Andrew Stepin

technical product manager and writer @ yomly. 🖋️ writing contributor @ tensorflow

[Andrew Stepin @anstepin]

Love it

[Noland Arbaugh @ModdedQuad]

Update 3/28 (14 months)

It’s been a few months since my last update, and I’m sorry for that. I was really excited to give my one year update, but unfortunately I was hacked that very day (and again the following week) due to my own idiocy. Those experiences left me with a bad taste in my mouth and a bit jaded, not wanting much to interact with the community. This was a threefold mistake on my part, for which I apologize. I know I can do better and want to put my best foot… wheel forward. So here’s my update.

Since my last update, I hit one year with Eve. That landmark is such an incredible accomplishment. I’ve had no negative side effects, neither physically nor psychologically – unless you count the insatiable desire for the female end of plugs, a reality for which I am now grateful I’m paralyzed; though it’s impossible to hide those lusts from Eve, whom I found is quite the jealous partner. Congratulations to @neuralink for such an achievement –the one year mark, not the passive aggressive implant – they deserve all the credit and accolade for creating a device both viable and safe. It has changed my life and I know will change many more to come.

In sessions with @neuralink, we’ve been working to decrease the amount of time required to stay in calibration while improving the proficiency of models. I believe we’re on the right track and hope to make it so low a time that it’s negligible, or even require no need to calibrate at all. That’s the dream. Then we do lots of feedback (everything from what is good/bad to bugs I found). Most people might find this part of session boring or obnoxious, but I know how valuable it is and I’ve actually come to enjoy giving my two cents. I’m a bit of a talker though, so I think the guys I’m working with might be the ones who find it overwhelming. But they should’ve thought of that before they selected me, and at this point they’re stuck with me, so jokes on them.

Currently they are working on a few things with the other participants, top secret stuff that not even I am privy to. I keep bugging them about giving me a robot arm, but no luck so far. But, as they say, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Or it stays squeaky forever. I hope I’m not squeaky forever. They are also figuring out how to control a wheelchair with the implant. I’ve told them that, while that is super cool and I’m really excited at the prospect, I won’t use it unless it’s next to perfect. I think it benefits everyone if I don’t lose control and drive into traffic. Maybe I should put reflectors on my chair just in case. Or a can of NOS. Can’t hit what you can’t catch. They also sent me a device they call the ”Magic Box”TM which allows me to connect my computer to a Nintendo Switch, so beerio kart tournaments are sure to follow. Remember kids, don’t drink and drive. Actually, don’t drink at all. Recently, the team has been working on scaling operations. It’s only a matter of time before the implant is in dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of people. Make sure you apply! But I don’t recommend going out and paralyzing yourself for the opportunity. In my experience, paralysis doesn’t live up to the hype.

These days I am using the implant for all sorts of things, and I think averaged out over a week I’m sitting at about 10+ hours a day. Don’t judge me. I’ve been able to read more in the last 14 months than the previous 11 1/2 years combined. Yes, you heard that right. 11 1/2 years. Now, for those of you who aren’t math majors, that’s 4 more years than I’ve been injured. I didn’t have time for reading in college, I was busy doing… other things. No further details. I’ve been playing games, texting more than a 13-year-old girl, flirting with different AI (glean from that what you will), journaling and writing, and studying/learning. I’m also happy to announce that this year I will start classes again! I always dreamed of going back to @TAMU to finish my degree, but after numerous attempts to reach out and make that happen, I’ve not received much help, and at this point feel as if I’m slamming my head against the wall. So I will instead attend the community college in my hometown. Unless any other universities want to take me… I like long walks on the beach, I am a great listener, and I can tie a knot with a cherry stem with my tongue. Finally, I’m working towards providing for myself long-term. Which brings me to some big news.

Through @neuralink, I’ve found work! Just writing that sentence almost brought me to tears. For those of you that don’t know, one of my main goals in this study has been finding a way to not only provide for myself but contribute to my family and feel less like a burden. Moving forward I will be a traveling and WORKING(!) as a keynote speaker. This wouldn’t have been possible unless I could write speeches, do research, build a business, and communicate efficiently with others online. Next week I will post my website, links to my business social medias, and booking information; I will also post my speaking engagements here if that’s something y’all would like. On that note, I’ll be speaking at the @uarizona on April 10th. And if it wasn’t obvious already, I couldn’t have done any of this without Eve.

I want to thank @elonmusk, @neuralink, @BarrowNeuro, and this community for profoundly and quite literally changing my life. I can’t tell you how much hope and purpose this technology has provided me. After my accident, I never thought I would be able to help anyone ever again. Prior to @neuralink, I relied on others for everything in my life. Now, by the grace of God, I may be relied upon by others.

Just a couple more things before I go.

To everyone who has helped by donating financially or their time to help my family build a house, I have a small update. We have drawn up plans, look to put in some infrastructure next month, researched grants and nonprofits for additional help, spoken with a few people who may be able to contribute, and found a place to stay while the house is being built. Though we have not secured all the funds necessary to break ground, we continually hope that all of your efforts and our planning will not go to waste. The housing market and economy is not great for building at the moment, so we believe waiting a bit may be beneficial. Unless anyone wants to give us a couple million dollars. Any takers? Just kidding. But seriously. But just kidding. But seriously. As a sidenote: we’re not trying to build a mansion, as some might mistakenly believe from how much it cost to build a house, but making everything completely accessible, and the state of the housing market, has made the price tag inconceivable… I do not think that word means what I think it means.

Last but certainly the most important piece of this puzzle, is thanking God. This update would not be complete without giving all the glory to my Father in heaven. He has blessed me and my family in abundance though we deserve it not. His glory is all that I live for, His love is all that I need, and His will is all that I wish to do. I have faith that whatever His perfect plan for my life, it is greater than all that I could imagine. I live only to serve Him. “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.” Matthew 6:13

God bless
Noland and Eve

[Andrew Stepin @anstepin]

Great project, scary findings. Be sure to check your products

[Yaroslav Shipilov @yaroshipilov]

🧬 Introducing PlasticList 🧬

Last week, @natfriedman announced testing food in CA for plastic. In turn, I built PlasticList: an open-source UI for Nat's tests.

To start, I'm launching a database of all popular food in CA to upvote products to test.

Here's why it's a big deal:

[Andrew Stepin @anstepin]

Contribute if you have any experience with either

[Ian Goodfellow @goodfellow_ian]

Posting a call for help: does anyone know of a good way to simultaneously treat both POTS and Ménière’s disease? Please contact me if you’re either a clinician with experience doing this or a patient who has found a good solution. Context in thread

[Andrew Stepin @anstepin]

The right way to do l8n.

(*right* here = proven to be effective)

[Andrew Stepin @anstepin]

@billylamberta Superposition Cats and Where to Find Them

[Andrew Stepin @anstepin]

@billylamberta @DaoustMj @TensorFlowWorld Finally! Great news, looking forward to listen 👍

[Andrew Stepin @anstepin]

@Thom_Wolf So excited to stumble upon this project, thanks for sharing!

[Andrew Stepin @anstepin]

And it's been like a year since we've started pushing docs translations and tutorials, but look how many languages we now have:
https://t.co/0eiK1ybb0g

[Andrew Stepin @anstepin]

2 packs of new and updated @TensorFlow tutorials translated by Soslan Tabuev were merged to the repo today!

Quick and easy docs on using any data with TensorFlow to get you up to speed:
https://t.co/4nXR8XJNmK

[Andrew Stepin @anstepin]

Deep Obfuscator:

Image classification with user privacy in mind.

Be sure to check the curious makes-you-think paper down below:
https://t.co/jzoMhZAAgS

#machinelearning #deeplearning #ai #ml

[Andrew Stepin @anstepin]

@sarah_guido I lost it at iris

[Andrew Stepin @anstepin]

Made my day

[Geoffrey Hinton @geoffreyhinton]

@ilyasut The future is already here: I trained a neural net called Ilya for 10 years :-)

[Andrew Stepin @anstepin]

🇹🇷 Now @TensorFlow in Turkish too, @isbilen_erdem paving the way!

https://t.co/PUY2yoYZYs

[Andrew Stepin @anstepin]

A fresh bunch of great @TensorFlow @kerasteam docs are coming in Japanese! 🇯🇵

Submit your review, improvements and general proofreading to collaborate now:
https://t.co/scila5HbJE

[Andrew Stepin @anstepin]

@Inoryy Матлаб для вынужденных) его не выбирали)

[Sergii 🇺🇦 @lc0d3r]

And I've added support for python files, not only ipynb, @ProjectJupyter notebooks. So now you can see how your upgraded python code to #TensorFlow 2.0 would look like in your browser. For example: https://t.co/6lblmpqL6m cc @DynamicWebPaige #tf2up

[Andrew Stepin @anstepin]

@hsunpark @fchollet Love the cover! 👍 can’t read a single word though 😃

[Andrew Stepin @anstepin]

Tips:

1. Be sure to check new TF 2.0 docs for more easy to use features and examples: https://t.co/elE7zha614

2. Get some inspiration on @Medium: https://t.co/4wGcPXQOXB

3. Stop reading and hurry up, there’s only 55 days left to register!

[Andrew Stepin @anstepin]

How to win @TensorFlow Hackathon 2019?

1. Create or update your ML project to TF 2.0 with a handy script: https://t.co/fBnWYRi2Mw

2. Upload code and examples to GitHub

3. Apply: https://t.co/q2KOp1G2xZ

[Edd Wilder-James @edd]

It's Monday. You're probably asking yourself what talk you should propose for TensorFlow World. Head on over to https://t.co/YcwDKGGwbt and submit! Deadline April 23.