people living in extreme poverty anywhere in the world.

No one disputes that this administration inherited serious challenges. However, leadership is measured not by the challenges inherited but by the results achieved. The government must honestly acknowledge that its response has fallen far short of what the situation demanded, with millions more Nigerians pushed deeper into poverty and hunger.

The combination of persistent insecurity, poor economic management, fiscal indiscipline, wasteful public expenditure, and inadequate investment in productive sectors has compounded the suffering of ordinary Nigerians.

A responsible government must prioritise investment in education, healthcare, agriculture, security, and small businesses while pursuing policies that create jobs, expand production, and lift people out of poverty. That remains my commitment to the Nigerian people.

A New Nigeria is Possible. PO

[Cajetan Oriekezie @OCchukwuemeka]

@ParallelFacts The helpers of God and His Church

[Alex Onyia @winexviv]

This is the sickbay and a classroom in a public school in Abia State.

19 more like this are currently being built, and education is completely free.

Education is taking back its place in our society.

[Cajetan Oriekezie @OCchukwuemeka]

@DrJoeAbah Instead of trying to restructure NYSC without adequate consultation, we should look at SIWES, which was specifically designed for this exact purpose.

[Cajetan Oriekezie @OCchukwuemeka]

@AskMichaelTaiwo Cc @FinPlanKaluAja1 @finpla

[Cajetan Oriekezie @OCchukwuemeka]

@Otyjonah @FinPlanKaluAja1 AI prompting is not like any other subject and shouldn't be added to the list for kids. The future belongs to those who have (or will have) a deep understanding of domains and thus can evaluate the output of models (and even build one) not those that can prompt.

[Sylvie Shi @sylvieshi00]

I’m hiring experienced ML engineers for my team to work on pre-training data and mid-training. We have ambitious plans, and you’ll play a key role in shaping the data mixture for large-scale pre-training runs. Please consider applying if you care deeply about data and its impact on model performance. Links are in thread!

[Cajetan Oriekezie @OCchukwuemeka]

@PeterObi @BarackObama @AkunyiliCrosby Absolutely 💯
"Success is not found in shortcuts, but in the relentless pursuit of excellence"

[Peter Obi @PeterObi]

Celebrating Global Excellence in Our Youth.

I am immensely proud to see the official tweet from former U.S. President @BarackObama , celebrating the incredible brilliance of our own Njideka @AkunyiliCrosby . Her exceptional talent has brought our shared history to the global stage through the unveiling of the first joint portrait of President Obama and former First Lady @MichelleObama .

This monumental achievement is a powerful reminder to Nigerian youths of what is possible when talent is met with hard work and discipline. Njideka, who is also the daughter of our late Dr Chike and Prof. Dora Akunyili, embodies the very best of the excellent Nigerian spirit.

As the great philosopher Aristotle rightly noted, excellence is not an accident; it is a habit, the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution. Njideka's global success proves that true greatness comes from this consistent, daily dedication to one's craft.

I urge our young people to look up to
individuals like her as true role models. Success is not found in shortcuts, but in the relentless pursuit of excellence, honouring one's roots, and using your gifts to make a global impact. If we remain committed to merit and hard work, the new Nigeria we desire will be built by such exemplary minds.

With focused and hard-working youths, a new Nigeria is POssible. -PO

[Cajetan Oriekezie @OCchukwuemeka]

@yacineMTB I guess you may look at the Chinchilla paper and the Smol Training Play Book. They both offer empirical evidence of what works.

[Anthropic @AnthropicAI]

New Science Blog: Why has AI advanced faster in coding than in biology?

To agents, bio databases are like cities built before cars—maddening to drive in because they're designed for different traffic.

How do we build infrastructure agents can use?
https://t.co/PQaNQ4GRJZ

[IGBO History & Facts @IgboHistoFacts]

“I was having a fever that was why I mistakenly agreed to the Aburi Accord.” - Yakubu Gowon 🤔