23 AUG: Claude the Lisper (Yes, we can!), by Anurag Mendhekar, and other talks

Hello, hacker ladies and gentlemen!

On Saturday, August 23rd, we'll have a talk by Anurag Mendhekar, co-author of The Little Learner. His title is Claude the Lisper (Yes, we can!). Here's the abstract:

Large language models like Claude and ChatGPT are mostly trained on code in Python, JavaScript, and other popular languages, but it turns out they’re surprisingly good at Lisp, too. In this talk, I’ll share my experience using Claude Code as a coding assistant to help build a modern AI framework in Common Lisp. The idea is to tap into state-of-the-art backends like OpenXLA and PJRT — the same ones used by frameworks like JAX and TensorFlow — while staying firmly in the Lisp world.

The project is still evolving, but I’ll talk about what’s worked, where things get tricky, and how best to steer an LLM when working in Lisp and using CFFI. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to collaborate with an AI on real Lisp code—or how Lisp fits into today’s AI ecosystem—this talk is for you.

I'm trying to arrange for a second talk as well. I'm hoping to have live Lisp Machines, but the details still have to be worked out.

Finally, we will have several lightning talks. If you'd like to give one, just let us know at the meeting, or earlier if you can.

We will meet at Hacker Dojo in Mountain View (855 Maude Ave.).

Please join us in person. I'm not sure whether I'll live-stream this time. After the talks, we'll mingle and have snacks. Good things come from meeting in person.

#balisp #hackerdojo