• The Applied AI Association (AAIA) Newsletter
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  • AAIA's AI Beat: Charlotte Chapter’s online event on IP & AI, Toronto, Canada Chapter Co-Presidents Spotlight: Anne-Marie Enns and Cameron Kootz, and this week’s handpicked stories/reports: Sesame AI voice assistant launches, AI & education in 2025, Mercedes design boss: "Design will be done by AI...my successor is a machine"

AAIA's AI Beat: Charlotte Chapter’s online event on IP & AI, Toronto, Canada Chapter Co-Presidents Spotlight: Anne-Marie Enns and Cameron Kootz, and this week’s handpicked stories/reports: Sesame AI voice assistant launches, AI & education in 2025, Mercedes design boss: "Design will be done by AI...my successor is a machine"

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Applied AI Association
March 06, 2025

In today’s newsletter:

  • Recent and upcoming chapter events (Charlotte, NC (3/13/25))

  • Recent AI news stories that caught our (and Perplexity AI’s!) eye

  • Become an AAIA member

AAIA Chapter events and other events of note:

AAIA Chapters updates, member news:

  • Introducing AAIA Toronto Chapter Co-Presidents Anne-Marie Enns and Cameron Kootz

    • Anne-Marie Enns is a dynamic leader in the AI and tech event space, bringing over two decades of experience in producing award-winning conferences and fostering vibrant communities. As the Executive Producer of StackX Days, she crafts exceptional AI and XR developer experiences, connecting senior professionals and driving innovation. Her passion for AI and immersive technologies began a long time ago, and she spent the past two years creating programming and events for women in AI. Anne-Marie's expertise in strategic partnerships, event logistics, and community building brings her to the role Co-president for the AAIA Toronto Chapter. Her vision is to create impactful connections and drive the growth of Toronto's AI ecosystem through engaging events and collaborative initiatives. Email Anne-Marie Enns at: [email protected]

    • Cameron Kootz is Co-President of the Applied AI Association (AAIA) Toronto Chapter and founder of Pulledin, an event production company specializing in producing and curating many world-class tech conferences. For over a decade, Cameron has been at the forefront of the tech event landscape, producing and curating impactful conferences featuring leading speakers and innovators in XR, Immersive Tech, and AI. He is a partnership expert that has worked with many of the world’s leading brands and specializes in joining tech with parallel sectors. Recognized for his innovative event formats and strategic partnerships, Cameron is dedicated to fostering a thriving tech community through both Pulledin and his leadership at the AAIA. Email Cameron Kootz at: [email protected]

  • AAIA India Chapter President Gayathri Devi Jayan gave a presentation, “AI in NPD,” to 200 second-year management students at Great Lakes Institute of Management. GD shares her experience in her LinkedIn post

AI in business and the enterprise news:

Here’s news that caught our and Perplexity’s attention as notable stories over the last week:

  • Google co-founder Sergey Brin tells employees: ‘Work 60 hours-a-week to win…but’ (MSN/Times of India, March 2, 2025)

    • “Citing an internal memo, The New York Times reports that Brin told the staff that Google can lead the industry in achieving AGI, a milestone where machines surpass human intelligence, if employees worked harder.”

    • ““Competition has accelerated immensely and the final race to A.G.I. is afoot,” he wrote. “I think we have all the ingredients to win this race, but we are going to have to turbocharge our efforts,” Brin added.”

  • Sesame is the first voice assistant I’ve ever wanted to talk to more than once (TheVerge, February 27, 2025)

    • “Combined with the AI’s natural-sounding pauses, it felt more like a real conversation than anything I’ve had so far. Compared to my colleague Kylie Robinson’s conversation with ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode last year, it feels like we’re somewhere much more compelling.”

    • “The company behind this is called Sesame, and it’s coming out of stealth today with an undisclosed amount of funding from Andreessen Horowitz, Spark Capital, and Matrix Partners —- all of which were big Oculus VR investors — with Oculus co-founder and former CEO Brendan Iribe, former Ubiquity6 CTO and co-founder Ankit Kumar, and former Meta Reality Labs research engineering director Ryan Brown in charge.”

    • “And the company says it’s building AI glasses to go along with its new voice assistant, too, ones “designed to be worn all day, giving you high-quality audio and convenient access to your companion who can observe the world alongside you.””

    • Test drive the Sesame demo

  • Enterprise data woes erode trust, delay projects (CIO Dive, March 3, 2025)

    • “Businesses are grappling with the effects of poor data management and governance as AI adoption advances, according to a Semarchy report published this week.”

    • “Fewer than half of business leaders surveyed said their AI goals this year are attainable. Respondents said data woes are leading to decreased trust in AI outputs, project delays and increased costs.”

  • The future is already here: AI and education in 2025 (Stanford Accelerator for Learning, February 27, 2025)

    • “The summit was guided by big questions: What is the future of learning we aspire to? What makes us uniquely human? How do we center humanity in our learning and AI ecosystems? How can research best support a bright future of learning?”

    • “Lee has studied how high school students are currently using AI, such as to check grammar and support group work. He also surveyed teachers on their professional development needs related to AI, finding that teachers want to understand how to use AI to teach, how to teach about AI, and how AI actually works. With emerging legislation around AI literacy, such as a new California bill requiring it to be incorporated into curriculum, Lee stressed the need to develop a common language and framework, encompassing user, developer, and critic perspectives.”

  • Global AI Regulatory Update - March 2025 (Eversheds Sutherland, March 5, 2025)

    • “Welcome to our quarterly Global AI Regulatory Update summarizing key developments from around the world.”

    • The thorough update covers reports and updates from Asia, Europe, Middle East, UK, and US

  • Mercedes design boss: "Design will be done by AI...my successor is a machine" (Motor Authority, February 28, 2025)

    • “In an interview with ABC News published on Feb. 23, Wagener acknowledged that AI-driven design is still in its early stages but noted that Mercedes has already integrated AI into its design workflow.”

    • “He predicted that AI will drastically transform automotive design and suggested that within a decade, the technology could render most car designers obsolete. He admitted that, at present, 99% of AI-generated designs are “crap,” but the remaining 1% is “good stuff” and improving every day.”

Have a newsworthy story or industry report/insight to share with AAIA members and community? Email details to [email protected].

Our list of AAIA Chapters continues to grow! If you live in a Chapter city/region and would like to get involved, email the Chapter President.

AAIA is the premier global industry association dedicated to integrating AI technologies into business and facilitating knowledge exchange, collaboration, and innovation through a network of chapters, industry committees, and comprehensive reports. Join us in shaping the future of AI in business by connecting with thought leaders and innovators. Visit our website to learn more about membership.

Questions?  Email us at [email protected]

Until next time!