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We're Doing a Hackathon, Austin Meetup Recap and more

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AITX Team
October 25, 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!

Meta and AITX are collaborating on the Austin Llama Hackathon

Save the Date: The Hackathon will be November 23rd - November 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:

🤠 Meetup Recap

5 Upcoming Events

3 AI Community Stories

1 Community Highlight

So let’s jump in!

AITX Austin Meetup Recap

AITX Austin Meetup | October 22, 2024

We had 2 demos & one huge announcement at this meetup:

Demos

1. Groq by Mark Heaps

Groq is fast AI Inference. The Groq LPU™ AI Inference Technology delivers exceptional compute speed, quality, and energy efficiency.

Mark was able to show off demos from the Groq community and helped developers see just how easy it is to get started and use their API.

2. Eidon AI by Sam Padilla

Eidon is launching a decentralized AI platform that lets anyone contribute data, govern, and own AI systems - no technical skills required.

Through their "Quests" feature, users can submit data for AI projects while ensuring fair value distribution and transparent tracking.

They are happy to share a beta access code with the community: ai-txmeetup-777

You can also find Eidon on X here and join their discord here.

Meta’s Announcement from John Bockstanz

John from Meta came by this last meetup to give a huge announcement (which you may have seen from the title of this newsletter)…

They’re hosting the Llama Austin Hackathon November 23rd - 24th.

Be sure to signup for the waitlist so you can have a change to show off your skills.

👉️ Waitlist HERE.

UPCOMING EVENTS

  • When: Wednesday, November 6 | 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM CST

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

  • What: In this session, Russ Somers will show you how to create a “GPTeam” using role-specific Custom GPTs to triple your marketing output. And trust us—this is more than just faster content creation. There’s so much potential waiting to be unlocked!

  • 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: Thursday, November 7 | 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM CST

  • Where: Wise Austin Office (@ the Domain) 10025 Alterra Parkway, FL 23 · Austin, TX

  • What:

    In this session, you’ll learn:

    • How to determine when AI should be integrated into product solutions.

    • How to design transformative features that drive real impact.

    • Why understanding behavioral change is crucial for both user satisfaction and business success.

  • 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.

COMMUNITY STORIES

UT Austin is capping off its Year of AI with a major three-day celebration from November 13-15, 2024.

AI LIVE will feature live demos, expert panels, and creative showcases across campus venues.

Need to know:

  • When: November 13-15, 2024

  • Where: Multiple UT campus locations including Powers Student Activity Center, O'Donnell Building, and Gates Dell Complex

  • What: Workshops, presentations, panels, and demos featuring leading AI experts

Learn more here.

Personifi AI, an Austin-based startup, is launching the Shazam Band - an AI-powered dog collar that translates your pet's thoughts and emotions into human speech.

Why it matters: This breakthrough in pet-tech could revolutionize how we understand and interact with our four-legged friends, though it comes at a premium price point.

Need-to-know:

  • Device uses "Sentience Augmentation" to interpret dogs' reasoning, emotional state, and health needs

  • Comes with 27 different personality options, from "mafia boss" to "southern belle"

  • Supports multiple languages including English, Spanish, and Mandarin

  • Includes practical features like GPS tracking and geofencing

  • Premium pricing: $495-595 for the collar, plus $295 annual subscription

Learn more here.

A college counselor shared innovative ways to use AI for college applications at the College Board's annual forum in Austin this week.

Why it matters: The approach could help overwhelmed counselors - especially in public schools where student-to-counselor ratios can reach 600-to-1 - spend more time directly helping students.

Need-to-know:

  • AI cuts recommendation letter writing time in half by automating data collection

  • Tool achieves 90% accuracy in drafting email responses based on past replies

  • Helps students refine college essays through automated feedback

  • Raises equity concerns about internet access and counselor resource gaps

Learn more here.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHT

This week we’re highlighting Mason Melead.


Here’s a bit about him:

I'm Mason Melead, a Computer Science student at Texas State University and founder of the ACM AI Student Group on campus.

ACM AI is a student community interested in all things AI! We are an interdisciplinary group of computer science students, business students, and anyone else on campus learning to use AI tools.

If you have something you'd like to present to a group of interested students, we are always open to have speakers at our events!

Contact me at 979-551-6416 or [email protected] and let's talk!

To learn more, join the discord (link here) All are welcome!

We super excited to see leaders like Mason taking charge and creation spaces for the younger generation to get more involved in AI.

That’s all for now, folks!

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