2026-09-22 · Ippon Technologies USA — 3431 W Leigh St, Richmond, VA
Applied AI Practitioner: Open Builder’s Lab Bring your laptop. Bring a real problem. Leave with something you built. AI Ready RVA is launching the Applied AI Practitioner: Open Builder’s Lab , a hands-on community for people who want to move beyond talking about AI and start putting it to work. Our first event is an Open Builder’s Lab , and you set the agenda. No long presentations. No two-hour panel. No sitting in the back of the room checking email while someone explains what AI might be able to do someday. Laptops open. Hands on keyboards. Let’s build. About This Event It does not matter whether you are just getting started or you are a power user who has made AI an integral part of your workflow. If you are ready to move beyond casual AI use and start developing practical, repeatable, and responsible ways to apply AI to real work, this group is for you. Bring a real problem, process, task, or opportunity you are working on. Maybe you want to: Improve a repetitive workflow Build a better research process Create an AI-assisted operating procedure Analyze information faster Develop a reusable prompt or workflow Automate part of a business process Prototype an AI agent Improve the quality and reliability of AI output Figure out whether AI should be involved in a process at all You will work alongside other practitioners to explore the problem, frame it correctly, determine where AI can help, identify where it should not, test different approaches, improve the output, and begin turning successful experiments into repeatable workflows. The goal is not to leave knowing more about AI. The goal is to leave having done something with it. What to Expect This is an open lab, not a traditional presentation. You will have time to build independently, collaborate with other participants, compare tools and approaches, ask questions, troubleshoot what is not working, and share what you discover. Some experiments will work. Some will fail. Both count. Applied AI requires experimentation, judgment, iteration, and a willingness to learn from other people doing the work. That is what this cohort is built for. New to Applied AI? Start Here. You do not need to arrive with an advanced workflow or a sophisticated AI stack. We will have a Mentor Corner where experienced practitioners can sit with you, help you…