The cat-and-mouse game between content creators and AI scrapers has just escalated. GreenEyes.AI has officially released its new Image Shielding API, powered by the revolutionary NIGHTSHADE technology.
A super-lightweight, fully typed TypeScript lib to help you implement versatile NodeJS REST APIs quickly. Enterprise-ready. Patterns include Model-View-Controller architecture, typed middlewares, Inversion of Control (DI) for Controller and Provider constructs, support for event-driven composition, a health check endpoint abstraction, declarative routing, CORS middleware, verbose error handling, worker-thread based asynchronous logging, support for graceful shutdown and runtime exception handling.
Providers included: an abstraction over Sequelize ORM for PostgreSQL supporting Trait-based extensions, a Redis client with full API support, an AWS S3 object storage client and an AWS SES email relay client.
We have been bootstrapping this thing for over 10 months by now, built on my Bachelor thesis from 2014, revived and Cloud-Nativized. I believe shooting birds with cannons by building Convolutional Neural Network Machine Learning Pipelines for Visual Search purposes can have a #Greener alternative:
Going back to the basics where this field of research started and applying the science of computational statistics by repurposing old-fashioned Image Processing and Machine Learning algorithms to build a classic, Feature-Engineered Computer Vision System. Which scales? Yes.
The challenge was implementing and combining a bunch of algorithms designed and developed at a time when the hardware was limited. The research, optimizations, reiterations of the codes, and the hassle with C++ segfaults in runtime, and in the cloud, was not a simple way to go.
But it has worthed.
Now I can proudly say we have achieved something big: a four-digit-fold competitive advantage in the presumed pricing model compared to the competition, which also means we have a large room for extension and improvements. We also can say we have an MVP System with an accuracy of 96%, with a relatively low response time, below 10 seconds, which can dynamically scale up to even deal with the bombardment of incoming new Objects to Process, Store, Recognize and Retrieve.
We have built a toolset for everyone keen to test and play around with the service:
- a Web Console to manage API accesses and access Demo datasets
- a Data Explorer app to play with the production API, upload, test, and run recognition on your data
- and an API to quickly integrate and build Clients upon.
Yes, I have seen some concerning posts on twitter about this. Since most of the established worldwide Tech started to abandon/leave the Russian market or exclude users from there they are producing worse numbers towards investors compared to the previous quarter, which results in mass-layoffs. And this tendency is already started to happen.
To avoid this, I am seeking early-stage, maybe Canada/US only startups, or region-focused enterprises, which are not impacted by this situation.
I have checked, their model is different. They matching with sposoring companies, and actually they don't charge the job-seekers. Maybe relevant, however I am avoiding meat-grinder places
It looks similar to a company I have seen which takes advantage of "third-world" qualified workers by sponsoring ("relocating") them, employing them for a fix period of 2 years, probably for crumbs and the termination of the contracts resulting paying back the "relocation/visa costs". I can imagine, many people from developing countries would still willing to take the risk, but I am not adjusted to that.
I have spent my early and mid 20s working on copycat Startups. Some made money, some not. I have learnt entrepreneurship in the hard way like lack of funding, unreliable partners, rough market conditions and disruption by other solutions. It made me more mature and conscious in life, however I know I missed out many things my peers experienced: travels, relationships, marriage, kids, whatever makes a person happy.
Entrepreneurship can be extremely hard. Believe me. All the people who become successful in their 20s by starting a company is just a small fraction of whoever tried.
However entrepreneurial mindset is very applicable for most of the jobs and useful mindset in every aspect of ones life. Trial/error/retry, build-measure-learn like Lean, any Agile framework teaches the same: adapt to change. It doesn't matter if you are about to build an app or try out a new sport, you should always be open to adjust your strategy to approach things.
Don't be afraid of spending your 20's/30's in employment, whichever company, your brightest ideas will come later as you progress in life and career. You can still surround yourself with people who are wiser and more experienced regardless of your current occupation.