The new #IBM_Granite 4.0 #Micro_AI model is now available for #beta_testing. First impressions: it's decent for its intended use case, but unsuitable for novices because it requires pre- and post-processing to avoid silly typo-induced hallucinations about imaginary products like "IBM Branite" even at Q8_0. Here's an easy fix for power users:

https://huggingface.co/ibm-granite/granite-4.0-micro

I will be moderating an executive round table via Zoom from 3:00-4:30pm US/Eastern tomorrow for The Ortus Club. The topics are ones I’m always passionate about: #cybersecurity & #businessresilience.

This is a peer-driven round table. No one’s pitching anything. The goal is to bring a broad spectrum of industry luminaries together to share their experiences, insights, and collectively brainstorm about ways to future-proof our security strategies.

The round table is open to IT & cybersecurity leaders in North America. Space is limited, but there are still a few no-cost seats remaining for the #thoughtleaders in my extended network. You can sign up at the link below, but the clock is ticking.

No matter how well-attended these events are, it’s always more fun with a friendly face or two in the crowd. I hope yours will be one of them, and look forward to seeing you there!

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/todd-a-jacobs_why-legacy-cybersecurity-is-putting-your-activity-7310488468139200512-nodq

#DuckDuckGo is now offering free, #anonymized access to a number of fast #AI #chatbots that won't train in your data. You currently don't get all the premium models and features of paid services, but you do get access to privacy-promoting, anonymized versions of smaller models like GPT-4o mini from #OpenAI and open-source #MoE (mixture of experts) models like Mixstral 8x7B.

Of course, for truly sensitive or classified data you should never use online services at all. Anything online carries heightened risks of human error; deliberate malfeasance; corporate espionage; legal, illegal, or extra-legal warrants; and network wiretapping. I personally trust DuckDuckGo's no-logging policies and presume their anonymization techniques are sound, but those of us in #cybersecurity know the practical limitations of such measures.

For any situation where those measures are insufficient, you'll need to run your own instance of a suitable model on a local AI engine. However, that's not really the #threatmodel for the average user looking to get basic things done. Great use cases include finding quick answers that traditional search engines aren't good at, or performing common AI tasks like summarizing or improving textual information.

The AI service provides the typical user with essential AI capabilities for free. It also takes steps to prevent for-profit entities with privacy-damaging #TOS from training on your data at whim. DuckDuckGo's approach seems perfectly suited to these basic use cases.

I laud DuckDuckGo for their ongoing commitment to privacy, and for offering this valuable additional to the AI ecosystem.

https://duckduckgo.com/chat