###### September 20, 2024

[Artificial Intelligence](https://codelabsacademy.com/blog/understanding-the-key-differences-between-machine-learning-and-artificial-intelligence) (AI) is emerging as a viable solution as the amount of weather and climate data surpasses what traditional forecasting methods can handle. The recently funded startup [Brightband](https://www.brightband.com/) aims to revolutionize weather forecasting by integrating machine learning into both open-source and proprietary platforms.

Currently, weather predictions rely on decades-old statistical and numerical models. While these physics-based models are reliable, they often require supercomputers and extensive processing time, making them less efficient. In contrast, AI has shown a remarkable capacity to predict weather events by learning from global weather patterns and observations. It excels at identifying patterns within large datasets.

So, why isn't AI the standard in weather forecasting yet? [According to Julian Green](https://techcrunch.com/2024/09/19/brightband-sees-a-bright-and-open-source-future-for-ai-powered-weather-forecasting/), CEO and co-founder of Brightband, one of the main reasons is that weather companies and government agencies often struggle with attracting top AI talent. At the same time, tech companies, while skilled in AI, don’t prioritize weather as a main focus of their operations. He adds that Brightband is uniting experts in meteorology, data, and artificial intelligence to implement AI in forecasting and make it accessible to everyone.

Based on extensive meteorological data, the company is currently developing its own AI-driven forecasting algorithm. Daniel Rothenberg, co-founder and head of data and weather, explains that they are building the foundation of the physics-based models, AI allowing them to extend and improve upon them, acknowledging the legacy of earlier models.

One of the key advantages of Brightband's approach is speed. AI-driven models are particularly beneficial for industries with specific needs, such as energy, transportation, and agriculture, as they can provide forecasts much more quickly and at a lower cost compared to traditional methods.

Notably, Brightband has committed to making its core forecasting models [publicly accessible](https://github.com/brightbandtech/). The company's strategy is to provide the model, the training data, and the evaluation metric, all without a cost, while focusing on delivering premium services for more specialized capabilities.

According to Rothenberg, the challenge of working with the vast amounts of historical weather data—like that collected from weather balloons and satellites—often leads to it being overlooked. To enhance the accuracy and scope of its forecasts, Brightband plans to incorporate this untapped data into its models.

Although Brightband is still a young company, it aims to have a working model by the end of 2024. Prelude Ventures spearheaded the startup's $10 million Series A funding round. Even though it operates as a for-profit entity, Brightband is structured as a public benefit corporation (PBC), reflecting its commitment to transparency and mission-driven goals.

Before implementing any climate-specific solutions, anticipate a weather forecasting product; further enhancements are likely to be introduced by the end of the year. Utilizing an open-source approach and cutting-edge AI technology, Brightband has the potential to revolutionize weather forecasting, making it more cost-effective, faster, and accessible to a broader audience.


thumbnail_brian-mcgowan-7kU-BMYARQs-unsplash (2) (1).webp

brian-mcgowan-7kU-BMYARQs-unsplash (2) (1).webp

Startup Brightband: Is AI the Future of Weather Forecasting and Prediction?


###### September 19, 2024


Is Bluesky the social media platform of the future? Ever since Elon Musk took over Twitter (now X), many users have been looking for alternatives. While platforms like Mastodon, Post, and Threads have seen some success, Bluesky stands out for its unique approach.

After nearly a year of being an invite-only platform, Bluesky opened its doors to the public in February 2024 and gained a remarkable 800,000 users in one day. By September, the platform had surpassed 9 million users, [thanks to Twitter’s ban in Brazil](/news/bluesky-gains-over-2-million-users-after-x-shutdown-in-brazil-2024-9-5). While it still has a considerable gap to close compared to Threads’ 130 million monthly active users, Bluesky’s growth is certainly impressive.


## What is Bluesky and Why is it Different?

[Bluesky](https://bsky.app/) is a decentralized social networking application that former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey initially conceived. It offers a Twitter-like user interface but includes additional features such as algorithmic election and a federated structure. Built on its own AT protocol, Bluesky is a transparent, open-source project that allows developers outside the company to view and contribute to its development. Although it began as a project within Twitter, Bluesky became an independent entity before changes in Twitter's ownership occurred.


## How to Get Started on Bluesky

To join Bluesky, users must create a unique username in the format @username.bsky.social, and they can also choose to use custom domains for their profiles. For example, Code Labs Academy is listed as [@clanetworkpt.bsky.social](https://bsky.app/profile/clanetworkpt.bsky.social). After signing up, users can post updates (up to 256 characters), share images, and interact with content through replies, reposts, and likes.

Bluesky features a “Discover” tab that curates content and suggests users to follow. New users can use the “Starter Pack” feature, which provides a personalized list of accounts and custom feeds to follow, helping them quickly discover interesting content.


## Who’s Joining Bluesky?

Since its wider launch, Bluesky has attracted prominent personalities such as author Neil Gaiman and whistleblower Chelsea Manning. Additionally, major media outlets such as Bloomberg and The Washington Post are now active on the platform. Recently, heads of state have also been allowed to join, further expanding its global reach.


## Is Bluesky X’s Alternative?

Bluesky shares many similarities with X (formerly Twitter). It has basic functionalities such as posting, replying, and sending private messages, although direct messaging is only available for one-on-one conversations at the moment. However, unlike X, Bluesky operates on a decentralized model, giving users greater control over their data and interactions on the platform.


## Can You Use Bluesky for Free?

Bluesky is free to use and is currently available to everyone. The platform aims to remain free for users, although it does offer optional paid services such as custom domain handles. In July 2024, Bluesky secured further funding to support its operations and growth.


## What Makes Bluesky Decentralized?

Bluesky is built on the decentralized AT protocol, which allows users to transfer their profiles, data, and followers between multiple apps that support the same protocol. At present, users can only join the bsky.social network, but the platform aims to grow and allow other independently operated communities to connect through the protocol.


## How Secure is Bluesky?

In late 2023, Bluesky took important steps to enhance its security features, including launching email verification for users. Additionally, the platform introduced privacy controls that allow users to opt out of having their posts publicly visible on the web, in response to community feedback.


## How Customizable is Bluesky?

In mid-2023, Bluesky launched “custom feeds,” which allow users to customize their experience by subscribing to various algorithms that focus on different types of content. Users can pin these feeds to the top of their timeline for quick access. Additionally, developers have the opportunity to use the AT protocol to build new tools and features. In early 2024, Bluesky started a grant program aimed at supporting developers interested in improving the development of the platform.


## Is Bluesky Available Across Devices?

Bluesky is available on iOS and Android devices. It was launched on iOS in early 2024, with the Android version arriving in April of that year. For those who prefer to use a desktop computer, the platform can also be accessed through web browsers.


## What Are Bluesky’s Posts Called?

While Bluesky hasn’t given a formal name to its posts, users have taken to calling them “skeets,” a playful combination of “tweet” and “sky.” Despite the term’s popularity, Bluesky leadership, including CEO Jay Graber, have expressed dislike for it.


## How Does Bluesky Handle Misinformation?

Bluesky has integrated tools that warn users if links in posts may be misleading or do not match their descriptions. These measures, which began rolling out in late 2023, aim to reduce the spread of misinformation on the platform.


## Does Bluesky Have Strong Moderation Features?

Bluesky has taken steps to address user concerns by improving its moderation features. Users can now create lists to block or mute multiple accounts at once, and the platform has introduced automated tools to detect content that violates community guidelines. Additionally, a tool called Ozone, launched in 2024, allows users to set up their moderation services, allowing them to customize their experience on the platform.


## Who’s Behind Bluesky?

Bluesky, which was initially funded by Jack Dorsey, has been operating independently since its founding in 2021. Dorsey is no longer part of day-to-day operations and the company is now run by Jay Graber, who has a background in software development and previously founded a digital event planning service.


---

_Brought to you by Code Labs Academy – Your_ [_Leading Online Coding Bootcamp_](https://codelabsacademy.com/) _for Future Tech Innovators._ \
##### Check us out on Bluesky at[ @clanetworkpt.bsky.social](https://clanetworkpt.bsky.social).




---
###### Image Credits: Bluesky

thumbnail_bluesky_media_kit_banner_4.webp

bluesky_media_kit_banner_4.webp

What is Bluesky? Everything to Know about the New Social App Competing with X

###### September 17, 2024


Meta, like many other leading tech companies, has developed its own generative AI model known as [Llama](https://llama.meta.com/). What sets Llama apart is its open nature, allowing developers to download and use it with considerable freedom, though there are some conditions to keep in mind. This approach contrasts with models like Anthropic’s Claude, [OpenAI’s GPT-4o](https://openai.com/index/hello-gpt-4o/) (the engine behind [ChatGPT](/news/ai-at-your-fingertips-chatgpt-app-now-available-for-mac-2024-07-02)), and Google’s Gemini, which are available solely through APIs.

To give developers more flexibility, Meta has partnered with cloud service providers such as AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure to offer cloud-hosted versions of Llama. Additionally, Meta has built tools that simplify the process for developers to fine-tune and adapt the model to meet their specific requirements.

Below is a detailed description of Llama, including what it can do, the different versions it offers, and how you can use it effectively.


## What is Llama?

Llama is not merely one model; it encompasses a range of models, such as:

- Llama 8B
- Llama 70B
- Llama 405B

The most recent versions (Llama 3.1 8B, Llama 3.1 70B, and Llama 3.1 405B) were released in July 2024. These models are trained on a wide range of data sources, such as web pages in different languages, public code, files available online, and synthetic data produced by other AI systems.

The Llama 3.1 8B and 70B are compact models that can run a variety of devices from laptops to servers. The Llama 3.1 405B, on the other hand, is a large-scale model that typically requires data center hardware. While the smaller models may not be as powerful as the 405B, they offer faster performance and are optimized for reduced storage and latency.

All Llama models feature a context window of 128,000 tokens, allowing them to handle around 100,000 words (or 300 pages of text). This is roughly the length of books like Wuthering Heights or Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. A long context window helps the model retain information from recent documents and data, reducing the risk of straying off-topic.


## What Can Llama Do?

Like other generative AI models, Llama can help with a variety of tasks, such as coding, answering simple math questions and summarizing documents in eight languages: English, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Hindi, Spanish and Thai. It can handle most text-based tasks, such as analyzing files like PDFs and spreadsheets, but it currently doesn’t have the ability to generate or process images — something that could change in the future.

Llama models can integrate with third-party apps, tools, and APIs to perform a variety of tasks. They are configured to use Brave Search to answer questions about current events, the Wolfram Alpha API for math and science queries, and a Python interpreter for code validation. According to Meta, Llama 3.1 can even use some tools it hasn’t been explicitly trained on, though the reliability of this feature is still uncertain.


## Where Can You Use Llama?

If you want to connect directly with Llama, the Meta AI chatbot experience is supported on platforms like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram, Oculus, and Meta.ai.

For developers, Llama is available for download and can be scaled to several popular cloud platforms. Meta has partnered with over 25 companies to host Llama, including Nvidia, Databricks, Groq, Dell, and Snowflake. Many of these partners provide additional tools that allow Llama to access proprietary data or run more efficiently.

Meta suggests using the smaller Llama models, specifically the 8B and 70B, for general purposes such as running chatbots or creating code. On the other hand, the larger Llama 405B is more appropriate for tasks such as model distillation, which involves transferring knowledge from a larger model to a smaller one, as well as generating synthetic data to train other models.

Developers operating applications with more than 700 million monthly users must acquire a special license from Meta to access Llama, and this will be granted at Meta's discretion.


## What Tools Does Meta Offer for Llama?

Meta has introduced several tools to improve Llama's security:

1. **Llama Guard:** A moderation framework that identifies problematic content such as hate speech, self-harm, and copyright infringement.

2. **Prompt Guard:** A tool specifically designed to protect Llama from harmful messages that seek to bypass its security measures.

3. **CyberSecEval:** A cybersecurity risk assessment suite that evaluates model security, focusing on threats such as automated social engineering and offensive cyber activities.

For example, Llama Guard can detect harmful or illegal content that is entered or generated into Llama, allowing developers to customize which categories are blocked. Prompt Guard focuses on defending against "message injection attacks" that attempt to manipulate the model. CyberSecEval offers benchmarks for assessing security risks associated with Llama models.


## Llama’s Limitations

Llama, like other generative AI models, has its limitations and potential risks. One of the main concerns is whether Meta used copyrighted materials to train Llama. If that is the case, users could face liability for any copyrighted content the model generates.

Recent reports indicate that Meta has been using copyrighted e-books for AI training, despite having received legal warnings. The company also incorporates content from Instagram and Facebook into its model training, making it difficult for users to opt-out. Meta is facing multiple lawsuits, including one from authors such as Sarah Silverman, who claim that the company has used copyrighted material without permission.

An important consideration is programming, as Llama could produce buggy or unsafe code. It is critical that developers have a human expert review any AI-generated code before implementing it in their applications.

While Meta's Llama model offers considerable flexibility and opportunities for developers, it is important to recognize the potential risks and limitations that come with it.

–

_Brought to you by Code Labs Academy – Your Leading_ [_Online Coding Bootcamp_](https://codelabsacademy.com/) _for Future Tech Innovators._


###### Image Credits: Meta

thumbnail_Llama-Use-Case_Header_16x9-1.webp

Llama-Use-Case_Header_16x9-1.webp

What is Meta Llama? A Comprehensive Look at the Open AI Model for Developers

###### September 17, 2024

While still a computer science student at the University of Waterloo, Jacob Jackson co-founded [Tabnine](https://www.tabnine.com/get-free-90-day-trial/?utm_term=tabnine\&utm_campaign=%5BUS%5D+%7C+%5Ben%5D+%7C+%5Bdesktop%5D+%7C+%5BSearch:Brand%5D+%7C+%5BTabnine%5D\&utm_source=adwords\&utm_medium=ppc\&hsa_acc=4311736126\&hsa_cam=21073527735\&hsa_grp=159292934283\&hsa_ad=713438295758\&hsa_src=g\&hsa_tgt=kwd-915660947489\&hsa_kw=tabnine\&hsa_mt=e\&hsa_net=adwords\&hsa_ver=3\&gad_source=1\&gclid=CjwKCAjw0aS3BhA3EiwAKaD2ZSi_B04PfNmu2pEw62uZL71RUlGpSu2J1k_0CDSFuIosfG5tgV4fVRoCod8QAvD_BwE), an AI coding assistant company, launching his career in AI early. In 2019, as Jackson was finishing his final exams, Tabnine raised about $60 million in venture capital and was sold to Codata. After that, he started working as an intern at [OpenAI](https://openai.com/) until 2022, when he made the decision to start a new company that would improve developer workflows.

Jackson developed [Supermaven](https://supermaven.com/), an AI coding platform that expands on his experience with Tabnine but features major technology enhancements, thanks to his inspiration from AI tool developments such as ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot. Babble, Supermaven's in-house AI model, has a million-token pop-up that allows it to analyze a lot of code at once. This makes the model more reliable in producing accurate code by allowing it to handle large inputs without “forgetting” recent data or straying from the topic.

Supermaven matches competitors like Google's Code Assist with 1 million [tokens](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/4936856-what-are-tokens-and-how-to-count-them), despite the fact that some AI coding platforms, like Magic, offer considerably larger pop-ups (Magic supports 100 million tokens). According to Jackson, Supermaven's unique selling point is its reduced latency, made possible by an innovative internal neural architecture. Additionally, the platform takes just 10-20 seconds to process a developer's code repository, learning coding rules and APIs so it can keep running quickly, even with large code bases.

The AI ​​coding tools market is expected to grow rapidly and reach $27.17 billion by 2032, [according to forecasts](https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/press-releases/ai-code-tools-market). More than 1.8 million GitHub Copilot users are among the many developers who have already integrated AI into their processes. But the sector has many obstacles to overcome, particularly when it comes to intellectual property and data privacy. Fearful of disclosing PIN, many companies are hesitant to use AI coding tools. Additionally, copyrighted code has been known to be regurgitated by AI models in some cases, putting developers in legal jeopardy if they include it in their work without realizing it. .

Jackson emphasized [in a talk with Techcrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2024/09/16/ai-coding-assistant-supermaven-raises-cash-from-openai-and-perplexity-founders/) that while Supermaven retains data for a brief period to maximize system performance, it does not use consumer data to build its models. Reducing exposure to dangerous content during training, he emphasized that the focus was on publicly accessible code, but he did not completely rule out the possibility that Babble would be taught on IP-protected code.

Supermaven has grown significantly in popularity despite these obstacles, with over 35,000 developers using the platform. Since the company launched in February, its user base has tripled and many of those customers are signing up for premium plans. The company's annual recurring revenue reached $1 million.

Due to the success of the platform, investors are taking note. Recently, Supermaven revealed that the company had completed its first external investment round, raising $12 million from angel investors and Bessemer Venture Partners, which included Perplexity and OpenAI co-founders John Schulman and Denis Yarats. The money will be used to improve Supermaven's text editor, which is currently in beta, and to hire more developers, setting the company up for long-term success in the fast-growing field of computer coding AI.


Startup Brightband: Is AI the Future of Weather Forecasting and Prediction?

What is Bluesky? Everything to Know about the New Social App Competing with X

What is Meta Llama? A Comprehensive Look at the Open AI Model for Developers

Supermaven Gains Investor Support: AI Tool Optimizing Developer Workflows