Data Roundabout: Experiences with Generative AI

The Data Roundabout: Experiences with Generative AI
📍 Hosted by Crosstide
🗓 Thursday 18th September
📍 66-67 Sun Ct, Cornhill, London EC3V 3NB
⏰ Doors from 6pm, Talks kick off at 6.30

Data Roundabout is our meetup for people working with data and AI – a space for practical inspiration, unvarnished lessons, and conversation that cuts through the hype. This edition: Generative AI in real life – where it’s working, where it’s not, and how to avoid the trap of using tomorrow’s tools to do yesterday’s work.

🎤 Talks on the night:
Steven Thompson
Technical Director @ Crosstide
"Vibe Coding: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly"
The way we build for the web has changed beyond recognition. Vibe coding promises speed and creativity, but it also magnifies risk. It can make great engineers fantastic, good engineers better, and poor engineers far worse. The real question is how leaders make sure it amplifies the right things.

Robert Hardman
Chief AI and Digital Transformation Officer @ Inchcape plc
"AI is about reimagining the future, not automating the past"
Paradigm shifts bring promise—and pitfalls. Robert shares real-world examples of what “new” means in business transformation, the traps companies fall into, and how to successfully bring GenAI into the C-suite without pouring money down the drain.

Sasha Bilton
CTO @ Planday
"Hidden Treasures: DIY GenAI to Clear Years of Backlog"
Meet Clarence, a Swedish VP of Sales who wiped out hundreds of low-value backlog stories and cut onboarding costs by 20%—armed with GenAI, a prompt, and a killer 80s soundtrack. Sasha will share how they did it safely, how it changed the relationship between sales and engineering, and how it’s sparked a culture of useful AI automation across Planday.