CT OpenSource AI Connect

This is an intro talk for Langflow, a open source visual IDE devs can use to quickly create and iterate on agentic and generative AI workflows for applications. Model and vector store agnostic, no license, no vendor tie-in, just build AI flows and connect them to your app. We’ll build out some basic AI agents, a RAG pipeline, use MCP tools, and demonstrate a basic application using a Langflow AI agent.

About the presenter
David Jones-Gilardi (IBM) is a Gen-AI/Agentic nerd with decades of coding experience who loves to learn and help others do the same!

About the AI Alliance
The AI Alliance is an international community of researchers, developers and organizational leaders committed to support and enhance open innovation across the AI technology landscape to accelerate progress, improve safety, security and trust in AI, and maximize benefits to people and society everywhere. Members of the AI Alliance believe that open innovation is essential to develop and achieve safe and responsible AI that benefit society rather than benefit a select few big players.

Join the community
Sign up for the AI Alliance newsletter (check the website footer) and join our new AI Alliance Discord.

🕠 5:30 PM – 5:45 PM
Item: Welcome & Kick-Off (IBM)
Presenter: Sanjeev Kumar Marimekala, (STSM and Thought Leader (Enterprise Architect), IBM, CIO and CT OpenSource AI Connect Chair
Talk Title: "Ignite Collaboration. Inspire Innovation. Impact Society."
Description: Introduction to the CT OpenSource AI Connect initiative and the purpose.

• Democratizing AI innovation through open collaboration
• Bridging academia and industry
• Empowering communities with ethical AI
• Creating a platform for mentorship and learning

🕠 5:45 PM – 6:00 PM
Item: Executive Insights, IBM
Presenter: Ed Lovely, VP and Chief Data Officer, IBM, F&O
Talk Title: "Enterprise Data, Security, and Industry Collaboration"
Description:
A strategic perspective on how enterprise data governance, security frameworks, and cross-industry collaboration are shaping the future of open-source AI. This session will highlight key challenges, emerging best practices, and opportunities for collective innovation.

🕕 6:15 PM – 6:30 PM
Item: Sneak Peek Talk - Academic Perspective
Presenter: Prof. Phillip Bradford, Associate Professor, Computing Dept. University of Connecticut
Talk Title: "Quantum AI – Common Threads"
Description:
An exploration of the intersection between quantum computing and artificial intelligence, highlighting shared principles, emerging research, and the potential for transformative breakthroughs. This session will connect theoretical foundations with practical implications for open-source AI development.

🕕 6:15 PM – 6:30 PM
Item: Sneak Peek Talk (Remote) - ResearchNet.ai
Presenter: Arunava (Ron) Majumdar, Founder & CEO
Talk Title: "Trending Areas in AI Research and Open development"
Description:
A spotlight on emerging trends in AI research—from foundation models and multimodal learning to federated AI and open-source tooling. This session will explore how open development practices are accelerating innovation, democratizing access, and shaping the future of responsible AI.

🕕 6:30 PM – 6:35 PM
Item: Sneak Peek Talk (Remote) - Texas State University
Presenter: Prof. Damian Valles, HIPE Director
Talk Title: "Trending Areas in AI Research and Open development Clearer AI Transparency and Trust in Academic Research"
Description:
The talk covers an overview of transparency practices, such as data disclosure, code availability, and reproducibility, that are adopted (or neglected) in AI research publications. By analyzing academic publishing trends, it highlights the gaps between claimed openness and actual accessibility, and explores how these practices affect trust, accountability, and scientific progress. Many are considering large language models to enhance transparency, from automated literature audits to generating reproducible research workflows, presenting both opportunities and challenges for academic integrity.

🕕 6:35 PM – 7:00 PM
Item: Workshop (IBM)
Presenter: Joe Sepi, Program Director, Open Technologies and Developer Advocacy, IBM, Research
Workshop Details: "Open Source AI Workshop"
Workshop Description:
You've probably heard how tools like ChatGPT are changing workflows — but when it comes to privacy, security, and control, using public AI tools isn't always an option. In this hands-on workshop, you'll learn how to run your own local, open-source LLMs — no cloud, no cost, and no compromise. We'll walk through installing and running models with tools like ollama, AnythingLLM, and continue using familiar environments like VS Code. By the end, you'll have a fully functional local AI assistant, ready to support your work securely and offline. Our overarching goals of this workshop is as follows:Learn about Open Source AI and its general use cases.
Use an open source LLM that is built in a verifiable and legal way.
Learn about Prompt Engineering and how to leverage a local LLM in daily tasks.