2025’s Spacewalk will focus on artificial intelligence, with a panel composed of AI industry experts being moderated by Mark Hinkle, editor of The Artificially Intelligent Enterprise newsletter.
With Raleigh, North Carolina’s All Things Open organization branching out to launch a major ATO branded AI event in March, it’s not surprising that January’s Spacewalk meetup will also focus on AI, as sort of a precursor to the big tent conference that will follow two months later.
In case you don’t know, Spacewalk is a free in-person meetup that ATO puts on each January. Actually, ATO holds monthly meetups in the Raleigh-Durham area (as well as additional meetups in South Carolina and other areas) under the moniker “ATO Meetup”, but the January meetup is held apart and gets to wear the “Spacewalk” name because it sets the tone for ATO for the upcoming year.
For 2025 ATO it’s already a given that the focus will be on artificial intelligence. The biggest news coming out of ATO for the upcoming year is that the organization is swapping out its annual and free Open Source 101 event to launch a two-day and not-free All Things Open AI conference. To set the tone for that, ATO’s first meetup of the year will be a Spacewalk into AI territory.
According to an announcement that went out to subscribers to the All Things Open mailing list on Tuesday, Spacewalk 2025 will center around a discussion called The Future of AI and What You Must Know, which will feature a panel of AI practitioners who will “hopefully clear up a lot of the pervading confusion around the topic,” according to event organizers.
What We Know About the AI Panel Discussion
At this point, the only thing I know for sure about the AI panel discussion is that Mark Hinkle will be moderating the discussion, which he confirmed to me on Tuesday afternoon. Again, that only makes sense. Hinkle not only lives in the Raleigh-Durham area where Spaceman will take place, he’s also connected with the area’s AI community. He’s the editor-in-chief of The Artificially Intelligent Enterprise newsletter, founder and CEO of AI-focused Peripety Labs, and is an organizer with the 1,200 member strong Triangle Artificial Intelligence Meet-up Group. He’s also a partner with All Things Open for ATO AI.
While the abstract that Hinkle wrote for Spacewalk doesn’t indicate who’s actually going to end up on stage with him, it does indicate what he has in mind for the event.
“As we move into 2025, artificial intelligence is not just a disruptor but a core driver of business and professional transformation,” he wrote. “This panel will explore AI’s expanding impact on enterprises and individual careers, focusing on actionable opportunities and strategic positioning for success.”
Hinkle listed three questions that he plans to see discussed during the presentation:
- How will AI redefine roles, industries, and competitive advantages?
- What skills and mindsets are essential for professionals and businesses this coming year?
- Where are the emerging opportunities for innovation and leadership in AI-powered industries?
Although the panel’s participants haven’t been announced (because they’re likely still putting that together), here’s what Hinkle envisions for the group:
“The panel brings together leading AI experts, innovators, and strategists to share insights, challenge assumptions, and provide forward-looking guidance to professionals and leaders preparing for an AI-driven future.”
The important thing to remember is that the panel won’t be addressing these predefined questions in a vacuum, because the audience is part of the discussion too. As ATO puts it: “In addition, they’ll take questions from attendees and provide customized feedback to as many as possible.”
Keep your eyes on Spacewalk’s calendar listing on FOSS Force. As soon as the panel’s participants are announced, we’ll put them up.
Spacewalk: When and Where
Spacewalk will be held on January 14 at 6:30 PM at Marbles Museum/IMAX Theater, 201 E Hargett Street, in downtown Raleigh. If it’s like other ATO Meetups, refreshment will be available, and of course, there will be swag:
“A good number of ‘ATO’ and ‘We Love Open Source’ t-shirts, stickers, and hats will be given away on a first-come first-served basis. We’re also trying to give away some cool technology and books as well.”
The event is free, but you must “RSVP,” which means you need to go here and click the “attend” button at the bottom of the page to register.
Christine Hall has been a journalist since 1971. In 2001, she began writing a weekly consumer computer column and started covering Linux and FOSS in 2002 after making the switch to GNU/Linux. Follow her on Twitter: @BrideOfLinux
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