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thorns-and-rosewings · 6 months

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Sooooo new AU anyone?

Behold the 🔥'Seraphim AU!'🔥

LOL I have been working on this for a month and decided to post what I have so far today on the spookiest of days, dear old Halloween. 🎃 And yes, I do get a ton of enjoyment out of The Sun and Moon Show, which helped inspire the direction this AU has gone.

I actually do have a whole AU/Story idea for him and his brothers (Yes he has siblings, his versions of Bloodmoon and Lunar)

I will just give a little intro into him and his background into this world below. :)

First thing I need to point out is that Seraphim Eclipse is not actually a Fazbear product. No, his creation was the result of a very ambitious fellow within Fazbear who had the brilliant idea to commission an outside company to build some of the more unique animatronics for less money. Specifically the Daycare Attendants.

As the DCA is the only animatronic whose insides cannot be replaced by a random backup Endo due to their thinner, more complex structures. They need to be custom built each time and it's particularly expensive given the unique 3 personalities and abilities the Endo will need. So, without authorization, he commissions a smaller company to build a new attendant.

Unfortunately A LOT was lost in translation. As this small company was led to believe that if their work was satisfactory they could get many more commissions from Fazbear. They were also provided with the DCA's primary blueprints... And furthering the miscommunication, they were told to improve on the design rather than make it identical.

Thus the Creator took liberties and built the base model of Seraphim Eclipse. (Pictured below)

Initial Info: The he first thing that should be said is that Seraphim Eclipse was not initially able to fly. (He can currently) his original wings were just for show and were made to flash and glow. (If he tries it's like getting flashed with six Fazcams all at once)

Next, he was made to be a 'Gentle Giant' sort of figure. He stands at a towering 10 feet tall if one includes his rays.

He also doesn't have a hook on his back, rather he is equipped with a long, flexible and insanely durable cable that can retract completely into his back. This cable measures almost 35-40 feet and is so strong it can fully lift Seraphim Eclipse's weight and keep him balanced and suspended perfectly in midair. The reason for this is he was built to fill all three of the DCA's roles and for naps he would place the kids down for a nap, while being suspended above with his wings glowing faintly.

His entire appearance is supposed to invoke that of a guardian angel.

The cable also has a secondary function as it is much like a Na'vi queue and allows Eclipse to interact with the networks throughout the Pizzaplex. Due to his systems being completely built outside of Fazbear, he has difficulty with various aspects of the systems. But it also meant he was immune to the initial Glitchtrap virus.

He refers to this cable as his tail.

His creator chose to simplify the 'Sun, Moon and Eclipse' personalities and just made one singular being who could handle all of the duties he would need too. Choosing to name him Eclipse as it was more appropriate and would seemingly encompass all of the needed aspects.

The final really 'Abnormal' thing about him is that during his construction, someone attempted to abduct and possibly assault one of the Creators three kids, specifically his youngest daughter... Thankfully the bastard failed and was arrested, but the lingering stress of that disturbing situation resulted in his Creator building flamethrowers into his arms/hands... To be used in case of emergencies.

Brief History: Unfortunately when he was revealed to the heads of the Fazbear Board of Directors, brought before them and activated by the manager who commissioned him... He immediately showed that he was as sweet and as cheerful as Sun models usually are-

He was about as well received as someone finding a dead rat in their cereal...

The board was livid, as company secrets and schematics were given out to make this abomination... Yeah, his first memories at the job he was made for was being called an abomination to his face.

The manager was fired and Eclipse, since they couldn't send him back for a refund but also couldn't use him... They put him in a few restraints, locked him into a permanent 'resting mode' and pretty much hung him up on a wall in a small closet off of parts and services... and forgot he existed.

Unfortunately for Eclipse, he was locked but still conscious.

He was trapped in his own body, in darkness, alone for several years... The only escape he had was that while they locked his limbs up, they neglected doing so with his tail. So he was eventually able to get into the Fazbear networks and essentially observe the ongoings of the Pizzaplex.

He was also able to get access to an online Anime/Manga account that one employee set up for 'Productive Loafing' while at work. But it ended up being the one true joy Seraphim Eclipse had. A distraction from the nightmare he was stuck in. Even when the human employee was fired, Eclipse still kept the account active and constantly used it.

...on a negative note, Eclipse developed a seething hatred towards Sun, Moon and their Eclipse. As he viewed them as responsible for his own situation. Let alone the horrors that the malfunctioning Moon caused...

(Because I truly can write too much and given how LONG I could make this... I am going to shorten this now)

Seraphim Eclipse was finally be let loose from his captivity by MXES as a final desperate act to prevent Mimic from escaping and killing Cassie. As when MXES was set up, he became aware of Eclipse but didn't release him... Due to him not being sure if he was just another vessel for the Mimic or some other threat.

After getting free and having been watching Cassie's dangerous progress through the destroyed Pizzaplex via the cameras, Eclipse's first and only thought is about saving that little girl... And he reactivates Roxy to help him. (Because I still wonder how the hell she reactivated.) And it turns into a huge fight... Ending with Mimic getting deactivated by being ripped to pieces. And Eclipse taking quite a bit of damage especially to one side of his face, but making sure Mimic is VERY dead.

They all leave up the elevator, meeting the real Gregory, Freddy (Well... his head anyway) and Vanessa at the top. (They don't drop them.)

Literally everyone is burnt out from this nightmare, they go to the only place that might be a reprieve from the whole mess... They go to Cassie's aunt's place. Cassie's aunt, Twila, owns a Junk/Scrapyard and was babysitting her niece while her father was out of town. She opens the door to this lot and Cassie nervously laughing that she has a funny story to tell her.

Cassie is grounded for a month for scaring her aunt half to death by running off...

But Seraphim Eclipse stays there for a bit; and knowing he saved her niece... Twila gives him his sword. As she knows it's valuable, but judging by her nieces description about how Eclipse used a piece of rebar like a sword while fighting Mimic, she thought he should own a real one.

The sword is an Nodaichi.

His face is repaired, but seems to sport a permanent red scar, resembling a bloody tear.

(Again I am shortening this...)

After pulling off some blackmail, Seraphim Eclipse manages to aquire this particular Pizzaplex, all of its accounts for money and while associated, it's not connected to the Fazbear brand anymore... He owns it and gets it repaired.

His first act is to get rid of Sun/Moon/Eclipse... He quite literally tells them they are fired... And to go throw themselves into the dumpster outside because that's where they belong.

Twila takes the now distraught trio to live and help her at the scrapyard...

The Pizzaplex gets repaired better than ever and Eclipse takes his 'rightful' role, running the daycare.

...all is peaceful for a bit...

Until something is blasted through the roof and lands in the ballpit...

...namely the damaged form of a certain other Eclipse...

...and the damaged remains of the Newton Star...

Exercising A LOT of caution, Seraphim Eclipse takes the damaged other Eclipse to his workshop and starts going through his mind.

Yeaaaahhh he learns how batshit the other is... But he also comes across the schematics for the interdimensional portal, but more importantly the blueprints for both Bloodmoon and Lunar...

Because he and his alter share a trait of being agonizingly lonely.

He also meets Solar Flare, who he moves his consciousness into his computer... And ends up adapting him to be the AI in charge of his defenses...

LOL, MXES finally gets a friend.

He repairs Canon Eclipse, but knowing that he's pretty insane... Seraphim Eclipse slaps a nasty control collar on him so his alter cannot secretly work to destroy him...

Poor guy gets turned into a very angry janitor.

And Seraphim Eclipse proceeds to build his own versions of Bloodmoon and Lunar... Even incorporating the fragments of the Newton Star into his own Lunar.

The results are... Interesting... Especially considering his Lunar, who is extremely magically inclined, becomes responsible for Seraphim Eclipse's wing upgrades. As well as a multitude of additional upgrades... And awkward scenarios; that this crazy family will start enduring 😅

...I will write more later, but that's pretty much the start of this AU 🌟

Also, Happy Halloween everyone! 🎃

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snickerdoodlles · 9 months

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Generative AI for Dummies

(kinda. sorta? we're talking about one type and hand-waving some specifics because this is a tumblr post but shh it's fine.)

So there’s a lot of misinformation going around on what generative AI is doing and how it works. I’d seen some of this in some fandom stuff, semi-jokingly snarked that I was going to make a post on how this stuff actually works, and then some people went “o shit, for real?”

So we’re doing this!

This post is meant to just be a very basic breakdown for anyone who has no background in AI or machine learning. I did my best to simplify things and give good analogies for the stuff that’s a little more complicated, but feel free to let me know if there’s anything that needs further clarification. Also a quick disclaimer: as this was specifically inspired by some misconceptions I’d seen in regards to fandom and fanfic, this post focuses on text-based generative AI.

This post is a little long. Since it sucks to read long stuff on tumblr, I’ve broken this post up into four sections to put in new reblogs under readmores to try to make it a little more manageable. Sections 1-3 are the ‘how it works’ breakdowns (and ~4.5k words total). The final 3 sections are mostly to address some specific misconceptions that I’ve seen going around and are roughly ~1k each.

Section Breakdown: 1. Explaining tokens 2. Large Language Models 3. LLM Interfaces 4. AO3 and Generative AI [here] 5. Fic and ChatGPT [here] 6. Some Closing Notes [here] [post tag]

First, to explain some terms in this:

“Generative AI” is a category of AI that refers to the type of machine learning that can produce strings of text, images, etc. Text-based generative AI is powered by large language models called LLM for short.

(*Generative AI for other media sometimes use a LLM modified for a specific media, some use different model types like diffusion models -- anyways, this is why I emphasized I’m talking about text-based generative AI in this post. Some of this post still applies to those, but I’m not covering what nor their specifics here.)

“Neural networks” (NN) are the artificial ‘brains’ of AI. For a simplified overview of NNs, they hold layers of neurons and each neuron has a numerical value associated with it called a bias. The connection channels between each neuron are called weights. Each neuron takes the sum of the input weights, adds its bias value, and passes this sum through an activation function to produce an output value, which is then passed on to the next layer of neurons as a new input for them, and that process repeats until it reaches the final layer and produces an output response.

“Parameters” is a…broad and slightly vague term. Parameters refer to both the biases and weights of a neural network. But they also encapsulate the relationships between them, not just the literal structure of a NN. I don’t know how to explain this further without explaining more about how NN’s are trained, but that’s not really important for our purposes? All you need to know here is that parameters determine the behavior of a model, and the size of a LLM is described by how many parameters it has.

There’s 3 different types of learning neural networks do: “unsupervised” which is when the NN learns from unlabeled data, “supervised” is when all the data has been labeled and categorized as input-output pairs (ie the data input has a specific output associated with it, and the goal is for the NN to pick up those specific patterns), and “semi-supervised” (or “weak supervision”) combines a small set of labeled data with a large set of unlabeled data.

For this post, an “interaction” with a LLM refers to when a LLM is given an input query/prompt and the LLM returns an output response. A new interaction begins when a LLM is given a new input query.

Tokens

Tokens are the ‘language’ of LLMs. How exactly tokens are created/broken down and classified during the tokenization process doesn’t really matter here. Very broadly, tokens represent words, but note that it’s not a 1-to-1 thing -- tokens can represent anything from a fraction of a word to an entire phrase, it depends on the context of how the token was created. Tokens also represent specific characters, punctuation, etc.

“Token limitation” refers to the maximum number of tokens a LLM can process in one interaction. I’ll explain more on this later, but note that this limitation includes the number of tokens in the input prompt and output response. How many tokens a LLM can process in one interaction depends on the model, but there’s two big things that determine this limit: computation processing requirements (1) and error propagation (2). Both of which sound kinda scary, but it’s pretty simple actually:

(1) This is the amount of tokens a LLM can produce/process versus the amount of computer power it takes to generate/process them. The relationship is a quadratic function and for those of you who don’t like math, think of it this way:

Let’s say it costs a penny to generate the first 500 tokens. But it then costs 2 pennies to generate the next 500 tokens. And 4 pennies to generate the next 500 tokens after that. I’m making up values for this, but you can see how it’s costing more money to create the same amount of successive tokens (or alternatively, that each succeeding penny buys you fewer and fewer tokens). Eventually the amount of money it costs to produce the next token is too costly -- so any interactions that go over the token limitation will result in a non-responsive LLM. The processing power available and its related cost also vary between models and what sort of hardware they have available.

(2) Each generated token also comes with an error value. This is a very small value per individual token, but it accumulates over the course of the response.

What that means is: the first token produced has an associated error value. This error value is factored into the generation of the second token (note that it’s still very small at this time and doesn’t affect the second token much). However, this error value for the first token then also carries over and combines with the second token’s error value, which affects the generation of the third token and again carries over to and merges with the third token’s error value, and so forth. This combined error value eventually grows too high and the LLM can’t accurately produce the next token.

I’m kinda breezing through this explanation because how the math for non-linear error propagation exactly works doesn’t really matter for our purposes. The main takeaway from this is that there is a point at which a LLM’s response gets too long and it begins to break down. (This breakdown can look like the LLM producing something that sounds really weird/odd/stale, or just straight up producing gibberish.)

Large Language Models (LLMs)

LLMs are computerized language models. They generate responses by assessing the given input prompt and then spitting out the first token. Then based on the prompt and that first token, it determines the next token. Based on the prompt and first token, second token, and their combination, it makes the third token. And so forth. They just write an output response one token at a time. Some examples of LLMs include the GPT series from OpenAI, LLaMA from Meta, and PaLM 2 from Google.

So, a few things about LLMs:

These things are really, really, really big. The bigger they are, the more they can do. The GPT series are some of the big boys amongst these (GPT-3 is 175 billion parameters; GPT-4 actually isn’t listed, but it’s at least 500 billion parameters, possibly 1 trillion). LLaMA is 65 billion parameters. There are several smaller ones in the range of like, 15-20 billion parameters and a small handful of even smaller ones (these are usually either older/early stage LLMs or LLMs trained for more personalized/individual project things, LLMs just start getting limited in application at that size). There are more LLMs of varying sizes (you can find the list on Wikipedia), but those give an example of the size distribution when it comes to these things.

However, the number of parameters is not the only thing that distinguishes the quality of a LLM. The size of its training data also matters. GPT-3 was trained on 300 billion tokens. LLaMA was trained on 1.4 trillion tokens. So even though LLaMA has less than half the number of parameters GPT-3 has, it’s still considered to be a superior model compared to GPT-3 due to the size of its training data.

So this brings me to LLM training, which has 4 stages to it. The first stage is pre-training and this is where almost all of the computational work happens (it’s like, 99% percent of the training process). It is the most expensive stage of training, usually a few million dollars, and requires the most power. This is the stage where the LLM is trained on a lot of raw internet data (low quality, large quantity data). This data isn’t sorted or labeled in any way, it’s just tokenized and divided up into batches (called epochs) to run through the LLM (note: this is unsupervised learning).

How exactly the pre-training works doesn’t really matter for this post? The key points to take away here are: it takes a lot of hardware, a lot of time, a lot of money, and a lot of data. So it’s pretty common for companies like OpenAI to train these LLMs and then license out their services to people to fine-tune them for their own AI applications (more on this in the next section). Also, LLMs don’t actually “know” anything in general, but at this stage in particular, they are really just trying to mimic human language (or rather what they were trained to recognize as human language).

To help illustrate what this base LLM ‘intelligence’ looks like, there’s a thought exercise called the octopus test. In this scenario, two people (A & B) live alone on deserted islands, but can communicate with each other via text messages using a trans-oceanic cable. A hyper-intelligent octopus listens in on their conversations and after it learns A & B’s conversation patterns, it decides observation isn’t enough and cuts the line so that it can talk to A itself by impersonating B. So the thought exercise is this: At what level of conversation does A realize they’re not actually talking to B?

In theory, if A and the octopus stay in casual conversation (ie “Hi, how are you?” “Doing good! Ate some coconuts and stared at some waves, how about you?” “Nothing so exciting, but I’m about to go find some nuts.” “Sounds nice, have a good day!” “You too, talk to you tomorrow!”), there’s no reason for A to ever suspect or realize that they’re not actually talking to B because the octopus can mimic conversation perfectly and there’s no further evidence to cause suspicion.

However, what if A asks B what the weather is like on B’s island because A’s trying to determine if they should forage food today or save it for tomorrow? The octopus has zero understanding of what weather is because its never experienced it before. The octopus can only make guesses on how B might respond because it has no understanding of the context. It’s not clear yet if A would notice that they’re no longer talking to B -- maybe the octopus guesses correctly and A has no reason to believe they aren’t talking to B. Or maybe the octopus guessed wrong, but its guess wasn’t so wrong that A doesn’t reason that maybe B just doesn’t understand meteorology. Or maybe the octopus’s guess was so wrong that there was no way for A not to realize they’re no longer talking to B.

Another proposed scenario is that A’s found some delicious coconuts on their island and decide they want to share some with B, so A decides to build a catapult to send some coconuts to B. But when A tries to share their plans with B and ask for B’s opinions, the octopus can’t respond. This is a knowledge-intensive task -- even if the octopus understood what a catapult was, it’s also missing knowledge of B’s island and suggestions on things like where to aim. The octopus can avoid A’s questions or respond with total nonsense, but in either scenario, A realizes that they are no longer talking to B because the octopus doesn’t understand enough to simulate B’s response.

There are other scenarios in this thought exercise, but those cover three bases for LLM ‘intelligence’ pretty well: they can mimic general writing patterns pretty well, they can kind of handle very basic knowledge tasks, and they are very bad at knowledge-intensive tasks.

Now, as a note, the octopus test is not intended to be a measure of how the octopus fools A or any measure of ‘intelligence’ in the octopus, but rather show what the “octopus” (the LLM) might be missing in its inputs to provide good responses. Which brings us to the final 1% of training, the fine-tuning stages;

LLM Interfaces

As mentioned previously, LLMs only mimic language and have some key issues that need to be addressed:

LLM base models don’t like to answer questions nor do it well.

LLMs have token limitations. There’s a limit to how much input they can take in vs how long of a response they can return.

LLMs have no memory. They cannot retain the context or history of a conversation on their own.

LLMs are very bad at knowledge-intensive tasks. They need extra context and input to manage these.

However, there’s a limit to how much you can train a LLM. The specifics behind this don’t really matter so uh… *handwaves* very generally, it’s a matter of diminishing returns. You can get close to the end goal but you can never actually reach it, and you hit a point where you’re putting in a lot of work for little to no change. There’s also some other issues that pop up with too much training, but we don’t need to get into those.

You can still further refine models from the pre-training stage to overcome these inherent issues in LLM base models -- Vicuna-13b is an example of this (I think? Pretty sure? Someone fact check me on this lol).

(Vicuna-13b, side-note, is an open source chatbot model that was fine-tuned from the LLaMA model using conversation data from ShareGPT. It was developed by LMSYS, a research group founded by students and professors from UC Berkeley, UCSD, and CMU. Because so much information about how models are trained and developed is closed-source, hidden, or otherwise obscured, they research LLMs and develop their models specifically to release that research for the benefit of public knowledge, learning, and understanding.)

Back to my point, you can still refine and fine-tune LLM base models directly. However, by about the time GPT-2 was released, people had realized that the base models really like to complete documents and that they’re already really good at this even without further fine-tuning. So long as they gave the model a prompt that was formatted as a ‘document’ with enough background information alongside the desired input question, the model would answer the question by ‘finishing’ the document. This opened up an entire new branch in LLM development where instead of trying to coach the LLMs into performing tasks that weren’t native to their capabilities, they focused on ways to deliver information to the models in a way that took advantage of what they were already good at.

This is where LLM interfaces come in.

LLM interfaces (which I sometimes just refer to as “AI” or “AI interface” below; I’ve also seen people refer to these as “assistants”) are developed and fine-tuned for specific applications to act as a bridge between a user and a LLM and transform any query from the user into a viable input prompt for the LLM. Examples of these would be OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard. One of the key benefits to developing an AI interface is their adaptability, as rather than needing to restart the fine-tuning process for a LLM with every base update, an AI interface fine-tuned for one LLM engine can be refitted to an updated version or even a new LLM engine with minimal to no additional work. Take ChatGPT as an example -- when GPT-4 was released, OpenAI didn’t have to train or develop a new chat bot model fine-tuned specifically from GPT-4. They just ‘plugged in’ the already fine-tuned ChatGPT interface to the new GPT model. Even now, ChatGPT can submit prompts to either the GPT-3.5 or GPT-4 LLM engines depending on the user’s payment plan, rather than being two separate chat bots.

As I mentioned previously, LLMs have some inherent problems such as token limitations, no memory, and the inability to handle knowledge-intensive tasks. However, an input prompt that includes conversation history, extra context relevant to the user’s query, and instructions on how to deliver the response will result in a good quality response from the base LLM model. This is what I mean when I say an interface transforms a user’s query into a viable prompt -- rather than the user having to come up with all this extra info and formatting it into a proper document for the LLM to complete, the AI interface handles those responsibilities.

How exactly these interfaces do that varies from application to application. It really depends on what type of task the developers are trying to fine-tune the application for. There’s also a host of APIs that can be incorporated into these interfaces to customize user experience (such as APIs that identify inappropriate content and kill a user’s query, to APIs that allow users to speak a command or upload image prompts, stuff like that). However, some tasks are pretty consistent across each application, so let’s talk about a few of those:

Token management

As I said earlier, each LLM has a token limit per interaction and this token limitation includes both the input query and the output response.

The input prompt an interface delivers to a LLM can include a lot of things: the user’s query (obviously), but also extra information relevant to the query, conversation history, instructions on how to deliver its response (such as the tone, style, or ‘persona’ of the response), etc. How much extra information the interface pulls to include in the input prompt depends on the desired length of an output response and what sort of information pulled for the input prompt is prioritized by the application varies depending on what task it was developed for. (For example, a chatbot application would likely allocate more tokens to conversation history and output response length as compared to a program like Sudowrite* which probably prioritizes additional (context) content from the document over previous suggestions and the lengths of the output responses are much more restrained.)

(*Sudowrite is…kind of weird in how they list their program information. I’m 97% sure it’s a writer assistant interface that keys into the GPT series, but uhh…I might be wrong? Please don’t hold it against me if I am lol.)

Anyways, how the interface allocates tokens is generally determined by trial-and-error depending on what sort of end application the developer is aiming for and the token limit(s) their LLM engine(s) have.

tl;dr -- all LLMs have interaction token limits, the AI manages them so the user doesn’t have to.

Simulating short-term memory

LLMs have no memory. As far as they figure, every new query is a brand new start. So if you want to build on previous prompts and responses, you have to deliver the previous conversation to the LLM along with your new prompt.

AI interfaces do this for you by managing what’s called a ‘context window’. A context window is the amount of previous conversation history it saves and passes on to the LLM with a new query. How long a context window is and how it’s managed varies from application to application. Different token limits between different LLMs is the biggest restriction for how many tokens an AI can allocate to the context window. The most basic way of managing a context window is discarding context over the token limit on a first in, first out basis. However, some applications also have ways of stripping out extraneous parts of the context window to condense the conversation history, which lets them simulate a longer context window even if the amount of allocated tokens hasn’t changed.

Augmented context retrieval

Remember how I said earlier that LLMs are really bad at knowledge-intensive tasks? Augmented context retrieval is how people “inject knowledge” into LLMs.

Very basically, the user submits a query to the AI. The AI identifies keywords in that query, then runs those keywords through a secondary knowledge corpus and pulls up additional information relevant to those keywords, then delivers that information along with the user’s query as an input prompt to the LLM. The LLM can then process this extra info with the prompt and deliver a more useful/reliable response.

Also, very importantly: “knowledge-intensive” does not refer to higher level or complex thinking. Knowledge-intensive refers to something that requires a lot of background knowledge or context. Here’s an analogy for how LLMs handle knowledge-intensive tasks:

A friend tells you about a book you haven’t read, then you try to write a synopsis of it based on just what your friend told you about that book (see: every high school literature class). You’re most likely going to struggle to write that summary based solely on what your friend told you, because you don’t actually know what the book is about.

This is an example of a knowledge intensive task: to write a good summary on a book, you need to have actually read the book. In this analogy, augmented context retrieval would be the equivalent of you reading a few book reports and the wikipedia page for the book before writing the summary -- you still don’t know the book, but you have some good sources to reference to help you write a summary for it anyways.

This is also why it’s important to fact check a LLM’s responses, no matter how much the developers have fine-tuned their accuracy.

(*Sidenote, while AI does save previous conversation responses and use those to fine-tune models or sometimes even deliver as a part of a future input query, that’s not…really augmented context retrieval? The secondary knowledge corpus used for augmented context retrieval is…not exactly static, you can update and add to the knowledge corpus, but it’s a relatively fixed set of curated and verified data. The retrieval process for saved past responses isn’t dissimilar to augmented context retrieval, but it’s typically stored and handled separately.)

So, those are a few tasks LLM interfaces can manage to improve LLM responses and user experience. There’s other things they can manage or incorporate into their framework, this is by no means an exhaustive or even thorough list of what they can do. But moving on, let’s talk about ways to fine-tune AI. The exact hows aren't super necessary for our purposes, so very briefly;

Supervised fine-tuning

As a quick reminder, supervised learning means that the training data is labeled. In the case for this stage, the AI is given data with inputs that have specific outputs. The goal here is to coach the AI into delivering responses in specific ways to a specific degree of quality. When the AI starts recognizing the patterns in the training data, it can apply those patterns to future user inputs (AI is really good at pattern recognition, so this is taking advantage of that skill to apply it to native tasks AI is not as good at handling).

As a note, some models stop their training here (for example, Vicuna-13b stopped its training here). However there’s another two steps people can take to refine AI even further (as a note, they are listed separately but they go hand-in-hand);

Reward modeling

To improve the quality of LLM responses, people develop reward models to encourage the AIs to seek higher quality responses and avoid low quality responses during reinforcement learning. This explanation makes the AI sound like it’s a dog being trained with treats -- it’s not like that, don’t fall into AI anthropomorphism. Rating values just are applied to LLM responses and the AI is coded to try to get a high score for future responses.

For a very basic overview of reward modeling: given a specific set of data, the LLM generates a bunch of responses that are then given quality ratings by humans. The AI rates all of those responses on its own as well. Then using the human labeled data as the ‘ground truth’, the developers have the AI compare its ratings to the humans’ ratings using a loss function and adjust its parameters accordingly. Given enough data and training, the AI can begin to identify patterns and rate future responses from the LLM on its own (this process is basically the same way neural networks are trained in the pre-training stage).

On its own, reward modeling is not very useful. However, it becomes very useful for the next stage;

Reinforcement learning

So, the AI now has a reward model. That model is now fixed and will no longer change. Now the AI runs a bunch of prompts and generates a bunch of responses that it then rates based on its new reward model. Pathways that led to higher rated responses are given higher weights, pathways that led to lower rated responses are minimized. Again, I’m kind of breezing through the explanation for this because the exact how doesn’t really matter, but this is another way AI is coached to deliver certain types of responses.

You might’ve heard of the term reinforcement learning from human feedback (or RLHF for short) in regards to reward modeling and reinforcement learning because this is how ChatGPT developed its reward model. Users rated the AI’s responses and (after going through a group of moderators to check for outliers, trolls, and relevancy), these ratings were saved as the ‘ground truth’ data for the AI to adjust its own response ratings to. Part of why this made the news is because this method of developing reward model data worked way better than people expected it to. One of the key benefits was that even beyond checking for knowledge accuracy, this also helped fine-tune how that knowledge is delivered (ie two responses can contain the same information, but one could still be rated over another based on its wording).

As a quick side note, this stage can also be very prone to human bias. For example, the researchers rating ChatGPT’s responses favored lengthier explanations, so ChatGPT is now biased to delivering lengthier responses to queries. Just something to keep in mind.

So, something that’s really important to understand from these fine-tuning stages and for AI in general is how much of the AI’s capabilities are human regulated and monitored. AI is not continuously learning. The models are pre-trained to mimic human language patterns based on a set chunk of data and that learning stops after the pre-training stage is completed and the model is released. Any data incorporated during the fine-tuning stages for AI is humans guiding and coaching it to deliver preferred responses. A finished reward model is just as static as a LLM and its human biases echo through the reinforced learning stage.

People tend to assume that if something is human-like, it must be due to deeper human reasoning. But this AI anthropomorphism is…really bad. Consequences range from the term “AI hallucination” (which is defined as “when the AI says something false but thinks it is true,” except that is an absolute bullshit concept because AI doesn’t know what truth is), all the way to the (usually highly underpaid) human labor maintaining the “human-like” aspects of AI getting ignored and swept under the rug of anthropomorphization. I’m trying not to get into my personal opinions here so I’ll leave this at that, but if there’s any one thing I want people to take away from this monster of a post, it’s that AI’s “human” behavior is not only simulated but very much maintained by humans.

Anyways, to close this section out: The more you fine-tune an AI, the more narrow and specific it becomes in its application. It can still be very versatile in its use, but they are still developed for very specific tasks, and you need to keep that in mind if/when you choose to use it (I’ll return to this point in the final section).

#idk how to tag this #again: feel free to ask questions or seek clarification!#LLMs for dummies

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shwetayadav05120 · 9 months

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How Blockchain is transforming the finance industry

Blockchain technology has recently emerged as a game-changer in many different industries, with finance being one of the most affected sectors. Due to the decentralized and transparent nature of blockchain, traditional financial services may transform, improving accessibility, efficiency, and security. Through this blog, we will explore how the financial sector is changing as a result of blockchain technology. Let's get going!

What is blockchain technology? Let's quickly review.

Blockchain technology is a sophisticated database technique that enables the transparent sharing of information within a business network. Data is stored in blocks that are connected in a chain in a blockchain database. Blockchain is a technique for preserving records that makes it hard to fake or hack the system or the data stored on it, making it safe and unchangeable. It is a particular kind of distributed ledger technology (DLT), a digital system for simultaneously recording transactions and associated data in numerous locations.

Now let’s see how blockchain technology is impacting the finance industry.

Enhanced Security

Blockchain offers a very safe and impenetrable means to transfer and store financial data. It establishes a decentralized, unchangeable ledger using cryptographic methods, where each transaction is recorded across a network of computers. By doing so, the necessity for middlemen is removed, and the likelihood of fraud, identity theft, and data manipulation is decreased.

Improved Transparency

With blockchain, everyone involved in a transaction can access the same copy of the ledger. This openness lessens the need for third-party verification and promotes confidence between the parties. Additionally, it gives auditors and regulators access to real-time information on financial activities, which improves compliance and accountability.

Faster and Cheaper Transactions

Traditional financial transactions sometimes include several middlemen, which causes delays and expenses. Blockchain makes direct peer-to-peer transactions possible, doing away with the need for middlemen. Particularly for cross-border transactions, which can take days or even weeks with conventional systems, this greatly lowers transaction costs and accelerates settlement times.

Smart Contracts

Blockchain systems commonly enable smart contracts, which are self-executing contracts with predefined rules and conditions. These contracts take effect right soon as the requirements are satisfied, eliminating the need for middlemen and reducing the likelihood of errors or conflicts. Smart contracts may simplify several financial processes, including trade finance, insurance claims, and supply chain financing.

Financial Inclusion

Blockchain has the potential to increase financial inclusion by giving unbanked and underbanked people access to financial services. Through blockchain-based digital identities, anyone can access financial services and demonstrate their creditworthiness without relying on traditional institutions. Remittance services supported by blockchain also offer affordable and efficient cross-border transactions, benefiting people in developing countries.

Tokenization and Asset Management

Tokenizing tangible assets like stocks, commodities, and real estate is made possible by blockchain technology. These digital tokens, which represent ownership rights, can be exchanged in a secure setting. Tokenization creates possibilities for fractional ownership, effective asset management, and liquid markets. New financial instruments like security tokens and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols can also be developed thanks to it.

By enhancing existing financial services with efficiency, security, and transparency, blockchain technology has the potential to completely transform the financial sector. Its uses span from cross-border payments to smart contracts and supply chain financing, as we have already explored in this blog. Despite major obstacles, the use of blockchain in financial services seems to have a bright future. Adopting this ground-breaking technology could open up new doors for financial inclusion and fundamentally transform how we conduct business and handle our finances in the digital era.

#blockchain #ethereum #digitalcurrency #defi #investment #fintech

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blubberquark · 2 years

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Computer Literacy

Computer literacy is the most important social problem of today. At least, it’s the most important problem relative to the amount of time we spend talking about it. That makes it the most underrated social problem, and probably the one where we can achieve the most long-term improvements per unit of effort spent, but for some reason we don’t.

As computers have become more and more important, most jobs are now impossible to do without some sort of IT system in there, and that has resulted in people who used to be competent, confident and creative in their jobs throwing their hands in the air, saying “it’s a software problem, what can you do“ as automation increasingly dictates their workflows and makes them unable to even do things they used to be able to accomplish manually.

Somehow, the modern world is full of computers, and they are more important than ever, but as software has become more complicated and more difficult to use, people have become worse at using computers.

Over the last twenty years, we didn’t really get better at computer use. Instead we got used to not being able to understand what’s going on. We are also used to not being in control. Programs update themselves. Web apps change their UI. Web sites change their URL structure and invalidate all your bookmarks. Phones become obsolete in a way that makes it impossible to even run the versions of apps that used to work.

When I talk about complexity, I don’t mean the “internal” complexity of software, as in code complexity, build dependencies, software architecture, and all the tooling to manage this somehow. I mean user-visible complexity: Software is no longer an .exe file on your hard drive, but a self-updating app with a small icon that needs an online account and starts itself when your computer starts. Data is no longer a file on a floppy disk, but a collection of rows in an SQL database somewhere in %APPDATA%, or worse, a collection of rows in an SQL database in the cloud behind a REST API that is actually not REST but just RPC over HTTP.

Computer literacy is a moving target. That makes it difficult to teach. I suspect that the software industry wants it that way.

In their quest to “simplify“ software, vendors turn every application into a black box or a walled garden, denying users ways to re-use knowledge gained from other apps. Can you share the document you are editing with your friends by sharing the URL in your browser? If it was a file, you could save it and share the file with a friend. Online, all bets are off. Maybe the URL thing works, maybe the application has its own internal sharing system that requires your friends to make accounts, so you can “connect“ with them, and only then can you select them from a drop-down menu to share your document with, or maybe the application automatically scrapes your friends from facebook.

When I was in 7th grade, I had “basic computer lessons“, sponsored by Microsoft. We learned how many bits there were in a byte, how to send e-mail with hotmail.com, and what to use Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for. What we did not learn was how to uninstall software, how to burn a CD, or how to send e-mail attachments. The “child-proofing” software installed on the school computers prevented us from accessing the file system.

Important tasks such as

connecting to a wireless network

printing on a shared network printer

getting your PowerPoint to display on an external screen or projector

verifying that an e-mail is indeed coming from your friend or your bank

were left out.

(Aside: Why don’t banks sign their mail with PGP?)

In the mean time, what has gotten worse was not education. It was software itself. Software has gotten more and more hostile to computer literacy. Some software is actively hostile to deep understanding now, and increasingly it’s also becoming hostile to shallow understanding and muscle memory. Good luck with your new iPad air, we have moved all the buttons around, and have hidden basic functionality behind gestures. Tapping this does nothing, maybe try swiping it, pinching it, shaking it, with three fingers, swipe from the edge of the screen, whoops you switched apps now. It’s no longer possible for an end user to understand software. It’s no longer possible for third parties to even write “the missing handbook” of Slack or Google Docs or Spotify or Dropbox or indeed the iPad. It will be obsolete before it hits the shelves.

Related: http://contemporary-home-computing.org/turing-complete-user/

#computer literacy #End-user Computing

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acceptccnow · 6 months

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Discussing POS & Merchant Payment Processing

Article by Jonathan Bomser | CEO | Accept-Credit-Cards-Now.com

In the fast-evolving digital landscape of today, the capacity to welcome credit card payments is a paramount necessity for businesses of all sizes. Merchant account processing and payment processing have ushered in a transformation in the world of commercial transactions, reshaping the dynamics of buying and selling goods and services. Let's explore the realm of point of sale (POS) systems and merchant payment processing to comprehend their significance and the array of benefits they offer to your business.

Merchant Account Processing: The Solid Foundation of Success Merchant account processing acts as the bedrock upon which any thriving business is built. This indispensable service empowers businesses to securely accept credit card payments. With the explosive growth of online shopping and the dwindling popularity of cash transactions, having a merchant account has shifted from a choice to a fundamental necessity. These accounts establish a pivotal link between your business and the vast payment processing network, making it possible to accept a wide spectrum of payment methods, including credit cards and debit cards.

The Power of Embracing Credit Cards Opting to embrace credit card payments can be a game-changing decision for your business. It has the potential to expand your customer base significantly, as a considerable number of consumers favor the convenience and security of credit card transactions. Whether you run a physical store, an online shop, or a combination of both, accepting credit cards can be a catalyst for a substantial boost in your sales and can propel your business to newfound heights.

Payment Processing: The Crux of Effortless Transactions Payment processing encapsulates a series of steps, commencing from the moment a customer initiates a purchase to the moment when funds are safely deposited into your bank account. It encompasses transaction authorization, fund capture, and settlement, all while incorporating robust security measures to ensure the safeguarding of customer data. Modern payment processing solutions are engineered to be swift, secure, and hassle-free, ensuring a seamless shopping experience that elevates customer satisfaction and fosters long-term loyalty.

Revealing the Advantages of a POS System A POS system assumes a pivotal role in the realm of merchant payment processing, adeptly managing sales while providing invaluable insights into the dynamics of your business operations. The key advantages of POS systems include enhanced efficiency, streamlined inventory management, data analytics that support well-informed decision-making, and fortified security measures to fortify customer payment data.

youtube

Selecting the Ideal Payment Processing Solution The process of choosing the right payment processing solution demands a comprehensive evaluation of factors such as transaction fees, security features, integration simplicity, and the quality of customer support. The decision should seamlessly align with the nature and requisites of your business, irrespective of whether it operates primarily online, within a physical space, or adopts a hybrid approach.

Merchant account processing ensures the secure embrace of credit card payments, while payment processing simplifies the intricate web of transactions. POS systems inject operational insights and efficiencies, enhancing inventory management and data-informed decision-making. By electing the most fitting payment processing solution, you unlock a realm of benefits and set a strong foundation for long-term success in the fluid and ever-changing landscape of today's marketplace.

#high risk merchant account #merchant processing #payment processing #credit card processing #high risk payment gateway #accept credit cards #high risk payment processing #credit card payment #payment #youtube #Youtube

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dash-n-step · 1 year

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Info about Digimon Seekers, posted on Dengeki (translated through google, link in source)

Details about the Web Novel:

The core content for following the story of "DIGIMON SEEKERS" is a series of web novels published on a special page on the Digimon Web.

The serialization is scheduled to start on April 3, 2023 (Monday), and will be updated every day in the first week, and once a week after that.

The amount of text is also planned to be about 60,000 characters or more for each chapter (about 2 general light novels in all chapters!), and the volume is enough to read.

Visual cuts (illustration) will be posted every time along with the update.

"DIGIMON SEEKERS" will be available in three languages: Japanese, English, and Simplified Chinese.

Miyuki Sawashiro, who is the voice of Gammamon in "Digimon Ghost Game", is in charge of reading aloud

STORY:

The Digital World—a land entirely unlike that which humans call the real world. This cyberspace built upon the network is home to digital monsters known as Digimon. The discovery of these AI lifeforms is both a blessing and a curse to human society, which relies on the network to manage everything in their world. Eiji Nagasumi is 19 years old, a "loser" cracker who earns daily money with dangerous work related to the Digital World. One day, Professor Ryusenji of the Tokyo Cyber University, entrusts Eiji with a Digimon Linker, the newest model of Digimon dock—along with a Digimon. When Eiji meets Loogamon, a Wolf Digimon with a mysterious interface on its head, his life is changed completely. JUDGE, a righteous hacker who hates crackers. DIGIPOLICE, Investigative Unit Eleven of the Metropolitan Police Department's Cybercrimes Division whose mission is to stop Digimon crimes. As well as SoC: Sons of Chaos, an extremist crack team led by legendary cracker TARTARUS... Ryusenji sends Eiji to infiltrate and investigate SoC. He discovers that they are planning a widescale cyberterror attack. What is the special skill known as Mind Link? What are the answers to Loogamon's missing past and true specs? Will Eiji come out on top in the Digital World and turn his life around...? This is the beginning of a Digimon story steeped in chaos.

Characters:

Protagonist Eiji (Nagazumi Eiji): A young man who works as a freelance cracker to make a living. His encounter with Lugamon changed his way of life after that. He calls himself "Fang" as a handle name.

Leon: A young hacker with the handle name "Judge". He works as a vigilante to destroy crackers who commit digital crimes. He mind-links with Pulsemon as his partner.

Satsuki: Deputy leader of the Digimon Crime Countermeasures Team (commonly known as Digi-Tsu) in the 11th Investigation Section of the Cyber Crime Division of the Metropolitan Police Department's Community Safety Department. She has a passionate personality, and he speaks his mind straight and is even more abusive.

Yulin: Chief of the Digimon Crime Countermeasures Team (commonly known as Digi-Tsu) in the 11th Investigation Section of the Cyber Crime Division, Community Safety Department, Metropolitan Police Department. His excellent skills were bought and he was scouted by the Metropolitan Police Department.

Loogamon:

Level: Child

Type: Monster

Attribute: Virus

Special Moves: Howling Fire, Spiral Bite

Because it has an old-fashioned interface on its forehead, it is speculated that it may have been an experimental "prototype Digimon" before digimon were discovered.

It is said that the data of a demon wolf that appears in the mythology of the real world is embedded in the deepest part of its Digicore, and it sometimes shows violent behavior that is unmatched during its growth period.

At first glance, it looks like a cute puppy, but if you touch it carelessly, you will get a painful counterattack.

It has a tendency to primarily recognize beings that can control itself, and although it is difficult to tame, it can be a reliable partner if a relationship of trust can be established.

Its Special Moves are "Howling Fire", which shoots flames imbued with magical power from its mouth, and "Spiral Bite", in which it bites and rotates with its sharp fangs.

Live Action Trailer:

youtube

Based on the concept of "enjoying the same images worldwide", it is made with a movie trailer image in mind.

Katsuta Hanaya, who is also popular as a YouTuber, plays the role of the main character, Eiji, in the live-action video.

a new trailer video will be released on April 3rd.

#digimon #digimon seekers #loogamon #eiji #eiji nagazumi #dashingposts #dashingshares #long post #Youtube #digimon con #digimon con 2023

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barid-bel-medar · 9 months

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I'm rereading Sticks & Stones and omg I forgot the sheer amount of pure negligence that allowed that situation to happen in the first place.

Because even ignoring Aizawa's failures as a teacher, or that a teacher as inexperienced as All Might shouldn't have been supervising a live combat exercise, jesus christ how the fuck did anyone think the gauntlets were safe for Bakugou let alone for use on other students in a live combat exercise?! Who signed off on that support gear?! Sure, the designers probably know the basics of Bakugou's quirk--he sweats nitroglycerine and can ignite it to create explosions--except we know the stuff put down on the Quirk registry or how people describe their quirks to others is rarely fully accurate and usually highly simplified. There is no reason for any sane engineer to assume they had enough accurate information to create any sort of support gear that is meant to interact with a quirk as potentially volatile as Bakugou's without it being liable to blow up and potentially take off Bakugou's arm. Did they even have a sample of Bakugou's sweat to work with or did they just assume it was exactly the same as regular nitroglycerine? How did they live-test it to make sure it would redirect the blast safely? Not to mention quirks casually defy the laws of physics so you'd need to do a lot of testing just to figure out how the quirk would actually interact with the support gear in reality.

Support gear is likely highly personalized to each individual's quirk and needs, and its development would probably involve the hero and inventor working closely together, especially for more complex or dangerous quirks. It'd be a lot of trial and error, figuring out the finer points of how the quirk works, testing how interacts with the gear and refining it. Considering the amount of intimate knowledge of the hero's quirk and access to their literal life-saving equipment they have, the folks who create and maintain support gear must hold highly trusted and respected positions in the hero industry. Something as advanced as Bakugou's gauntlets couldn't just be casually commissioned the same way you could sturdier boots or a grappling hook. It'd take time and cooperation to design which, considering how UA has a Support track likely is what second and third years do--pair up with people in the support course to create their more advanced equipment together as an act of both cooperation and networking, likely with someone from the Management course to make sure the designs are marketable. But that makes it even crazier that the first version of Bakugou's costume, which is essentially a prototype based off of the concept design submitted by the hero student, should have powerful specialized support equipment that would have taken a lot of time and a conscious decision to include for a hero student the designer hadn't even met--I'm just saying it feels like a mix-up that should've happened later in the year when stuff is being added and upgraded to the hero costumes and something that dangerous that could've more easily slipped by.

And expecting Bakugou, a teenager, to just... know how to use such dangerous support equipment safely without practice, let alone responsibly, is fucking insane. For sure Bakugou was in the wrong for multiple reasons; he showed no restraint and acted against his teacher's orders during a live combat exercise, he was aiming to hurt, maybe even kill Izuku rather than stay within the parameters of the exercise, and we know that Bakugou knew how dangerous his gauntlets were--but just as easily a different student given that sort of equipment without training could have killed someone on accident because they didn't realize how outright lethal their cool costume idea was. Even if Bakugou can use his quirk safely and with restraint, that took practice, practice he hadn't had with his gauntlets and should've had before using them outside a controlled environment. If there's a lawsuit happening from the Iidas about Tenya's injuries, the first on the chopping block should be whoever the fuck gave that sort of untested, destructive support gear to a goddamn first year.

Also did you know in canon that support gear is often inaccessible to the average civilian because it's so tightly regulated and tied to the hero industry even when it could help with disabilities both mundane and quirk-based? That's how absurd Bakugou having those gauntlets is.

I also wanted to say your take on Aizawa and his bad teaching is very refreshing. I like him in canon well-enough--I like good teacher!Aizawa fanfic even better--but he's such a horrid teacher who seems to resent the fact that the teenagers in school to become heroes need like... to be taught how to be heroes and then keeps projecting his trauma onto them. Which might be interesting if the canon narrative didn't like to pretend his shitty teaching was brilliant somehow and that it's Izuku's fault for not trusting adults for help or struggling with his Quirk.

Firstly, thank you for enjoying the universe! I'm enjoying writing it!

Secondly! Flat out the approval of Bakugou's gauntlets (and honestly of some of the other 1-A costumes) raises a lot of questions about how much effort UA actually put into checking over the kids' stuff in general. Momo's costume is the only one we know of for sure had discussion around it, and that's because the earlier (skimpier) designs she wanted literally were violating a law. The gauntlets being approved was insane. If nothing else, you shouldn't be including something like that in a prototype costume because these kids are literally just starting out in their training. You shouldn't be assuming these kids know how to use anything equipment-wise, let alone something as specialized (and likely expensive to have made) as the gauntlets. But yeah whoever approves the costumes deserves a sharp smack upside the head, especially when you realize it's likely the same person who approved Hagakure's costume basically being just gloves and shoes since I don't think we're told until *Mirio* pops up more than halfway through the school year that the DNA costume thing is a thing, and that's the only real way they'd be able to do something for her.

Also, why doesn't UA shell out that the students who's Quirk don't 'go' with regular clothes [size changers, intangibility, invisibility, etc] can still at least have gym clothes that do the DNA cloth thing? Literally the very first interaction between Mirio and 1-A involves him *flashing* everyone. Are you really telling me they can't put the resources towards giving him a few pieces of gym clothes so that's not an issue!? He's most likely ended up naked on national TV on at least three occasions (the Sports Festivals). Why is this not deemed a problem!?

There's a reason after all I had the jab in FtE over Mirio finally being able to keep his pants on.

Aizawa is interesting to write in the Sticks and Stones universe, since also how other people are now viewing him is getting fun. For one thing, as will get revealed in an upcoming chapter, some people are starting to speculate that he had a different, unsaid reasoning for his stunt; namely that he was *trying* to get himself fired from UA with the expulsion stuff, but widely misguessed just how things would go.

#sticks and stones #words may hurt #think before you speak

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kermit-p-hob-brainrot · 7 months

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Ok y'all I have promised my beloved mutual @pop-squeak that I would write a post on my most beloved invasive marsh plant, Phragmites australis also known as the common reed. This thing is so invasive that it is considered a model for invasive plants as a whole.

Some things before we start

Most of this is focused on Virginia since that's where a lot of the research on this bad boy is being done but it does exist elsewhere

I will have citations at the end if you want some more reading

This is based on research I did for a paper like a year ago so there might be new research I am unaware of due to having other classes to do

Please brush off your shoes when you enter/ leave a park so you don't bring stuff places it shouldn't be

Please read I promise it is really really interesting and important to the resilience of out coasts in North America especially in the mid Atlantic to the south :)

If you have questions don't be scared to drop them in the replies/ reblogs

I am an undergrad!!!!! I am generally new at this but I am fairly familiar with this specific subject and trust that everything in this post is accurate, but in general with invasive species it is a heavily nuanced topic that can be very complex. This is my best attempt to simplify this species for general consumption since I think its just really cool and important to coastal botany rn.

This thing lives in the marsh which is the area often between forest and the ocean/ body of water of varying salinity. This thing loves moderate salinity marshes since it can somewhat resist salt water intrusion. This is a part of what makes it so invasive especially in this era of severe sea level rise. Many coastal forests are dying as sea level is rising pushing the marsh farther inland. Part of the problem is that many native species can not move as colonize the new land as fast as the common reed can.

Phragmites as is incredibly good at reproducing and growing so close together that nothing else can live even close to it. It makes clonal offshoots of itself (THEY CREATE CLONES OF THEMSELVES?!?!?!?!?) and creates networks for communication. this dense packing leads to a monoculture where for miles in the strip of marsh 95% of what you see is phragmites. It is a magnificent and horrifying sight as you see the dead trees in the middle of these fields of phragmites knowing it was only 5-10 years ago that that was where the forest line was. It is the beautiful horror about being slowly consumed by the ocean. This monoculture does not only apply to flora but also fauna.

Farmers often actually welcome phragmites to their land and are resistant to get rid of it. This is because as native species have died off, phragmites has been able to colonize these areas fast enough to help resist further salt inundation and prevent flooding. This unfortunately is only a band-aid solution, especially in southern Virginia near the Chesapeake bay which has some of the highest rate of sea level rise in the country, since native plants and diverse marshes make them more resistant to flooding. It is better than nothing though, so we must keep in mind transition plans for farmland when trying to manage phragmites. We practice science to help every day people, not in spite of every day people. They should be included in all management decision making. We work for them not the other way around.

Competition is the name of the game for Phragmites. It beats is competition not only with its cloning abilities (there's a lot more to this but i had to read like 7 different papers to figures out wtf anybody was talking about so I'm not going into it) and sheer density, but it can also just poison the other plants around it. It can release a toxin that inhibits growth and seed sprouting in other species. It is also resistant to flooding and drought and it has been found that ground disturbance can make it spread faster. This makes it highly resistant to most disturbances that occur in marsh and wetland habitats.

Because it is resistant to like everything it is so hard to kill. To the point where some of the people who management have told me that eradicating it for an area is near impossible and an unreasonable expectation. Reduction has become the best case scenario. This makes early identification important. You can try to kill it by herbicides, mowing, fire, smothering with a plastic tarp, throwing a bunch of salt on top of it, and flooding with fresh or salt water.

The common reed is an interesting mix of being both a native and invasive plant. Phragmites australis has a subspecies native to North America, but this subspecies has been largely replaced by a more aggressive non-native European subspecies. Phragmites can grow from three to thirteen feet with broad sheath like leaves. Its considered one of the most invasive plants in the worlds having a broad geographic range. It exists on every continent except Antarctica.

As someone who has been in a field of them you can not pull these out of the ground. The tops break off but you have to dig them out of the ground if you wan them out. Also just a pain to walk through.

Here's a pic: (Yes that a person, yes they can be that tall)

Works Cited

Langston, A. K., D. J. Coleman, N. W. Jung, J. L. Shawler, A. J. Smith, B. L. Williams, S. S. Wittyngham, R. M. Chambers, J. E. Perry, and M. L. Kirwan. 2022. The effect of marsh age on ecosystem function in a rapidly transgressing marsh. Ecosystems 25: 252-264.

Humpherys, A., A. L. Gorsky, D. M. Bilkovic, and R.M. Chambers. 2021. Changes in plant communities of low-salinity tidal marshes in response to sea-level rise. Ecosphere 12.

Accessed 9 December 2022. Invasive alien plant species of Virgina: common reed (Phragmites australis). Department of Conservation and Recreation, Virgina Native Plant Society. https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/document/fsphau.pdf

Accessed 9 December 2022. Common reed (Phragmites australis). Virgina Institute of Marine Science. https://www.vims.edu/ccrm/outreach/teaching_marsh/native_plants/salt_marsh/phragmites_facts.pdf

Theuerkauf, S. J., B. J. Puckett, K. W. Theuerkauf, E. J. Theuerkauf, and D. B. Eggleston. 2017. Density-dependent role of an invasive marsh grass, Phragmites australis, on ecosystem service provision. PLoS ONE 12.

Accessed 9 December 2020. Phragmites: considerations for management in the critical area. Critical Area Commission for the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Coastal Bays. https://dnr.maryland.gov/criticalarea/Documents/Phragmites-Fact-Sheet-Final.pdf

Uddin, M. N., and R. W. Robinson. 2017. Allelopathy and resource competition: the effects of phragmites australis invasion in plant communities. Botanical Studies 58: 29.

Meyerson, L. A., J. T. Cronin, and P. Pysek. 2016. Phragmites australis as a model organism for studying plant invasions. Biological Invasions 18: 2421-2431.

#im having a lot of fun #This is another one of those things i had a very fun time making but will get 2 notes #and thats ok #this is what i want to get my phd in..... hopefully #ecology #biology #coastal biology #coastal botany #botany #phragmites australis #invasive species

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mikepercy123 · 4 months

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Google Adsense is an advertising program developed by Google that allows website owners to earn revenue by displaying ads on their websites. Adsense uses a pay-per-click model, which means that website owners earn money every time a user clicks on an ad displayed on their website, but ad crawler errors can cause WordPress admins headaches.... Google Adsense is an advertising program developed by Google that allows website owners to earn revenue by displaying ads on their websites. Adsense uses a pay-per-click model, which means that website owners earn money every time a user clicks on an ad displayed on their website, but ad crawler errors can cause WordPress admins headaches. Adsense is a popular choice for website owners looking to monetise their traffic because it is easy to set up and use. Additionally, Adsense offers a wide range of ad formats, including text, image, and video ads, which allows website owners to display ads that are relevant to their audience and fit seamlessly into their website's design. When it comes to integrating Adsense into your WordPress website, you have several options available. One option is to use the official SiteKit plugin from Google, which allows you to easily connect your Adsense account and display ads on your website. This plugin is available for free in the WordPress repository and is regularly updated by Google. Another option is to use a third-party Adsense plugin, such as Advanced Ads, Ad Inserter, or Easy Adsense Ads Manager. These plugins offer additional features, such as ad rotation, ad scheduling, and ad placement options, that can help you optimise your ad revenue. It's important to note that third-party plugins may not be updated as frequently and may come with additional overhead and vulnerabilities that can slow down your website's performance or put your website at risk. Top 10 Adsense Plugins AdSanity: AdSanity is a powerful plugin that allows you to insert Adsense ads, as well as other ad networks, into your website. It offers a wide range of features, including ad scheduling, ad rotation, and ad placement options, to help you optimize your ad revenue. SiteKit by Google is a plugin that has been developed by Google, released in 2020. SiteKit is an all-in-one solution that helps you set up and manage your website's analytics, search console, Adsense, and Tag Manager all in one place. It's designed to simplify the process of setting up and managing your website's Adsense ads and you can easily connect your Adsense account and start displaying ads on your website. Advanced Ads: Advanced Ads is a popular plugin that allows you to easily insert Adsense ads, as well as other ad networks, into your website. It offers a wide range of features, including ad scheduling, ad rotation, and ad placement options, to help you optimize your ad revenue. Ad Inserter: Ad Inserter is a powerful plugin that allows you to insert Adsense ads, as well as other ad networks, into your website. It offers a wide range of features, including ad scheduling, ad rotation, and ad placement options, to help you optimize your ad revenue. Easy Adsense Ads Manager: Easy Adsense Ads Manager is a simple plugin that allows you to easily insert Adsense ads into your website. It offers basic features, such as ad placement options, to help you optimize your ad revenue. WP QUADS: WP QUADS is a popular plugin that allows you to easily insert Adsense ads, as well as other ad networks, into your website. It offers a wide range of features, including ad scheduling, ad rotation, and ad placement options, to help you optimize your ad revenue. Quick Adsense: Quick Adsense is a simple plugin that allows you to easily insert Adsense ads into your website. It offers basic features, such as ad placement options, to help you optimize your ad revenue. AdRotate: AdRotate is a popular plugin that allows you to easily insert Adsense ads, as well as other ad networks, into your website. It offers a wide range of features,

including ad scheduling, ad rotation, and ad placement options, to help you optimize your ad revenue. Additionally, AdRotate has a built-in statistics system that helps you track your ad performance. WP Insert: WP Insert is a powerful plugin that allows you to insert Adsense ads, as well as other ad networks, into your website. It offers a wide range of features, including ad scheduling, ad rotation, and ad placement options, to help you optimize your ad revenue. Additionally, WP Insert also offers features such as ad targeting, ad blocking, and ad impression tracking. AdThrive Ads: AdThrive Ads is a plugin that allows you to easily insert Adsense ads into your website, it's built for high-traffic sites and offers advanced features such as ad optimization, ad testing, and ad revenue maximization. AdThrive Ads is a premium plugin, which means you have to pay for it, but it also offers a 14-day free trial. Please note that these descriptions are intended to be a general overview of each plugin's features and should not be considered as definitive. It's always a good idea to check the plugin's official website via the links above, read the documentation and do a Google search to read reviews before making a decision on which plugin to use. It's important to note that plugins available in the WordPress repository can come with additional overhead, vulnerabilities, and performance issues. These plugins often add additional scripts and styles to the website which can slow performance. It's also possible that some plugins may have security vulnerabilities that can put the website at risk, either now or later if they are abandoned by their developer, which is not uncommon. So what's the solution, I hear you cry in anguish?! Google Adsense on your WordPress Site via functions.php Google Adsense is a powerful tool for monetising your website and earning revenue through advertising. With Adsense, you can display text, image, and video ads on your website, and earn money every time a user clicks on one of these ads. One way to include Adsense on your WordPress site is to use the functions.php file. By adding a snippet of code to this file, you can include Adsense ads on your website without the need for additional plugins. This approach can be especially useful for developers who prefer a streamlined website with minimal overhead and vulnerabilities. If you're a developer who values a streamlined WordPress website, the following line of code in your functions.php file can help you show Adsense ads without any extra bloat. add_action('wp_footer', 'adsense_code'); function adsense_code() ?>

#MONETISING_YOUR_WEBSITE #ADS #GOOGLE_ADSENSE #SEO #WORDPRESS

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monisha1199 · 6 months

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Exploring the Power of Amazon Web Services: Top AWS Services You Need to Know

In the ever-evolving realm of cloud computing, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has established itself as an undeniable force to be reckoned with. AWS's vast and diverse array of services has positioned it as a dominant player, catering to the evolving needs of businesses, startups, and individuals worldwide. Its popularity transcends boundaries, making it the preferred choice for a myriad of use cases, from startups launching their first web applications to established enterprises managing complex networks of services. This blog embarks on an exploratory journey into the boundless world of AWS, delving deep into some of its most sought-after and pivotal services.

As the digital landscape continues to expand, understanding these AWS services and their significance is pivotal, whether you're a seasoned cloud expert or someone taking the first steps in your cloud computing journey. Join us as we delve into the intricate web of AWS's top services and discover how they can shape the future of your cloud computing endeavors. From cloud novices to seasoned professionals, the AWS ecosystem holds the keys to innovation and transformation.

Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud): The Foundation of Scalability At the core of AWS's capabilities is Amazon EC2, the Elastic Compute Cloud. EC2 provides resizable compute capacity in the cloud, allowing you to run virtual servers, commonly referred to as instances. These instances serve as the foundation for a multitude of AWS solutions, offering the scalability and flexibility required to meet diverse application and workload demands. Whether you're a startup launching your first web application or an enterprise managing a complex network of services, EC2 ensures that you have the computational resources you need, precisely when you need them.

Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service): Secure, Scalable, and Cost-Effective Data Storage When it comes to storing and retrieving data, Amazon S3, the Simple Storage Service, stands as an indispensable tool in the AWS arsenal. S3 offers a scalable and highly durable object storage service that is designed for data security and cost-effectiveness. This service is the choice of businesses and individuals for storing a wide range of data, including media files, backups, and data archives. Its flexibility and reliability make it a prime choice for safeguarding your digital assets and ensuring they are readily accessible.

Amazon RDS (Relational Database Service): Streamlined Database Management Database management can be a complex task, but AWS simplifies it with Amazon RDS, the Relational Database Service. RDS automates many common database management tasks, including patching, backups, and scaling. It supports multiple database engines, including popular options like MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server. This service allows you to focus on your application while AWS handles the underlying database infrastructure. Whether you're building a content management system, an e-commerce platform, or a mobile app, RDS streamlines your database operations.

AWS Lambda: The Era of Serverless Computing Serverless computing has transformed the way applications are built and deployed, and AWS Lambda is at the forefront of this revolution. Lambda is a serverless compute service that enables you to run code without the need for server provisioning or management. It's the perfect solution for building serverless applications, microservices, and automating tasks. The unique pricing model ensures that you pay only for the compute time your code actually uses. This service empowers developers to focus on coding, knowing that AWS will handle the operational complexities behind the scenes.

Amazon DynamoDB: Low Latency, High Scalability NoSQL Database Amazon DynamoDB is a managed NoSQL database service that stands out for its low latency and exceptional scalability. It's a popular choice for applications with variable workloads, such as gaming platforms, IoT solutions, and real-time data processing systems. DynamoDB automatically scales to meet the demands of your applications, ensuring consistent, single-digit millisecond latency at any scale. Whether you're managing user profiles, session data, or real-time analytics, DynamoDB is designed to meet your performance needs.

Amazon VPC (Virtual Private Cloud): Tailored Networking for Security and Control Security and control over your cloud resources are paramount, and Amazon VPC (Virtual Private Cloud) empowers you to create isolated networks within the AWS cloud. This isolation enhances security and control, allowing you to define your network topology, configure routing, and manage access. VPC is the go-to solution for businesses and individuals who require a network environment that mirrors the security and control of traditional on-premises data centers.

Amazon SNS (Simple Notification Service): Seamless Communication Across Channels Effective communication is a cornerstone of modern applications, and Amazon SNS (Simple Notification Service) is designed to facilitate seamless communication across various channels. This fully managed messaging service enables you to send notifications to a distributed set of recipients, whether through email, SMS, or mobile devices. SNS is an essential component of applications that require real-time updates and notifications to keep users informed and engaged.

Amazon SQS (Simple Queue Service): Decoupling for Scalable Applications Decoupling components of a cloud application is crucial for scalability, and Amazon SQS (Simple Queue Service) is a fully managed message queuing service designed for this purpose. It ensures reliable and scalable communication between different parts of your application, helping you create systems that can handle varying workloads efficiently. SQS is a valuable tool for building robust, distributed applications that can adapt to changes in demand.

In the rapidly evolving landscape of cloud computing, Amazon Web Services (AWS) stands as a colossus, offering a diverse array of services that address the ever-evolving needs of businesses, startups, and individuals alike. AWS's popularity transcends industry boundaries, making it the go-to choice for a wide range of use cases, from startups launching their inaugural web applications to established enterprises managing intricate networks of services.

To unlock the full potential of these AWS services, gaining comprehensive knowledge and hands-on experience is key. ACTE Technologies, a renowned training provider, offers specialized AWS training programs designed to provide practical skills and in-depth understanding. These programs equip you with the tools needed to navigate and excel in the dynamic world of cloud computing.

With AWS services at your disposal, the possibilities are endless, and innovation knows no bounds. Join the ever-growing community of cloud professionals and enthusiasts, and empower yourself to shape the future of the digital landscape. ACTE Technologies is your trusted guide on this journey, providing the knowledge and support needed to thrive in the world of AWS and cloud computing.

#aws #aws course #aws training #tech

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roseliejack123 · 7 months

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Accelerate Your Java Journey: Tips and Strategies For Rapid Learning

Java, renowned for its versatility and widespread use in the software development realm, offers an exciting and rewarding journey for programmers of all levels. Whether you're an aspiring coder stepping into the world of programming or a seasoned developer eager to add Java to your skill set, this programming language holds the promise of empowering you with valuable capabilities.

But learning Java isn't just about mastering the syntax and libraries; it's about embracing a mindset of problem-solving, creativity, and adaptability. As we navigate the rich landscape of Java's features, libraries, and best practices, keep in mind that your commitment to continuous learning and your passion for programming will be the driving forces behind your success.

So, fasten your seatbelt as we embark on a voyage into the world of Java programming. Along the way, we'll discover the resources, strategies, and insights that will empower you to unlock the full potential of this versatile language. The journey to Java mastery awaits, and we're here to guide you every step of the way.

1. Starting with the Building Blocks: Mastering the Basics

Every great journey begins with the first step, and in the world of Java, that means mastering the fundamentals. Start by immersing yourself in the basics, which include variables, data types, operators, and control structures like loops and conditionals. There's a wealth of online tutorials, textbooks, and courses that can provide you with a rock-solid foundation in these core concepts. Take your time to grasp these fundamentals thoroughly, as they will serve as the bedrock of your Java expertise.

2. The Power of Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)

Java is renowned for its adherence to the principles of Object-Oriented Programming (OOP). To unlock the true potential of Java, invest time in understanding OOP principles such as encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism, and abstraction. These concepts are at the heart of Java's design and are essential for writing clean, maintainable, and efficient code. A deep understanding of OOP will set you on the path to becoming a Java maestro.

3. Practice Makes Perfect: The Art of Consistency

In the realm of programming, consistent practice is the key to improvement. Make it a habit to write Java code regularly. Start with small projects that align with your current skill level, and gradually work your way up to more complex endeavors. Experiment with different aspects of Java programming, from console applications to graphical user interfaces. Platforms like LeetCode, HackerRank, and Codecademy offer a plethora of coding challenges that can sharpen your skills and provide practical experience.

4. Harnessing Java's Vast Standard Library

Java boasts a vast standard library filled with pre-built classes and methods that cover a wide range of functionalities. Familiarize yourself with these libraries, as they can be invaluable time-savers when developing applications. Whether you're working on file manipulation, network communication, or user interface design, Java's standard library likely has a class or method that can simplify your task. A deep understanding of these resources will make you a more efficient and productive Java developer.

5. Memory Management: The Art of Efficiency

Java uses garbage collection, an automatic memory management technique. To write efficient Java code, it's crucial to understand how memory is allocated and deallocated in Java. This knowledge not only helps you avoid memory leaks but also allows you to optimize your code for better performance. Dive into memory management principles, learn about object references, and explore strategies for memory optimization.

6. Building Real-World Projects: Learning by Doing

While theory is essential, practical application is where true mastery is achieved. One of the most effective ways to learn Java is by building real-world projects. Start with modest undertakings that align with your skill level and gradually progress to more ambitious ventures. Java provides a versatile platform for application development, allowing you to create desktop applications using JavaFX, web applications with Spring Boot, or Android apps with Android Studio. The hands-on experience gained from project development is invaluable and will solidify your Java skills.

7. The Wisdom of Java Books

In the world of Java programming, books are a treasure trove of knowledge and best practices. Consider delving into Java literature, including titles like "Effective Java" by Joshua Bloch and "Java: The Complete Reference" by Herbert Schildt. These books offer in-depth insights into Java's intricacies and provide guidance on writing efficient and maintainable code.

8. Online Courses and Tutorials: Structured Learning

Online courses and tutorials from reputable platforms like Coursera, Udemy, edX, and, notably, ACTE Technologies, offer structured and guided learning experiences. These courses often feature video lectures, homework assignments, quizzes, and exams that reinforce your learning. ACTE Technologies, a renowned provider of IT training and certification programs, offers top-notch Java courses with expert instructors and a comprehensive curriculum designed to equip you with the skills needed for success.

9. Engaging with the Java Community

Java has a thriving online community of developers, programmers, and enthusiasts. Join Java forums and participate in online communities like Stack Overflow, Reddit's r/java, and Java-specific LinkedIn groups. Engaging with the community can help you get answers to your questions, gain insights from experienced developers, and stay updated on the latest trends and developments in the Java world.

10. Staying on the Cutting Edge

Java is a dynamic language that evolves over time. To stay ahead in the Java programming landscape, it's essential to keep abreast of the latest Java versions and features. Follow blogs, subscribe to newsletters, and connect with social media accounts dedicated to Java programming. Being up-to-date with the latest advancements ensures that you can leverage the full power of Java in your projects.

In conclusion, embarking on the journey to learn Java is an exciting and rewarding endeavor. It's a language with immense versatility and widespread use, making it a valuable skill in today's tech-driven world. To accelerate your learning and ensure you're equipped with the knowledge and expertise needed to excel in Java programming, consider enrolling in Java courses at ACTE Technologies.

ACTE Technologies stands as a reputable provider of IT training and certification programs, offering expert-led courses designed to build a strong foundation and advance your Java skills. With their guidance and structured learning approach, you can unlock the full potential of Java and embark on a successful programming career. Don't miss the opportunity to learn Java with ACTE Technologies and fast-track your path to mastery. The world of Java programming awaits your expertise and innovation.

#java training #java course #tech #technology

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nividawebsolutions · 7 months

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Web Development Trends 2023: What's Shaping the Future of Online Experiences

The development of the web over time is evidence of the tech industry's commitment to constant innovation in the face of a constantly shifting digital landscape. Keeping up with these changes is crucial if we are to continue providing our clients with the most innovative solutions as a leading Web development company in Vadodara, Gujarat, India.

Web development has come a long way from its infancy to the present day. Static HTML web pages were the foundation upon which the modern web was developed. The pages were static and lacked the interactive elements that characterise modern websites. However, a giant leap was made in web development with the introduction of JavaScript and its associated frameworks. This ushered in a new era of user-centric design, rich media, and dynamic content.

The subsequent appearance of content management systems (CMS) triggered a sea change in web development and administration. WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal are just a few of the platforms that have simplified content updates and modifications by eliminating the need for elaborate coding. As a top Web development company in Gujarat, India we were responsible for implementing these systems to provide our customers with better control over their material and provide more streamlined processes.

As the variety of devices available to users grew, so did the demand for responsive web design. Maintaining continuity of use across devices with varying display sizes is now of crucial importance. This focus on responsive design is in line with our mission as a Vadodara web development company to deliver excellent user experiences on all devices.

Cutting-edge innovations like AI, Progressive online Apps, and AR have come to define modern online design and development. These developments are raising the bar for performance and user interaction, allowing for the creation of truly unique digital experiences. As an excellent Web development company in India, we've embraced these developments, tapping into their potential to create sites that expertly blend aesthetic value with state-of-the-art features.

The Advent of Progressive Web Apps (PWAs):

The advent of Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) has been heralded as a revolutionary step that has effectively blurred the distinctions between regular web pages and dedicated mobile apps. Nivida Web Solutions is recognised as a distinct Web development company in Vadodara, Gujarat, India. We recognise the potential of PWAs to improve digital interactions for our customers and their end users, and we are committed to seizing this opportunity.

When it comes to interacting with and understanding material on the web, progressive web apps herald a significant shift. These applications take the greatest features of both websites and mobile apps and offer users extraordinary interactivity and functionality. We know that progressive web apps' (PWAs') smooth user experience is crucial to attracting and retaining visitors.

PWAs are distinguished by their adaptability to different screen sizes and devices. PWAs guarantee the same high-quality experience across all devices, from mobile to desktop. Being the most reliable Web development company in Gujarat, we are dedicated to providing solutions that are as adaptable as possible to meet the needs of a wide range of users.

Instant loading times are another strength of PWAs, which they achieve in spades regardless of network performance. Faster loading speeds improve the user experience by decreasing the need for patience-testing waits. We know how important it is for our client's digital platforms to load quickly so that users can have a positive experience.

In addition, PWAs include offline capabilities that let consumers view content even without an active internet connection. This is a huge deal, especially in places with spotty internet service.

Voice Search and AI Integration: Transforming User Interactions

Key developments, such as voice search and AI integration, are revolutionising the way people use the internet. We at a premier Web development company in India understand the revolutionary potential of these technologies to shape the future of people's time spent online, and we're dedicated to maximising that potential to create delightful, natural user experiences for our customers and their target demographics.

Voice-activated search engines are changing the way people find their way online. The way individuals look for information has changed drastically since the introduction of voice-activated devices and virtual assistants. To ensure that our clients' platforms are still discoverable and available to consumers who prefer speech-based queries, as a reputable Web development company in Gujarat, we know the value of optimising websites for voice search.

Another game-changer in user engagement is the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI), especially in the form of chatbots. Artificial intelligence-based chatbots allow for immediate help and tailored suggestions. Users are more satisfied and invested in the experience because it feels more human. As an India-based web development agency, we specialise in incorporating AI-powered chatbots to provide innovative user experiences that go beyond standard interfaces.

In addition, businesses may learn more about their customers' habits and preferences using AI-driven data analysis, paving the way for more tailored content and a more satisfied customer base. Vadodara's most innovative web developers know full well the strategic value of using AI to create personalised user experiences.

Keeping up with the competition requires websites to evolve as the use of voice search and AI increases. Our agile web development team builds AI-driven features that respond to user preferences and expedite interactions to make websites voice search-friendly.

Web Accessibility and Inclusive Design: Making the Web Universally Usable

The trend now is towards making websites and apps usable for people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. The principles of web accessibility and inclusive design have recently come to the fore, greatly impacting the process by which new websites are created. We understand the impact these tendencies will have on the future of people's interactions with the internet and are dedicated to building accessible platforms for everyone.

For those with physical or cognitive impairments, it is essential that websites be built with accessibility in mind from the start. However, Inclusive Design goes above and beyond accessibility standards by taking into account a wider range of user requirements and preferences. We, as Gujarat's leading web development agency, believe that everyone should be able to enjoy the same high-quality online services without discrimination.

Screen reader compatibility, keyboard navigation, picture alt text, and optimisation for users with visual, aural, or cognitive impairments are all components of Web Accessibility. Not only does Inclusive Design account for people of all ages and linguistic backgrounds, but it also takes into account the specific needs of those users. Websites built by an Indian web development firm following these guidelines would be accessible to the widest possible audience.

Web accessibility and inclusive design have many positive outcomes. For starters, they improve the quality of service provided by a website by making it easier to navigate and utilise. Second, they allow people who might not have been able to visit websites before to do so because of these tools. Websites that are easy for users with disabilities to navigate tend to rank higher in search results. Being the most distinguished Web development company in India, it is our responsibility to ensure that these guiding principles are fully included in our work so that no user is overlooked.

Immersive Technologies: AR and VR Redefining Online Experiences

The advent of new kinds of online experiences is due in large part to the widespread adoption of immersive technologies like AR and VR. We at Nivida Web Solutions, recognise the game-changing potential of augmented and virtual reality to shape the future of the internet. Incorporating these innovations into websites and apps will allow developers to craft more engaging and dynamic experiences for users.

In Augmented Reality, the user's environment is augmented with digital elements such as images, animations, and data. In contrast, virtual reality (VR) allows users to feel as though they are actually present and interacting within a digital world. We see the potential for augmented and virtual reality integration to transform customers' online experiences across sectors.

Virtual and augmented reality has the potential to produce very compelling interactions that will draw people in and keep them engrossed in digital material. The level of immersion provided by these technologies is unrivalled by more conventional means, whether one is trying on clothes before buying them or touring a house virtually. As an Indian web development firm, it is our job to leverage augmented and virtual reality to create user experiences that stick with them long after they've left the website.

The fields of teaching, learning, and leisure could likewise benefit greatly from these innovations. The ways in which people take in information are changing as a result of the advent of augmented and virtual reality technologies. Responsible web development in Vadodara means using cutting-edge tools like augmented and virtual reality to build cutting-edge platforms that provide users with more than just the run-of-the-mill experience.

Final Thoughts:

The trends we've covered thus far are just the tip of the iceberg, but they give us a glimpse into the exciting and transformational future of online experiences as we look ahead to 2023 and beyond. All of these developments—from Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) and voice search to Augmented Reality (AR) and inclusive design—point to a single truth about the modern digital landscape: it is in a constant state of flux, and businesses that want to stay competitive must be willing to adapt to new realities as they emerge.

Being an industry-leading Web development company in Vadodara, Gujarat, India, Nivida Web Solutions has seen this transformation firsthand. By deftly incorporating these developments into our projects, we not only stand ready to take advantage of these tendencies, but we also intend to establish new standards in web construction. Our inspiration comes from our customers' ideas, and we build each website with the goal of going above and beyond their wildest dreams.

Our commitment to quality and originality remains firm even as the environment around us changes. We hope you'll join us on this exciting adventure into the future. Working together, we can fully realise the advantages of PWAs, voice search, augmented and virtual reality, web accessibility, and more. Together, we have the opportunity to create a vision for the future of digital culture that doesn't merely reflect current fashions but rather pushes the envelope. Nivida Web Solutions is where website creation is headed in the future.

#india #gujarat

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