Attendees
- Victor Rogers, Sustainable Growth Creative LLC
- Andy Poarch, Alliance Group
- Harold Fitrer, Communities in Schools
- Brittany Griffith, ASM Richmond
- Jen Kostyniuk, Dominion Energy
- Will Willis, Capital One
- Dasha Runyan, ChamberRVA
- Will Melton, Xponent21, Richmond Water
Meeting Summary
Meeting Audio Auto-Transcribed by Loom, Summarized by custom GPT from ChatGPT called Meeting Maven (free if you are an Open AI premium subscriber and it works extremely well), very minor edits:
The meeting primarily revolved around the January 17 AI event, with discussions on promotion strategies, welcoming of new members, venue planning, and potential sponsorship. The group also brainstormed future educational initiatives, including online events and the creation of a shared AI prompt database. Talks on formalizing the group as an independent organization and partnering with other entities were initiated. Key concerns about AI’s rapid growth and regulatory aspects were also raised.
Key Takeaways
- The main focus of the meeting was preparing for the January 17 event, emphasizing promotion and logistical details.
- Will Willis from Capital One and Dashe Runyan from ChambeRVA were welcomed as new participants.
- Discussion about using social media for event promotion and the need for additional sponsors.
- Consideration of venue layout, catering, and registration logistics for the event.
- Possibility of organizing future AI-related educational events and leveraging online platforms like LinkedIn Live was discussed.
- The idea of establishing a shared database of AI prompts and a problem library was proposed.
- Discussions on formalizing the group as an independent entity and potential collaborations with other organizations were initiated.
Next meeting: Tuesday, January 4, 2023 at 8 AM
Action Items:
- Share social media cards and event links via email and LinkedIn for promotion.
- Consider surveying attendees at the January 17 event for future topic preferences and partnerships.
- Compile a shared database or Google Sheets for AI prompts.
- Plan the next meeting for January 4 to finalize event details.
- Explore potential partnerships with local organizations and educational institutions.
- Consider regulatory aspects of AI and share relevant findings within the group.
Notable Quotes:
- “I don’t know if it’s lingering fear or more of apprehension of where it’s going and how fast it’s accelerating. And making sure, you know, we don’t the technology doesn’t outpace the skill set as well as, I know there are different things where an AI tool in the right hands can do great things. And an AI tool in the wrong hands can do the wrong things. And I know there’s a lot of talk up in Capitol Hill about different regulations, just stuff like that. But that’s so slow moving, and even when it gets in place, it’s going to have so many holes in it anyway.” ~Will Willis
- “In various meetings, AI is all that everybody talks about…sometimes it’s never mentioned at all.” – ~Will Melton
- “I think if we go become an organization of ourselves, we can partner with places like Venture Richmond, Richmond Partnership, you know, Chamber of Commerce, and promote Richmond as the AI hub of these coasts.” ~Will Willis
Questions Posed:
- What other organizations in the Richmond region are researching AI and might be potential partners?
- How to effectively message about AI to the Richmond community?
- How can we address the apprehensions and regulatory challenges surrounding AI’s rapid growth?
Current Stakeholders
| Name | Organization |
| Andy Poarch | The Alliance Group |
| Angela Oakes | Greater Richmond Partnership |
| Beth Vann-Turnbull | Housing Families First |
| Brittany Herndon | ASM Global – Richmond |
| David Kitchen | University of Richmond |
| Harold Fitrer | Communities in Schools |
| Jeff MacDonald | Mekanism |
| Jen Kostyniuk | Dominion Energy |
| Jennifer Wakefield | Greater Richmond Partnership |
| Moses Foster | West Cary Group |
| Nick Serfass | RVATech |
| Rasheeda N. Creighton | JWC Foundation |
| Rebecca Ivins | Hourigan Construction |
| Richard Foster | Virginia Business Magazine |
| Taikein Cooper | RPS Education Foundation |
| Van Wood | VCU School of Business |
| Victor Rogers | Sustainable Growth Creative LLC |
| Will Melton | Xponent21 |
| Ken Ampy | Astyra |
| Dasha Runyan | ChamberRVA |
| William Willis | Capital One |
| Phyl Demetriou | Richmond Debate Institute |