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Austin Meetup Recap, AI Supercomputers, Texas Regulations, and more | AITX Newsletter #34

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AITX Team
August 30, 2024

 

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:

  1. August AITX Meetups: 

    Our upcoming meetups:

  2. To stay in the loop on all our monthly meetups and other community organized events, subscribe to our AITX calendar here.

  3. 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.

Hackathon Alert

“Come and Make It” Hackathon

Join 200+ of the brightest minds in Austin, where innovation meets incubation. On Saturday, competitors will dive into complex challenges inspired by cutting-edge deep tech and defense tech startups, with expert panels held throughout the day. Test your metal, meet your next co-founder, and learn from top investors. Come and make it!

What will be there?

$1M+ in Prizes: Compete for access to over $1M of satellite data and the chance to demo in front of leading VCs.

Epic Challenges: Tackle real-world problems, from mapping underground mines to predicting grid-level electricity prices and outages.

Unforgettable Experience: Winners get tickets to a surprise concert in the Live Music Capital of the World.

Challenges Include:

⛏️ Project Gargoyle: Innovate a business plan for breakthrough sensor technology.

🚢 Dark Vessel Detection: Develop solutions to track ships that evade detection.

⚡️ Base - Power Outage Prediction: Invent novel ways to predict grid-level power outages.

Consolidated Agenda:

  • Friday Evening: Kickoff & Team Formation

  • Saturday: Full day of hacking, expert panels, and project development

  • Sunday: Glass Animals Concert for the winners!

Signup HERE.

In this week’s edition you’re getting:

🤠 Meetup Recap

5 Upcoming Events

3 Austin AI Community Stories

1 Community Highlight

Austin AITX Meetup Recap

BotDojo

Paul Henry introduced us to BotDojo, an innovative platform designed to accelerate the development and deployment of AI applications powered by Large Language Models (LLMs).

BotDojo offers a comprehensive suite of tools that cover the entire lifecycle of AI projects, from initial design to production.

Key features of BotDojo include:

  • Low-code design tools for rapid prototyping

  • Evaluation tools to identify and mitigate LLM hallucinations and biases

  • Seamless integration with existing applications and data sources

  • Collaborative environment for teams

Reach out to Paul here.

Positron

Isaac from Positron wowed the audience with a live demo of their Atlas Transformer Inference Server. Using a chatbot powered by Positron's servers, he showcased Atlas's impressive speed and performance:

  • Real-time demonstration of fast response times

  • 2x Performance per Watt versus GPUs

  • Seamless support for all Transformer models

  • Easy integration with OpenAI API-compliant endpoint

Atlas promises to revolutionize AI infrastructure with its efficient, powerful alternative to GPU-based systems.

Connect with Isaac and the Positron team on LinkedIn.

We had some other demos but stealth requires us to not share it here.

If you want to see people building at the edge, come to our next meetup!

So let’s jump in!

UPCOMING EVENTS

  • When: Tuesday, September 3, 2024 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM CDT

  • Where: Capital Factory | Captain America (8th Floor)

    701 Brazos St, Austin, TX 78701 · Austin, TX

  • What:

    2 Part Mini-Talks

    • Groq's Hardware and Software Approach to LLM inference

    • LinkedIn AutoResponder

    Speakers

    Info
    Austin Deep Learning Journal Club is group for committed machine learning practitioners and researchers alike. The group typically meets every first Tuesday of each month to discuss research publications and industry insights.

  • When: Wednesday, September 4 | 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM CST

  • Where: Capital Factory 701 Brazos St · Austin, TX

  • What: Fernando Gonzalez Aguirre is a seasoned B2B Growth Executive with a remarkable track record in scaling companies, crafting compelling brand narratives, and building robust marketing and sales organizations. He will be showing you how to amplify lead generation with AI.

  • When: Wednesday, September 11 | 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM CST

  • Where: ACC - RGC 3000 1218 West Avenue · Austin, TX

  • What:

    1. Informative Sessions: Engage with talks and demonstrations on the latest advancements in LangChain technology.

    2. Hands-on Learning: Participate in interactive sessions and apply your knowledge in practical labs.

    3. Networking Opportunities: Connect with a diverse group of AI professionals, hobbyists, and students.

    4. Project Showcases: Get inspired by innovative projects developed by our community members.

  • When: Thursday, September 12 | 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM CST

  • Where: 701 Brazos St 701 Brazos St · Austin, TX

  • What: Connect with other artists, creatives, and technologists and stay updated on the latest developments in the arts and AI-tech space.

  • When: Thursday, September 26 | 5:45 PM - 7:45 PM CST

  • Where: 10801 N Mopac Expy #100 10801 North Mopac Expressway · Austin, TX

  • What: Join us at Quali's Austin office for a wide-ranging discussion on all things pertaining to AI for DevOps and platform engineering teams tasked with navigating this space, including:

COMMUNITY STORIES

Texas legislators are taking steps to increase oversight of AI, with multiple government bodies preparing for potential regulation in the upcoming 2025 legislative session. The Senate Business and Commerce Committee heard testimony from various stakeholders, including state agencies already implementing AI internally.

Need-to-know:

  • Several Texas state agencies have begun using AI, mainly for basic tasks like chatbots

  • Concerns raised about pervasive data collection in AI systems

  • Arts community voices worries about AI's use of names, images, and likenesses

  • Deepfakes in arts and entertainment are a key concern

  • Texas House has a select committee dedicated to evaluating AI

  • Texas AI Advisory Council is developing a code of conduct for AI use

Learn more here.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has released a roadmap for safely integrating AI into aviation, while Texas lawmakers grapple with regulating AI technologies. These efforts highlight the growing push to balance AI innovation with public safety and transparency across different sectors and jurisdictions.

Need-to-know:

  • FAA releases 31-page "Roadmap for Artificial Intelligence Safety Assurance"

  • Plan focuses on collaboration, workforce readiness, and safety improvements

  • Texas Senate committee held a 4-hour hearing on AI regulation challenges

  • State officials report benefits from AI adoption but concerns about misuse remain

  • Texas previously enacted laws addressing deepfakes in elections and pornography

  • State's AI Council to deliver report by year-end, potentially shaping future governance

Learn more here.

Elon Musk has shared footage of Tesla's new AI supercomputer, dubbed 'Cortex', under construction at the company's Texas headquarters.

The enormous system will house 70,000 AI servers and is designed to train Tesla's autonomous driving and robotics AI systems.

Need-to-know:

  • Cortex will contain 50,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs and 20,000 of Tesla's own hardware

  • The system will require 130 megawatts of power at launch, scaling to 500 MW by 2026

  • It's being built to train Tesla's Full Self Driving system and Optimus robot AI

  • Cortex joins Musk's other supercomputers, including the 100,000 H100 'Memphis Supercluster'

  • The facility uses massive fans and liquid cooling to manage heat output

  • Musk aims to have Cortex operational soon to accelerate Tesla's AI development

  • This represents one of the largest single deployments of Nvidia's AI accelerators

Learn more here.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHT

A big shoutout to Sharon DeCaro for organizing the vibrant Marketing Automation & AI Meetup in Austin!

You can check it out HERE.

This monthly gathering brings together entrepreneurs, marketers, startup founders, and AI enthusiasts to explore the cutting edge of business technology.

Highlights of the meetup include:

  • Engaging presentations on AI tools and marketing strategies

  • Networking opportunities with like-minded professionals

  • Discussions on AI marketing, local SEO, automation, and more

Sharon's group is fostering innovation and growth in Austin's business community. Join them on the first Wednesday of every month at Capital Factory to supercharge your business knowledge!

Connect with Sharon DeCaro on LinkedIn.

That’s all for now, folks!

If you enjoyed this, consider sharing with a friend by sending them to sign up here.