Understanding AI (LLM) - The Down and Dirty Details

AI tools are everywhere right now, but have you ever stopped to wonder how they actually work behind the scenes? In this session, Ronald Garlit is pulling back the curtain on Large Language Models (LLMs) and giving us a straight-up look at what really makes them tick. He’ll walk us through how models behave differently when used online versus running them locally, and dig into the settings that quietly shape their responses.

If you’ve never touched an AI tool or you’ve been building prompts in your sleep, this talk will help make sense of the tech in a way that’s clear, a little quirky, and definitely useful. You’ll leave with a better grasp of what’s really going on under the hood, and maybe even a few new ideas to play with.

👨🏻‍💻 SPEAKER: Ron Garlit
Ronald Garlit is a Enterprise Architect in cybersecurity with a long and winding background in electronics, software, and architecture. He got his start learning about vacuum tube stereos from his dad, moved on to digital electronics and microprocessors in the military, and later worked in biomedical technology at a major hospital.

Since then, he’s worn a lot of hats. Ronald has built systems for everything from healthcare and finance to logistics and business intelligence. He’s worked on both mainframes and modern machine learning projects, and has a knack for connecting deep technical knowledge with real-world applications. When he's not architecting complex systems, he's probably exploring tech history, enjoying good food, or making people laugh with way too much detail.

🗓 AGENDA:
6:30 PM: Arrival /Networking
6:40 PM: Announcements by organizers
6:50 PM: Understanding AI (LLM) - The Down and Dirty Details
8:15 PM: End of meeting
8:30 PM: Exit to after party celebration at Patio de Leon (courtyard behind Downtown House of Pizza)