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AI search & chat for all of Paul Graham’s essays.

mckaywrigley/paul-graham-gpt

Folders and files, repository files navigation, paul graham gpt.

AI-powered search and chat for Paul Graham's essays .

All code & data used is 100% open-source.

The dataset is a CSV file containing all text & embeddings used.

Download it here .

I recommend getting familiar with fetching, cleaning, and storing data as outlined in the scraping and embedding scripts below, but feel free to skip those steps and just use the dataset.

How It Works

Paul Graham GPT provides 2 things:

• A search interface.
• A chat interface.

Search was created with OpenAI Embeddings ( text-embedding-ada-002 ).

First, we loop over the essays and generate embeddings for each chunk of text.

Then in the app we take the user's search query, generate an embedding, and use the result to find the most similar passages from the book.

The comparison is done using cosine similarity across our database of vectors.

Our database is a Postgres database with the pgvector extension hosted on Supabase .

Results are ranked by similarity score and returned to the user.

Chat builds on top of search. It uses search results to create a prompt that is fed into GPT-3.5-turbo.

This allows for a chat-like experience where the user can ask questions about the book and get answers.

Running Locally

Here's a quick overview of how to run it locally.

Requirements

• Set up OpenAI

You'll need an OpenAI API key to generate embeddings.

• Set up Supabase and create a database

Note: You don't have to use Supabase. Use whatever method you prefer to store your data. But I like Supabase and think it's easy to use.

There is a schema.sql file in the root of the repo that you can use to set up the database.

Run that in the SQL editor in Supabase as directed.

I recommend turning on Row Level Security and setting up a service role to use with the app.

• Install dependencies
• Set up environment variables

Create a .env.local file in the root of the repo with the following variables:

• Run scraping script

This scrapes all of the essays from Paul Graham's website and saves them to a json file.

• Run embedding script

This reads the json file, generates embeddings for each chunk of text, and saves the results to your database.

There is a 200ms delay between each request to avoid rate limiting.

This process will take 20-30 minutes.

Thanks to Paul Graham for his writing.

I highly recommend you read his essays.

3 years ago they convinced me to learn to code, and it changed my life.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter !

I sacrificed composability for simplicity in the app.

Yes, you can make things more modular and reusable.

But I kept pretty much everything in the homepage component for the sake of simplicity.

Contributors 2

• TypeScript 94.1%
• PLpgSQL 3.8%
• JavaScript 1.4%

The Equity Equation PG Essays

• Entrepreneurship

All Paul Graham essay's, brought to life in audio format. This is a third party project, independent from Paul Graham, and produced by Wondercraft AI.

• Episode Website
• More Episodes

Paul Graham's Essays

Get updates.

Subscribe to get notified when new audio essays are available!

A Project of One's Own

Ideas for startups, how to present to investors, a student's guide to startups, how not to die, a way to detect bias, do things that don't scale, crazy new ideas.

Summaries of Paul Graham's essays

See the originals here .

• After The Ladder
• An Alternative Theory of Unions
• Cities and Ambition
• How to Do What You Love
• How to Get Startup Ideas
• How to Make Wealth
• How to Start a Startup
• Inequality and Risk
• Is It Worth Being Wise?
• It's Charisma, Stupid
• Schlep Blindness
• Startup = Growth
• Taste for Makers
• The Age of the Essay
• The Python Paradox
• Two Kinds of Judgement
• Undergraduation
• What You Can't Say
• What You'll Wish You'd Known
• Why Nerds are Unpopular
• Why Smart People Have Bad Ideas
• Why Startup Hubs Work
• Writing and Speaking

Datasets: chromadb / paul_graham_essay like 1

Dataset card for "paul_graham_essay".

More Information needed

Models trained or fine-tuned on chromadb/paul_graham_essay

Shrideep/retrieval_augmented_generation.

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Companies Linked to Russian Ransomware Hide in Plain Sight

Cybersecurity experts tracing money paid by American businesses to Russian ransomware gangs found it led to one of Moscow’s most prestigious addresses.

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By Andrew E. Kramer

MOSCOW — When cybersleuths traced the millions of dollars American companies, hospitals and city governments have paid to online extortionists in ransom money, they made a telling discovery: At least some of it passed through one of the most prestigious business addresses in Moscow.

The Biden administration has also zeroed in on the building, Federation Tower East, the tallest skyscraper in the Russian capital. The United States has targeted several companies in the tower as it seeks to penalize Russian ransomware gangs, which encrypt their victims’ digital data and then demand payments to unscramble it.

Those payments are typically made in cryptocurrencies, virtual currencies like Bitcoin, which the gangs then need to convert to standard currencies, like dollars, euros and rubles.

That this high-rise in Moscow’s financial district has emerged as an apparent hub of such money laundering has convinced many security experts that the Russian authorities tolerate ransomware operators. The targets are almost exclusively outside Russia, they point out, and in at least one case documented in a U.S. sanctions announcement, the suspect was assisting a Russian espionage agency.

“It says a lot,” said Dmitry Smilyanets, a threat intelligence expert with the Massachusetts-based cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. “Russian law enforcement usually has an answer: ‘There is no case open in Russian jurisdiction. There are no victims. How do you expect us to prosecute these honorable people?’”

Recorded Future has counted about 50 cryptocurrency exchanges in Moscow City, a financial district in the capital, that in its assessment are engaged in illicit activity. Other exchanges in the district are not suspected of accepting cryptocurrencies linked to crime.

Cybercrime is just one of many issues fueling tensions between Russia and the United States, along with the Russian military buildup near Ukraine and a recent migrant crisis on the Belarus-Polish border.

The Treasury Department has estimated that Americans have paid $1.6 billion in ransoms since 2011. One Russian ransomware strain, Ryuk, made an estimated $162 million last year encrypting the computer systems of American hospitals during the pandemic and demanding fees to release the data, according to Chainalysis, a company tracking cryptocurrency transactions.

The hospital attacks cast a spotlight on the rapidly expanding criminal industry of ransomware, which is based primarily in Russia. Criminal syndicates have become more efficient, and brazen, in what has become a conveyor-belt-like process of hacking, encrypting and then negotiating for ransom in cryptocurrencies, which can be owned anonymously.

At a summit meeting in June, President Biden pressed President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to crack down on ransomware after a Russian gang, DarkSide, attacked a major gasoline pipeline on the East Coast, Colonial Pipeline , disrupting supplies and creating lines at gas stations.

American officials point to people like Maksim Yakubets, a skinny 34-year-old with a pompadour haircut whom the United States has identified as a kingpin of a major cybercrime operation calling itself Evil Corp. Cybersecurity analysts have linked his group to a series of ransomware attacks, including one last year targeting the National Rifle Association. A U.S. sanctions announcement accused Mr. Yakubets of also assisting Russia’s Federal Security Service, the main successor to the K.G.B.

But after the State Department announced a $5 million bounty for information leading to his arrest, Mr. Yakubets seemed only to flaunt his impunity in Russia: He was photographed driving in Moscow in a Lamborghini partially painted fluorescent yellow.

The cluster of suspected cryptocurrency exchanges in Federation Tower East, first reported last month by Bloomberg News, further illustrates how the Russian ransomware industry hides in plain sight.

The 97-floor, glass-and-steel high-rise resting on a bend in the Moscow River stands within sight of several government ministries in the financial district, including the Russian Ministry of Digital Development, Signals and Mass Communications .

Two of the Biden administration’s most forceful actions to date targeting ransomware are linked to the tower. In September, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on a cryptocurrency exchange called Suex, which has offices on the 31st floor. It accused the company of laundering $160 million in illicit funds.

In an interview at the time, a founder of Suex, Vasily Zhabykin, denied any illegal activity.

And last month, Russian news media outlets reported that Dutch police, using a U.S. extradition warrant, had detained the owner, Denis Dubnikov, of another firm called EggChange, with an office on the 22nd floor. In a statement issued by one of his companies, Mr. Dubnikov denied any wrongdoing.

Ransomware is attractive to criminals, cybersecurity experts say, because the attacks take place mostly anonymously and online, minimizing the chances of getting caught. It has mushroomed into a sprawling, highly compartmentalized industry in Russia known to cybersecurity researchers as “ransomware as a service.”

The organizational structure mimics franchises, like McDonald’s or Hertz, that lower barriers to entry, allowing less sophisticated hackers to use established business practices to get into the business. Several high-level gangs develop software and promote fearsome-sounding brands, such as DarkSide or Maze, to intimidate businesses and other organizations that are targets. Other groups that are only loosely related hack into computer systems using the brand and franchised software.

The industry’s growth has been abetted by the rise of cryptocurrencies. That has made old-school money mules, who sometimes had to smuggle cash across borders, practically obsolete.

Laundering the cryptocurrency through exchanges is the final step, and also the most vulnerable, because criminals must exit the anonymous online world to appear at a physical location, where they trade Bitcoin for cash or deposit it in a bank.

The exchange offices are “the end of the Bitcoin and ransomware rainbow,” said Gurvais Grigg, a former F.B.I. agent who is a researcher with Chainalysis, the cryptocurrency tracking company.

The computer codes in virtual currencies allow transactions to be tracked from one user to another, even if the owners’ identities are anonymous, until the cryptocurrency reaches an exchange. There, in theory, records should link the cryptocurrency with a real person or company.

“They are really one of the key points in the whole ransomware strain,” Mr. Grigg said of the exchange offices. Ransomware gangs, he said, “want to make money. And until you cash it out, and you get it through an exchange at a cash-out point, you cannot spend it.”

It is at this point, cybersecurity experts say, that criminals should be identified and apprehended. But the Russian government has allowed the exchanges to flourish, saying that it only investigates cybercrime if Russian laws are violated. Regulations are a gray area in Russia, as elsewhere, in the nascent industry of cryptocurrency trading.

Russian cryptocurrency traders say the United States is imposing an unfair burden of due diligence on their companies, given the quickly evolving nature of regulations.

“The people who are real criminals, who create ransomware, and the people working in Moscow City are completely different people,” Sergei Mendeleyev, a founder of one trader based in Federation Tower East, Garantex, said in an interview. The Russian crypto exchanges, he said, were blamed for crimes they are unaware of.

Mr. Mendeleyev, who no longer works at the company, said American cryptocurrency tracking services provide data to non-Russian exchanges to help them avoid illicit transactions but have refused to work with Russian traders — in part because they suspect the traders might use the information to tip off criminals. That complicates the Russian companies’ efforts to root out illegal activity.

He conceded that not all Russian exchanges tried very hard. Some based in Moscow’s financial district were little more than an office, a safe full of cash and a computer, he said.

At least 15 cryptocurrency exchanges are based in Federation Tower East, according to a list of businesses in the building compiled by Yandex, a Russian mapping service.

In addition to Suex and EggChange, the companies targeted by the Biden administration, cyberresearchers and an international cryptocurrency exchange company have flagged two other building tenants that they suspect of illegal activity involving Bitcoin.

The building manager, Aeon Corp., did not respond to inquiries about the exchanges in its offices.

Like the banks and insurance companies they share space with, those firms are likely to have chosen the site for its status and its stringent building security, said Mr. Smilyanets, the researcher at Recorded Future.

“The Moscow City skyscrapers are very fancy,” he said. “They can post on Instagram with these beautiful sights, beautiful skyscrapers. It boosts their legitimacy.”

An earlier version of a picture caption with this article misstated the year in which Colonial Pipeline was hacked. It was 2021, not 2020.

How we handle corrections

Andrew E. Kramer is a reporter based in the Moscow bureau. He was part of a team that won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting for a series on Russia’s covert projection of power. More about Andrew E. Kramer

Inside the World of Cryptocurrencies

Two years after the cryptocurrency market crashed, there are signs that crypto is booming again in the Philippines, long a center of crypto activity .

Pushed by a nonprofit with ties to the Trump administration, Arkansas became the first state to shield noisy cryptocurrency operators from unhappy neighbors. A furious backlash has some lawmakers considering a statewide ban .

Ben Armstrong, better known as BitBoy, was once the most popular cryptocurrency YouTuber in the world. Then his empire collapsed .

Federal judges are weighing whether digital currencies should be subject to the same rules as stocks and bonds. The outcome could shape crypto’s future in the United States .

New investment funds that hold Bitcoin have begun trading , and it might be tempting to invest in them. Should you ?

Since the FTX cryptocurrency exchange collapsed in 2023, a whole new market has emerged that hopes to profit from claims in the company’s bankruptcy .

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Why students choose Russia as their travel destination

No comments · Posted by Alex Smirnov in Travel

If you are looking for something different but unique and are not satisfied by the traditional offer of tourist destinations, try looking eastward for a moment. We are not talking about the Far East but just east of Europe and a little further than better-known destinations like Venice or Berlin. We invite you to visit Russia and discover interesting facts about Russia that make this country so special.

Today, Russian tourism is on a rise for a variety of reasons, including great food, cultural heritage, and beautiful cities like Moscow or St. Petersburg. Traveling is supposed to be about exploring new things or meeting new people and this country is a tourist gem waiting to be discovered.

1. Cultural Heritage

Russia might be a part of Europe but for most westerners, it is still a mysterious country with a unique mentality that makes them curious. People in Russia seem like warm, emotional souls who like drinking vodka and eating caviar for breakfast which is not far from the truth. This little prejudice doesn’t really summarize their cultural heritage which is vast and colorful.

We could write essays and college papers about Hermitage or Moscow’s Metro which is like a museum in the open. The city of St. Petersburg looks like the capital of some North Pole Kingdom with its castles, boulevards, and winter palaces. Maintaining the beauty of cultural monuments is taken very seriously so each tourist will enjoy a display of east-European architecture and design. We warmly recommend visiting sites like:

* Hermitage Museum * Red Square in Moscow * The Peterhof Palace * Mariinsky Theatre * Saint Isaac’s Cathedral

2. Beautiful Nature

Just like Russian literature, everything in this country comes in big portions and inspires topics and interesting conversations. Huge cities, enormous landscapes, or large meals are just some examples, but traveling is how you get to know a country, not by reading essays or college papers. The most popular thing that students write in their essays on travelling through Russia is it’s frighteningly vast natural wildlife scenery. There are almost fifty national parks across this whole country so take your pick and enjoy connecting with mother nature. One will get plenty of topic ideas to inspire him If he wishes to write an essay after such a mesmerizing trip.

Some of the most beautiful National Parks are:

* Losiny Ostrov * Bashkiriya * Kenozersky * Kalevalsky * Chavash Varmane

3. Education Opportunities

While native Russian might be a little difficult to learn, for those who conquer its basics, there are amazing opportunities to study in Russian college or university. Know that Russia’s education system is quite liberal so if you wondered does Russia have free college, the answer is affirmative. Many exchange student programs are available for those who show interest to study here.

This could be a unique chance to exchange cultural capital and values while reaching your educational goals. Studying in a Russian college is not so different in terms of taking classes and other obligations like writing research papers on various topics. Having paper due assignments might come less often because Russians prefer oral examination or open discussion.

Some of the Top Universities to check out:

* Tomsk Polytechnic University * MISIS University of Science and Technology * Moscow Engineering Physics Institute * HSE University of Economics

4. Having Fun Russian Style

After all those essays, topic ideas, and college papers it is time to have some proper fun. Join your new friends as they take you through local taverns, try domestic cuisine, plus a few shots of national drinks. There are so many examples of traditional hospitality that one will experience on every corner, as he discovers some fabulous wonders of this great country. If one could write summaries about his Russian experience it would definitely include accounts of long nights in Moscow’s inns and nightclubs.

Maybe one of these:

* Propaganda * Pravda Club * Gipsy * City Pub Crawl

These are the Russia facts, but we encourage travelers to explore uncharted territories by hanging out with local people thus learning about their culture and customs. That is the best way to truly understand the heart of its people. Changing scenery is always good for young students as it signals a fresh start in their lives. Maybe visiting this country will refresh your spirit or inspire you to achieve all your educational goals and dreams.

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