Scalable Reward Modeling: Improving Generalist RMs with SPCT and Inference Optimization

Scalable Reward Modeling: Improving Generalist RMs with SPCT and Inference Optimization

Reinforcement Learning RL has become a widely used post-training method for LLMs, enhancing capabilities like human alignment, long-term reasoning, and adaptability. A major challenge, however, is generating accurate reward signals in broad, less structured domains, as current high-quality reward models are largely built on rule-based systems or verifiable tasks such as math and coding. In general applications, reward criteria are more diverse and subjective, lacking clear ground truths. To address this, generalist reward models (RMs) are being explored for broader applicability. However, these models must balance input flexibility and scalability during inference, particularly in producing reliable, high-quality rewards across varied…
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Parrtjima: A stunning festival showcasing light through captivating imagery

Parrtjima: A stunning festival showcasing light through captivating imagery

​Skip to main content The budgerigars fly high at Parrtjima at dusk. Children interact with the Grounded installation. The Gateway installation reaches for the sky. Some beautiful drawings from the sand painting. The Language of the Stockmen installation. The lights and colours of Parrtjima festival, now in its 10th year. Guests watch the Three Generation of Station Women installation. The many colours of Grounded. Children enjoy the sand painting. Performer Bumpy takes to the stage on Sunday night. Detail of the Gateway installation. The MacDonnell Ranges light show. The Gateway installation. Guests enjoying the Transforming Light & Country installation.  …
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Nick Jonas and Adrienne Warren shine in captivating relationship musical performance

Nick Jonas and Adrienne Warren shine in captivating relationship musical performance

​ Broadway is no stranger to stunt casting, as much a diss in New York theater as it is de rigueur – and controversial enough to crack a joke at producers’ expense in The Last Five Years, when aspiring actor Cathy, played by Adrienne Warren, derides “the people who cast NeNe Leakes in a musical”. (That would be the Real Housewife of Atlanta, in 2014’s Cinderella). You could make the case that the term applies to Warren’s co-star Nick Jonas, as one half of a doomed couple in the first Broadway run of Jason Robert Brown’s cult-favorite musical, which traces…
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Hainan’s betel nut vendors face struggles amid a sluggish economy

Hainan’s betel nut vendors face struggles amid a sluggish economy

​ Many cities across southern China are known for the art of relaxing. Chengdu in Sichuan province is the tea house capital. Guangzhou is the birthplace of dim sum, a time to share steamed dumplings and chew the fat with friends. And in Haikou, the capital of Hainan province, people have been chewing the betel nut for centuries. You don’t have to walk far in Haikou to find a vendor. The small, hard, green fruits are sold in little piles alongside fresh coconuts and bottled water at pretty much any convenience store, for about five yuan (£0.52) a piece. Some…
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Trump’s Tariffs: How They Affect Small Businesses’ Growth and Profitability

Trump’s Tariffs: How They Affect Small Businesses’ Growth and Profitability

​ On the latest edition of Small Biz Breakdown, our expert panel discusses the latest economic conditions and how they might be impact small business owners and entrepreneurs. How are the current stock market conditions, tariffs from the Trump administration, and other factors affecting small business owners right now? The panel on Small Biz Breakdown weighs in on this topic and many more this week. To see what they have to say, check out the always lively discussion on the latest episode below … Small Business News Roundup Here are the latest headlines important for small business owners: Xero and…
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Jaguar Land Rover halts US shipments due to Trump tariffs

Jaguar Land Rover halts US shipments due to Trump tariffs

​ Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) announced plans on Saturday to pause shipments of its British-made vehicles to the U.S. for a month as it figures out the implications of a 25% tariff imposed by President Donald Trump. India’s Tata Motors owns JLR, and the company confirmed its temporary pause with Reuters. "As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions, including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans," JLR said. The car industry in the United Kingdom employs about 200,000 people, though the industry…
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