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Austin AI Community Hackathon, Texas Banning AI Apps, and more
Apply to the AI Austin Community Hackathon before it's too late!
AITX Team
February 07, 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:
January AITX Meetups:
Our upcoming meetups:
Austin Meetup: February 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.
2nd Austin AI Community Hackathon! 🤠
AITX & webAI’s hackathon is at the end of the month!
We are grateful for the support from webAI, RedHat, Toolhouse, and Meta to bring this hackathon to fruition.
When: From February 28 - March 1
Details:
There are now 5 tracks for the hackathon:
Red Hat AI Open Source Track: Best submission of tools that enable easier access to open source AI.
Local Track: Best submission leveraging infrastructure provided by Austin-based companies. If you are a local company interested in getting local engineers building on your platform, please reach out to [email protected]
Agents Track: Best submission built utilizing AI agents capable of independent, meaningful action.
Meta Llama Track: Submission's leveraging Meta's open source Llama models.
Community Choice: Best submission as voted by fellow participants and attendees at Hack Fair.
There’s more…
It will all culminate in Hack Fair!
The Hack Fair will be a science-fair style showcase open to the broader Austin community where participants will demo their projects to the public for a chance to win the Community Choice Prize.
Sign Up!
We already have 90+ slots out of a maximum 100 spots filled. If you and/or anyone you know is interested, register here 👇️
🎬️ Austin AI Film Festival Coming March 14-15
Experience the future of filmmaking at the AT&T Conference Center. Two days of AI films, panels, and tech debuts featuring leading directors and studios.
When: March 14th and 15th, 9am-7pm
Highlights: Film screenings from 1000+ submissions, director panels with Jason Zada and Kavan Cardoza, ethics talks, and software unveilings.
Early bird rates end Feb 15th! Use code AITX25 for extra 15% off.
🎟️ Get tickets
🎥 Submit your film (deadline Feb 15)
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: Friday, February 21 | 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM CST
What: Exploring the intersection of human potential and artificial intelligence, covering topics from cognitive enhancement and creativity to ethical development and social impact.
When: Wednesday, February 19, | 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM CST
Where: Hanover Republic Square 303 W 5th St, Austin, TX 78701 · Austin, TX
What: The theme for February is "Adapting to AI". What tools and tech have you tried? What works and what doesn't? How has it changed your strategy? There are many more questions to ponder in this critical area. Join them to share insights with your peers!
When: Thursday, February 13 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM CST
Where: Microsoft Corp Office, Quarry Oaks II, Bldg B 10900B Stonelake Blvd, #225 · Austin, TX
What: In this session, internationally acclaimed speaker Chander Dhall, CEO of Cazton, will demonstrate how Azure OpenAI and Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL (and also MongoDB), empower AI to sound just like a human, enabling natural, conversational interactions with your data.
When: Wednesday, February 19 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM CST
Where: Cosmic Saltillo 1300 E 4th Street, · Austin, TX
What: The perfect opportunity to engage, experiment, brainstorm, and work on fun projects with fellow LangChain and AI enthusiasts.
When: Thursday, March 6 | 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM CST
Where: Capital Factory 701 Brazos St, 16th Floor · Austin, TX
What: A monthly mini-hack session for developers all over the Austin area to build cool stuff related to AI. The first Thursday of each month, they host a meetup revolving around a certain theme or AI technology, like Voice AI, Large Language Models, Computer Vision, etc.
COMMUNITY STORIES
Governor Abbott issued an executive order prohibiting state employees from using AI and social media apps affiliated with China on government devices, citing cybersecurity concerns.
Why it matters: Gov. Abbott's latest cybersecurity measure aims to protect state infrastructure and data from potential foreign surveillance, impacting how Texas agencies interact with AI tools.
Need-to-know:
Ban covers new AI platforms like RedNote and DeepSeek, plus financial apps Webull and Moomoo
Follows earlier TikTok ban and builds on existing state security measures against foreign tech
State agencies and contractors can't use banned apps on state-issued or work-related personal devices
Learn more here.
State lawmakers and tech leaders gathered at Austin's Moody Theater to shape Texas's role in AI development, with discussions centered on regulation and infrastructure needs.
Why it matters: Texas is positioning itself as a key player in AI governance while balancing its reputation for minimal regulation with growing safety concerns.
Need-to-know:
House Bill 1709 proposes new AI safeguards, with lawmakers expecting regulations to pass this session
ERCOT faces challenges powering new AI infrastructure, with data centers requiring energy equivalent to entire cities
Major tech companies including Google view Texas as a global AI innovation hub alongside Japan, Spain, and Brazil
Learn more here.
Four nuclear startups will build small modular reactors (SMRs) at Texas A&M's RELLIS campus to help meet soaring electricity demands from AI data centers.
Why it matters: As Texas' power demand is projected to double by 2030, largely due to AI computing needs, this initiative could provide a sustainable solution for the state's stressed power grid.
Need-to-know:
University seeks $200M in state funding to build commercial reactors that could power 200,000 homes
Project aims to demonstrate first US commercial SMRs, with timeline estimates ranging 5-15 years
Google and other tech giants are exploring SMRs as a carbon-free power source for AI infrastructure
Learn more here.
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COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHT
This week’s highlight is Hossein Moghimifam.
Here’s a bit about him:
Hossein is the VP of Engineering at webAI, where he leads engineering initiatives with expertise in image processing, computer vision, and machine learning.
His extensive background spans numerical modeling, optimization, and deep learning, with a proven track record of solving complex real-world problems through artificial intelligence applications.
That’s all for now, folks!
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