Going Once, Going Twice: Auctions (Part 1)

Context windows are powerful — but finite, and surprisingly easy to overwhelm. When an AI agent is tackling a long, complex task, the information it needs has to fit inside that limited real estate, and research shows that anything buried in the middle tends to quietly disappear. ...  Show more

Just like a memorable talk lives or dies by its opening and closing, LLMs have a surprisingly similar quirk: they pay close attention to what's at the beginning and end of their context window — and kind of zone out in the middle. This "lost in the middle" phenomenon has real con ...  Show more

We discuss auctions. We first distinguish two extremes: common values and private values. We hold a common value auction in class and discover the winner’s curse, the winner tends to overpay. We discuss why this occurs and how to avoid it: you should bid as if you knew that your ...  Show more

*AUDIO NOTE* - There was a small issue with the guests mic during this interview, but we wanted to make sure everyone was able to get the great information in this episode, and enjoy the great conversation that Ariel and James had, so we did the best we can with the audio. Thank ...  Show more

Texte:
Le poster d'un film de Mickey Mouse datant de 1928 a été vendu plus de 100 000 dollars lors d’une vente aux enchères au Texas.

Traduction:
A 1928 film poster of Mickey Mouse sells for more than $100,000 at an auction in Texas.

The Abyssal Auction: Part Four

Following a tense exchange of money and merchandise, all heck has broken loose. Can the auction's bidders survive an assault from within -- and without?

Additional music in this episode: "Day I", "Day II", and "Night III" by Swelling ...