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Artificial Intelligence Reading

Latest Read: Thinking With Machines

Thinking With Machines: The Brave New World of AI by Vasant Dhar.

Thinking With Machines: The Brave New World of AI by Vasant Dhar

Vasant holds a BA Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology and an MS and PhD in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Pittsburgh. He previously worked at Morgan Stanley, where he created the Data Mining Group focused on predicting financial markets and customer behavior.

He founded SCT Capital Management, one of the first machine?learning?based, automated hedge funds bringing predictive modeling and AI directly into real?world trading. Today Vasant is a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business and also a professor at NYU’s Center for Data Science.

Thinking With Machines is one of the useful books on AI that I have read recently. Vasant is sharing with the reader not just what AI is, but how we can make decisions in today’s world that is now shaped by intelligent machines.

He succeeds delivering a practical guide for anyone trying to figure out when to trust AI—and when not to and insist on human judgment.

Categories
Artificial Intelligence Reading

Latest Read: AI First

AI First: The Playbook for a Future-Proof Business and Brand by Adam Brotman and Andy Sack.

AI First: The Playbook for a Future-Proof Business and Brand by Adam Brotman and Andy Sack

Adam holds a BA in Classical Civilizations from UCLA and JD from the University of Washington School of Law. He started his career as a corporate attorney before becoming Starbucks’ first Chief Digital Officer and EVP of Global Retail Operations before departing to become President, Chief Experience Officer, and co?CEO at J.Crew. Andy holds a BA from Brown University and MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. Andy co-founded Forum3 with Adam.

They position the book as a strategic manual for organizations embracing artificial intelligence and business. In fact, the book functions as simply promotional of the world’s enthusiasm surrounding AI. The book wants to convince readers that adopting an “AI-first” mindset is non-negotiable for any modern organization.

Rather than educating readers with concrete examples, Adam and Andy leans heavily on name-dropping and aspirational catchphrases.

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Artificial Intelligence Education Innovation Reading

Latest Read: HBR’s 10 Must Reads 2026

HBR’s 10 Must Reads 2026 from Harvard Business Review.

HBR's 10 Must Reads 2026: The Definitive Management Ideas of the Year by Harvard Business Review

As 2023 was coming to a close, I found myself diving into HBR’s 10 Must Reads for 2024. It was a great way to get a feel for the management ideas shaping the year ahead. Then came the 2025 edition, and now, here I am again—starting 2026 with HBR’s latest collection.

This is for both new and experienced leaders seeking insights, and advice to propel their organizations forward in the new year.

To no surprise, AI remains a key read for organizations. The focus “Bring everyone on board with your AI efforts” is addressing the much needed broad participation in AI adoption. This is even more important in 2026 as models have been updated in 2025 to bring new reasoning models that can propel organizations forward, only if the deployment touches all employees.

However a risk based approach will save organizations from overspending and unauthorized egress of organizational data.

Categories
Cyberinfrastructure Education Reading

Latest Read: Code of Honor

The Code of Honor: Embracing Ethics in Cybersecurity by Ed Skoudis and Dr. Paul J. Maurer.

The Code of Honor: Embracing Ethics in Cybersecurity by Paul J. Maurer and Ed Skoudis

Ed holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan and a MS in Information Networking from Carnegie Mellon. Today he is the President of the SANS Technology Institute. Paul holds a M.Div.from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and PhD in Political Science from Claremont Graduate University. Today he is the President of Montreat College.

I found this to be one of the most insightful books on cybersecurity and a must read for anyone in the fields of IT, AI, or IR. Jon outlines key elements for cybersecurity teams to X: Espionage (Bletchley Park), Sabotage (Stuxnet), Subversion (2016 US Election Interference), and Cyber Power (China).

It is very welcoming to see Mariano addressing machine learning for predictive cybersecurity. Mariano introduces statistical methods and machine learning easily accessible to security teams with Bayesian inference. Examples predictive detection, anomaly identification, and early warning signs is proving how AI is moving any cybersecurity program from reactive to proactive.

Mariano is including Python scripts and Jupyter-based workflows, providing technically savvy security teams a direct path to experimentation and deployment in their internal test deployments.

This book certainly provides cybersecurity teams with a practical roadmap for driving a data-driven mindset. This can be an excellent resources for organizational leaders to understand business in the age of aggressive malware and data breach announcements.

Categories
Cyberinfrastructure Education Innovation Reading

Latest Read: Data-Driven Cybersecurity

Data-Driven Cybersecurity: Reducing risk with proven metrics by Mariano Mattei.

Data-Driven Cybersecurity Reducing risk with proven metrics by Mariano Mattei

Mariano holds a Masters in Cyber Defense and Information Security from Temple University. She is the former Director Governance, Risk, and Compliance at Layer 8 Security, and CISO at Mattei. Today Mariano is VP Cybersecurity and CISO at Azzur.

It is very welcoming to see Mariano addressing machine learning for predictive cybersecurity. Mariano introduces statistical methods and machine learning easily accessible to security teams with Bayesian inference. Examples predictive detection, anomaly identification, and early warning signs is proving how AI is moving any cybersecurity program from reactive to proactive.

Mariano is including Python scripts and Jupyter-based workflows, providing technically savvy security teams a direct path to experimentation and deployment in their internal test deployments.

This book certainly provides cybersecurity teams with a practical roadmap for driving a data-driven mindset. This can be an excellent resources for organizational leaders to understand business in the age of aggressive malware and data breach announcements.