Sign, sign, everywhere a sign

Good morning Staker! Here’s what’s cookin’ today: Google may be installing AI on users’ devices; Four phrases to avoid if you don’t want to stifle creativity; and soon you’ll be able to tour one of the most famous rooftops in the world! 😎

Let’s get into it!

According to security researcher Alexander Hanff (also known as “The Privacy Guy”), Google has been installing what’s called a “lighter-weight, on-device” version of its AI model Gemini Nano directly onto Chrome users’ devices.

There’s a lot of technical minutiae involved in this claim, so it’s the kind of thing that would likely go over most users’ heads. That makes it both something a tech giant could thinks it could slip in under the radar, and the kind of thing tech wizards like Hanff might be hyperbolizing.

For example, he says the file stored on Chrome-using devices is a 4 GB miniature version of the AI model that powers Gemini, and it’s being downloaded onto those devices without the express consent of the users whose data Google is using to train the algorithm.

On the other hand, Google says the file uses on-device data, but is actually there to filter scams and malware away from the browser and device.

“We’ve offered Gemini Nano for Chrome since 2024 as a lightweight, on-device model. It powers important security capabilities like scam detection and developer APIs without sending your data to the cloud,” Google said in a statement.

“While this requires some local space on the desktop to run, the model will automatically uninstall if the device is low on resources. In February, we began rolling out the ability for users to easily turn off and remove the model directly in Chrome settings. Once disabled, the model will no longer download or update.”

Want to rid your device of Gemini Nano? Read how here, along with the implications of doing so.

According to Anthony D. Fredericks, Ed.D., professor emeritus of education at York College of Pennsylvania and author of Psychology Today’s Creative Insights blog, there are at least four phrases that adults often get hung up on that are direct inhibitors of the creative process.

Younger minds aren’t nearly as inhibited. The compartmentalization of various brain regions when the adult brain is fully developed makes it more difficult for creativity to flourish, but according to Fredericks, there are also factors that unnecessarily make it more difficult.

For example, the phrase “it can’t be done” basically eliminates most creative potential if you subscribe to it.

Stake recently alluded to Thomas Edison’s “700 ways not to build a lightbulb” mentality. It’s probably fair to say most adults would conclude “a lightbulb cannot be built” after failing to make one 100 times. The creative mind tries 601 more times and builds one.

Another phrase is “I’m not creative.” This is an example of a self-fulfilling prophecy, and it doesn’t have to be the case for those that wish to try. One way to start is by considering several ways to accomplish a specific goal, rather than just one.

Adults often take the path of least resistance, but that’s the opposite path that leads to creativity.

If you ever happen to be out in Eastern Canada in late April or early May, it’s as good a time as any to get yourself to St. John’s, Newfoundland to catch a glimpse of the ice berg parade floating by, as the Labrador current carries them south from Greenland.

"You can see the color, sometimes it's blue, sometimes it's green. You cannot see it on land," St. John's-based photographer Alick Tsui told the Canadian Press. "Sometimes you see the sparkles from the sun, you can see a bit of a rainbow color, when the water hits the ice."

This year has been particularly special for those travelling to the coast to watch the parade of 10,000-year-old glacial fragments. 520 ice bergs were observed by satellites floating in the Labrador Sea as of last week, up from 426 at this time last year and an average of 274 between 2002 and 2021.

"It's just joyous. It's so beautiful. The colors are so intense and wonderful," said Susan Davis, who travelled in from Baltimore. "I've been to Alaska and I've seen the glaciers calving, but I've never seen this before."

The number is expected to decline over the next several years as the sea ice that keeps the bergs frozen melts from warming waters.

3 Savile Row may sound like an average street address to many, but it’s actually one of the most important addresses in the history of rock ‘n roll.

The house was purchased in 1968 by a company named Apple Corps Limited.

The house has a flat roof and overlooks the Mayfair neighborhood of central London.

Apple Corps is the multimedia company the Beatles formed in the 1960s, and 3 Savile Row is the site of the famous 1969 rooftop concert that would ultimately go down as the final concert the band played in public.

The house was eventually sold and became an Abercrombie & Fitch outlet for a while before Apple Corps bought it back. The company is opening its doors to the public starting next year, turning the landmark into a museum that will feature a recreation of the recording studio it once housed. Fans will, of course, also be able to step foot on the historic rooftop.

"Every single day, fans are taking pictures of the outside of 3 Savile Row," Apple Corps' CEO Tom Greene said in a press release, "but next year they can go in and explore all seven floors of the iconic building, including the rooftop where even the railings remain the same from that famous day in 1969.”

Whatchu talkin’ ‘bout?

Did you know today would’ve been legendary talk show host Tom Snyder’s 90th birthday? To celebrate, we’ll be taking a look at classic talk shows with today’s trivia!