Panel of experts discuss AI live

Come help us launch Open Source AI Collective with a panel of speakers discussing a variety of topics around open-source and AI, why it matters, and how to get involved. Our panel consists of the following:

John Akred
John Akred is a longtime open-source contributor and machine-learning leader whose interests in language, learning systems, and probabilistic models date back to the early 2000s. Formerly CTO and co-founder of Silicon Valley Data Science, he later joined Apple, where he worked on algorithms and ML initiatives within Apple Ads, bringing deep experience across research, open systems, and applied ML.

Shane Lewin
Shane Lewin is Vice President of AI & Machine Learning at GSK, where he built and scaled the company’s AI organization from a small team into a ~200-person group driving ML-powered drug discovery. His work spans active learning, biological foundation models, and LLM-based agent systems, informed by prior roles at Microsoft, Netflix, and multiple startups — and he may soon be channeling that experience into a new oncology-focused venture.

Nate McCall
Nate McCall has deep roots in open-source and distributed systems, from early leadership in Apache Cassandra to his current work on AI infrastructure at IBM. His career reflects a consistent focus on building community-driven software that successfully operates at production scale.

Aaron Cordova
Aaron Cordova is a computer scientist, entrepreneur, and open-source founder best known for creating Apache Accumulo and later co-founding Koverse, which was acquired after supporting large-scale data and AI systems in production. His work bridges distributed systems, AI infrastructure, and practical system design, with a focus on aligning advanced technology with real-world constraints.

Meet us at Thinkspace in Seattle, 1700 Westlake Avenue North Ste #200