The Human Side of AI: 5 Lessons from America’s Top AI Hubs
The heart of AI innovation isn’t found in code — it’s found in conversation. That’s the belief that sparked the GenAI Collective, which started in early 2023 in a small San Francisco apartment. Today, it has grown into the largest AI community in the United States, with chapters in each of top ten AI hubs: Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC.
This year, I had the rare privilege of hosting in-person events in each of these cities, spending up to four days in each exploring their distinct cultures and vibrant AI communities.
Unlike typical networking events, Collective gatherings are designed for meaningful connection. Members participate in intimate ten-person discussion groups, where we have lively and insightful conversations about AI’s most pressing topics.
Through countless one-on-one and group conversations, I began to see patterns emerge — shared threads and distinct differences. Here are the five key lessons I took away from this extraordinary journey.
1. Was 2024 the Year of AI Agents?
Pundits proclaimed 2024 as the year of agents. But did reality match the hype? The enthusiasm was palpable, and builders rallied. Yet, the year revealed itself as one of infrastructure, not breakthrough applications.
Key developments like OpenAI’s O-class models and scaled inference laid foundational groundwork, advancing to reasoning (level 2) on the path to “Super AI”. Frameworks like AutoGen, AutoGPT, and OpenHands gained traction, while UI/UX challenges for agents persisted. Cognition’s December general availability announcement was a promising milestone, but substantive adoption is still on the horizon.
2024 built the scaffolding. 2025 will be the year of AI agents applied, where we’ll move from theory to practice as agents begin reshaping our workflows — and our workplaces.
2. Community Drives Innovation
Community isn’t a luxury — it’s the foundation of our innovation economy and society. At its core, the Collective is built on three pillars: learn, connect, and elevate.
- Learn: The AI landscape evolves daily. Staying ahead demands crowdsourcing insights from the spiky builders exploring the edges of the adjacent possible.
- Connect: Forge authentic, one-on-one relationships with fellow AI enthusiasts who share your passion and ambition.
- Elevate: A strong community doesn’t just benefit individuals — it raises the bar for an entire city’s tech ecosystem, creating opportunities for everyone.
As Bowling Alone reminds us, what set Silicon Valley apart during the technological revolution wasn’t its resources but its embrace of community, openness, and knowledge-sharing. Groups like the Homebrew Computer Club didn’t just meet — they changed history.
3. San Francisco’s Unique Bubble
After traveling to AI communities across the country, I can confidently say there’s something distinctly different about San Francisco. The city operates in a bubble where audacity and optimism are the norm. I’ve seen how the sheer density of events (100+ every month) creates countless opportunities for knowledge spillover, with casual conversations often sparking transformative ideas.
This bubble isn’t necessarily better than others, but it has a character all its own. San Francisco’s unique energy is something you feel — an environment that challenges you to think bigger and connect deeper.
4. Every City is Different
Across the United States, cities are stitching together a patchwork of AI innovation. Los Angeles channels creativity into consumer applications, Boston pushes the frontiers of biotech, Miami thrives on the pulse of crypto, and Chicago anchors itself in finance and legal tech. These identities color their approach to AI and the dialogues they spark.
Cities outside San Francisco often admire its fearless innovation and rapid pace but worry about its insularity. They see a bubble that drives progress but risks neglecting the broader tech ecosystem. Understanding these differences is critical — not just to celebrate local strengths but to foster collaboration that transcends boundaries. In diversity lies the true power of collective innovation.
5. Every City is the Same, Actually
Amid the diversity of ideas and experiences shared in each 45-minute group conversation, a striking realization emerged: we’re all wrestling with the same existential questions. Is my job secure? Will software engineering remain a durable skill? What advice should I give my high schooler? What does life look like in a post-work world? What does it mean to be human?
The answers vary, shaped by personal conviction and local context, but the questions themselves are universal. Technology, as Jeff Jarvis explores in The Gutenberg Parenthesis, evolves non-deterministically, shaped by our collective choices. That unpredictability grants us agency! In the end, we’re not passive participants but active authors of the story we’re telling together.
Cool takeaways, bro. Why does this matter?
The fourth pillar of the Collective is empower. By uniting voices across cities and countries, we amplify the voice of the early-stage AI ecosystem into something unified and non-partisan. This voice holds the power to shape norms and influence what Malcolm Gladwell might call the overstory.
As AI evolves, it challenges us to reflect on what defines us as human. In every conversation, one truth stood out: our similarities far outweigh our differences. We’re just scratching the surface of something truly profound. The power to shape the future lies in the connections we forge now.
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