The scope of this seat will include, but not be limited to:

• The role of the AI SME is to work with project TSCs, the TAC, and the LFNGB to facilitate and accelerate the adoption of AI technologies by LFN projects.

• Advise the TAC on AI related issues.

  • Assist in incubating AI projects within the LFN umbrella

• The AI SME will identify across open source AI technologies and provide action recommendations. That may include:

  • AI Initiatives within the LFN

  • LF AI and Data projects and initiatives

  • Other adjacent open source communities

  • Industry at large

• Serve as a liaison between the TAC and the AI Task Force

  • During the lifetime of the AI Task Force

• Provide subject matter expertise to the TAC.

Election Mechanics

How to nominate yourself

The election process occurs in two phases: the Nomination phase and the Election phase.

Self Nomination Phase

Individuals interested in running for this position must edit this wiki page with their biography and statement of intent on why you would be a good person to hold this position (Information on Candidates)

The nomination phase starting Dec 11, 2024   and will conclude on Jan 21, 2025  18:00 PT (02:00 UTC). 

Election Phase

If multiple nominees come forward, an election will be conducted as follows:

• Voting Method:

  • A Condorcet election using a ranked-choice voting platform administered by the Linux Foundation.

• Voters:

  • All TAC members will receive an invitation to vote via email.

• Timeline:

  • The election phase will begin with the distribution of the voting instructions.

  • Voting will remain open for four (4) full business days from the time the poll is initiated (typically in the PDT time zone).

Information on Candidates

Name: Fatih E. NAR

Company: Red Hat

Short Biography: Fatih, known as "The Cloudified Turk," is a knowledge driven curious mind with significant contributions to the telecom, media, and entertainment (TME) sectors over multiple geos with many enterprises and service providers. Before joining Red Hat, he held noteworthy positions at Google, Verizon Wireless, Canonical Ubuntu, and Ericsson, mastering his abilities & expertise in modular software centric solutions across various business & technology challenges. With a strong & continuously refreshing educational background, holding an MSc in Information Technology & a BSc in Electronics Engineering and completed MIT’s AI Product Management Program and currently in-progress (+2 courses left to complete) with Stanford AI Professional Program for 16 months, Fatih excels in creating synergies with major hyperscaler and cloud providers to develop industry-leading business solutions. Fatih's thought leadership is evident through his widely appreciated published technology articles (Open xG HyperCore series) on Medium , and AI work on GitHub and HuggingFace where he consistently collaborates with subject matter experts and tech-enthusiasts globally. LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fenar/

Statement of Intent: Doing collaborative applied AI/ML work that brings value to businesses and organizations. Some of our example work can be visited & contributed here: GitHub - tme-osx/Telco-AIX: Various Telco AI Usecases & Experiments

Name: Beth Cohen

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bfcohen/

Company: Luth Computer Specialists, Inc. (formerly Verizon)

Short Biography: I have been at the cutting edge of the Internet Revolution from the beginning. I have lived the development of the Internet from "ground zero" working on some of the hottest security, networking and web technology protocols from their infancy. I have been creating large scale IT infrastructure architectures to support 7x24 data centers on a national scale, as well as processes at scale to deliver systems in hyper-growth conditions. It has certainly been an exciting ride!

In the late 1990’s I was Director of Engineering IT for BBN Corporation, the company that invented the Internet (literally). I was responsible for running the advanced networking labs where I worked on IETF standards such as IPSEC VPN and others. I retired from Verizon at the end of 2024 after a 17 year career there creating many new and cutting edge security and networking products. I am now President of Luth Computer Specialists, Inc., a practice specializing in IT infrastructure consulting and Telecom industry trends. I have been teaching IT security and networking classes at University of Phoenix for over 22 years.

My work in the Open Source community dates back to the early days of OpenStack where I was one of the principal authors of the OpenStack Architectural Design Guide. My current involvement with the Open Infra Foundation is a long standing member of the Edge Working Group, where I championed the entire concept of edge computing. This included writing several white papers on the topic, Cloud Edge Computing: Beyond the Data Center and Edge Computing: Next Steps in Architecture, Design and Testing that were influential in shaping Edge Computing architectures and its use in the IT industry. I am currently working with the group on a new white paper on the topic of Edge Computing and how it works with AI, with planned publication mid-2025.

My involvement with LF and LFN goes back to my being one of the founders of CNTT which eventually turned into the Anuket project. I have been co-chair of the Anuket TSC, a position I have had for a number of years. I also was active, then chair of the EUAG, which produced one of the first white papers on Intelligent Networking, AI and Machine Learning, which was then a very new area of exploration back in 2021. Over the past year I have been active with the LFN AI Taskforce, where I drove the publication of the Intelligent Networking, AI and Machine Learning for Telecommunications Operators in April 2024.

Statement of Intent: I would like to continue to contribute to the Open Source community and extend the LFN leadership in defining AI/ML as it relates to the Telecom industry. LFN is well positioned to support the collaboration across companies in the Telecom industry (operators and vendors alike) that is needed to realize the Intelligent Networking promise.