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How do the United States and Asia approach the expansion of artificial intelligence for the future? On one side of the world, you have frontier model development requiring massive compute and content ingestion, while the other side is looking at their internal strengths and figuring out where AI can have the greatest impact. As investors, how can we figure out a true ROI to place our bets on across regions of the world?
In this latest episode of the Improving Alpha podcast, host Michael Oliver Weinberg is joined by Farhan Ahmad, Former CEO of PayNet Malaysia, Three Time Entrepreneur, and MIT CSAIL Board Member, to discuss the nuanced approach of Asian AI model development, the concept of interoperability vs isolated development, ongoing AI adoption and improved social outcomes, and how the United States and Europe plan to stay engaged in this innovation.
Key highlights include:
- How is AI impacting small- to medium-sized businesses, and is there a valuable investor story to uncover?
- Can the US effectively compete with China when it comes to robotics, manufacturing, and autonomous vehicles? Will a new age of US manufacturing come into play if we can lower labor costs across the country?
- What sort of impact does the Chinese government have in mandating the development and rollout of AI across schools, banks, and other businesses? Is there a comparable national-level strategy for that rollout in the US?
- Does a national security threat exist in Chinese exports to the US that have embedded AI components?
- How does Malaysia’s ILMU differ from foundation models being deployed in the US and mainland China? Will smaller models be able to catch up with larger LLM models through distillation, and how do real world examples figure into these equations?
- How can the lessons at PayNet on shared rails and interoperability be applied to cross-border cooperation, especially when looking at Singapore and Vietnam?
- And more.
Resources:
- Book: Inside the Box by David Epstein
- Book: The Party: The Secret World of China’s Communist Rulers by Richard McGregor
- Book: The Human Condition by Hannah Arendt
Connect with Farhan Ahmad:
- LinkedIn: Farhan Ahmad
- Website: PayNet
- Website: MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL)
Connect with Michael Oliver Weinberg:
About Our Guest:
Farhan Ahmad is a three-time entrepreneur, technology executive, and former CEO of PayNet Malaysia, the country’s national payments network. Throughout his career, he has founded and successfully exited three technology companies and held leadership roles across banking, financial technology, and digital payments in both the United States and Europe. While leading PayNet, he helped expand one of the world’s most advanced real-time payment networks, significantly increasing its scale and strengthening cross-border payment interoperability across Asia. Farhan also serves on the board of the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), where he contributes to discussions at the intersection of artificial intelligence, technology, and innovation. His work focuses on AI adoption, financial infrastructure, digital transformation, and the practical application of emerging technologies to solve real-world challenges.
The information covered and posted represents the views and opinions of the guest and does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Vidrio Financial, and/or our host, Michael Oliver Weinberg. The Content has been made available for informational and educational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional investing advice. Always seek the advice of your financial advisor or other qualified financial service provider with any questions you may have regarding your investment planning.
The release date may not correspond to the recording date.
