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The Future of AI in Texas: AGI Innovation, Regulation Battles, and Religious Integration

Exploring How AI is Reshaping Texas Technology, Policy, and Faith

Author

AITX Team
January 10, 2025

Hello everyone! AITX Team here with more updates this week.

If you鈥檙e new here, welcome! 馃憢 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鈥檙e building.

  • Share helpful tools and invaluable resources.

Before we jump into the regular news, a few housekeeping items:

  1. January 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鈥檛 filled out your profile yet, please follow the link HERE and submit your information.

In this week鈥檚 edition you鈥檙e getting:

5 Upcoming Events

3 AI Community Stories

1 Community Highlight

So let鈥檚 jump in!

UPCOMING EVENTS

  • When: Thursday, January 16 | 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM CST

  • Where: Request to Join

  • What: The US's largest AI community: 25,000+ founders, researchers, operators, & investors with a shared curiosity for AI. We 鉂わ笍 connecting through incredible events!

  • When: Wednesday, January 15 | 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM CST

  • Where: Oracle 2300 Oracle Wy 路 Austin, TX

  • What: Join us for deep dive tech talks on AI, GenAI, LLMs and ML, food/drink, networking with speakers and fellow developers.

  • When: Sunday, January 12 | 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM CST

  • Where: Cosmic coffee 121 Pickle Rd 路 Austin, TX

  • What: This group is for creatives, entrepreneurs, marketers, and anyone curious about AI鈥檚 role in media.

  • When: Monday, Jan 13 | 6:00 PM CST

  • Where: RSVP to see location

  • What: 鈥婮oin a live discussion with Cannes' award winning filmmaker Amaru Zeas-Sig眉enza about how AI is making human stories come to life like never before. Come early for happy hour and to meet festival organizers!

  • When: Thursday, January 9 | 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM CST

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

  • What: Join us for a social hour and mixer at the first Artists and the Age of AI Meetup of 2025! Enjoy complimentary refreshments and drinks while connecting with other artists, creatives, and technologists working in the arts, tech, and AI space.

COMMUNITY STORIES

Peter Voss and his company Aigo.ai are developing Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) in Austin, aiming to create machines with human-like learning and reasoning capabilities that can learn incrementally without massive data requirements.

Why it matters: This breakthrough could transform how AI learns and adapts, potentially making Austin a hub for AGI development

Need-to-know:

  • Voss helped coin the term "Artificial General Intelligence" in 2002

  • Program aims to achieve 3-year-old level intelligence in months, 10-year-old level within two years

  • Unlike current AI, system can learn incrementally through conversation without massive data training

  • Company sees Austin's tech ecosystem as ideal environment for AGI development

Learn more here.

Texas's proposed Responsible AI Governance Act (TRAIGA) draws criticism from tech experts who warn it could impede national AI progress while imposing strict compliance requirements on AI companies.

Why it matters: The bill's fate could shape how AI is regulated across the U.S., as Texas would become one of the first states to implement comprehensive AI legislation.

Need-to-know:

  • Bill would ban certain AI uses and require heavy compliance for "high-risk" AI systems

  • Violations could result in fines up to $200,000 per incident plus $40,000 daily penalties

  • Creates Texas AI Council to oversee development and government implementation

  • Critics argue it could lead to "mass censorship" and hinder AI innovation nationwide

Learn more here.

Religious leaders across Texas are experimenting with AI in their ministries, from sermon writing to translations, while debating its broader implications for spiritual practice.

Why it matters: The integration of AI into religious services highlights how the technology is reshaping even traditional institutions while raising new theological questions.

Need-to-know:

  • Some clergy using ChatGPT for sermon preparation, translations, and administrative tasks

  • Rev. Colin Bossen of Houston's First Unitarian Church demonstrated AI sermon generation in service

  • Bishop TD Jakes fighting legal battle against AI-generated viral misinformation

  • Religious leaders split between embracing AI as a tool and warning of its potential dangers

Learn more here.

.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHT

This week we鈥檙e highlighting Olivia MacDonell.

Here鈥檚 a bit about her:

Olivia MacDonell is the founder of TAP Integration, a game-changing platform redefining psychedelic aftercare through AI.

By maximizing neuroplasticity, TAP personalizes integration journeys with tailored prompts and insights.

Gamifying the process makes healing engaging and accessible, fostering a community that champions mental health and personal growth. We invite psychedelic and AI enthusiasts to join our team and help revolutionize the future of wellness with the profound potential of psychedelics.

Connect with Olivia on LinkedIn here.

That鈥檚 all for now, folks!

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