Foundation Hosts Briefing on Real-World Uses of Open Source AI

The real-world uses of open source artificial intelligence (AI) in health care, public services, national security and small business operations were the focus of a special briefing this week hosted by the California Foundation for Commerce and Education (CFCE) for state legislators and their staffs.

The CFCE brought experts in the field directly to the legislative policy makers for an information-packed, 90-minute discussion.

Legislative staffers and AI experts at a California Foundation for Commerce and Education-hosted briefing and discussion on open source AI on May 20, 2025.
Assemblymembers Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks) and Patrick Ahrens (D-Sunnyvale), co-chairs of the California Technology and Innovation Caucus, join legislative staffers and AI experts at a California Foundation for Commerce and Education-hosted briefing and discussion on open source AI on May 20.

“It was a great educational opportunity to bring together renowned experts in artificial intelligence to discuss how AI is impacting and changing the fields of health care, national security, and small business,” said CFCE President Luis Quiñonez.

Legislators attending included Assemblymembers Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks) and Patrick Ahrens (D-Sunnyvale), co-chairs of the California Technology and Innovation Caucus, and Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen (D-Elk Grove).

Irwin commented, “The tools of artificial intelligence — once siloed within a few major labs or gated behind proprietary walls — are increasingly open, collaborative and accessible.”
Open source AI, Irwin said, is “enabling a broader range of developers, researchers and companies — large and small — to experiment, to build and to compete.”

Briefing Topics

The subjects covered at the May 20 briefing included:

  • Driving Innovation and Competitiveness through Open Source AI.
  • AI in Health Care.
    Cameron Carlin, manager of data science for City of Hope, explained how his organization is using open source AI to help with real-time clinical decision support systems that improve patient care.
  • National Security Applications.
    Cindy Gonzales, deputy director of the Data Science Institute at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, offered insights from her experience overseeing AI model capability assessments, including the Large Language Model Laboratory (LLML) project. She leads efforts to evaluate and adapt AI tools for government missions.
  • Empowering Small Businesses.
    Dhruv Diddi, founder of Solo Tech, described his journey from Silicon Valley engineer to starting his own company — just one example of how AI is helping local enterprises scale and succeed. Diddi is advancing Physical AI Inference — offline, multilingual tools that empower underserved rural communities. His work is backed by Meta’s Llama Impact Grant and includes projects in agriculture, education, and health.

More to Come

Briefing participants were energized by the exchange of ideas and future possibilities.
“CFCE looks forward to hosting more briefings on a variety of topics to increase knowledge and dialogue on the various issues facing the fourth largest economy in the world — the state of California,” Quiñonez said.

Contact: Luis Quiñonez

Luis Quiñonez
Luis Quiñonez was named president of the California Foundation for Commerce and Education, effective February 18, 2025. His knowledge of how regulations and laws at the local, state and federal levels affect individuals and businesses comes from more than 20 years of experience in public policy, public affairs, government relations and research in both the public and private sectors. Quiñonez has expertise in policy areas ranging from economic development, budget and taxes, housing, transportation, insurance, climate change and renewable energy, to education, health care, international relations, immigration, and veterans affairs. Most recently, Quiñonez served as chief of staff to California State Senator Anna M. Caballero since 2022. He holds a B.A. in political science and M.P.A. in public administration from the University of San Francisco. See full bio