Hot & spaCy: Let's Unpack NLP Over Brunch

## Tech + Brunch = TechBrunch: NLP Edition!
This TechBrunch, we're diving deep into NLP! Let's get together to discuss how computers process and generate human language. We'll chat about the techniques, the tools, and the challenges in the field. Whether you're building NLP applications or just curious about how it all works, bring your experiences and questions!
## 👥 Who Should Attend?
- Computational Linguists
- Computer Scientists
- Mathematicians
- Data Scientists
- Software Developers
- Anyone technically curious about NLP
## 📋 What to Expect
- A relaxed brunch at a hotel restaurant.
- A casual, collaborative atmosphere for learning from everyone's experience.
- Deep dives into LLMs, discussing models like ChatGPT, Claude, DeepSeek, Gemini, or Grok.
- Exploring effective prompt engineering, covering parameter tuning, and context window management.
- Delving into model internals, covering topics like embeddings, activation functions, optimization algorithms, loss functions, and regularization.
- Exploration of ML frameworks commonly used in NLP, such as PyTorch.
- Deep dives into linear algebra, calculus, and probability
- Deeper dives into research papers.
- Discussions on language interoperability for NLP, touching on options like Hy or Clojure
- Insights into TTS services, including ElevenLabs.
- Examination of STT models and services, such as Whisper and Deepgram.
- Insights into code generation tools like Cursor.
- Exploring CSMs from Sesame
- Informal talks covering NLP libraries, including the Hugging Face Transformers library and spaCy.
- Discussions dedicated to machine translation approaches.
- Sharing lessons learned from real-world NLP projects.
- Networking opportunities with fellow NLP practitioners and enthusiasts.
## 🎁 Special Offer for First-Timers
First-time attendees who RSVP on meetup.com and are confirmed on the attendee list get their meals for free! It's our way of welcoming you to the TechBrunch community.
## 📍 Location
We will meet at the hotel restaurant Beltempo, known for its great food and comfortable atmosphere.
## ⏰ Timing
We start promptly at the scheduled time, whether you're there or not. Feel free to arrive when you can, but we'll begin our meal and discussions right on time.
## 📆 Scheduling
Please let us know if you're interested in attending but the current schedule doesn't work for you. While we can't promise to meet all requests, we will consider them for future meetups.
## ❗ Important Notes
- If you don't RSVP on meetup.com, you might not have a seat at the event.
- This is a small group event, so please do not expect a large gathering.
- Drinks-only attendees are welcome to join.