HNHacker News
TopNewBestAskShowJobs

mariano54

226 karma · joined January 27, 2014

[ my public key: https://keybase.io/sorgente711; my proof: https://keybase.io/sorgente711/sigs/0FfsWAJ4HsSbHCxWWx5dllFSukMBdqUqJhsx30h0DYM ]
submissionscomments
mariano54··on Launch HN: Issen (YC F24) – Personal AI language tutor
Yes we're using FSRS
mariano54··on Launch HN: Issen (YC F24) – Personal AI language tutor
We transcribe after 400ms of silence in 200ms chunks. 3 voice chunks (VAD) automatically interrupts, unless it's a back channel like "yeah" or "right" or something like that.

Whisper can transcribe in <100ms. We then wait for the turn detection model, LLM, and tts to trigger a streamed response back to eh client.

mariano54··on Launch HN: Issen (YC F24) – Personal AI language tutor
Thanks for the feedback. Yeah we need to improve the beginner experience, it's more tailored towards intermediate/advanced students at the moment.
mariano54··on Launch HN: Issen (YC F24) – Personal AI language tutor
Multiple reasons (which also apply to openAIs realtime API): - it's less intelligent than the non voice apis - intelligence degrades even further with lots of context - more expensive - latency is not a free lunch, it comes at the cost of more interruptions from the tutor, which is a really bad UX. We prefer to interrupt less and have higher latency

Also, we prefer the eleven labs voices, but there is definitely varying quality. I'm guessing later this year or next, the voice to voice models will become good enough, and we will switch over.

mariano54··on Launch HN: Issen (YC F24) – personal AI language tutor
What device and browser?
mariano54··on Launch HN: Issen (YC F24) – Personal AI language tutor
We store the messages, but not the audio. We also store session summaries and a "user facts" summary that gets regenerated after every session, based on all session summaries, everything in our AWS DB.

You can delete your account at any time to fully wipe all your data, but there is no way to delete sessions ATM.

mariano54··on Launch HN: Issen (YC F24) – Personal AI language tutor
The STT and LLM support many languages out of the box. For TTS we use multiple providers based on their strengths and weaknesses (for example minimax is great for Chinese)

We've done a lot of testing on Spanish, English, Italian, Japanese, and French, but much less on the others and none at all for some of the niche ones.

The language support is based on the intersection of the languages that have low word errors rates in the transcribers, as well as officially supported by LLM/TTS (like gpt4.1, eleven labs etc).

We've seen the models' quality improve consistently over the last 6 months, in all languages we tested, and now the error rates are getting really low.

mariano54··on Launch HN: Issen (YC F24) – Personal AI language tutor
Yes, we've spent a lot of time getting the STT and TTS to work seamlessly in multilingual, it works pretty well!
mariano54··on Chia Blockchain mainnet successfully launched today at 14:00 UTC
Super glad to be a part of the engineering team that built this chain. It's built on solid principles and with an amazing growing community too. Thousands of nodes running already on launch date, hopefully it will be super decentralized :)
mariano54··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (October 2017)
Token | Software Engineer | SF and LONDON| ONSITE https://token.io

Token’s mission is to allow financial institutions, businesses, and people to instantly and securely move money wherever they may be. To accomplish this, we’re developing a powerful open banking platform with focus on openness, security and the best possible customer experience. The result is an ecosystem where money and information moves together, instantly, and in an open, global, standard.

Our team comes from top companies like Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Docker, Twitter, and Square, and our CEO, Steve Kirsch, has invented several groundbreaking technologies and has had multiple billion dollar exits.

Token is working with a range of industry players to build the payments ecosystem of the future. Partners include HSBC, Fidor, CGI, Capgemini and VirtusaPolaris. Token has been recognized by leaders in the industry, such as in SWIFT's Innotribe Startup Challenge 2015, GTS Global Innovator Competition 2016 and Plug & Plays Fintech EXPO. We're looking for mobile, web, backend, security, and full stack engineers. Our technologies include Swift, Node, React, Java, Kubernetes, and AWS.

Job listings: https://token.io/careers

mariano54··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (August 2017)
Token | Software Engineer | SF | LONDON | ONSITE https://token.io

Token’s mission is to allow financial institutions, businesses, and individuals to instantly and securely move money from any location. We are developing a powerful banking API platform with a focus on security, open banking, and great customer experience.

Token’s CEO, Steve Kirsch, has invented several groundbreaking technologies and has had multiple billion dollar exits. Our team comes from top companies like Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Docker, Twitter, and Square.

With Series A funding of $18.5M, we are growing our offices in San Francisco and London, so check out our jobs @ https://jobs.lever.co/token

mariano54··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (July 2017)
Token | Software Engineer | SF and LONDON| ONSITE https://token.io

Token’s mission is to allow financial institutions, businesses, and people to instantly and securely move money wherever they may be. To accomplish this, we’re developing a powerful open banking platform with focus on openness, security and the best possible customer experience. The result is an ecosystem where money and information moves together, instantly, and in an open, global, standard.

Our team comes from top companies like Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Docker, Twitter, and Square, and our CEO, Steve Kirsch, has invented several groundbreaking technologies and has had multiple billion dollar exits.

Token is working with a range of industry players to build the payments ecosystem of the future. Partners include HSBC, Fidor, CGI, Capgemini and VirtusaPolaris. Token has been recognized by leaders in the industry, such as in SWIFT's Innotribe Startup Challenge 2015, GTS Global Innovator Competition 2016 and Plug & Plays Fintech EXPO. We're looking for mobile, web, backend, security, and full stack engineers. Our technologies include Swift, Node, React, Java, Kubernetes, and AWS.

Job listings: https://jobs.lever.co/token

mariano54··on The blockchain paradox: Why DLTs may do little to transform the economy
Here's a thought: I don't think it's black or white, governance solved or not solved. I think it's varying degrees of decentralization in governance.

Try to come up with a system that has more decentralized governance than Bitcoin.

The core developers in bitcoin don't have all the power. Coinbase doesn't have all the Power. Each user doesn't have all the power. Miners either (if they abuse their power, POW function can be changed)

So basically while bitcoin governance is not perfectly decentralized, its much better than anything else.

You can try to come up with a system where people vote. But the votes have to be collected and analyzed somewhere, centrally. So you still have central governance.

So yes, while 100% solving governance would make bitcoin useless, bitcoin can improve governance (compared to federal Reserve, for example), while providing a lot of value from this decentralization.

mariano54··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (June 2017)
Token | Software Engineer | SF | ONSITE https://token.io

Token’s mission is to allow financial institutions, businesses, and individuals to instantly and securely move money from any location. We are developing a powerful banking API platform with a focus on security, open banking, and great customer experience.

Token’s CEO, Steve Kirsch, has invented several groundbreaking technologies and has had multiple billion dollar exits. Our team comes from top companies like Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Docker, Twitter, and Square.

With Series A funding of $16M, we are growing our offices in San Francisco and London, so check out our jobs @ https://jobs.lever.co/token

mariano54··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (May 2017)
Token | Software Engineer | SF | ONSITE https://token.io

Token’s mission is to allow financial institutions, businesses, and individuals to instantly and securely move money from any location. We are developing a powerful banking API platform with a focus on security, open banking, and great customer experience.

Token’s CEO, Steve Kirsch, has invented several groundbreaking technologies and has had multiple billion dollar exits. Our team comes from top companies like Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Docker, Twitter, and Square.

With Series A funding of $16M, we are growing our offices in San Francisco and London, so check out our jobs @ https://jobs.lever.co/token

mariano54··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (April 2017)
Token | Software Engineer | SF | ONSITE https://token.io

Token’s mission is to allow financial institutions, businesses, and people to instantly and securely move money wherever they may be. To accomplish this, we’re developing a powerful open banking platform with focus on openness, security and the best possible customer experience. The result is an ecosystem where money and information moves together, instantly, and in an open, global, standard.

Our team comes from top companies like Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Docker, Twitter, and Square, and our CEO, Steve Kirsch, has invented several groundbreaking technologies and has had multiple billion dollar exits.

Token is working with a range of industry players to build the payments ecosystem of the future. Partners include HSBC, Fidor, CGI, Capgemini and VirtusaPolaris. Token has been recognized by leaders in the industry, such as in SWIFT's Innotribe Startup Challenge 2015, GTS Global Innovator Competition 2016 and Plug & Plays Fintech EXPO. We're looking for mobile, web, backend, security, and full stack engineers. Our technologies include Swift, Node, React, Java, Kubernetes, and AWS.

Job listings: https://jobs.lever.co/token

mariano54··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (March 2017)
Token | Software Engineer | SF | ONSITE https://token.io

Token’s mission is to allow financial institutions, businesses, and people to instantly and securely move money wherever they may be.

To accomplish this, we’re developing a powerful open banking platform with focus on openness, security and the best possible customer experience. The result is an ecosystem where money and information moves together, instantly, and in an open, global, standard.

Our team comes from top companies like Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Docker, Twitter, and Square, and our CEO, Steve Kirsch, has invented several groundbreaking technologies and has had multiple billion dollar exits.

Token is working with a range of industry players to build the payments ecosystem of the future. Partners include HSBC, Fidor, CGI, Capgemini and VirtusaPolaris. Token has been recognized by leaders in the industry, such as in SWIFT's Innotribe Startup Challenge 2015, GTS Global Innovator Competition 2016 and Plug & Plays Fintech EXPO.

We're looking for mobile, web, backend, security, and full stack engineers. Our technologies include Swift, Node, React, Java, Kubernetes, and AWS.

Job listings: https://jobs.lever.co/token

mariano54··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (January 2017)
Token | Software Developer | SF | ON PREMISE

Token is a Silicon Valley based technology company serving the financial industry. We have developed the technology needed to create a standard internet protocol to securely and instantly exchange value. We are a company of highly talented and energetic professionals committed to providing the best solutions possible to our customers. Our impressive team combines years of highly successful execution and innovation in both the technology and banking sectors. Our CEO, Steve Kirsch, has invented several ground-breaking Internet technologies and has had multiple billion-dollar exits. Token’s CTO, Yobie Benjamin, was formerly the Global CTO at Citigroup where he was responsible for the processing of quadrillions of dollars a year in payments.

We're looking for iOS, web, backend, security, and full stack engineers. Our technologies include (Swift, Node, React, Java, Kubernetes, and AWS).

Job listings: token-inc.zhire-zuman.com

mariano54··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (December 2016)
Token | Software Developer | SF | ON PREMISE

Token is a Silicon Valley based technology company serving the financial industry. We have developed the technology needed to create a standard internet protocol to securely and instantly exchange value.

We are a company of highly talented and energetic professionals committed to providing the best solutions possible to our customers. Our impressive team combines years of highly successful execution and innovation in both the technology and banking sectors. Our CEO, Steve Kirsch, has invented several ground-breaking Internet technologies and has had multiple billion-dollar exits. Token’s CTO, Yobie Benjamin, was formerly the Global CTO at Citigroup where he was responsible for the processing of quadrillions of dollars a year in payments.

We're looking for iOS, web, backend, security, and/or full stack engineers. Our technologies include (Swift, Node, React, Java, kubernetes, and AWS). If interested, please email your resume to angie.mcdonnell@token.io. More at http://token.io.

mariano54··on 95% of climate models agree: the observations must be wrong
This is very interesting.. I'd like to hear more from experts in the field. I was never fully convinced that global warming was that bad. But then again I have always taken it for granted that we caused it, and that it has great effects on humans and animals.
mariano54··on Why are US corporate profits so high? Because wages are so low
I had to comment on this due to the large amount of misinformation in this thread.

Many people think that companies should be kind, and pay more than the market wage for their workers. This is false and unreasonable. Companies try to minimize their costs, including wages.

Now if in some industry, some company is making huge profit margins, and paying low wages, what is the cause, and what is the solution? In economics, profits go down until they reach 0 or close to 0. Why? because if there are huge profit margins, more firms come in, to compete. Therefore in all industries, profits go down to a lower level.

Now why doesn't this happen in practice? The answer is artificial barriers to entry. Political agreements and regulations benefiting the big companies. So what is needed here is an easier path for new companies (Which are people after all). This will always ensure that profit margins stay low, and wages approach the true market rate.

The solution is not donation. Why would a company pay 9 dollars to a worker who is willing to work for 8? Why aren't YOU donating money to poor people in Africa? The answer is not minimum wage either. This distorts markets. If you want to alleviate poverty, in a more economically reasonable way, do it though universal income.

← PreviousPage 2 of 2