Skip to main content

What is the Applied AI Society?

The Core Idea​

Applied AI Society champions applied AI literacy as the path to shortening the time for young people to get their first applied AI money-making opportunity.

That's it. That's why we exist. The path from "I don't know how to make money in this economy" to "I got my first applied AI opportunity" is too long, too confusing, and too lonely. Most people don't even know what's possible. We build the literacy that makes the path visible, then we make it shorter.

The Moment We're In​

The entire economy is transitioning into the Applied AI Economy. Every sector. Every industry. Healthcare, law, finance, logistics, education, government. Roles that existed for decades are shrinking. Career paths your parents understood are becoming unrecognizable.

But new roles are emerging just as quickly, and they pay well. AI implementation specialists. Automation architects. Agent developers. Fractional AI executives. AI-native product managers. Companies across every industry are desperate for people who can actually apply this stuff, not just talk about it. These are six-figure roles that barely existed two years ago, and most job boards don't even have categories for them yet. We're documenting these roles as they form: see the full list →

There's a massive gap between what AI can do and what organizations are actually doing with it. That gap is the opportunity. And the people who move now will be the ones everyone else calls in two years. If you want to see what the paths actually look like, start here →

Nobody has this figured out. So let's all agree nobody has this figured out, and let's share notes.

Applied AI Society — Nobody has this figured out. Let's share notes.

Founded By​

Applied AI Society was cofounded by Gary Sheng and Travis Oliphant (creator of NumPy, SciPy, cofounder of Anaconda). Gary brings deep experience in community building, product, and applied AI implementation. Travis brings decades of building open-source tools that power modern computing and data science.

Together, they saw the same thing: young people have real AI fluency but no clear path to turn it into a living. The Society exists to fix that.

What We Are​

The Applied AI Society is a community where people learn how to make money in the applied AI economy. Our focus is on college-aged students transitioning into the workforce, but we're open to all professionals.

Through hyperlocal chapters led by young leaders, we create spaces where the next generation of applied AI practitioners learns by doing. We host events where real people share how they're actually making money: consulting, startups, workflow automation, agentic AI products, freelance engineering, and more. We share open documentation and connect members with businesses that need their fluency.

We call the people who bridge the gap between AI capability and real-world implementation "applied AI practitioners." They help organizations actually use AI to better serve their customers and communities. That's the career path we're building together.

What We Believe​

At the heart of everything we do is a simple idea: AI should free people to do more meaningful work, not replace them.

Some work requires a human soul: presence, judgment, taste, care, responsibility. Some work is necessary but doesn't carry that weight. Thinking machines exist to carry the second kind so humans can spend more time on the first.

That's the Applied AI Canon. Efficiency is not the goal. More soul-requiring work is.

Applied AI Literacy​

Applied AI Society is a champion and leader in applied AI literacy.

The gap isn't just that companies need implementation help. The deeper gap is that people don't know what's possible. The Mayor of Austin put it perfectly: "You say AI to people and their knee-jerk is 'we're gonna have more data centers.' They don't know what the application is."

Not understanding applied AI is the new "I don't know how to read." Applied AI literacy means understanding what AI can actually do for your business, your career, and your community. Not just knowing that AI exists, but knowing how to apply it to real problems you face today.

We're developing courses, frameworks, and resources to make applied AI literacy accessible to everyone. Learn more about our approach to applied AI literacy →

How It Works​

Chapters. Applied AI Society runs through hyperlocal chapters in cities and on campuses. Each chapter is led by young people who are already AI-native. They organize events, build community, and create a space where people figure out AI use cases together (not alone).

Events. Every Applied AI Society event is an initiation into the applied AI economy. Our flagship format, Applied AI Live, brings together live players: practitioners who are rapidly evolving their techniques and excited to share field notes from the front lines. The audience doesn't just hear about what's possible. They get pulled into the current. We're also developing new formats like Applied AI Office Hours (where business owners get hands-on help from practitioners) and hackathons. See all event formats →

Open Documentation. The site you're reading right now is a shared, collective field notes hub. It exists so that everyone in this community can make sense of and seize the opportunities forming in the applied AI economy. Roles document the careers emerging. Concepts name the ideas we're all figuring out. Case studies show what the work actually looks like. Playbooks capture how to run events, find clients, and build chapters. None of this is finished. All of it is evolving. If we figure something out, we write it down so the next person doesn't have to start from scratch, and so the person after that can build on what the first two learned. The docs are the community's shared memory.

Sponsors, not gatekeepers. Local businesses and AI companies sponsor chapters because they want access to AI-native talent. Sponsors fund the community. They don't control it.

For Students and Emerging Practitioners​

You already use AI every day. You prompt, you iterate, you build things your professors haven't seen yet. That's real fluency. The problem is there's no clear path from "I use AI" to "I get paid to apply AI."

Applied AI Society shortens that path.

You'll meet practitioners who are making money in applied AI right now. You'll hear exactly how they got their first opportunities. The paths are more varied than you think: workflow automation, AI consulting, building AI-native products, intrapreneurship inside existing companies, agent development, freelance engineering. See the full landscape →

You'll build a portfolio of applied work and connect with organizations that need exactly what you know how to do.

Don't think of yourself as "I don't know anything." You're AI native. You can pick things up. You're flexible. That matters more than any credential right now. We're here to help you turn that fluency into your first opportunity.

For Universities and Young Adult Organizations​

Your students and young members are anxious about AI and their careers. They're right to be. The job market is shifting under their feet, and traditional curricula can't keep up with weekly model releases.

Applied AI Society gives young people a community where they can channel that anxiety into action. Our events draw participants from across departments and backgrounds (not just CS) because applied AI is cross-disciplinary. Business students, design students, liberal arts students all bring perspectives that make implementations better.

Bringing a chapter to your campus or organization means your people get access to practitioners, open resources, and a national network of peers. If you already have a venue that wants this kind of programming, it costs nothing to start. You may want to invest in things like AV and recording, but the barrier to entry is low. We provide the playbooks, the event formats, and the community infrastructure.

Want to bring Applied AI Society to your university or organization? Get in touch →, or reach out to Gary Sheng directly on Telegram (@garysheng) or X DMs (@garysheng).

Get Involved​