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Venue for Meta's Llama Hackathon - Sign up before it's too late 🦙, IBM's AI Cost Control, and Cruz's Tech Vision

Meta and Austin's AI community gear up for a big hackathon this month

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AITX Team
November 08, 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. November 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.

🦙 ATX Llama Hackathon Kickoff & Registration!

There’s 16 days until the hackathon!

Venue: Capital Factory in Downtown Austin

Save the Date: Hackathon is November 23rd - 24th

✍️ Austin Llama Hackathon Kickoff Reception

When: Friday, Nov 22 | 5:00 PM-7:30 PM 

Where: Meta Office. 607 West 3rd Street , Austin, Texas. 

What: Meta and AITX are hosting a reception Nov 22 at Meta's downtown Austin office to celebrate the Austin Llama Hackathon (which starts the following day)

Join us for appetizers, drinks, demos, and a panel discussion about the value of open-source AI. Connect with other innovators and developers who are shaping the future of technology.

👉️ RSVP for the Reception here

📞 Call For Llama Impact Grants Application!

When: Apply before 11:59 pm PST on November 22, 2024. 

Where: Learn more here 

What:

Llama Impact Grants - Up to $500K for Hackathon Projects
• Open call for proposals

• Llama ATX hackathon participants eligible

• Grants support continued project development

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, November 14 | 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: Wednesday, November 13 | 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM CST

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

  • What: This event combines networking, learning, and showcasing. It's our primary monthly event where the Austin LangChain and AI Middleware community gathers to learn, share, and collaborate.

    From the latest project highlights to interactive Q&A sessions, there's plenty to inspire and connect over.

    Stick around for the after-party mixer to keep the conversations flowing in a more relaxed setting! Enjoy special drinks, great company, and themed discussions to cap off an inspiring evening.

  • When: Tuesday, November 12 | 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM CST

  • Where: 16th Floor (ACL), 701 Brazos St, Austin, TX 78701

  • What: Introductory overview of AGI, and will be explaining why the current approach to AGI (via LLMs) makes no sense.

  • When: Wednesday, November 20 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM CST

  • Where: Kinda Tropical 3501 E. 7Th · Austin, TX

  • What: Prepare for Thanksgiving break with creativity, collaboration, and community! Our Hacky Hour is the perfect opportunity to experiment, brainstorm, and work on fun projects with fellow LangChain and AI enthusiasts.

COMMUNITY STORIES

IBM's Apptio division, with significant presence in Austin, is preparing to launch an advanced AI virtual assistant This tool helps finance leaders and tech teams better manage cloud costs

Full rollout expected by early 2025, with beta testing currently underway.

Why it matters: Reinforces Austin's position as a key hub for enterprise AI innovation, with IBM's local campus playing a crucial role in developing solutions for the growing cloud management market.

Need-to-know:

  • The AI assistant helps pinpoint which teams are driving up cloud costs and provides actionable recommendations

  • Part of a larger suite of new features including GitHub cost optimization and carbon emissions tracking

  • Responds to growing market demand, as 3/4 of organizations struggle with cloud cost optimization

  • Builds on IBM's $4.6B acquisition of Apptio last year

Learn more here.

Rekor is deploying advanced AI technology across Austin's roads in partnership with TxDOT's $7B infrastructure project, helping detect accidents faster and reduce traffic congestion. The system has already increased incident detection by 159% while cutting response times by 8.5 minutes.

Why it matters: As Austin continues to attract tech companies and workers, AI-powered infrastructure becomes crucial for maintaining quality of life and safety on increasingly crowded roads.

Need-to-know:

  • System uses NVIDIA's AI technology to analyze real-time traffic camera footage, weather data, and connected car information

  • Helps prevent secondary accidents from "rubbernecking" by clearing incidents faster

  • For every minute an incident remains on the road, it creates four minutes of traffic backup

  • AI platform provides predictive analytics to help traffic management centers respond proactively

  • Platform could expand to include digital twin simulations for testing traffic mitigation strategies

Learn more here.

Following his reelection, Sen. Ted Cruz is positioned to lead the Senate Commerce Committee, where he'll shape critical AI policy with a focus on innovation-friendly regulations that maintain U.S. competitiveness against China.

The Texas senator advocates for limited AI oversight to foster "extraordinary economic growth and prosperity."

Why it matters: Texas's growing influence in national AI policy could attract more tech companies to the state while shaping how AI is regulated across the country.

Need-to-know:

  • Cruz supports targeted legislation for specific AI harms like AI-generated pornography

  • Opposes broad federal regulations that could slow innovation

  • Position contrasts with Biden administration's more regulatory approach

  • Likely to prioritize U.S. competitiveness with China in AI development

  • Leadership role could further cement Texas's position as an emerging tech hub

Learn more here.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHT

This week, we're spotlighting Mitch Chaiet, CEO of Experiential Technologies (XPT) in Austin, who's pushing the boundaries of creative AI applications.

Here’s a bit about him:

.As a creative technologist, Mitch combines AI expertise with artistic vision to develop custom generative models for image, audio, video, and 3D applications.

His work includes innovative research into AI expressiveness and creative applications, including an intriguing project exploring unrestricted AI creativity called "mongo-tom."

Through XPT, Mitch helps Austin businesses implement custom AI solutions for creative pipelines, blending his technical knowledge with artistic sensibilities.

His unique approach to AI development reflects Austin's growing reputation as a hub for both technical innovation and creative expression.

Connect with Mitch at [email protected] to learn more about custom generative AI solutions, or check out his work at www.xpt.dev.

That’s all for now, folks!

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