Hey there!

Here's the latest in the AI LA Community:

• Fintech and AI Policy meetups launching!

• Adweek’s first-ever AI Agency of the Year, MediaMonks is sponsoring a Big Game AI Ad Campaign Competition. Learn more here and submit a project by February 11th.

• LA Founders & Investors 2/21

• Hiring, searching, or looking for consulting work?

• IDEAS Cohort 2 is off to a great start, with 11 Community College students learning about AI in Medicine with mentorship by Providence Health Systems, Nuleep, and Eviden.

• Don’t forget to read our AI Regulatory Roundup at the end of this newsletter…

Upcoming Events

AI & Biotech Monthly Meetup 1/31 (Culver City)

Venture into the cutting-edge crossroads of AI and Biotech at our inaugural BioSync AI Mixer! We are excited to announce this brand-new initiative, a collaboration between AI LA, Bioscience LA, BitsinBio, and Nucleate. 

​Headlining the event is a Fireside Chat led by Nathan Wan, CTO of Nuanced Health.

​Join us at Bioscience LA on January 31, 2024, from 5pm to 8pm, for a unique exploration as Nathan offers insightful perspectives on the dynamic intersection of AI and Biotech. The talk will be followed by an opportunity to connect, collaborate, and expand your network within a diverse community of enthusiasts, innovators, and industry leaders! 

AI Fintech Connect 2/6 (MDR)

AI Policy Mixer 2/8 (DTLA)

LA Founders and Investors 2/21 (Santa Monica)

AlphaPersuade: A Summit on Ethical AI on 2/29

AI LA is hosting a one-day summit addressing ethical persuasion in current AI models affecting end-user trust, consumer adoption, corporate responsibility, and industry regulatory review.

• Understand the ethical challenges inherent to current AI tools and their persuasive power.

• Access a deployable framework for AI technologies that limits disinformation, contains and eliminates bias, reduces hallucinations, and empowers customers for novel uses of AI.

• Network with AI leaders, developers, and technology ethicists.

A special rate of $200 for the AI LA Community.
Use code RHETAI24 at check-out.

AI Regulatory Roundup

For this week’s regulatory roundup, I’m sharing the robocall impersonating President Biden and calling voters prior to Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary.  The robocall explicitly told voters to “save their vote” and not vote in the primary. Experts and the media have largely reported the call was a deepfake and the use of AI tools in its creation seems likely.  You can hear the call here:  

This call is the canary in the election coalmine.  AI-generated disinformation and misinformation seems likely to increase, especially given the high stakes and contention of the current election.  Furthermore, it is unclear what action, if any, will be taken to prevent similar media from proliferating.  Although the Federal Election Commission (the FEC)  has taken small steps to address AI, there is no clear federal framework in place to handle potentially massive disruptions.  Currently, the New Hampshire attorney general’s office has stated they are investigating the call.

The robocall exemplifies that AI will play an important role in our electoral and political processes moving forward.  To that end, AI and electoral processes are sure to be a hotbed for potential AI regulation and scrutiny.