I won’t fly QR again; Nvidia on a blitz

I will not fly Qatar Airways (QR) anymore. Neither will I recommend it to anyone. It has failed multiple times to honor its commitments. The money part may matter, but the broken promises matter most. A year ago, on July 18, 2023, I arrived from Europe via Doha on QR 928. When I claimed my Rimowa luggage, I noticed that one wheel was dangling, almost totally detached. I immediately reported this to the QR office at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia). I was issued a “property irregularity report” by QR agent “Adrian,” who advised me to bring home my damaged luggage and wait for QR agents to pick it up for repair or replacement.

QR’s SERVICE NUMBER WAS CALLED SEVERAL TIMES by my executive assistant Marivic Romualdez but it was always inaccessible. Hence, she sought the help of our travel agent, who sent an email to Joy Alvarez-Junio, QR’s senior manager who endorsed the matter to their “MNL LL Team.” This team replied that it was waiting for a “response from their partner repair shop in CDG for evaluation on whether the damage is repairable or not.”

I will not waste valuable space narrating the harrowing exchanges of texts and emails between my staff, our travel agent, and the QR’s officialdom led by Claudine Anne Caganda. Suffice it to say that on Sept. 18, 2023, QR’s Ruben Gallardo got the luggage from my home. About 10 follow-up emails (and phone calls) were sent to QR since then but despite its assurances, the airline has failed to deliver the repaired luggage or its replacement.

I will fly to Europe today via another airline. I cannot understand why QR had not honored its commitments after a year of patient waiting and anticipating. Since other passengers may have been similarly affected, I call on our hardworking Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista to discipline this carrier and its officials.

ON A MORE PLEASANT SUBJECT, had I (and the other 500 board directors and officers of the MVP Group of Companies) invested $1,000 worth of shares of stock in Nvidia in the Nasdaq (a US electronic trading platform) in November last year, our investment would have quadrupled by now to $4,000. This investment could be sold and turned into cash at any time. I should have heeded the advice of Dr. Max Tegmark, who as guest speaker of the MVP Group’s Annual Corporate Governance Enhancement Seminar on Nov. 9, 2023, spoke so highly of Nvidia as the frontliner of the incredible blitz of artificial intelligence (AI) in this planet.

Nvidia is the engine of AI. It “engineers the most advanced chips, systems, and software for the AI factories of the future … and helps companies create their own AI factories.” Nvidia has grown its business exponentially such that its market capitalization has blitzed to over $3.3 trillion, overtaking Microsoft (and erstwhile second-placer Apple) as the most valuable company in the world. Its co-founder, president, and CEO Jensen Huang has grown his net worth to over $100 billion, placing him among the richest in the world.

However, beyond the incredible new wealth that Nvidia has produced is how its AI blitz has advanced civilization and improved humanity. Equally important is how to control AI to minimize ethical and social consequences such as job displacement, deep fakes, false holograms, data privacy breaches, and cybersecurity ransomware. As to which among Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple is the most valuable company is not as significant as what Nvidia can do and is doing for humans.

WE ALL KNOW THAT EVERY COMPUTER, whether desktop, laptop, or tablet, needs Microsoft Windows, and almost everyone in the world owns a smartphone, the leading brand being Apple’s iPhone. We already know how they have used the internet as the basis of their operation. We also know the various apps that have been invented to make Windows and mobile phones even more essential to life.

We are familiar with Viber, iMessage, WhatsApp, and email that have effectively abolished post offices and outmoded telegrams and telexes. Alipay, Maya, and GCash are replacing paper money, coins, and credit cards as modes of payment. Smartphones have long ago dumped Kodak, Canon, and other cameras. And during COVID times up to now, attendees during meetings and conferences defy time and space by participating via Zoom, MS Teams, and Webex from anywhere in the world. Google, Netflix, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, X, Instagram, and Spotify have changed people’s habits of learning, communicating, and viewing. Truly, the internet has transformed civilization.

Nvidia will open another era when it “humanizes” the internet and AI through the creation of human-like robots and instant access to research. Its graphics processing units or GPUs and superior chips are used by AI producers to revolutionize industries, enhance productivity, and create new opportunities in (1) health care through advances in medical imaging, diagnostics, and personalized medicine; (2) self-driving vehicles that would reduce traffic accidents and provide mobility with air taxis; and (3) “edge-computing” and internet of things (or IoT) that would deliver connectivity to enhance the quality of life. More on these in another column.

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