AI Safety Awareness Group Chicago

A free, public workshop—no technical background needed
​Most of us already know that companies, governments, and apps collect a lot of data about us. That part isn’t new.
​What is new is what AI makes possible with that data.
​For years, the privacy conversation has mostly been about tracking, ads, data brokers, social media, and surveillance. Those concerns still matter. But advanced AI changes the picture: once powerful models can analyze huge amounts of text, images, location data, purchases, messages, and online behavior at scale, the value of personal data goes way up—and so do the risks.
​This workshop will look at how the data and privacy landscape worked before AI, and what may change now that sophisticated AI systems can search, summarize, infer, predict, and act on massive amounts of personal information.
​Together, we’ll explore questions like:

• ​Surveillance: How could AI make it easier to monitor people, identify patterns, and draw conclusions from huge amounts of data?
• ​Incentives: Why might companies and governments have stronger reasons than ever to collect, store, and analyze personal information?
• ​Advertising & persuasion: How could AI make targeted advertising, political messaging, and behavioral manipulation more personalized and more effective?
• ​Scams & attacks: What happens when bad actors can use AI to personalize fraud, phishing, impersonation, and social engineering at scale?

​What you’ll get:

• ​A clear, beginner-friendly overview of how data privacy worked before modern AI
• ​A practical explanation of why AI changes the value and danger of personal data
• ​Real examples of how AI is already being used in surveillance, advertising, and persuasion
• ​A live demo showing how today’s tools can be used to launch sophisticated scams and attacks at scale
• ​A framework for thinking more clearly about privacy, power, and trust in a world where data is easier than ever to analyze

​This is not a workshop about deleting every app or becoming paranoid about technology. It’s about understanding the new reality we’re entering.
​AI doesn’t just make data more useful. It makes data more actionable. And that means the privacy choices we make—as individuals, companies, and societies—are going to matter a lot more than they used to.

A free, public workshop—no technical background needed
​​​​​​​​In just a few years, AI has advanced at a pace that stunned even leading experts. These systems aren’t science fiction anymore—they’re reshaping work, relationships, and even crime in real time.
​​​​​​​​This workshop explores where AI may be in the next 1–5 years and what that means for your daily life. Together, we’ll tackle urgent questions like:

• ​​​​​​​​Jobs: Could AI lead to mass unemployment—or entirely new kinds of work?
• ​​​​​​​​Crime: How might AI supercharge scams, hacking, and even physical crime?
• ​​​​​​​​Companions: Will people form deep emotional bonds—or even romantic relationships—with AI assistants?
• ​​​​​​​​Society: How do top researchers think these trends will shape our future?

​​​​​​​​What you’ll get:

• ​​​​​​​​A fast-paced, beginner-friendly overview of today’s most powerful AI systems
• ​​​​​​​​Live demos that reveal both the breakthroughs and the risks
• ​​​​​​​​An interactive forecasting exercise where you’ll test your own predictions about AI’s impact

​​​​​​​​Come ready to explore a future arriving faster than most people realize—one that could transform not just how we work, but how we trust, connect, and even love.

​A free, public workshop—no technical background needed
​AI is moving fast. The companies building it are moving fast. Governments are trying to respond, but most people still don’t have a clear picture of what is actually happening or what good policy would even look like.
​This workshop is meant to give people that bigger picture.
​We’ll start with a quick, plain-English overview of what AI is as a technology, how today’s systems work at a high level, and why the last few years have felt so different from the AI progress that came before. From there, we’ll look at the new industry forming around frontier AI: the major labs, the incentives they face, the race to build more capable models, and why that race has raised serious questions about safety and governance.
​Then we’ll move into AI safety: what people mean by it, why it matters, and why this is not just a technical issue for researchers in labs. AI already creates real problems today, from scams and misinformation to bias, privacy concerns, cyber risks, and labor disruption. More advanced models could raise the stakes further, especially if they become better at persuasion, hacking, autonomous planning, scientific research, or acting on behalf of users in the real world.
​Together, we’ll explore questions like:

• ​What is AI, really? What makes today’s systems different from older software, and why are people treating this moment as a major technological shift?
• ​What is AI safety? What are researchers, policymakers, and companies worried about, and which concerns are immediate versus more forward-looking?
• ​Current risks: How is AI already affecting scams, misinformation, privacy, labor, education, and trust?
• ​Near-future risks: What could change if models become significantly more capable over the next year or two?
• ​AI legislation: What kinds of laws and regulations have been passed so far, what are they trying to do, and how has the debate around them gone?
• ​Governance options: What policy tools are being discussed to handle more serious risks from advanced AI systems?

​What you’ll get:

• ​A beginner-friendly overview of AI as a technology and industry
• ​A clear explanation of what AI safety means and why people disagree about it
• ​A grounded look at the risks AI poses today and the risks more advanced systems may pose soon
• ​A concrete overview of existing AI policy efforts and the debate around them
• ​A map of the main governance ideas being discussed, from transparency and evaluations to liability, licensing, compute governance, and international coordination

​This workshop is not about taking a simplistic “AI good” or “AI bad” position. The real world is messier than that.
​AI could bring enormous benefits, and it could also create serious problems if we build and deploy it carelessly. The goal of this workshop is to help you understand the policy conversation well enough to follow what is happening, evaluate proposals for yourself, and think clearly about what responsible governance might look like before the technology gets even more powerful.

​A free, public workshop — no technical background needed.
​In just a few years, AI has advanced at a pace that stunned even leading experts. These systems aren't science fiction anymore — they're reshaping work, relationships, and even crime in real time. This workshop explores where AI may be in the next 1–5 years and what that means for your daily life.
​Together, we'll tackle urgent questions like:

• ​Jobs: Could AI lead to mass unemployment — or entirely new kinds of work?
• ​Crime: How might AI supercharge scams, hacking, and even physical crime?
• ​Companions: Will people form deep emotional bonds — or even romantic relationships — with AI assistants?
• ​Society: How do top researchers think these trends will shape our future?

​What you'll get:

• ​A fast-paced, beginner-friendly overview of today's most powerful AI systems
• ​Live demos that reveal both the breakthroughs and the risks
• ​An interactive forecasting exercise where you'll test your own predictions about AI's impact

​Come ready to explore a future arriving faster than most people realize — one that could transform not just how we work, but how we trust, connect, and even love.