Social IQ (formerly Soovox Inc.) was a San Diego-based influencer marketing platform that measured users' online social influence and connected them with brands for word-of-mouth marketing campaigns. The company was founded in 2009 by Akram Benmbarek and was headquartered in San Diego, California. == History == Akram Benmbarek, who had previously worked in technology finance at Advanced Equities Financial Corp and in wealth management at Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, and UBS, founded the company in mid-2009 under the name Soovox. In October 2011, Benmbarek rebranded the company as SocialIQ. At that time, the company was seeking a Series A round of venture capital, having raised under $1 million in angel seed funding. == Similar metrics == Klout PeerIndex
CrewAI
CrewAI is an open-source software framework and platform for building AI agents and multi-agent systems. Written primarily in Python, it is used to define artificial-intelligence agents, assign tasks to them, and coordinate their work through agent teams and workflows. The framework is associated with CrewAI Inc., a startup developing enterprise tools for automating business workflows with large language model-based agents. == History == CrewAI was first released on the Python Package Index in December 2023. The project was created by João Moura and later developed by CrewAI Inc. and open-source contributors. In October 2024, TechCrunch reported that CrewAI had raised $18 million across seed and Series A funding rounds from investors including Boldstart Ventures, Craft Ventures, Earl Grey Capital, and Insight Partners. The report also stated that Andrew Ng and HubSpot co-founder Dharmesh Shah had invested in the company. SiliconANGLE described the company as the developer of an open-source framework for building artificial-intelligence agents and reported that the funding consisted of a seed round led by Boldstart Ventures and a Series A led by Insight Partners. By late 2024, CrewAI had introduced commercial enterprise products built on top of its open-source components. TechCrunch reported that the company's enterprise offering added access controls, analytics, support, and templates for workflow automation. == Features == CrewAI is designed around groups of agents, sometimes called "crews", that can be assigned roles, goals, and tasks. The framework supports agent collaboration, task delegation, tool use, memory, and knowledge sources for retrieval-augmented generation workflows. The project describes two main building blocks: "Crews", which are used for autonomous agent collaboration, and "Flows", which are used for more controlled event-driven workflows. The framework is independent of LangChain and is released under the MIT License. It can be installed as a Python package and is commonly used with external large language model APIs or local models, depending on the developer's configuration. == Business model == CrewAI combines an open-source framework with commercial enterprise products. Its enterprise products are intended for organizations that need to build, monitor, and manage agent-based automations with additional security, observability, and administrative controls.
Model collapse
Model collapse, also known by other names such as "AI inbreeding", "AI cannibalism", "Habsburg AI", and "model autophagy disorder" or "MAD" is a phenomenon noted in artificial intelligence studies, where machine learning models gradually degrade due to errors coming from uncurated synthetic data, or due to training on the outputs of another model such as prior versions of itself. It is unclear to what extent the phenomenon threatens the long-term development of such models, and some techniques have been proposed to mitigate the effect. == Characteristics == Shumailov et al. coined the term to describe two specific stages to the degradation of machine learning models: early model collapse and late model collapse: In early model collapse, the model begins losing information about the tails of the distribution – mostly affecting minority data. Later work highlighted that early model collapse is hard to notice, since overall performance may appear to improve, while the model loses performance on minority data. In late model collapse, the model loses a significant proportion of its performance, confusing concepts and losing most of its variance. == Mechanism == Using synthetic data as training data can lead to issues with the quality and reliability of the trained model. Model collapse occurs for three main reasons: functional approximation errors sampling errors learning errors Importantly, it happens in even the simplest of models, where not all of the error sources are present. In more complex models the errors often compound, leading to faster collapse. == Disagreement over real-world impact == Some researchers and commentators on model collapse warn that the phenomenon could fundamentally threaten future generative AI development: As AI-generated data is shared on the Internet, it will inevitably end up in future training datasets, which are often crawled from the Internet. If training on "slop" (large quantities of unlabeled synthetic data) inevitably leads to model collapse, this could therefore pose a difficult problem. However, recently, other researchers have disagreed with this argument, showing that if synthetic data accumulates alongside human-generated data, model collapse is avoided. The researchers argue that data accumulating over time is a more realistic description of reality than deleting all existing data every year, and that the real-world impact of model collapse may not be as catastrophic as feared. An alternative branch of the literature investigates the use of machine learning detectors and watermarking to identify model generated data and filter it out. == Mathematical models of the phenomenon == === 1D Gaussian model === In 2024, a first attempt has been made at illustrating collapse for the simplest possible model — a single dimensional normal distribution fit using unbiased estimators of mean and variance, computed on samples from the previous generation. To make this more precise, we say that original data follows a normal distribution X 0 ∼ N ( μ , σ 2 ) {\displaystyle X^{0}\sim {\mathcal {N}}(\mu ,\sigma ^{2})} , and we possess M 0 {\displaystyle M_{0}} samples X j 0 {\displaystyle X_{j}^{0}} for j ∈ { 1 , … , M 0 } {\displaystyle j\in {\{\,1,\dots ,M_{0}\,{}\}}} . Denoting a general sample X j i {\displaystyle X_{j}^{i}} as sample j ∈ { 1 , … , M i } {\displaystyle j\in {\{\,1,\dots ,M_{i}\,{}\}}} at generation i {\displaystyle i} , then the next generation model is estimated using the sample mean and variance: μ i + 1 = 1 M i ∑ j X j i ; σ i + 1 2 = 1 M i − 1 ∑ j ( X j i − μ i + 1 ) 2 . {\displaystyle \mu _{i+1}={\frac {1}{M_{i}}}\sum _{j}X_{j}^{i};\quad \sigma _{i+1}^{2}={\frac {1}{M_{i}-1}}\sum _{j}(X_{j}^{i}-\mu _{i+1})^{2}.} Leading to a conditionally normal next generation model X j i + 1 | μ i + 1 , σ i + 1 ∼ N ( μ i + 1 , σ i + 1 2 ) {\displaystyle X_{j}^{i+1}|\mu _{i+1},\;\sigma _{i+1}\sim {\mathcal {N}}(\mu _{i+1},\sigma _{i+1}^{2})} . In theory, this is enough to calculate the full distribution of X j i {\displaystyle X_{j}^{i}} . However, even after the first generation, the full distribution is no longer normal: It follows a variance-gamma distribution. To continue the analysis, instead of writing the probability density function at each generation, it is possible to explicitly construct them in terms of independent random variables using Cochran's theorem. To be precise, μ 1 {\displaystyle \mu _{1}} and σ 1 {\displaystyle \sigma _{1}} are independent, with μ 1 ∼ N ( μ , σ 2 M 0 ) {\displaystyle \mu _{1}\sim {\mathcal {N}}\left(\mu ,{\frac {\sigma ^{2}}{M_{0}}}\right)} and ( M 0 − 1 ) σ 1 2 ∼ σ 2 Γ ( M 0 − 1 2 , 1 2 ) {\displaystyle (M_{0}-1)\,\sigma _{1}^{2}\sim \sigma ^{2}\,\Gamma \left({\frac {M_{0}-1}{2}},{\frac {1}{2}}\right)} , following a Gamma distribution. Denoting with Z {\displaystyle Z} Gaussian random variables distributed according to N ( 0 , 1 ) {\displaystyle {\mathcal {N}}(0,1)} and with S i {\displaystyle S^{i}} random variables distributed with 1 M i − 1 − 1 Γ ( M i − 1 − 1 2 , 1 2 ) {\displaystyle {\frac {1}{M_{i-1}-1}}\Gamma \left({\frac {M_{i-1}-1}{2}},{\frac {1}{2}}\right)} , it turns out to be possible to write samples at each generation as X j 0 = μ + σ Z j 0 , {\textstyle X_{j}^{0}=\mu +\sigma Z_{j}^{0},} X j 1 = μ + σ M 0 Z 1 + σ S 1 Z j 1 , {\textstyle X_{j}^{1}=\mu +{\frac {\sigma }{\sqrt {M_{0}}}}Z^{1}+\sigma {\sqrt {S^{1}}}Z_{j}^{1},} and more generally X j n = μ + σ M 0 Z 1 + σ M 1 S 1 Z 2 + ⋯ + σ M n − 1 S 1 × ⋯ × S n − 1 Z n + σ S 1 × ⋯ × S n Z j n . {\displaystyle X_{j}^{n}=\mu +{\frac {\sigma }{\sqrt {M_{0}}}}Z^{1}+{\frac {\sigma }{\sqrt {M_{1}}}}{\sqrt {S^{1}}}Z^{2}+\dots +{\frac {\sigma }{\sqrt {M_{n-1}}}}{\sqrt {S^{1}\times \dots \times S^{n-1}}}Z^{n}+\sigma {\sqrt {S^{1}\times \dots \times S^{n}}}Z_{j}^{n}.} Note, that these are not joint distributions, as Z n {\displaystyle Z^{n}} and S n {\displaystyle S^{n}} depend directly on Z j n − 1 {\displaystyle Z_{j}^{n-1}} , but when considering X j n {\displaystyle X_{j}^{n}} on its own the formula above provides all the information about the full distribution. To analyse the model collapse, we can first calculate variance and mean of samples at generation n {\displaystyle n} . This would tell us what kind of distributions we expect to arrive at after n {\displaystyle n} generations. It is possible to find its exact value in closed form, but the mean and variance of the square root of gamma distribution are expressed in terms of gamma functions, making the result quite clunky. Following, it is possible to expand all results to second order in each of 1 / M i {\displaystyle 1/M_{i}} , assuming each sample size to be large. It is then possible to show that 1 σ 2 Var ( X j n ) = 1 M 0 + 1 M 1 + ⋯ + 1 M n − 1 + 1 + O ( M i − 2 ) . {\displaystyle {\frac {1}{\sigma ^{2}}}\operatorname {Var} (X_{j}^{n})={\frac {1}{M_{0}}}+{\frac {1}{M_{1}}}+\dots +{\frac {1}{M_{n-1}}}+1+{\mathcal {O}}\left(M_{i}^{-2}\right).} And if all sample sizes M i = M {\displaystyle M_{i}=M} are constant, this diverges linearly as n → ∞ {\displaystyle n\to \infty } : Var ( X j n ) = σ 2 ( 1 + n M ) ; E ( X j n ) = μ . {\displaystyle \operatorname {Var} (X_{j}^{n})=\sigma ^{2}\left(1+{\frac {n}{M}}\right);\quad \mathbb {E} (X_{j}^{n})=\mu .} This is the same scaling as for a single dimensional Gaussian random walk. However, divergence of the variance of X j n {\displaystyle X_{j}^{n}} does not directly provide any information about the corresponding estimates of μ n + 1 {\displaystyle \mu _{n+1}} and σ n + 1 {\displaystyle \sigma _{n+1}} , particularly how different they are from the original μ {\displaystyle \mu } and σ {\displaystyle \sigma } . It turns out to be possible to calculate the distance between the true distribution and the approximated distribution at step n + 1 {\displaystyle n+1} , using the Wasserstein-2 distance (which is also sometimes referred to as risk): E [ W 2 2 ( N ( μ , σ 2 ) , N ( μ n + 1 , σ n + 1 2 ) ) ] = 3 2 σ 2 ( 1 M 0 + 1 M 1 + ⋯ + 1 M n ) + O ( M i − 2 ) , {\displaystyle \mathbb {E} \left[\mathbb {W} _{2}^{2}\left({\mathcal {N}}(\mu ,\sigma ^{2}),{\mathcal {N}}(\mu _{n+1},\sigma _{n+1}^{2})\right)\right]={\frac {3}{2}}\sigma ^{2}\left({\frac {1}{M_{0}}}+{\frac {1}{M_{1}}}+\dots +{\frac {1}{M_{n}}}\right)+{\mathcal {O}}\left(M_{i}^{-2}\right),} Var [ W 2 2 ( N ( μ , σ 2 ) , N ( μ n + 1 , σ n + 1 2 ) ) ] = 1 2 σ 4 ( 3 M 0 2 + 3 M 1 2 + ⋯ + 3 M n 2 + ∑ i ≠ j 4 M i M j ) + O ( M i − 3 ) . {\displaystyle \operatorname {Var} \left[\mathbb {W} _{2}^{2}\left({\mathcal {N}}(\mu ,\sigma ^{2}),{\mathcal {N}}(\mu _{n+1},\sigma _{n+1}^{2})\right)\right]={\frac {1}{2}}\sigma ^{4}\left({\frac {3}{M_{0}^{2}}}+{\frac {3}{M_{1}^{2}}}+\dots +{\frac {3}{M_{n}^{2}}}+\sum _{i\neq j}{\frac {4}{M_{i}M_{j}}}\right)+{\mathcal {O}}\left(M_{i}^{-3}\right).} This directly shows why model collapse occurs in this simple model. Due to errors from re-sampling the approximated distribution, each generation ends up corresponding to a
Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems
The Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (abbreviated as NeurIPS and formerly NIPS) is a machine learning and computational neuroscience conference held annually in December. Along with ICLR and ICML, it is one of the three primary conferences of high impact in machine learning and artificial intelligence research. The conference includes three days of invited talks along with oral and poster presentations of refereed papers, followed by two days of workshops and competitions. == History == The NeurIPS meeting was first proposed in 1986 at the annual invitation-only Snowbird Meeting on Neural Networks for Computing organized by The California Institute of Technology and Bell Laboratories. NeurIPS was designed as a complementary open interdisciplinary meeting for researchers exploring biological and artificial Neural Networks. Reflecting this multidisciplinary approach, NeurIPS began in 1987 with information theorist Ed Posner as the conference president and learning theorist Yaser Abu-Mostafa as program chairman. Research presented in the early NeurIPS meetings included a wide range of topics from efforts to solve purely engineering problems to the use of computer models as a tool for understanding biological nervous systems. Since then, the biological and artificial systems research streams have diverged, and recent NeurIPS proceedings have been dominated by papers on machine learning, artificial intelligence and statistics. From 1987 until 2000 NeurIPS was held in Denver, United States. Since then, the conference was held in Vancouver, Canada (2001–2010), Granada, Spain (2011), and Lake Tahoe, United States (2012–2013). In 2014 and 2015, the conference was held in Montreal, Canada, in Barcelona, Spain in 2016, in Long Beach, United States in 2017, in Montreal, Canada in 2018 and Vancouver, Canada in 2019. Reflecting its origins at Snowbird, Utah, the meeting was accompanied by workshops organized at a nearby ski resort up until 2013, when it outgrew ski resorts. The first NeurIPS Conference was sponsored by the IEEE. The following NeurIPS Conferences have been organized by the NeurIPS Foundation, established by Ed Posner. Terrence Sejnowski has been the president of the NeurIPS Foundation since Posner's death in 1993. The board of trustees consists of previous general chairs of the NeurIPS Conference. The first proceedings was published in book form by the American Institute of Physics in 1987, and was entitled Neural Information Processing Systems, then the proceedings from the following conferences have been published by Morgan Kaufmann (1988–1993), MIT Press (1994–2004) and Curran Associates (2005–present) under the name Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems. The conference was originally abbreviated as "NIPS". By 2018 a few commentators were criticizing the abbreviation as encouraging sexism due to its association with the word nipples, and as being a slur against Japanese. The board changed the abbreviation to "NeurIPS" in November 2018. == Topics == Along with machine learning and neuroscience, other fields represented at NeurIPS include cognitive science, psychology, computer vision, statistical linguistics, and information theory. Over the years, NeurIPS became a premier conference on machine learning and although the 'Neural' in the NeurIPS acronym had become something of a historical relic, the resurgence of deep learning in neural networks since 2012, fueled by faster computers and big data, has led to achievements in speech recognition, object recognition in images, image captioning, language translation and world championship performance in the game of Go, based on neural architectures inspired by the hierarchy of areas in the visual cortex (ConvNet) and reinforcement learning inspired by the basal ganglia (Temporal difference learning). Notable affinity groups have emerged from the NeurIPS conference and displayed diversity, including Black in AI (in 2017), Queer in AI (in 2016), and others. === Named lectures === In addition to invited talks and symposia, NeurIPS also organizes two named lectureships to recognize distinguished researchers. The NeurIPS Board introduced the Posner Lectureship in honor of NeurIPS founder Ed Posner; two Posner Lectures were given each year up to 2015. Past lecturers have included: 2010 – Josh Tenenbaum and Michael I. Jordan 2011 – Rich Sutton and Bernhard Schölkopf 2012 – Thomas Dietterich and Terry Sejnowski 2013 – Daphne Koller and Peter Dayan 2014 – Michael Kearns and John Hopfield 2015 – Zoubin Ghahramani and Vladimir Vapnik 2016 – Yann LeCun 2017 – John Platt 2018 – Joëlle Pineau 2019 – Yoshua Bengio 2020 – Christopher Bishop 2021 – Peter Bartlett In 2015, the NeurIPS Board introduced the Breiman Lectureship to highlight work in statistics relevant to conference topics. The lectureship was named for statistician Leo Breiman, who served on the NeurIPS Board from 1994 to 2005. Past lecturers have included: 2015 – Robert Tibshirani 2016 – Susan Holmes 2017 – Yee Whye Teh 2018 – David Spiegelhalter 2019 – Bin Yu 2020 – Marloes Maathuis 2021 – Gabor Lugosi 2022 – Emmanuel Candes 2023 – Susan Murphy 2024 – Arnaud Doucet == NeurIPS consistency experiment == In NIPS 2014, the program chairs duplicated 10% of all submissions and sent them through separate reviewers to evaluate randomness in the reviewing process. Several researchers interpreted the result. Regarding whether the decision in NIPS is completely random or not, John Langford writes: "Clearly not—a purely random decision would have arbitrariness of ~78%. It is, however, quite notable that 60% is much closer to 78% than 0%." He concludes that the result of the reviewing process is mostly arbitrary. In NeurIPS 2021, the program chairs repeated the 2014 experiment and found similar levels of review inconsistency; 23% of duplicated submissions received different accept/reject decisions, and 50.6% of accepted papers would have been rejected under re-review. == Locations == 1987–2000: Denver, Colorado, United States 2001–2010: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 2011: Granada, Spain 2012 & 2013: Stateline, Nevada, United States 2014 & 2015: Montréal, Quebec, Canada 2016: Barcelona, Spain 2017: Long Beach, California, United States 2018: Montréal, Quebec, Canada 2019: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 2020: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (virtual conference) 2021: Virtual conference 2022 & 2023: New Orleans, Louisiana, United States 2024: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 2025: San Diego, California, United States and Mexico City, Mexico 2026: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, with satellite events in Atlanta and Paris
Micah Xavier Johnson
Micah Xavier Johnson (July 2, 1991 – July 8, 2016) was an American Army reserve Afghan war veteran, black nationalist, and mass murderer who perpetrated the 2016 shooting of Dallas police officers during a Black Lives Matter protest. He ambushed and killed five officers and wounded eleven others in Downtown, Dallas, Texas. He was killed by police during a standoff after expressing anger over police killings of black men. The shootings were the second-deadliest targeted attack on law enforcement officers in U.S. history, surpassed only by the September 11 attacks. == Early life == Micah Xavier Johnson was born in Magee, Mississippi, on July 2, 1991, and he was raised in Mesquite, Texas. When he was four years old, his parents divorced. At 17, Johnson enrolled at John Horn High School, where he joined the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps, as reported by the Mesquite Independent school district. He faced academic challenges, graduating in 2009 with a 1.98 GPA and ranking 430th out of 453 students in his class. In Spring 2011, Johnson registered for four courses at Richland college but did not complete any. Evidence suggests his enrollment at Richland gave him access to El Centro College, due to his pre-planned and coordinated movements throughout Building B during his standoff with police in 2016. == Military service == === Enlistment and early service === Micah Xavier Johnson enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve in March 2009 at the age of 18, shortly after graduating high school in Mesquite, Texas. His initial service was primarily stateside, where he trained as a carpentry and masonry specialist (military occupational specialty 51B). This role involved engineering tasks such as construction and repair in support of military operations. During his reserve tenure, Johnson served part-time while living at home, and he was described by family and friends as initially idealistic about the military, even aspiring to become a police officer. === Deployment to Afghanistan === In September 2013, Johnson was activated for full-time duty and deployed to Afghanistan as part of the 420th Engineer Brigade, a unit based in Seagoville, Texas. His tour began in November 2013 and lasted approximately eight months, ending in July 2014. During this period, he performed non-combat engineering duties, though the stresses of serving in a combat zone were noted by those close to him. Associates from his service later suggested he experienced significant psychological strain, including the loss of friends and general disillusionment with military life, which contrasted with his pre-deployment enthusiasm. His mother later reflected that "the military was not what Micah thought it would be." === Sexual harassment allegation and early return === About six months into his deployment, in May 2014, Johnson faced a serious accusation of sexual harassment from a higher-ranking female soldier. She filed for a military protective order against him, prompting an investigation. As a result, his chain of command recommended an "other than honorable" discharge—the second (more severe is a dishonorable discharge, which does not require a court martial) most severe administrative separation short of a court-martial—and he was sent back to the United States ahead of schedule. Despite this, Johnson was not court-martialed, and the case did not lead to criminal charges. A military lawyer who represented him described the handling as unusual, noting that "someone really screwed up" in allowing him to avoid harsher consequences. === Post-deployment and discharge === Upon returning stateside in August 2014, Johnson resumed reserve duties with his engineering brigade until April 2015. He was honorably discharged at the rank of private first class (E-3), a relatively low junior enlisted rank after six years of service, which military sources attributed partly to the unresolved harassment allegation impacting his promotions and evaluations. Friends and family observed a marked change in his demeanor post-deployment: he became more reclusive, resentful toward the government, and withdrawn, with some speculating that the Afghanistan experience and the scandal contributed to a "small breakdown." In July 2016, following the Dallas shooting, the U.S. Army launched an internal review of his service record, including the harassment claims, to assess whether all misconduct allegations had been fully investigated. == Shootings == On July 7, 2016, a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest marched through downtown Dallas, Texas, drawing about 800 demonstrators. The event responded to the recent police killings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on July 5, and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, on July 6—both black men shot during encounters captured on video. Around 100 officers monitored the march, which passed near El Centro College without incident until gunfire erupted around 8:45 p.m. Johnson arrived in a dark SUV, armed with an SKS semi-automatic rifle, a handgun, extra ammunition, and ballistic vests. He parked near the protest's end, chatted briefly with two officers, then opened fire on police from an elevated position on Lamar Street (now Botham Jean Boulevard). He shot from behind barriers, through windows, and while moving, targeting white officers specifically. The ambush killed five officers and wounded seven more, plus two civilians. Gunfire scattered protesters in panic as Johnson used military-style tactics, like quick position changes, to prolong the assault. === Standoff and Johnson's end === Johnson fled into El Centro College's Building C, then Building B, navigating pre-planned routes with familiarity from prior enrollment at nearby Richland College. He barricaded in a parking garage, wounding more officers in close-range fights. During two-hour negotiations, he taunted police via phone—laughing, singing, asking kill counts, and claiming planted bombs (none found). He admitted solo action, rage at White officers, and no group ties. At 2:30 a.m. on July 8, SWAT ended the standoff by detonating a bomb via remote-controlled robot in the garage, killing Johnson. This marked the first U.S. police use of such a tactic. === Victims and investigation findings === The slain officers were: Brent Thompson (Transit Authority, 36), Patrick Zamarripa (Dallas PD, 33), Michael Krol (Dallas PD, 40), Lorne Ahrens (Dallas PD, 48), and Michael Smith (Dallas PD, 55). Wounded officers included Sheik Smith, John Mitchell, and others; civilians She Tamara El-Sobky and Hillary Castro. Searches of Johnson's home revealed bomb-making materials, rifles, vests, and notes on tactics, suggesting plans for a larger attack. He had practiced explosions and honed skills post-discharge, including marksmanship. === Aftermath and impact === Dallas mourned with vigils and memorials, while national protests against police violence continued amid grief. President Barack Obama, the first African American president of the United States, called Johnson a "demented individual" and formed a task force on race and policing. The incident fueled debates on gun control, race relations, and veteran mental health—Johnson had sought VA treatment for stress and anxiety but showed no prior violent signs to friends. El Centro College canceled all classes on July 8. Police barricaded the perimeter and began canvassing the crime scene. The explosion that killed Johnson also destroyed the school's servers, further delaying reopening. The school partially reopened on July 20, with staff returning that day and students on the following day. Buildings A, B, and C remained closed pending the FBI investigation. == Motive == An investigation into his online activities uncovered his interest in black nationalist groups. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), and news outlets reported that Johnson "liked" the Facebook pages of black nationalist organizations such as the New Black Panther Party (NBPP), Nation of Islam, and Black Riders Liberation Party, three groups which are listed by the SPLC as hate groups. On Facebook, Johnson posted an angry and "disjointed" post against White people on July 2, several days before the attack. NBPP head Quanell X said after the shooting that Johnson had been a member of the NBPP's Houston chapter for about six months, several years before. Quanell X added that Johnson had been "asked to leave" the group for violating the organization's "chain of command" and espousing dangerous rhetoric, such as asking the NBPP why they had not purchased more weapons and ammunition, and expressing his desire to harm black church preachers because he believed they were more interested in money than God. Following the shooting, a national NBPP leader distanced the group from Johnson, saying that he "was not a member of" the party. Further investigation into his digital footprint showed that Johnson visited the sites of Marxist Leninist groups associated with "Revolutionary Black Nationalism",
Automation integrator
An automation integrator is a systems integrator company or individual who makes different versions of automation hardware and software work together, generally combining several subsystems to work together as one large system. The title may refer to those who only integrate hardware, although these will often work with software integrators. Software created by automation integrators allows devices to communicate with each other, as well as collecting and reporting data. The magazine Control Engineering publishes an annual “Automation Integrator Guide” which lists over 2,000 automation integrators. They also give an annual system integrator of the year award to three automation integration firms. The Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) maintains a buyers' guide of over 1200 member and nonmember systems integrators known as the Industrial Automation Exchange, or CSIA Exchange for short. == Certification == The Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) certifies automation integrators, through an audit based on 79 critical criteria from the best practices manual. Companies must be associate members of the CSIA to be eligible for certification. Integrators can also receive certification through a program launched in 2012 by the Robotics Industries Association. == Industries == Automation Integrators work in a wide variety of industries which use robotics and automation. Some of the most common include:
A.I. Insight forums
The Artificial Intelligence Insight forums, also known as the A.I. Insight forums, are a series of forums to build consensus on how the United States Congress should craft A.I. legislation. Organized by Senate Majority Leader Charles "Chuck" Schumer, the first of nine closed-door forums convened on September 13, 2023. == Background == Amid a surge in the popularity and advancement of artificial intelligence, senator Chuck Schumer launched an effort to establish a framework for the regulation of A.I. in April 2023. By the end of June, a preliminary framework – dubbed the "SAFE Innovation Framework" – was established and presented to Congress. Schumer also announced a series of forums wherein tech leaders who were well-acquainted with A.I. would help to "educate" Congress on the risks and problems that A.I. poses. Many tech leaders including Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and Sundar Pichai were set to attend the meetings. Many U.S. lawmakers and senators such as Mike Rounds and Todd Young were also set to attend. == September 13 forum == The overarching consensus following the conclusion of the September 13 forum was that there "should be" regulations regarding the use and advancement of A.I., but it should not be made "too fast". Many tech executives who attended the forum also warned senators of the risks and threats that A.I. could pose. Musk, who attended the forum, stated afterwards that there was "overwhelming consensus" on the regulation of A.I. === Invitees === This is a list of people who were invited to attend the September 13 forum. Elon Musk (Tesla, SpaceX, X Corp.) Sam Altman (OpenAI) Bill Gates (ex–Microsoft) Jensen Huang (Nvidia) Alex Karp (Palantir) Satya Nadella (Microsoft) Arvind Krishna (IBM) Sundar Pichai (Alphabet Inc., Google) Eric Schmidt (ex–Google) Mark Zuckerberg (Meta) Charles Rivkin (Motion Picture Association) Liz Shuler (AFL-CIO) Meredith Stiehm (Writers Guild of America) Randi Weingarten (American Federation of Teachers) Maya Wiley (LCCHR) == October 24 forum == The second of nine forums was hosted on October 24, 2023, as federal A.I. regulation drew nearer. According to Schumer's office, the forum was centered mainly on how A.I. could "enable innovation", and the innovation that is needed for the safe progression of A.I. At the forum, Senators Brian Schatz and John Kennedy introduced the "Schatz-Kennedy A.I. Labeling Act", a new piece of A.I. legislation that would provide "more transparency on A.I.-generated content". Following the forum, Senator Rounds stated that in order to fuel the development of A.I., a total estimated $56 billion would be needed for the next three years. Rounds, alongside Senator Young and Schumer, also highlighted the need to outcompete China and workforce initiatives. === Invitees === 21 people were invited to attend the forum, and were composed largely of venture capitalists, academics, civil rights campaigners, and industry figures. Some key figures included venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and John Doerr. == Future == Over the course of fall 2023, there is slated to be a total of nine forums on the topic of A.I., with the first hosted on September 13.