By Austin Senseman

AI is going to be disruptive.

Be prepared for the disorder and churn.

No one really knows what’s going to happen.

But out of chaos comes opportunity.

That’s why this is such an important moment for Birmingham.

We’re entering a period where the deck gets reshuffled.

And for Birmingham? That might be exactly what we need.

Birmingham’s Big Opportunity

Birmingham has a choice: we can wait for the model, or we can become the model.

That’s why Will Blackburn and I created a ground-breaking non-profit–Birmingham AI.

Birmingham has been making steady, incremental progress, and it feels good.

But incremental progress in an AI-driven exponential world will feel like falling behind.

While we take careful, measured steps, the ground beneath will start moving faster than we’re walking.

But maybe for a city that’s been stuck in the middle of the pack, this uncertainty is the opening we’ve been waiting for, if we’re ready to lead.

Here’s the story that I want you to hear.

A New World By 2036

2025 was the year AI went mainstream—for the first time, more than half of Americans used AI tools at work.

ChatGPT broke into the top five websites.

And the perception shifted from “AI is a toy” to CEOs saying they’ll hire fewer junior roles because AI can do the work.

From my point of view 2025 was the warm-up year for AI. A decade of uncomfortable, accelerating change starts this year. Are you ready?

I will help to put this moment in historical perspective.

Sixty percent of 2020’s roles didn’t exist in 1960. Many old roles went away, many new roles emerged. AI will accelerate that trend over the next 10 years.

Most of today’s roles might not exist in 2036.

In 1957, 500 companies joined the S&P500. Fast forward ninety percent of the original S&P 500 companies have disappeared. AI will accelerate that trend over the next 10 years.

Most of today’s S&P 500 companies might not exist in 2036.

We’re entering a decade where stable roles will get reimagined and stable companies will either adapt or die.

The hard truth is that nobody knows exactly what’s coming. The uncertainty is real, and it’s high.

Join Us On Our AI Journey

At Birmingham AI we’re on a mission to help Birmingham make sense of this overwhelming wave. I want to invite you to join us on this journey.

Birmingham isn’t going to build the next ChatGPT. That’s not the point.

For cities like Birmingham, the race for the next decade is focused on adoption – which cities move fastest to put these tools to work across their economies.

San Francisco will build the tools. The open question is whether Birmingham will be among the first to use them well.

We believe this is a race where we have a right to compete, and to win.

The competition starts with individuals using AI tools. You don’t need a computer science degree. You need to create a ChatGPT account and ask, “How can I use AI to be more successful? How do I get started?”

The shift from overwhelmed to engaged happens fast. I’ve watched 1000’s of people from a wide range of backgrounds walk in curious, and within a few sessions they’re teaching others what they’ve learned.

We built Birmingham AI to support your personal journey.

No Need To Be An AI expert

The competition continues with our business, government, and civic leaders recognizing the pace and intensity of what’s coming. You don’t need to be an AI expert.

You need to invest a few hours every week reading and discussing emerging AI topics. Find voices that you trust, engage with the significant topics in your field, and make up your own mind.

We built Birmingham AI to support your leadership journey.

The competition concludes with the broader Birmingham community reimagining together what our city looks like in 10 years, after the dust settles.

Great things are going to happen over the next decade, and tough things are going to happen too. Birmingham AI offers a space where our community can convene and figure this out together.

In June 2023, we started Birmingham AI with a simple idea: create a space where anyone curious about AI could show up for honest conversation. No agenda. No sales pitch. No expertise required.

We’re Growing Exponentially

Fifty people came to that first meeting. Then 100. Then 200. Now 800 show up every month. Over 2,000 people walked through our door in 2025 – zero marketing budget, just word of mouth.

What started out as a casual lunch meetup at Innovation Depot is transforming into a city-wide movement to support Birmingham’s transition into the AI era. We expect 10,000 people at our events in 2026.

The growth tells you everything. Birmingham is hungry for this knowledge. We’re not waiting for someone else to lead.

In June 2025, we formalized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a mission: “to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence in Birmingham, for all.” Forward-thinking business leaders immediately stepped up.

We’ve raised money from Birmingham leaders including Tony and Britney Summerville, Ruffner Page, Mike Goodrich, Shegun Otulana, Jared Weinstein, Daniel Coleman, and others who believe this is Birmingham’s moment.

This is Birmingham, Alabama. Not a coastal tech hub. A diverse city full of people who figure things out. That’s what we do here.

This isn’t just for techies. It’s for all of us.

The only question is whether AI happens *to* Birmingham or *for* Birmingham.

It’s already 2026, are you ready?

Join us at Birmingham AI free events.

Austin Senseman, CFA is co-founder of Birmingham AI, a 501(c)(3) focused on accelerating the adoption of AI in Birmingham, for all. Austin also runs Caravan, a private training company helping business leaders upskill their teams on AI.

David Sher is the founder and publisher of ComebackTown.  He’s past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).

If you care about Birmingham’s future, subscribe to ComebackTown newsletter

Invite David to speak for free to your group about how we can have a more prosperous metro Birmingham. dsher@comebacktown.com