LLMs are good with probabilistic logic (words), but not as good with deterministic logic (numbers).

As oppose to what everybody thought 3 years ago, LLMs are not very good with finance. Makes sense when you think about it as AI in 2025 still rely heavily on language transformers, and transformers are more or less probability calculators.

Ai agents in accounting firms are way less effective than Ai agents in law firms for example. 1 wrong word in the bylaws can break your entire company. Accounting is more precise, it tolerates less mistakes, and the rules that govern it are much less option to intrepretation.

In accounting, the rules are more grounded. Not in precedent but in a generally accepted specific rulebook. Gross profits mean the same in the US as it does in Bangladesh, and it will mean the same 100 years in the future.

In accounting, probability is very bad. A single bad journal entry in a 100,000 ledger can distort the entire balance sheet. And we know that no LLM will ever reach 100% accuracy rate because its reasoning is probabilistic, not absolute. Campfire raised $65m and built an entire accounting module from scratch, they only managed to achieve ~95% accuracy rate.

It might feel like 95% is very close to 100%, but that is not how it works. A football player such as Arbeloa, who ranks in the 80th percentile, is not remotely comparable to someone in the 90th percentile. Now imagine a player who is better than 99% of all football players who ever lived; that superstar is on an entirely different level, and Arbeloa would lose 0–10 to him every single time.

All of which without mentioning the 99.99th percentile, where the gap becomes unimaginable to human minds. Accounting follows the same power law; 99% accuracy rate might sound close to perfect, but across 100k ledger entries, that means ~1k bad entires. You can hire someone to go through the bad ones, but how can we know which ones are going to be bad. Its definitly a cost saver, but it's not the same as coding or legal. Also, all the major labs are going after accounting after they finish with coding, so margins are going down fast.

Yes, most accountants have an accuracy rate below 90%, but humans are allowed to make mistakes because YOU CAN SUE A HUMAN. That might not be a big deal in other areas, but when it comes to finance, companies suddenly get very risk averse. Its not even the hullication part that scares them, but the part where the Ai missed something. Bookkeeping can be divided into smaller tasks and automated fine, but accounting is a different story. Its about accountibility more than anything else.

Humans have a MAJOR advantage over AI; we can be held legally accountable. If it weren't for that, most of us will be obsolete already. Under Sarbanes Oxley, any company no matter how small must have a "human" finance officer (CFO), and a "human" controller. Courts won't allow an Ai attorney to present a case no matter how good it was at the job.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50213770

Points: 4

# Comments: 3

My colleague John Higgins considered Soundcore’s Space One some of the best budget noise-canceling headphones you could buy when they launched in 2023 — and their successor has only improved upon their winning formula, albeit with a $30 price increase. Thankfully, the Soundcore Space 2 are currently on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart in all three colors for an all-time low of $106.49 ($23 off), making them even easier to recommend.

Soundcore Space 2

Where to Buy:

• $129.99 $106.49 at Amazon
• $129.99 $106.49 at Walmart
• $129.99 $106.49 at Best Buy

The Space 2 builds on the original with improved active noise cancellation, particularly when it comes to the low-frequency sounds associated with trains and airplane engines. They also deliver more accurate sound performance thanks to various design upgrades, while retaining many of the same features that made the Sound One sound so good for the price, including support for high-resolution LDAC audio. You also still get access to HearID 3.0, which lets you personalize the sound by listening to a series of samples and adjusting accordingly.

Battery life is another welcome improvement. The Space 2 can last up to 50 hours with ANC enabled or 70 hours with it switched off, up from 40 and 55 hours, respectively, on the original. And when your battery dies, you can still use the equipped 3.5mm jack for wired listening. They’ll also automatically pause playback when you take them off, which is handy when you need to step away without losing your place in a song or podcast.

Ohio has been a reliably red state for several elections but it's competitive this year. If Democrats want to prevail, they'll have to win people who have backed Republicans, like rural voters.

(Image credit: Keren Carrión)

Article URL: https://artificialanalysis.ai/models/kimi-k3-1-pro

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50213337

Points: 8

# Comments: 0

Article URL: https://www.jefftk.com/p/air-purifiers-as-white-noise-machines

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50212507

Points: 9

# Comments: 10

Sixteen years ago, I wrote a Java program which tried to pick the ideal move in a puzzle game called Drop7. On each turn, the player only has seven choices for their next move, but there is also an element of chance which turns this simple game into a surprisingly difficult problem involving search, hidden information, long-term planning, and chance.

I renewed my investigation this weekend, into whether there is an autonomous strategy that averages more than one million points per game. An experienced human player can score a million points with long-term strategic thinking, but the best automated strategies I could come up with are currently averaging around 300k-400k points. One of the easiest ways to contribute to advancing this research is to compete on the global leaderboard and submit your human strategy - https://drop7.dev/compete.

This project has also been an enlightening experiment into using agents as research collaborators and evidence collectors.

Repository: https://github.com/keshavsaharia/drop7-bench

I’d especially appreciate feedback from people who are knowledgeable in game theory, stochastic planning, learned value functions, or heavy-tailed evaluation. How would you approach long-horizon action ranking here? I’d also love to hear whether the research makes sense to someone encountering the project for the first time.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50212292

Points: 6

# Comments: 0

Article URL: https://brooker.co.za/blog/2026/10/23/animations.html

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50212124

Points: 8

# Comments: 1

If your dog or cat is prone to getting lost, or you frequently go on adventures together, you can save 30 percent on Fi pet trackers through October 25th when you enter coupon code SCARY at checkout. The sale includes several satellite-connected trackers, including the Fi Ultra GPS we previously tested, which is down to $209.30 after the discount. That effectively brings it down to its original launch price.

The IP68-rated Fi Ultra is fully waterproof, even in saltwater, and lasts up to five days, depending on how active your dog is. The accessory — which conveniently attaches to your dog’s collar or harness — uses a combination of LTE, GPS, and Starlink satellite coverage to track your dog’s current location and recent history, even in cellular dead zones; it can also send noise and vibration alerts to catch your canine’s attention.

Fi Ultra dog tracker

The Fi Ultra is the first dog tracker to combine T-Satellite with Starlink, GPS, and LTE connectivity to help you find your lost dog anywhere.

Where to Buy:

• $299 $209.3 at Fi (with code SCARY)

We spent time with the Fi Ultra earlier this year, testing it in a remote location in South Carolina. While the tracking was precise, the two- or three-minute update interval could be problematic for fast dogs, and it drained the battery quickly in Lost Mode (we barely got two days on a full charge). It’s also fairly sizable, making it a better fit for larger pups.

Unsurprisingly, you’ll need an active subscription to use the Fi Ultra’s tracking features, though you’ll get a discount on your first term, with six-month, one-year, and two-year plans available that offer lower overall monthly rates. For example, a one-year plan is $99 for the first year, and $189 each year after. However, the plans only work in the United States and offer no satellite coverage in Alaska.

Read our Fi Ultra review.

Other deals to consider

• You can currently grab a physical copy of Kirby Air Riders for the Nintendo Switch 2 at Amazon for $48.99, a decent discount from its usual list price of $69.99. The colorful, fast-paced racing game offers surprising depth in terms of character and kart customization, with both cosmetic and functional upgrades to purchase and deploy over time. Read more.
• The JLab JBuds Talk USB-C microphone is on sale at Amazon for $24.99, where it usually fluctuates between $50 and $100, the full MSRP. A dedicated microphone can make a huge difference in audio quality over headphones or your laptop’s built-in mic. The Talk features four directional modes for different situations and a 96KHz/24-bit sample rate for high-quality recordings and voice clarity.
• Amazon is selling Lego’s Star Wars Grogu set for a discounted price of $103.99 ($26 off), which matches its lowest price to date. The 1,200-piece kit features Grogu in his beskar armor, with a satchel to carry his equipment (or snacks). You can also reattach his arms and facial features for different expressions, and a built-in lever lets you turn his head.

Article URL: https://twitter.com/robbietilton/status/2111936458923851923

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50212668

Points: 21

# Comments: 6