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- AI Training, Surveillance Tech, and Legislative Pause: Texas AI News Roundup
AI Training, Surveillance Tech, and Legislative Pause: Texas AI News Roundup
Weekly insights on Austin's AI landscape - from Google's nonprofit investment to the latest on state regulations
AITX Team
April 04, 2025
Hello everyone! AITX Team here with more updates this week.
If you’re new here, welcome! 👋 At AITX, we aim to:
Connect you with like-minded peers passionate about AI.
Provide a space for sharing ideas and receiving feedback on AI projects you’re building.
Share helpful tools and invaluable resources.
Before we jump into the regular news, a few housekeeping items:
February AITX Meetups:
Our upcoming meetups:
Hack AI: Thursday, April 3 | sign up here!
Austin Meetup: Tuesday, April 25 | sign up here!
To stay in the loop on all our monthly meetups and other community organized events, subscribe to our AITX calendar here.
Check out our Community Directory:
We recently started a community directory where you can fill out your profile and find other members of the AITX community.
If you haven’t filled out your profile yet, please follow the link HERE and submit your information.
We want to get to know you better! Please fill out this form if you haven’t already:
In this week’s edition you’re getting:
5 Upcoming Events
3 AI Community Stories
1 Community Highlight
So let’s jump in!
UPCOMING EVENTS
When: Thursday, April 10 | 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM CST
Where: 701 Brazos St 701 Brazos St · Austin, TX
What: April’s topic is about “accidents” in your use of AI and how those unexpected results make you rethink role of the artist in the age of AI.
When: Monday, April 7 | 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM CST
Where: Capital Factory 701 Brazos Street, Suite 1600 · Austin, TX
What: An exciting evening of learning and networking as GDG Austin teams up with GDG on Campus at the University of Texas at Austin for a special event at Capital Factory in downtown Austin.
When: Friday, April 11 | 11:00 AM - 2:30 PM CST
Where: Scuzzi's Italian Grill 4035 North Loop 1604 West · San Antonio, TX
What:
Host Intro-Potential AI use cases for Application Security
Leveraging AI for Vulnerability Identification-NowSecure
AI coding agents -Risks and Benefits-Endor Lab
AppSec for AI AND NHI (Non Human Identity) -GrayLog
Shadow AI and AppSec: What You Don’t Know Will Get You!-ByteWhisper
🫂 Beyond Small Talk: An Evening of Deeper Conversations (ATX NLP Meetup)
When: Thursday, April 10 | 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM CST
Where: The Wheel 1902 E Martin Luther King Jr BVLD , · Austin , TX
What:J oin us for an evening of deeper conversations using Scenario cards—a simple yet powerful way to go beyond small talk and explore intriguing, thought-provoking questions in small groups.
When: Tuesday, April 8 | 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM CST
Where: ACC - RGC 3000 1218 West Avenue · Austin, TX
What: Dive into the world of Retrieval-Augmented Generation as we explore building a chatbot application that can tap into your data for smarter responses. This technical session will guide you through utilizing OpenAI to generate embeddings, leveraging Node.js to craft the backend, and implementing vector search techniques with MongoDB.
COMMUNITY STORIES
Google.org is investing $1 million in the Austin Community Foundation to provide artificial intelligence training to local nonprofits, helping organizations develop essential tech skills in an increasingly AI-driven world.
Why it matters: This funding directly addresses the AI skills gap in the nonprofit sector, with a recent Google report finding over 40% of surveyed nonprofits have no staff trained in AI technology.
Need-to-know:
The initiative is part of Google's AI Opportunity Fund, which aims to equip 1 million Americans with AI skills
Training will include in-person workshops, webinars, coaching, and peer learning opportunities
The program aims to help nonprofits work more efficiently and increase their community impact across Central Texas
Learn more here.
Texas authorities have dramatically increased their use of AI-powered surveillance technology across the state, particularly in border regions, as part of Governor Greg Abbott's multi-billion-dollar Operation Lone Star initiative.
Why it matters: The digital border now effectively extends throughout Texas and beyond, raising significant privacy concerns while facing limited legal oversight or restrictions.
Need-to-know:
State agencies are deploying wildlife cameras, heat-detecting drones, and AI systems that can track cell phones without warrants
The surveillance network primarily targets migrants but affects anyone in monitored areas
Despite the expansion of these technologies, proposed legislation provides few meaningful guardrails for their use
Learn more here.
Texas legislature is showing signs of uncertainty on how to approach AI regulation, with Rep. Giovanni Capriglione introducing two contrasting bills that reveal the state's struggle to balance innovation with oversight.
Why it matters: The legislative flip-flop highlights the broader national debate on AI governance, with Texas potentially taking a wait-and-see approach while other states move forward with stricter regulations.
Need-to-know:
The initial Texas Responsible AI Governance Act (TRAIGA) proposed European-style regulations requiring impact assessments and anti-discrimination protections
A follow-up bill (HB 149) dramatically scaled back these requirements, focusing only on intentional discrimination rather than disparate impact
Both bills are now stalled in committee, indicating Texas likely won't pass AI workplace regulations this legislative session
Learn more here.
COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHT
AITX x Startup Haven Technical Founders Dinner
A night of dinner and networking with technical founders in our AITX and Startup Haven community at Antler Austin.
Note that this event is exclusively for startup founders.
What You Need to Know
When: Tuesday, April 15 5:30 PM - 9:00 PM
For everyone:
This is not an event just for poker players, but for players and non-players of poker alike.
Please come just to enjoy the food and drinks.
For our poker players:
MAKE SURE TO BRING CASH, buy-in starts at $10.
Beginner poker players are encouraged to attend:
This is a friendly, inclusive game of low-stakes poker and the first.Details on the poker game can be found here: Poker Basics Webpage
If you're new to Startup Haven events, familiarize yourself with the details by reviewing the Startup Haven Event Basics
Request to join
AITX community members can use code AITX to signup for free!
That’s all for now, folks!
If you enjoyed this, consider sharing with a friend by sending them to sign up here.