Welcome to Rami’s Readings #40 - a weekly digest of interesting articles, videos, Twitter threads from my various sources across the Internet. Expect a list of reads covering technology, business, culture, fashion, travel and more. Learn about what I do at ramisayar.com/about.
🤖 AI Reads
Distil-Whisper
Notes: The team at HuggingFace distilled the Whisper model - 5.8x faster with 51% fewer parameters. Whisper.cpp runs on an iPhone, I am excited to see this distilled version readied for Edge AI.
AI Is Dangerous, but Not for the Reasons You Think
Notes: Sasha Luccioni from Montreal & HuggingFace gave this TED talk at TEDWomen last month. Worth a watch!
Evaluating Large Language Models: A Comprehensive Survey
Notes: A survey on the evaluation of LLMs.
Sunak Embraces Musk for AI Summit as World Looks Elsewhere
Notes: A review of the AI Summit hosted in the UK this past week.
💼 Business Reads
How Montreal Built a Blueprint for Bargain Rapid Transit
Notes: I was skeptical when the REM project was announced. I lived many attempts to try to extend the Métro de Montréal. Happy to see I was wrong and that the REM is operating already in some parts of the city. The station in front of my mother’s house is not ready, so I haven’t personally used it yet. I am looking forward to the airport to downtown Montréal connection to be completed. That should really make life a lot easier for tourists and business travelers.
‘Never Waste a Crisis’: StarHub’s CEO on Leading Transformative Change
Notes: A McKinsey interview shared by a reader.
CEOs must always consider the human element in all of their decisions -- not just "black and white numbers on a page," -- which means asking questions and creating personal connections with those involved and affected, says Nikhil Eapen, CEO of StarHub. "If I cannot fully engage with everyone I meet, then I will not be able to succeed in this job," Eapen says.
Singapore’s Biggest Money-Laundering Case Has Links to Chinese Gamblers
Notes: How much of this cash flow is driven by capital controls in source countries?
The FTX Trial saga is finally at an end.
✈️ Travel Reads
The ‘Real’ Kung Pao Chicken — And Why I Hope I Never Find It
Notes: Interesting!
New Fast Way to Clear Security at JFK — Free with Priority Pass
Notes: Yet another way to optimize your travel out of JFK.
🔀 Other Reads
Oppenheimer is Back in IMAX
Notes: If you missed it in theaters the first time!
That is all for this week. Signing off from Redmond, WA.