RMAIIG's Fort Collins subgroup builds community the old-fashioned way: One connection at a time
On Monday, the Rocky Mountain AI Interest Group's Fort Collins subgroup offered an evening of presentations and discussion around the topic of AI and security - and it appears evident that far too few companies using AI are doing enough about the threats it poses to their overall health and well-being.
Andres Sepulveda Morales, founder of the RMAIIG subgroup, “Fort Collins AI for Everyone,” was happy to discuss the recent event, the growth of the FoCo AI group, and his personal quest to create an educational and welcoming AI community.
He hailed the speakers on Monday – SureLinkAI’s Brent Cody (CEO) and Clay Creighton (CPO), as well as Fenix Cyber’s CEO, Chase Carlton – as being “phenomenal presenters” with “mission-critical messages” about AI and security for individuals and businesses of all sizes. As he put it, "They absolutely killed it, addressing the topic in a meaningful way for everyone in the audience." It was clear that the roomful of engaged attendees unanimously agreed with that sentiment. Sepulveda Morales also pointed out that all the presenters were based in Fort Collins, praising the high level of the local expertise:
Chase is a longtime FoCo AI regular, and I'm a big proponent of highlighting amazing local talent first and foremost. Chase's approach to cybersecurity projects through Fenix Cyber, his methodology and perspective, is what drew me to ask him to speak. He has also done security audits for SureLink AI, so it was a great chance for the speakers to reconnect as well. The synergy between the speakers – and with the attendees – was genuine.
Sepulveda Morales also indicated that – just as with the “AI, Law, and Entrepreneurship” session hosted last week by RMAIIG in Boulder, he found it refreshing to hear an AI presentation focused on how the technology affects individuals and small businesses, instead of simply being pitches for “Who Wants to Become a Billionaire?”
The FoCo AI group started just 10 months ago, and its founder marveled at how the attendance has exploded over that time, from just a handful of people last fall to close to 50 this month, and with more than 350 currently registered on the group’s Meetup page. Which led Sepulveda Morales to share a few words about community:
My "north star" for FoCo AI is dead simple: Start conversations around different aspects of AI, avoid being cliquey, and create a genuinely welcoming environment. That's it! It doesn't make sense to push a single perspective of AI down people's throats. Nobody wants that. … Community isn't a competition, or something you can easily quantify. Where others are talking about supercharging workflows and engineering, we're talking about security, environmental risks, and alignment. Topics that will impact you regardless of who you are.
As he looked back over the past year and thought about the community he’s building, Sepulveda Morales specifically referenced Monday night’s presenters when he said, “The common thread among all FoCo AI speakers is their passion for AI in ways that include others in the conversation. They also stick around as audience members, engaging with attendees, and working to maintain a welcoming space.”
Remarking on how rare that is, he went on to say, “We had four previous speakers attend this week’s event. You'll see them helping people into the building, introducing themselves to new people in the group, and basically being the glue that holds everything together.”
Sepulveda Morales concluded by pointing out that SureLinkAI epitomized that community spirit by coming through with meeting space at Innosphere Ventures at the last minute, not only for this week's event, but for the next several months, after FoCo AI's former meeting space suddenly became no longer available.
Details on upcoming meetings of Fort Collins AI for Everyone can be found on the group's Meetup page.