The RegenAI Summit will meet at Ashland Hills Hotel to explore how AI might be applied to local issues, such as wildfire management

By Damian Mann for Ashland.news

Harnessing the vast potential of artificial intelligence to improve local communities is the thrust of an upcoming summit in Ashland.

Strategists from Google X, Intel and Synaptiq will work with representatives from local organizations such as Southern Oregon University, Rogue Workforce Partnership and the Institute for Applied Sustainability.

They will gather at the Ashland Hills Hotel Sept. 13-15 for the RegenAI Summit to bring the forces of AI to bear on the issues facing the local community.

A registration fee, at an average amount of $495, will be based on a sliding scale that depends on the type of organization or individual who participates. It will require going to regenai.co to sign up for an invitation.

Applying AI to local issues

Rather than discussing fears about Al as a disruptive force, the focus will be on channeling the new technology to strategize about local issues, such as health and wellness, arts and culture, learning and education, food and agriculture, climate and biodiversity.

“I want to be able, five years from now, to say that it did head in a good direction,” said Ian Ingram, founder and CEO of the startup AI consulting firm Neuraven and one of the summit’s organizers.

AI, or generative artificial intelligence, is already used as a tool by many students to brainstorm ideas for classes, he said.

Ingram, a computer science major at SOU, said some instructors are wary of AI, but that others encourage students to embrace it for assignments.

Neuraven is one of the participants in the summit, along with Rogue Valley Metaphysical Library, SOU and Retellable, a coaching firm that helps CEOs with the art of storytelling about their businesses. Other partners include ScienceWorks, Rogue Valley AI Lab and Architects of the New Paradigm.

Half a day’s work in half an hour

Ingram worked on a school coding project recently. He said that what would take him up to 12 hours to accomplish on his own took about half an hour with help from AI.

He uses AI , and more specifically ChatGPT-4, on the Neuraven website. Using this prompt: “Ok please give a section about the importance of AI literacy moving forward through this fast-moving, rapidly evolving landscape,” ChatGPT provided a four-paragraph response, ending with the following statement: “In the narrative of our time, AI literacy is not a chapter — it’s the theme. Let’s write it boldly.”

Apart from ChatGPT, Ingram said other generative AI programs he works with include Claude 3.5 and Llama 3.1. Apple and other large tech companies have begun rolling out their own versions of AI.

Outside the academic environment, AI is being used to develop business plans, marketing ideas and preparing reports. An Aug. 18 New York Times article about AI described how Sean Ammirati, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, has seen graduate students develop new business ideas from scratch with AI’s help.

“I have a pretty good sense how fast the progress that students should make in a semester should be,” Ammirati said. “In 14 years, I’ve never seen students make the kind of progress that they made this year.”

Ingram said he has biweekly meetings at ScienceWorks with others who are interested in discussing the more philosophical aspects of AI, including the “singularity,” or the prediction that AI will advance to the point of being conscious, potentially surpassing the intelligence of humans.

A role in wildfire management?

Thor Muller, a local entrepreneur and AI strategist at the venture-strategy firm Mach49, said the summit has one overriding goal: “What are the unique challenges that people in the Rogue Valley have?”

For instance, he said, wildfire management is something that could be aided by AI, particularly to develop strategies to deploy resources and provide better coordination.

“We should become the best in the world at wildfire management,” Muller said. “My motto is if it can’t work locally, it can’t work at all.

Often people might have a good idea, Muller said, but may not have the technical background to implement it. They can use AI to brainstorm and provide the information needed to propel an idea, he said.

“Suddenly things that are not accessible become accessible,” Muller said. “I’m really passionate about people living their dreams.”

He considers AI to be a kind of “leveler,” or tool that helps an interested person receive the knowledge needed to explore their vision.

He said he also hopes AI can be a tool to help the Rogue Valley address work together to solve its problems.

“Southern Oregon is remarkably rich in talent,” he said. “The biggest problem with Southern Oregon is that people are not collaborating, not talking enough.”

He said he’s hoping the outcomes of the summit provide the “connective tissues” that help bring people together.

Reach freelance writer Damian Mann at [email protected].