[Note To Self]

I was set to head back to Las Vegas before a meeting changed my trajectory for the week. I changed my flight… again, and prepared for Honolulu Tech Week 2025.

I got into tech years after I had moved away from Hawaiʻi. I had no immediate plans to move back, so it hadn’t occurred to me to make connections out there or stay up to date on the Hawaiʻi tech scene.

The current state of the job market made me change my mind. The fish aren’t biting at the moment, so perhaps I should cast a wider net.

Registering just days before the event was set to start was tricky, but I made it work.

I managed to get into three events:

• Lead from the Front: Hawaii’s Fastest Growing Tech Companies
• What it takes to build an AI model
• The State of AI in Hawaiʻi – Hawaiʻi Tech Days Kick-off Event

Here are a few of my thoughts about the event:

1. AI dominated the conversation
   • AI was starting to pick up just as I got laid off. So I purposely picked talks that were on the more informative side of things. I felt like I got a good mix of educational information and practical application. I appreciated that a lot of the AI-related talks stressed governance and guidance regarding AI use.
2. WOW – Hawaii’s tech scene
   • As I mentioned before, I was not familiar with the tech scene in Hawaiʻi. In particular, I liked the diversity of industries represented on the panel at the State of AI in Hawaiʻi event. I was initially surprised to see defense startups, but it made sense, considering the military presence in the islands.
3. Bringing kamaʻaina home
   • I must admit… the idea of moving back home is intriguing. It’s been a year, and I have been feeling very beat down by the job hunt. Finding a job out here and being back with my friends and family sounds wonderful… but it feels like a pipe dream. However, I am eager to see if more local companies can come up with better programs to bring Hawaiʻi ex-pats like me back home.

Even though I came into Honolulu Tech Week a little late and missed some events, the ones I did make it to were energizing and exciting – I walked away with plenty to think about.