Southern Oregon's center for AI discovery, research & development
Recent Talk: Building A Dream Business
Sarah Wardwell, Innovation Advisor at the Foreign Service, shared the ways AI is transforming how things are done at the U.S. Department of State
Recent Talk: Building A Dream Business
Robert Quattlebaum demonstrated Lumanoi, a beautiful new electronic art product he's created with the help of AI.
Recent Talk: AI Regulation Under Trump
Forecasting the impact of influential voices within the new administration, and what they mean practically for AI developers and the rest of us.
Recent Talk: Breakthroughs in Medical Research
Theo Killian presented his research using in using AI and Machine Learning to decode the genetics that cause Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS).
Recent Talk: Building Your Own AI Rig
Ashland developers showcased how RVAI members can build resilient, secure AI infrastructure using open source models and commodity hardware.
Recent Talk: AI That Knows Your Secrets
SOU's Ian Ingram provided a hands on tutorial on configuring AI that can use your confidential information using retrieval augmented generation (RAG) on a local machine.
AI 2025 Predictions
What new developments or impacts do you expect from AI in 2025? We'll be presenting our collective forecast at our December 19 meetup.
RVAI Themes
RVAI Lab is committed to embodying a bioregional approach to AI research and development, and our focus reflects the deep experience and concerns of people in our area. Here are some of the themes our community are currently exploring:
Transforming Business
Working wto solve real business challenges in new ways, and identify problems that are only now addressable with these AI superpowers.
Emerging Art & Media
Exploring radical new modes of expression, production techniques, and approaches to storytelling, while addressing challenges about authorship and ownership.
Regenerative Ecology
The connection between nature and technology. How can we meet ecological challenges from wildfires to food systems, and how can we solve the AI-energy dilemma?
Trust & Community
The light and the dark sides of AI: in an era of synthetic media, the one undeniable solution is authentic connections and shared values.
Identity & Connection
New intimacies. As machines increasingly serve emotional needs, what happens to human relationships? Will they help us become better partners—or replace us altogether?
Security vs. Freedom
The tension between safety and creative freedom lead to hard choices. Can we find balance between control/security and self-determination?
New Economics
Cultivating abundance. As traditional systems of value crumble, we're starting to see new frameworks for sharing and fairness—but fairness for whom?
Health & Wellness
AI has the potential to provide affordable, personalized care for everyone—if we can find a way past the broken current system.
Continuous Learning
Intelligence on tap. What does education look like now that we have an always-on personalized tutor by our side? We prepare for higher expectations.
Cyborg Mode
More of us are integrating AI so deeply into our lives and work that we find it's now an extension of our selves, and has changed our relationshi to technology and the world.
Quest for Meaning
Finding purpose in the Intelligence Age. When machines can do almost anything, what remains uniquely human? The answer, we believe, lies in how we choose to live together.
In addition, as a practical lab we actively explore and develop capabilities in technical areas including:
- Mult-agent orchestration
- Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG), Memory, & Model Finetuning
- Mixed Reality/Spatial Computing
- Generative media (audio, video, 3D)
- AI optimized hardware
- Model alignment and performance benchmarking
- Data Science/Engineering/Analytics/Visualization
- AI Characters and Digital Twins
- 2-way Voice and Multimodal AI
About RVAI
Founded in June of 2023, the Rogue Valley AI Lab is committed to empowering our region to actively shape its future by harnessing a new wave of exponential technologies. Fusing deep local roots with Silicon Valley knowhow, RVAI cultivates our community's practical skills to build bold new solutions...always in ways that align with our region's unique values and challenges.
We have a unique perspective to bring to the rapidly evolving technology frontier, not despite our location in the hinterland, but because of it. Through talks, workshops, and events, we make these developments accessible to our community while positioning Southern Oregon as a leader in new thinking.
By partnering with local institutions and businesses, we've built a multi-layered hub that operates on multiple levels: from open-to-all community meetups, to intensive workshops and deep dives, all the way to a venture studio that turns promising ideas into new businesses. RVAI unlocks opportunities, for folks just getting started and those building their own rocket ships.
Beyond simply adopting existing AI tools – we believe we can uncover new paths that challenge the dominant tech narrative. By embracing a bioregional perspective, we're exploring how AI can be thoughtfully integrated into our local context, cultivating new applications while actively addressing potential risks and ethical considerations.