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Metadata

ID:
2026-01-09-applied-ai-communities-sync
Participants:
date:
2026-01-09
related people:
["kamila-stepniowska","thomas-baker","willie-martinez","tyler-hoff"]
location:
Video Call (Google Meet)

Call Summary: Applied AI Communities Sync

Overview​

Gary presented his Q1 2026 strategy for Applied AI Society to the OpenTeams community team. Key discussions covered the "three mutually benefiting groups" framework, treating community documentation like a codebase, and insights on scaling chapters globally. Strong contributions from Kamila on global scaling dynamics and Thomas on existing community assets.

Gary's Q1 Strategy Presentation​

The Opportunity: Three Mutually Benefiting Groups​

  1. Applied AI Engineers: People who can help businesses level up with AI
  2. Business Owners: Need help but don't know where to start finding AI transformation help
  3. Tool Builders: Including Nabari team, need feedback from people with business trust

North Star​

  • Applied AI engineers get more work
  • Business owners find help that actually helps
  • Tool builders get informed by practitioners with business relationships

Core Insight​

Gary shared that even after going through Gauntlet AI bootcamp, he's noticed "there's not that many people doing this kind of work that I would recommend to a business." His friend who dove into consulting post-graduation did 5-6 multi-week projects but doesn't know others as seasoned in the space. "And we're in Austin, Texas."

Event Strategy​

  • First event: January 29 at Antler VC (co-org is AITX co-founder)
  • Second venue: Capital Factory confirmed for February
  • Cadence: Monthly minimum, potentially every 2-3 weeks once format proven
  • Quality over quantity approach

Documentation as Code Philosophy​

  • Treating community like a codebase
  • Machine-readable playbooks, not locked into Google Docs
  • Enable AI to help future chapter leaders
  • "Git commits" reflecting learnings vs. initial hypotheses
  • Public docs site: applied-ai-society.vercel.app/docs

Tyler's reaction: "I almost feel like you're doing the opposite of gatekeeping... you're saying you can do this yourself... you're trying to enable me, not just lead me."

Content Strategy​

  • Substack: Source of truth for blog posts, email capture
  • LinkedIn/X: Cross-post articles (both platforms favor native articles)
  • YouTube: Full event recordings for people who couldn't attend

Immediate Needs​

  • Someone local to Austin as exemplar of applied AI practitioner (for Feb event)
  • Business willing to have their problem "guinea pigged" in whiteboard session (Jan and Feb events)

Key Contributions from Participants​

Kamila Stepniowska - Global Scaling Insights​

On engagement beyond resources:

  • "Sometimes it's like the resources are there, but still, you need to think about the engagement. What's the selling point in terms of people wanting to be leader chapters?"

On power dynamics:

  • "There are many nuances in terms of power dynamic... expectations of what actually founders of the community are providing are very different in different locations"
  • Need clarity on responsibilities while maintaining openness

GCR Roles experience (started 2011):

  • First chapter Warsaw: 11 people
  • Took 7 months for second chapter
  • Once momentum hit: 4 new chapters in one month
  • "We were not prepared. We didn't have any documentation"
  • "Those days, it might be even faster because the demand for AI communities is very much there"

Offers:

  • Connections to Polish startups and government AI groups
  • Co-authored report on AI for lifelong learning

Thomas Baker - Existing Community Assets​

Available resources:

  • Communities running at MIT and Harvard in Cambridge
  • Sunday Hackathons at MIT (every Sunday)
  • Crowds in Seattle and SF
  • International interest: Polish government visited yesterday, interested in AI communities

EU opportunity:

  • "One of the ambitious projects we have this year is to build out the EU's AI ecosystem"
  • Lot of EU talent leaving for Valley, creating interest in local community building

Suggested partnership:

  • AI Engineer community (Dex did Human Lair event last month)
  • They all lived in same SF house

Tyler Hoff - Documentation Value​

  • Emphasized the "opposite of gatekeeping" approach
  • Saw value in enabling rather than just leading
  • "You can do this yourself... that's the message I would love to see continuously pushed"

Willie Martinez​

  • Noted Latin American celebration (Epiphany/Three Kings)
  • Joked about Gary's "ambitious goal": "He's like, I'm starting a cult. I mean, community. I mean society"

Other Discussion Points​

Government Partnership Opportunity​

  • Gary potentially meeting with Texas Lieutenant Governor next week
  • Idea: "DOGE-like problems" that AI-empowered engineers could solve for public services
  • Hackathon around helping local government
  • Thomas noted: "By city actually has a lot more involvement, a lot more control... if you want to choose major cities, it goes really fast"
  • Thomas had conversation with CTO of Boston the day before

South By Southwest​

  • Gary in early conversations with bigger communities
  • Wants to coordinate with OTI and OpenTeams
  • Need to have these conversations soon

Action Items​

  • Gary to do 1:1 intro calls with everyone who wants one
  • Gary to connect with Kamila on Polish ecosystem
  • Thomas to potentially connect Gary with AI Engineer community
  • Find Austin-based applied AI exemplar for Feb event
  • Find business for whiteboarding session (Jan and Feb)

Quotes​

Gary on documentation: "I want to treat this community like a codebase where it's as easy for the right future chapter leader to replicate what's successful."

Tyler on approach: "I almost feel like you're doing the opposite of gatekeeping in growing the community."

Kamila on scaling: "Don't be afraid to take risk."

Thomas on civic tech: "There's a lot of people who really want to help."