2025: My Top 5 Lists
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are my own and do not represent those of my employer. This content was generated with the assistance of AI language models but curated and controlled by me. For more of my writing, visit rikkisnah.github.io.
I did not want to write another end of year list. I am writing one anyway because I kept notes (I have done so for decades - the writer and builder in me - have notes since 1993)
The social systems of 2025 experienced various changes which created different impacts throughout the community. Technology. Politics. Not small things. The rules from the 1990s about trade. The belief that software stands as the only essential factor no longer holds validity. AI transformed into a physical system which also became political and required substantial financial resources.
I work on AI infrastructure at Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. I also write about what this means, including for Mauritius where I am from.
Top 5 Books
The books I read this year gave me spiritual direction while they helped me move up in my career and gain knowledge about the world. I read a lot of books. Bookworm. I read approximately 100 books annually which include historical texts and philosophical works and technological literature.
Confronting Evil: Assessing the Worst of the Worst. Evil is real, recurring, and needs a plain name before it can be confronted.
Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World. I left defense in embedded system work. I transitioned to work as an infrastructure engineer after that. I began creating opinion-based articles after that. This book says that is not a problem. Breadth wins when systems are chaotic.
The Good Immigrant. Immigration stories need to be shown in their genuine state because any effort to make them more palatable should be prevented. The experience of pain exists alongside the need to belong while people navigate their position between two different locations. I left Mauritius. I built a career in Seattle. The book bears the title things I could not name.
Working For A Narcissist. Toxic leadership exists. This book does not moralize about it. The system provides you with permanent operational methods. This book helped me navigate some of the peculiar characters I worked with in the industry. It kept me grounded
God, AI and the End of History. Silicon Valley avoids this question. Intelligence operates independently from the concept of meaning. Capability is not wisdom. Machines have boundaries which stem from religious principles before scientists can identify their operational restrictions.
Top 5 Articles I Read and Wrote
The written content establishes fresh viewpoints which help readers and me to view things differently.
The New York Times: AI and the Writing of History. Machines operate as systems which generate summaries about what happened in the past. There exists no straightforward solution which determines who holds the power to choose which historical events will be remembered. The words " continue to reverberate through my thoughts. “The process of writing history now involves machines as well as human authors.
The Harvard Business School provides eight essential steps to build an effective leadership team which starts with these initial steps (https://www.library.hbs.edu/working-knowledge/what-makes-leadership-team-effective-start-with-these-eight-steps). Organizations need to establish their structure during the Execution phase because team members need to develop trust through clear instructions during this stage. Not charisma. The process contains eight basic steps which prove to be extremely challenging to execute.
The complete reference guide for NCCL exists at this link (https://rikkisnah.github.io/posts/nccl-complete-reference-guide/). I wrote this one. The process of distributed GPU debugging requires developers to start from basic principles. The system operates through mathematical and signal processing methods instead of depending on folklore. The process of writing it helped me gain complete knowledge about NVIDIA’s communication libraries which I had not previously achieved.
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure: Behind the Scenes: NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 APIs. Frontier-scale AI hardware systems function as operational cloud infrastructure systems in their current state. This is the most significant project I have been part of at OCI.
Le Mauricien AI Think-Piece. I wrote a think piece on AI for my hometown Mauritius. A national lens on AI. Seriousness over panic. People tend to exaggerate things. The nation of Mauritius exists as a small country. It does not have to be late.
Top 5 World Events
The world entered 2025 with complete awareness that no one could expect anything from that time. Here is what happened.
The Trump-Vance Administration together with America First Policies formed the basis of their governance. Donald Trump and J.D. Vance returned to the White House. America First went fully into action. Sadly, it created a lot of division and nationalism as well. The government implements tariffs together with trade pressure and immigration controls and direct industrial policy measures. The mandate was plain.
The Vatican chose its first American Pope to lead the institution. The Catholic Church elected the first American pope. These objects maintain their significant meaning which continues to matter for everyone regardless of their religious beliefs. The world has started to adjust its operations because of the emerging new global leadership system.
The Stargate Project operates under AI infrastructure control which maintains its operational authority. AI infrastructure emerged as a noticeable segment which contributed to the growth of U.S. GDP. The Stargate project operates at a larger scale than the Manhattan Project. AI exists as a separate entity which has moved beyond its status as a sector. It is becoming economic foundation.
Ongoing Conflicts and Fragile Ceasefires. Fragile ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. Continued Russia-Ukraine conflict. The world continues to work on diplomatic solutions which aim to reduce international conflicts. The “end of history” thesis was always fiction.
The United States initiated a worldwide trade conflict when it implemented protective tariffs which affected international markets. The United States implemented tariffs as a trade instrument which brought substantial transformations to international trade management between nations. The rules which existed during the 1990s need to undergo a complete overhaul.
Top 5 AI News Stories
Five AI news dropped in the news feed this year
The Chinese-made DeepSeek R1 has introduced a significant challenge to the existing market dominance of current AI leaders. Western AI systems encountered competition from other AI systems according to DeepSeek R1. The worldwide competition now includes actual competitors who are participating in the race.
The sector has obtained major financial support to build its AI infrastructure. Capital poured into the compute sector. Oracle, Microsoft, Amazon. Everyone building. The strategic point which controlled availability emerged as a critical factor. The amount of money from the Fed and private sector is akin to the Manhattan Project.
Rise of Agentic AI and Reasoning Models. The development of autonomous systems which can plan and reason and operate independently transitioned from laboratory research to commercial manufacturing. Science fiction concepts have developed into operational technological systems which scientists now use.
Policy Shifts and Geopolitical Influence Under Trump. The new administration created a new direction for AI policy. Export controls. Domestic subsidies. Aggressive posture toward competition.
The volatility of Oracle stock exists during times when the government invests in infrastructure development. Oracle stock swung from $340 to $190. The public remained uncertain about whether public backing was needed to fund infrastructure development. I am inside a company making those bets. The uncertainty is real and also is the conviction.
Top 5 Predictions for 2026
People should avoid trying to forecast what will happen in the future. I am doing it anyway.
The United States maintains its position as the leading nation for AI technology development. Project Stargate treats AI infrastructure as national security. Like the Interstate Highway System. Like Apollo. The U.S. government is underwriting the CapEx for data centers. The European Union maintains ongoing discussions about the AI Act while the United States works to create its own AI framework. The compute gap will reach its maximum point in 2026 which will make it impossible to solve.
Oracle Outperforms. Since Clay Magouyrk became Co-CEO in September 2025, Oracle shed its legacy database image a long time ago. The company runs the most aggressive AI infrastructure development program which exists in the industry. I predict the largest federal or private AI contracts in history go to Oracle in 2026. I am biased. I work there. I have directly observed this transformation because I have lived through it myself. Clay is a genius, akin to the late Steve Jobs, and has managed to create a dream among senior executives to make Oracle the biggest and most impactful AI hyperscaler in history. I am proud to be one of the soldiers in this mission.
The GOP Loses the House. Tariffs have lag time. People will experience the negative effects of their decisions before they experience any positive results. Consumer electronics, apparel, imported food. The costs achieved their highest point during Q2 2026. The voting public in suburban areas will demonstrate their discontent through their election choices.
The nuclear energy industry has experienced a surge in popularity which makes it the most popular sector at present. AI’s need for power will inevitably lead to its development. Small Modular Reactors will deploy on fast-track timelines. The decommissioned plants will begin their operation again. Uranium stands as the leading commodity which shows the highest market performance. The main obstacle for AI development now involves obtaining sufficient energy instead of procuring sufficient computing chips.
The humanoid robot experience its most intense Uncanny Valley effect at this time. Tesla’s Optimus and Figure will ship consumer units. The public will express conflicting opinions about this situation. The AI brains are ready. The hardware is not. The system will experience multiple viral system failures. Market corrections will follow. The industry needs to select particular industrial uses before it can succeed in its designated market segment.
What Remains
2025 did not give answers. It removed excuses.
The present assignment needs absolute focus on your work activities. Serious engineering. Serious leadership. Serious thinking about power, limits, and responsibility.
People began to experience the future as a physical reality which started as an abstract idea. It is physical. It is political. It is moral. It is costly.