Rami's Readings #41
The latest on OpenAI's Dev Day, Kai-Fu Lee, Ai Pin, Global Economic Growth, Managing Teams, China, Succession Challenges, WeWork, Dieter Rams, and more.
Welcome to Rami’s Readings #41 - a weekly digest of interesting articles, videos, X (formerly known as Twitter) threads from my various sources across the Internet. Expect a list of reads covering AI, technology, business, culture, fashion, travel, and more. Learn about what I do at ramisayar.com/about.
🤖 AI Reads
OpenAI’s Dev Day!
Notes: A big week for OpenAI. Read #1 (Official Blog Post), #2 (Whisper v3 Repo), #3 (Sam Altman Keynote), and #4 (Elvis from DAIR's takeaways) to catch up. I will refrain from additional comments, read #7.
AI Pioneer Kai-Fu Lee Builds $1 Billion Startup in Eight Months
Notes: Kai-Fu Lee is back at it! If you haven’t read AI Superpowers, you should.
Silicon Valley’s Big, Bold Sci-Fi Bet on the Device That Comes After the Smartphone
Notes: This read is about Humane’s Ai Pin. Silicon Valley is obsessed with finding the next big platform and market (especially after smartphones). From my lessons at Bing, the market for rich user experiences is larger than the market for voice-only or text-only experiences. I am not convinced this device will create a larger market than smartphones, but I am 100% certain there will be a market. The big question is how big of a market? Some people have stronger opinions than me.
But even after months of wearing their Ai Pins all day, Humane’s founders can’t fully detach from their screens. “Are we using our smartphones less?” Mr. Chaudhri asked. “We’re using them differently.”
Grok AI Announced
Notes: LLM reveal from Elon’s xAI startup.
A Survey on Hallucination in Large Language Models: Principles, Taxonomy, Challenges, and Open Questions
Notes: Another survey paper on hallucinations in LLMs.
💼 Business Reads
The Rate of Global Economic Growth Is Meaningless
Notes: Tyler’s point is valid outside of Economics. No point creating averages of non-integrated things.
How to Manage Teams in a World Designed for Individuals
Notes: Read it if you are a manager.
Employees are individuals; managers should never forget that. But if teams are where a lot of the magic happens, bosses should have better ways to get the most out of them. Working out what they do all day might be a good place to start.
WeWork Files for Bankruptcy Amid Glut of Empty Offices
Notes: Not surprising, but I hope to still be able to use WeWork On Demand. There is no credible alternative to that service.
World’s Largest Bank Hit By Ransomware Gang Linked to Boeing, Ion Attacks
Notes: Ransomware is still a problem.
Is Fear a Bigger Problem than Hate?
Notes: Highlighted by Tyler. Interesting experimental evidence and paper.
China's Family-run Businesses Face Succession Challenges
Notes: Succession challenges are common in the China as well.
What the Kia-Hyundai Crime Wave Tells Us About the Long-Term Decline in Crime
Notes: From Alex Tabarrok (Marginal Revolution).
The increase in Kia and Hyundai thefts suggests that the crime wave declined not because the ocean became more gentle but because we built more secure sea walls. The big waves are still out there in the vast ocean and if we lower the walls we shouldn’t be surprised if another big crime wave comes rolling in.
🔀 Other Things
I like to revisit the documentary about Dieter Ram every other year. Here is a snippet that is both funny and wise.
That is all for this week. Signing off from Redmond, WA.