What we’re about
AI & AR Meetup: last Wednesday of every month at SLICE on Union. Reach out to Chris Grayson if you would like to be a speaker or a sponsor.
Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Augmented Reality (AR) — Elon Musk chose Memphis to be the home of xAI's Colossus Supercomputer, currently the world's largest AI Supercluster. This has thrust the city to the forefront of the global Artificial Intelligence race, with NVIDIA and Supermicro both announcing a Memphis footprint.
Augmented Reality (via AR smart glasses) is the heads-up & hands-free user interface (UI) through which AI is already being applied in the enterprise, the military, healthcare, and industrial applications — and eventually coming to the consumer market.
AR is the UI for AI.
Meetup Organizer, Christopher Grayson believes Memphis must grab this opportunity, both in the medical vertical, and as applied AI-through-AR in the trades, in manufacturing, in other industrial workforce applications, to rapidly up-skill the Memphis workforce.
Let us leverage this moment!
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About the host: Christopher Grayson
Grayson has decades of experience in technology event planning, organizing, staging, and booking speaking talent.
As an event organizer, Grayson hosted Ray Kurzweil prior to his current role as Principal Artificial Intelligence Research Scientist at Google (together with Juan Enriquez, biotech venture capitalist and former Chair of Harvard's Life Sciences Department) as the TED license-holder of NYC based TEDx franchise, TEDxSiliconAlley. Among other notable speakers, also included Apple Creative Director Ken Segall.
As an early co-organizer of Augmented World Expo (AWE), Silicon Valley's largest AR trade show, Grayson has hosted luminaries such as Microsoft Fellow Jaron Lanier (who first coined the term "Virtual Reality" for his company VPL, back in the 80s); Cyborg Anthropologist Amber Case; and cyberpunk "hard-science" fiction writer & mathematician Vernor Vinge, credited with coining the futurist definition of "the Singularity" (for which the aforementioned Ray Kurzweil is today most affiliated).
On this platform, Grayson was co-organizer of the New York City Meetup group: ARNY (Augmented Reality New York, from 2009 to 2012).
Grayson's own speaking engagements have included: MIT Media Lab, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, SxSW, and a talk on wearable technology at New York Fashion Week, hosted by the Swiss Consulate.
Upcoming events (1)
See all- How the Brain Encapsulates an Intangible MindFedEx Institute of Technology, Memphis, TN
Chavita Rooks - How the Brain Encapsulates an Intangible Mind
In her talk, she will explore how the human brain—our ultimate blueprint—will continue to shape the technologies we design, including artificial intelligence. She will draw parallels between biological systems, such as the thalamus functioning as a neural router and the spark-like firing of neurons, to show how our creations mirror our own biology.
She will emphasize the importance of approaching AI not merely as a technical tool, but as something deeply connected to psychology and neuroscience. Although she will be early in her learning journey, she will argue that a foundational understanding of human cognition will be essential for developing ethical and secure AI systems.
She will also address the importance of security and the risks of misuse, underscoring that AI itself will not be inherently harmful—it will be a powerful tool shaped by human intention. Her goal will be to encourage employers and communities to invest in education and upskilling, promoting responsible engagement with AI through empowerment rather than fear.
Doors at 6:00pm, Talk Begins at 6:30pm
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Biography:
Chavita Rooks is a pre-med neuroscience student at the University of Texas at San Antonio, who desires to become a neurosurgeon, a path that reflects her deep commitment to understanding the brain at its most intricate levels, including conditions like schizophrenia, and is the founder of Artificial Thinker AI where she blends her deep love for AI, neuroscience, psychology, and cybersecurity. She couples technical systems and human consciousness to illuminate connections most may overlook.
With a background in Cybersecurity and Identity Access Management, she also brings a protective instinct into every domain she touches. Her work embodies her belief that the human brain is the ultimate blueprint for AI systems, as well as how we will protect it and all technologies. She strives to guide technology in a way that celebrates human consciousness and values.
Beyond her academic and professional pursuits, she is a passionate Rubik's cube collector, seeing each cube as a metaphor for algorithmic thinking, pattern recognition, and creative problem-solving, whether she's exploring backpropagation through a handheld pinball game or imagining convolutional neural networks as a Connect Four board, uncovering hidden patterns in Pi.
Chavita is on a mission to shape AI systems that are not only powerful but also deeply humane, interpretable, and protective. Chavita finds joy in decoding complex scientific ideas into human-centered stories and complex ideas into tangible, playful experiences.
