Over the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to be involved with several events in San Angelo centered around artificial intelligence. Going into our first AI event with the Concho Valley Tech Alliance, I had a pretty clear idea of who I thought was going to walk through the door.

I expected beginners.

I expected people who had heard about ChatGPT, maybe experimented with it a few times, and were now looking for someone to explain what all of this meant. I imagined people coming to learn the basics, leaving with a new skill, or at least walking away with a better understanding of where to start.

That isn’t what happened.

The room was filled with people who were already using AI.

Some were using ChatGPT. Others were using Gemini, Grok, Copilot and other platforms. Some were experimenting with local AI models and agents. There were people from local government, education, technology, business and other parts of our community.

Some of them were doing things that I would consider fairly advanced.

But something else surprised me even more.

They weren’t there to show everyone how much they knew.

They were there to learn from each other.

The Conversation Was Different Than I Expected

Our presenter certainly had knowledge to share, and people listened. But the most interesting moments often happened when someone in the room would explain what they were doing with AI.

That would lead someone else to say, essentially, “I hadn't thought about using it that way.”

Then another person would contribute something they had tried.

The room became less like a traditional class and more like a group of people comparing notes.

That experience repeated itself at later events.

People would come up afterward and talk about something they heard during the session that they wanted to try themselves. Sometimes it wasn't even the primary topic of the presentation. It might have been a tool someone mentioned, a workflow someone described or simply a different way of approaching a problem.

That is when my perspective on these events started to change.

Maybe people aren't necessarily looking for someone to teach them AI.

Maybe they're looking for other people who are figuring it out too.

AI Is Already Here in San Angelo

There is sometimes a tendency to talk about artificial intelligence as though it is something that is coming.

From what I have seen, it is already here.

People in San Angelo are using these tools today.

They are using them at work. They are experimenting with them at home. They are building things. They are automating tasks. They are writing, researching, coding, analyzing information and trying to figure out where these tools actually make sense in their lives and businesses.

And some of the most interesting uses aren't necessarily coming from technology companies.

One example that stuck with me involved someone working with a delivery service.

Their challenge wasn't building some futuristic AI product. They had a very practical business problem: recruiting drivers.

AI became a tool for helping them think through that problem and develop ways to reach potential drivers.

That may not sound revolutionary.

But I think that's exactly the point.

Artificial intelligence becomes much more interesting when we stop talking about AI itself and start talking about the problems people are trying to solve with it.

The Value May Be the Community

I have spent much of my career in technology, so naturally I tend to look at new technology from a technical perspective.

But these events have reminded me that the technology itself may not always be the most important part.

The people are.

Someone discovers a useful way to do something.

They share it.

Someone else takes that idea back to their organization and adapts it.

Then they come back with something new to contribute.

That cycle is how a technology community grows.

And I think there is an opportunity for more of that in San Angelo.

We don't necessarily need everyone to become an AI expert. We need places where people can comfortably say:

“Here's what I'm trying.”

“Here's what worked.”

“Here's what didn't.”

“Has anyone figured out a better way to do this?”

That kind of conversation has value regardless of whether someone is a developer, business owner, educator, government employee, student or simply someone curious about where all of this is going.

I'm Learning Too

One reason I wanted to write about this is because I don't want to position myself as someone standing on the sidelines explaining AI to everyone else.

I'm experimenting with it too.

I'm using it professionally. I'm using it in my own projects. I've used AI while building Angelo Technical, working with software, producing content and exploring ideas that would have previously required considerably more time or technical resources.

Some experiments work.

Some don't.

And almost every time I think I understand where this technology is going, somebody shows me something I hadn't considered.

That has probably been my biggest takeaway from watching AI adoption locally.

The interesting story isn't simply that artificial intelligence has arrived in San Angelo.

It's that people here are already figuring out what to do with it.

And increasingly, they're figuring it out together.

That's a community I want to continue being part of.

Through my involvement with the Concho Valley Tech Alliance, through Angelo Technical, and simply through conversations with people around San Angelo, I want to keep creating opportunities for people to exchange those ideas.

So if you're experimenting with AI—whether you're building something complicated or you've simply discovered a clever way to make your work a little easier—I'd like to hear about it.

https://angelotechnical.com/contact

Because the next great idea shared at one of these events might not come from the person standing at the front of the room.

It might come from the person sitting next to you.