BioInformatics

We are delighted to announce the **27th London Information Retrieval & AI Meetup**, a **free evening event** aimed at enthusiasts and professionals curious to explore and discuss the latest trends in the field. This time, the Meetup is **Hybrid**, with a live event in **London** streamed online on Zoom! **ATTENTION: Remember to [fill out the form](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfp5PsXj__nGojOBstvCsImc1MUDYr1ny4_IvtR3YZXWXFenQ/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=106887390294946923291) to confirm the registration and receive the link to the virtual event.** **\>\>\>\> IN\-PRESENCE MEETUP** Location: **Gladwin Tower, nine elms point sw8 2fs, London** [[Google Maps](https://g.co/kgs/ri7cUv4)] open doors: 6:15 PM (GMT+1) **\>\>\>\> ONLINE MEETUP** Location: Zoom open doors 6:30 PM (GMT+1) You will receive the virtual event link after **[completing the form](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfp5PsXj__nGojOBstvCsImc1MUDYr1ny4_IvtR3YZXWXFenQ/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=106887390294946923291)[.](https://forms.gle/UQfBgcCLm2fG7Zza9)** \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- The event will be structured around 2 technical talks, each followed by a Q&A session. The event will end with a networking session. **>** Open doors from 6:15 PM *(in-person)* \> 6:30 PM open doors for **virtual attendees** * Welcome & Latest News - **Alessandro Benedetti,** *Director @ Sease* \> 06:45 PM First talk "**Binary Quantization 101**" - Carly Richmond, *Principal Developer Advocate @ Elastic* \> 7:30 PM Second Talk "**From RAG to Agents: Building AI Applications on OpenSearch**" - Itamar Syn-Hershko, *CTO & Founder @ BigData Boutique* \> 8:15\~8:45 PM Networking session \+ buffet For more info, including speaker bios, abstracts and timing, please check our website [https://sease.io/](https://sease.io/)

On 23 June we will be gathering at the Star of Kings for some Postgres and a pint. This time we'll have a talk by **Andreas Karlsson** from Percona on **Stopping Collations Going Wrong**, followed by a brief recap from **Alastair Turner** (Percona) and **Valeria Kaplan** (Data Egret) on **this year's PGConf.DEV**, where the PostgreSQL community celebrated its 30th birthday. This event is generously sponsored by [Nexteam](https://nexteam.co.uk/), a London-based consultancy specialising in PostgreSQL-based solutions, database support, and bespoke software development. We are a very informal bunch, so hoping to see you and your colleagues there! We do need to know the numbers, so please register if you are planning on coming. WHERE The Star of Kings **on 23, June from 18:30.** PROGRAMME 18:30 Welcome 19:00 **Stopping Collations Going Wrong** (Andreas Karlsson, Percona) - More below! 19:45 Food and bar snacks 20:00 **Celebrating 30 Years of Postgres at PGConf.DEV** (Alastair Turner, Percona & Valeria Kaplan, Data Egret) 20:30 It's a pub, so we'll stay and hang out a bit longer — but feel free to leave whenever you prefer! About The Talk **Stopping Collations Going Wrong** Outside of causing trouble for you when upgrading libc what are collations good for? PostgreSQL's collations have gotten a lot of bad press from the upgrade issues but they are also a powerful and important tool, especially for working with text in other languages than English. This talk will give an introduction to collations in PostgreSQL, including how to use them, what they are useful for, how they work plus some common pitfalls and misunderstandings. You will learn, among other things, about the three collation providers (libc, icu, builtin), BCP 47, case insensitive collations, CTYPEs, what new features have been introduced in recent PostgreSQL versions and get a brief look into the future of collations in PostgreSQL. About The Speaker **Andreas Karlsson** is application developer and long time minor contributor to PostgreSQL who recently has started working with PostgreSQL full time. Right now working for Percona with PostgreSQL itself and extensions, including pg_tde. \*\*\* THE OFFICIAL BITS The meet-up abides by [PostgreSQL Code of Conduct](https://www.postgresql.org/about/policies/coc/). Postgres, PostgreSQL and the Slonik Logo are trademarks or [registered trademarks of the PostgreSQL Community Association of Canada](https://www.postgresql.org/about/policies/trademarks/), and used with their permission.

**Don’t Trust Verify** [TICKETS](https://btcpay.btc.aw/apps/rvvVwGSSSiJ7UgtzjmBdxy1Uq6a/pos) Join the Cyphermunk House community for an introductory session explaining why and how you should and can run your own node. Presented by Samantha Drill. Promotional activities related to altcoins not permitted. No unsolicited photography. Peace and love.

# Beyond the Classroom: Education in an Intelligent Age Join us for the next session of Deeptech Futures, a monthly series from UCL Engineering, supported by AlbionVC and Cooley LLP, and hosted at IDEALondon. ​This time, we’re exploring **Beyond the Classroom: Education in an Intelligent Age**. As emerging technologies such as AI and VR move further into classrooms, universities, training environments, and online learning platforms, the question is no longer just what these tools can do, but how they should be designed, adopted, and evaluated. ​From AI-supported teaching to immersive learning environments, education is becoming a major testbed for how new technologies shape human development. What does it take for these tools to improve learning outcomes, widen access, and support teachers, rather than simply adding another layer of complexity? ​**What you'll get out of it** * ​Hear from researchers and founders working at the intersection of education, emerging technology, and real-world implementation * ​Understand how AI and VR are being applied across learning environments, from universities to digital platforms * ​Explore what makes new education technologies genuinely useful, usable, and evidence-based * ​Gain insight into the design, access, and adoption challenges shaping the next era of education ​**Speakers** * ​**John Mitchell** – Head of Department and Professor of Communication Systems Engineering, Co-Director, Centre for Engineering Education, UCL Engineering * ​**Benoit Wirz** – Founding Partner, Brighteye VC * ​**Stephen Hilton** – Professor of Chemistry and Enabling Technologies, UCL School of Pharmacy * ​**Rajeshwari Iyer** – Founder, sAInaptic * ​Moderator: Dr Rob Thompson, Vice-Dean (Enterprise), UCL Engineering ​**About the series** ​Deeptech Futures: Conversations at the edge of what's possible, supported by AlbionVC and Cooley LLP, opens the door between research excellence at UCL Engineering and London’s innovation ecosystem at IDEALondon. Each month we explore new themes, from robotics and XR to climate tech and health, designed to spark debate, share insights, and connect people who might just build the next big thing together. ​**About UCL Engineering** ​With ten departments spanning activity from cybersecurity to biofuels, synthetic tissues to international trade, UCL Engineering is one of the most diverse Engineering faculties in Europe. As part of UCL, London’s Global University, it crosses boundaries to work with other disciplines, universities, and cultures. ​**About IDEALondon** ​IDEALondon is UCL Engineering’s home for ambitious founders in the heart of Shoreditch, run by WilbeLAB. We bring together startups in AI, biotech, fintech, climate, and more, giving founders workspace, community, and direct access to London’s deep-tech and investor network. ​**Privacy Notice** ​We occasionally take photos/videos at the event for marketing and socials. As part of attending, your contact details may be shared with our event partners (UCL Engineering, AlbionVC, and Cooley LLP). ​If you’d prefer not to have your details shared or photos/videos taken, email **[idealondon@wilbelab.com](mailto:idealondon@wilbelab.com)**.

**📅 Book your time here:** [www.betheband.org/book-online](http://www.betheband.org/book-online) 📍 **Exact location sent after booking** 🎸 **BetheBand Meet & Greet – Come Play & Say Hi** 🎤 Curious what it’s like to be in a band again? BetheBand is a London-based music programme for amateur to intermediate musicians who want to rehearse regularly, improve as players, and perform live — **without the hassle of organising bands, rehearsal rooms, or gigs yourself**. 🤝 **What’s the meet & greet?** This is a relaxed introduction — **not an audition**. You’ll play **one song** with a backing track alongside one of our band directors 🎶 You can **play whatever you like**, or choose from a **short song list** if you want some inspiration 📃 It’s friendly and low-pressure — just a chance for us to get to know your level, taste, and goals, and for you to see if BetheBand feels right for you. 🚀 **What happens if you join?** 🎯 Matched with musicians at your level 🏙️ Weekly rehearsals in a central London studio 🎼 Guided by a professional musician as your band director 🎤 Perform a full live set for friends & family at the end of an 8-week term 🎶 **Who it’s for** 🎸 Guitarists • 🎸 Bassists • 🎤 Vocalists • 🥁 Drummers • 🎹 Keyboard players ℹ️ **Practical details** 📍 Central London (address sent after sign-up) 💷 £15 meet & greet slot (non-refundable) ⏳ Limited slots — book a time that works for you If you’ve been playing on your own and miss making music *with* people, this is an easy, no-pressure way to take the first step 🎶✨

**Welcome to NextGen Science – Medicine & Innovation Edition!** Are you shaping the future of medicine, biotech, pharma, or life sciences? This is your chance to connect with like-minded innovators, executives, researchers, and entrepreneurs. From research scientists and medical affairs experts to founders, VCs, and rising leaders, if you’re transforming the industry (or want to), this is where meaningful connections begin. 📍 Venue: **The Sycamore, Holborn** A modern, elaxed venue in central London, just **steps from Holborn station. Pe**rfect for after-work networking, drinks, and great conversations. 📅 **Event Schedule** **18:30 – 19:00** \| Welcome & Warm intro **19:00 – 19:30** \| Open Networking **19:30 – 21:30** \| Informal Networking \(no pitches\, no pressure\) 💡 **Why Attend?** Connect with biotech, pharma, and life sciences professionals, discover opportunities, and exchange ideas in a relaxed networking setting. 👥 **Who Should Attend** Founders, researchers, investors, healthcare innovators, and professionals looking to grow their network and explore opportunities. 🎟 **Tickets & Entry**: To avoid the venue getting overcrowded and ensure everyone enjoys an amazing night, we've introduced a small ticket price to keep things running smoothly. **Limited spots!** Register today and hit **Follow** for updates on future weekly events. 📸 **Event Photography** Please note that photos and videos may be taken for promotional purposes. 🔗 \*\*Join our WhatsApp group to connect before and after the event:\*\*👉 [https://chat.whatsapp.com/GisOCaIiMeKEehV5Lv7qxg](https://chat.whatsapp.com/GisOCaIiMeKEehV5Lv7qxg)

Welcome to **Networx London** Are you a **biotech founder, healthcare innovator, pharma executive, or life sciences professional** looking to build valuable, career-elevating connections? Join a relaxed and engaging evening tailored for professionals across the **biopharma, medtech, clinical research, and health innovation sectors**. Whether you're a **research scientist, medical affairs expert, regulatory consultant, VC, entrepreneur, or aspiring industry leader**, this event is your space to connect with like-minded peers and spark new opportunities. 📍 Venue: **The Sycamore, Holborn** A modern, elaxed venue in central London, just **steps from Holborn station. Pe**rfect for after-work networking, drinks, and great conversations. 📅 **Event Schedule** **18:30 – 19:00** \| Welcome & Warm intro **19:00 – 19:30** \| Open Networking **19:30 – 21:30** \| Informal Networking \(no pitches\, no pressure\) 💡 **Why Attend?** Connect with biotech and life sciences professionals, discover opportunities, and exchange ideas in a relaxed networking setting. 👥 **Who Should Attend** Biotech, pharma, and life sciences professionals, founders, investors, researchers, and job seekers looking to grow their network and explore opportunities. 🎟 **Tickets & Entry**: To avoid the venue getting overcrowded and ensure everyone enjoys an amazing night, we've introduced a small ticket price to keep things running smoothly **Limited spots!** Register today and hit **Follow** for updates on future weekly events. 📸 **Event Photography** Please note that photos and videos may be taken for promotional purposes. 🔗 \*\*Join our WhatsApp group to connect before and after the event:\*\*👉 [https://chat.whatsapp.com/GisOCaIiMeKEehV5Lv7qxg](https://chat.whatsapp.com/GisOCaIiMeKEehV5Lv7qxg)

Welcome everyone, we are here with an exciting event at London Climate Action Week (LCAW). The event consist of two parts. The first part features a role-play called **JoyFuel**, centered on exploring and understanding the root causes of the climate crises. This is followed by a facilitated **discussion and an interactive workshop**, providing space for deeper reflection, dialogue, and collective learning around the same theme. Objective: Participants will engage with climate science in a tangible and accessible way, combining play, activity, and reflection. The performance also encourages participants to reflect on how our individual actions, lifestyles, and consumption patterns contribute to ecological imbalance. Part 1. **JoyFuel** is a play that explores Climate Crisis through reflective and deeper questions to understand its roots. The play stages a story of a graduate student (Arjun), who is ambitious and wants to get all the so-called happiness in his life. He looks up to influential figures, including pop stars and business magnates, as his role models. The story peeps through his own life and the lives of his role models who influence a mass of people to lead a life where happiness is synonymous with more consumption. The collective actions, of the characters, driven by bottomless greed negatively impact the environment. This is depicted through the tragic story of a family of Albatrosses, a seabird. One by one, a family of Albatrosses falls silent, become victims of a meal that was never food but the plastic left behind. Similarly, the adverse conditions of Penguins due to change in the climate, particularly the molt stress is also presented. Through these narratives, the play emphasizes human responsibility in creating and perpetuating this crisis, while encouraging inquiry, awareness and collective action towards protecting ecosystems. The play aims to shift the prevalent notion of happiness through consumption and burning Fossil fuel to fueling the joy within - hence JoyFuel. **Part 2.** **Voice of Earth,** the group discussion and the workshop is an interactive session where the facts about the climate crises will be discussed in detail. In particular, we will scientifically describe the basic terminology associated with climate change like ocean acidification, shifting weather patterns, climate feedback cycles, greenhouse effect etc. For example, through engaging and lively demonstrations, participants will learn about the concept of planetary boundaries, which are the environmental limits within which Earth remains habitable. Crossing these boundaries can lead to serious and potentially irreversible consequences for the Earth To make the experience more engaging, participants will interact with each planetary boundary presented in a human-like form. This approach will help participants better understand the condition of our planet and the importance of these limits. [Register here](https://forms.gle/jBovWuFDYnHQZ2B5A)

**Hello There! And welcome to our June Gophers @ Meta event!** It's immensely exciting that we'll be visiting Meta for our June event, but with great big office comes great responsibility, so it is **CRITICAL THAT YOU HEED THESE ENTRY REQUIREMENTS!** * You MUST bring Government Issued Photo ID with you, matching the name with which you sign up to this event * You MUST complete the NDA that will be emailed to you in advance of the event, before arrival * You MUST be over 18 years old * You MUST NOT record when inside the venue * You MUST wear the lanyard provided to you on the night at all times And needless to say, if you satisfy all of those criteria and manage to make it through security without being tackled, you MUST have a lovely time otherwise you know I'll be giving you a hard stare. A massive thank you to Meta for hosting! See you all there! ==== 📓 **Agenda**📓 ===== (Certain timings and orders may be subject to change) **5:30pm onwards:** Sign-In, Food & Refreshments **6:55pm:** Introduction **7:00pm:** 🗣️ **Jon Bodner: Testing Go: From the Basics to synctest** Testing is fundamental to software engineering and as a language focused on software engineering, Go includes a wide variety of tools to ensure your code is working as expected. I’ll walk through the basics of testing in Go, and then cover some of the more advanced tools: benchmarking, fuzzing, and the new synctest package. **7:40pm:** Raffle and Break **8:10pm: 🗣️** **Simon Emms: Failure Happens. Your Code Shouldn't Care** As Gophers, we expect our code to be retried, restarted and run more than once. The challenge is making that safe and maintainable without layers of defensive plumbing. Temporal lets us write reliable workflows in Go that automatically recover from crashes and restarts, while still looking and feeling like normal Go code. In this talk, I’ll explain how it works and prove it with a live demo that treats failure as just another code path. **8:40pm:** Raffle Winners! **9:00pm:** Pub! ==== 🎉 **Prizes & Discounts!** 🎉 ===== **JetBrains Raffle!** \- We have 3 free JetBrains Product licenses to give away to some of our lucky attendees\! **Ardan Labs Raffle!** \- We're giving away one course license for Ardan Labs' Ultimate Go Bundle\! **Manning Publications Raffle!** \- We're giving away 4 free Go e\-books\! **45% Manning Publications Discount** \- a massive discount provided by the fine people at Manning\! You can also support London Gophers Events by purchasing via our affiliate link [HERE](https://mng.bz/oKqM) \- Use Code "**LGMeetup45**" for 45% off! **GopherConUK Raffle!** \- We're giving away one free ticket\!\!\! **10% GopherConUK Discount** \- The lovely people over at GopherConUK have provided a discount code for [GopherConUK 2026](https://www.gophercon.co.uk/tickets)! At checkout, use code "**GCUK26LGM"** for 10% off! ==== 💡 **Priority Queue** 💡 ===== We reserve 20% of the attendee spots at our events for those who are underrepresented in tech. If they join the waitlist and there is a reserved spot open they will be bumped into going! These spots are reserved until the last Sunday before the event. How do we define underrepresented? We use public surveys done by the tech community such as the ones linked below. https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2022/#section-demographics https://www.jetbrains.com/lp/devecosystem-2022/#gender-and-development ==== [📢](https://emojipedia.org/loudspeaker/) **Become a Speaker!** [📢](https://emojipedia.org/loudspeaker/) ===== Have something to say? We want to listen! We are always looking for new speakers who want to share their adventures with Go and have mentors who can help. You can sign up to be a speaker here: https://gophers.london/apply ==== 🧳**Looking For a New Adventure?** 🧳 ===== On the Gophers Slack (https://gophers.slack.com) there is a **#london-jobs** channel where company and recruiters can post job opportunities. ==== [📞](https://emojipedia.org/telephone-receiver/) **How To Reach Us** [📞](https://emojipedia.org/telephone-receiver/) ===== **Email:** contact@gophers.london **Linkedin:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/london-gophers/ **Twitter / X:** https://x.com/LondonGophers **YouTube:** https://www.youtube.com/c/LondonGophers 📜 **All London Gophers events operate under the Go Community Code of Conduct** \- https://golang\.org/conduct * **Treat everyone with respect and kindness.** * **Be thoughtful in how you communicate.** * **Don’t be destructive or inflammatory.** **Please do not message members without their consent** If you encounter an issue, please mail contact@gophers.london or conduct@golang.org

**!! Please make sure you get a ticket via Luma as spots are very limited!!** If you want to go from “playing with AI” to shipping real agentic workflows in one evening? Join the London Agentic AI Hack Night on 25 June 2026. Build voice agents, workflow automations & multi-agent systems * Free BimpeAI platform credits + infra * 90 minutes of focused building * Lightning demos judged by pros from Google, Meta, BimpeAI & Byteplus Networking + food in a vibrant Old Street venueOpen to developers, engineers, founders, designers & creative technologists (beginners welcome if you’re ready to build). **[https://luma.com/dnoe595m](https://luma.com/dnoe595m)**

## Details Welcome to the DevSecOps London Gathering June Event on Wednesday 24 June! We bring you two more great speakers, as well as the usual conversations, pizza and beer! 📍 **Hosted at Autogen AI, 123 Pentonville Road, London, N1 9LG** 📅 **Wednesday, 24 June 2026** 🕕 **6:00–8:00 PM** ## **Talk** **Abstracts:** **Talk 1 - AI Pentesting by Andy Hornegold** A talk about Pentesting **Speaker Bio**: **Name:** Andy Hornegold **Title:** Chief Security Technologist at Intruder **Bio:** Andy has a long career in cyber security including a decade in threat simulation and consulting. He’s worked with some of the largest organisations and brands across most industries and sectors, advising how to defend themselves against advanced threat actors. Career highlights include being the Assurance Regional Lead at one of the UK's leading cyber security consultancies, managing a team of 30 cyber security consultants, and helping critical national infrastructure providers stay secure. **Talk 2 - A Deep Dive into SAML by Glyn Wintle** Glyn will explain how SAML works (yes there will be lots of xkcd cartoons), the flaws found in standard deployments and give example in most implementations, walk through some of the attack/defence techniques that work with any xml based protocol and digital signatures before going deeper into some more technobabble just for you. Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML, pronounced sam-el) is an XML-based, open-standard data format for exchanging authentication and authorization data between parties, in particular, between an identity provider and a service provider. Think enterprise single sign on, used by governments, large companies, web sites, what could possibly go wrong? **Speaker Bio:** Glyn is CTO at Tradecraft. They are security consultancy, specialising in attack. Tradecraft helps organisations to become more secure by breaching their systems in the same way as criminal hackers, and then working with them over the long term to help fix what they find, and to help them get better at finding and fixing things for themselves. Glyn has been in security for over ten years, and before that he used to program. He has appeared before parliament to give evidence on some of the more crazy laws they have introduced connected to the internet, and has worked with the Open Rights Group lobbying on trying to fix some of them.

Join us on Thursday 25th June for our next AI Exchange event, hosted by Coralogix at their London HQ in Devonshire Square. Pioneers of autonomous driving, **[Wayve](https://wayve.ai/),** are exploring how Agentic AI can be integrated into software development in a measurable and trustworthy way. **[Cato Networks](https://www.catonetworks.com/)** are applying AI to one of cybersecurity's most overlooked problems: the hidden risks buried within complex security policies. Finally our hosts **[Coralogix](https://coralogix.com/)** are addressing a challenge many engineering teams are beginning to face: AI coding agents are becoming part of everyday development, but very few organisations have visibility into how they're actually performing. As always, doors open at 6:30pm and talks start at 7pm sharp. We have another tight capacity for this event, so please RSVP as soon as you can to secure your space. **Agenda:** **[Lewis Isaac](https://www.linkedin.com/in/lewisjamesisaac/) @ [Coralogix](https://coralogix.com/)** **Who’s Watching the Agents? Observability for AI-Assisted Development** Code agents are already in your engineering workflow. The problem is that most organisations still have no visibility into what those agents are actually doing. How many tokens are they consuming? How long are tasks taking? Are they introducing regressions? Are they measurably improving delivery, or just creating the feeling of progress? The gap between “we have AI tooling” and “we understand our AI tooling” is where most teams are stuck right now. In this talk, I will show you how OpenTelemetry can be used to instrument code agent workflows end-to-end, and how Coralogix Code Agents Observability brings all of those signals -token usage, cost, task duration, and code quality impact - into a single view. *Bio: Our speaker will be Lewis Isaac, Dev Relations @Coralogix bio Lewis is a Developer Advocate at Coralogix, where he works closely with developers to explore smarter approaches to observability and how deep technical telemetry can be connected to meaningful business and user outcomes. Prior to joining Coralogix, he was a Tech Lead at IBM, where he led the technical delivery of mobile application projects for clients including BP and a major UK bank.* **[Dave Kirk](https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-kirk-jr/) @ [Wayve](https://wayve.ai/)** **Agentic Code Review @ Wayve** At Wayve, we have been pursuing an approach to Agentic workflows that prioritises observability and evaluation of quality of work. Our Agentic Code Review pipeline has been at the forefront of this initiative. In this talk, we'll discuss some of the approaches and lessons learned over the past four months of operating this pipeline *Bio: Dave Kirk has been programming for over 20 years, and doing so professionally for a decade. His career has primarily been focused on cloud infrastructure and development workflows. He is now the lead engineer in Wayve's effort to adopt agentic AI as an impactful part of our SDLC and beyond.* **[Avidan Avraham](https://www.linkedin.com/in/avidan-avraham-04416498/) @ [Cato Networks](https://www.catonetworks.com/)** **Autonomous Policies Using LLMs to Sweep Up Misconfigs** Security policies and engines today are complex ecosystems - not just defined by rigid, structured configurations but also by many layers of free-text and meta-data that tell the real story behind a rule or a configuration. Traditional configuration analysis can flag obvious issues, yet it often overlooks the contextual “crumbs” left behind by temporary fixes, ad-hoc tweaks, or legacy testing exercises. These remnants, much like orphaned data in a software system, can create unexpected vulnerabilities that attackers are eager to exploit. In this talk, I introduce a pioneering AI-driven strategy inspired by the concept of a software Garbage Collector. Just as a Garbage Collector continuously cleans up memory leaks, our AI agent proactively sifts through the meta-configuration, analyzing unstructured fields—free-text names, descriptions, annotations, and even multilingual notes—to identify contextual misconfigurations before they evolve into high-risk liabilities. Advanced NLP is key: semantic analysis decodes the intent behind free-text entries, while contextual classification organizes policy components by interpreting diverse cues. This integrated approach detects anomalies that traditional tools may miss, shifting policy management from static settings to dynamic, context-rich narratives that reveal hidden security gaps. We hope to see you there for another great AI filled evening! **Sponsors...** The AI Exchange is brought to you in partnership with[ LinuxRecruit](https://www.linuxrecruit.co.uk/) and[ AWS.](https://aws.amazon.com/) LinuxRecruit is building the next wave of Tech Unicorns in Europe. Whether you're hiring or exploring your next opportunity, [get in touch](https://www.linuxrecruit.co.uk/jobs).

AI agents are getting better at writing software. That doesn’t mean the software is getting better. As AI systems become more autonomous, engineering teams face a different set of problems: unreliable outputs, untestable workflows, evaluation bottlenecks, and legacy systems that weren’t designed for any of this. At this Future Form session, we’re looking at what happens when agentic systems collide with production engineering reality. **Speakers:** **Ning Lu, VP, Aladdin Financial Engineering, BlackRock** Ning explores the evolving landscape of LLM evaluation. From static benchmarks to LLM-as-judge systems and agent trajectory review, he’ll break down how engineering teams can evaluate systems that don’t behave deterministically. **Katie Roberts, Technical Director & AI Native Specialist, Nearform** Katie will show how AI-native engineering can be applied inside mature brownfield systems. Using patterns like the Strangler Fig approach, she’ll explore how to isolate risk, generate tests for undocumented code, and evolve legacy architectures without full rewrites. If you’re working with AI agents, legacy systems, or production engineering workflows, this session is for you. Pizza, drinks, and practical AI insights included.

This June we're at FundApps offices in HYLO, Bunhill Row. Chris Simon's back in town, and will be joining us to talk about streams and queues; plus Tiago Sousa from SteelEye will be talking about the work they're doing around using AI in comms surveillance. Our hosts at FundApps will be providing drinks and snacks, and there will be plenty of time to chat beforehand and in the pub afterwards. **Chris Simon: It's like 10,000 streams when what you need is a queue** *🎶🎵 A new dev team adopted E-D-A* *Got head of line blocking, on their very first day* *Isn't it ironic, don't you think 🎶🎵* The last few years have seen widespread adoption of Event-Driven Architecture, supported by DDD practices such as event storming. But what does that orange sticky note become when we start implementing our design? Common implementation choices include event sourcing, streaming platforms like Kafka and queuing systems like RabbitMQ. Unfortunately not every orange sticky note has the same operational needs, and many teams remain confused about the differences between these options, resulting in the selection of the wrong paradigm for their needs. This can lead to unnecessary complexity & operational challenges such as head of line blocking, dropped messages, challenges dealing with failed messages, difficulty with adaptive scaling and inadvertently increasing coupling between services. In this talk we'll bring that orange sticky note into the runtime of our system. We’ll start with a deep dive into the similarities and differences between event streaming platforms such as Kafka and queueing systems such as RabbitMq, Azure Service Bus & AWS SNS/SQS. We’ll then look at ways to assess your orange sticky notes to work out which messaging and persistence paradigms suit each one, helping you build more resilient, scalable and loosely coupled event-driven architectures. **Tiago Sousa: AI in Comms Surveillance** In this talk, Tiago shares what it's actually like to build AI for communications surveillance at SteelEye. Financial firms are required to monitor and flag communications for compliance, but making AI work reliably in that context is harder than it sounds. He'll walk through real examples from the trenches: what worked, what didn't, and what he'd do differently. **Tiago Sousa** is a Staff Data Engineer and AI Lead at SteelEye - a platform that helps financial firms monitor and flag communications and trades to stay compliant with regulations. He's spent the last five years building the data and AI systems that make that work. Before that, he did research in bioinformatics, which means he came into fintech from an unusual angle and has the scars to prove it. He's based in Braga, Portugal.

**Improving Office in Franklinton** Physical location: Improving Office 330 Rush Alley Suite #150 Columbus, OH 43215 Schedule: 6:00 p.m.: Socialize, eat, and drink. Improving will be providing pizza and beverages. 6:30 to 8:00 pm. Main meeting and presentation(s). Topic: This month Chris Pazsint will be talking about Agentic Coding. How does one use CLI Based Agents, and Agentic IDEs such as Cursor, Kiro, Antigravity? How to include agentic coding plugins for IDEs you already love such as Visual Studio Code. We meet on the last Monday of each Month. Presentations are given by members and friends of this group. If you would like to do a presentation (small or large) on a python topic, please contact Central OH Python at centralohpython@gmail.com

*Sorry for the 2 month break but I had to deal with some family member health issues, but we are now back!!* **LOCATION - THE DAILY GROWLER -** **2812 Fishinger Rd, Upper Arlington, OH 43221** Over the years, we’ve heard two requests constantly: 1. A place that was quieter and possibly private. 2. “I wish they accepted Bitcoin.” We’ve finally found a solution to these requests with The Daily Growler. We’ll have access to their private room, and you’ll be able to pay your tab with Bitcoin. Join us for a fun and relaxed social event! Enjoy delicious food and drinks as we chat about the latest news in the Bitcoin world. Everyone is welcome, whether you're looking for guidance, have questions, or just want to meet like-minded people. These social evenings are a great opportunity to make new friends and enhance your experience at the larger events throughout the year. We look forward to seeing you there! PSA: If the attendee RSVP seems low, keep in mind that most of our attendees come from X and not [meetup.com.](http://meetup.com./) You are welcome to come and become a part of our online community. Recordings of past guest speakers are available on our YouTube channel [https://www.youtube.com/@columbusbitcoin](https://www.youtube.com/@columbusbitcoin)

**Important time note:** Please plan on arriving between 5:30 and 6:00 as the elevators lock after 6 and you'll need to message us and we'll need to come get you. The building address is 4450 Bridge Park The entrance is 6620 Mooney St, Suite 400 You will need to scan your ID at the door to get a visitor badge. **Abstract** *Customize the IDE: Building Extensions for Visual Studio Code* Visual Studio Code is one of the most widely used development environments today, and much of its flexibility comes from its extension ecosystem. Extensions allow developers to customize the editor with new features, integrations, and workflow improvements tailored to their needs. In this session, we’ll cover what extensions are and the different types available, including full extensions written in TypeScript or JavaScript, along with lighter-weight extensions such as color themes, language packs, language support, code snippets, and keymaps. We’ll also look at practical reasons a developer might create an extension, from automating repetitive tasks to adding custom tooling. The session includes a hands-on walkthrough of creating a new extension, testing it locally, and understanding the basic project structure. We’ll close with a brief overview of how extensions are packaged and published to the Visual Studio Marketplace and other distribution options. **YouTube Link** TBD

*Sorry for the 2 month break but I had to deal with some family member health issues, but we are now back!!* **LOCATION - THE DAILY GROWLER -** **2812 Fishinger Rd, Upper Arlington, OH 43221** Over the years, we’ve heard two requests constantly: 1. A place that was quieter and possibly private. 2. “I wish they accepted Bitcoin.” We’ve finally found a solution to these requests with The Daily Growler. We’ll have access to their private room, and you’ll be able to pay your tab with Bitcoin. Join us for a fun and relaxed social event! Enjoy delicious food and drinks as we chat about the latest news in the Bitcoin world. Everyone is welcome, whether you're looking for guidance, have questions, or just want to meet like-minded people. These social evenings are a great opportunity to make new friends and enhance your experience at the larger events throughout the year. We look forward to seeing you there! PSA: If the attendee RSVP seems low, keep in mind that most of our attendees come from X and not [meetup.com.](http://meetup.com./) You are welcome to come and become a part of our online community. Recordings of past guest speakers are available on our YouTube channel [https://www.youtube.com/@columbusbitcoin](https://www.youtube.com/@columbusbitcoin)

Most people still use AI like a search box: type one question, get one answer, repeat. But the next step is AI agents: systems that can take a goal, break it into steps, use tools, remember context, and produce useful work for a human to review. In this beginner-friendly session, we’ll demystify what AI agents actually are — without hype or jargon. We’ll walk through practical examples of how agents can help with research, planning, writing, coding, operations, and personal productivity. We’ll cover: * What makes an AI “agent” instead of just a chatbot * How agents break tasks into steps * Where agents are genuinely useful today * Where they fail, hallucinate, or need human review * How to design simple AI workflows for your own work * A live demo of an AI agent-style workflow from start to finish No coding experience required. This is for anyone who wants to understand where AI tools are going and how to use them more effectively right now. LOGISTICS AND PARKING: The talk starts at 7:00 PM. The first half hour is reserved for everyone to get set up and mingle. Free pizza and drinks! The cheapest parking option is to find street parking, which will only cost you a few bucks. Otherwise, park in the nearby veteran's museum lot for $8. It's highly recommended you avoid the nearby $15 garage parking.

**Join Katie McCartney, SRES®, for a clear and easy‑to‑understand update on what the 2026 Central Ohio housing market means for seniors and their families.** Whether you’re planning ahead, helping a parent make decisions, or simply trying to understand today’s market, this session offers reliable insights without pressure or overwhelm. During this free class, Katie will break down the trends shaping housing for older adults in Central Ohio, explain what families should realistically expect in 2026, and answer your questions during an open Q&A. This is a supportive, information‑focused workshop designed to give you confidence and clarity — no sales pitch, just helpful guidance. *** **Ideal for:** * Seniors considering future housing options * Adult children supporting aging parents * Anyone seeking a calm, trustworthy source of market information *** **What You’ll Learn:** * A senior‑friendly look at the 2026 Central Ohio housing market * Personalized answers during an open Q&A You’ll leave with a better understanding of your options and your next steps. *** **Hosted by:** **Katie McCartney, Broker & Senior Real Estate Specialist® (SRES) with** Pillar Realty, LLC Compassionate guidance for seniors navigating housing transitions in Central Ohio. *** **Location:** Columbus Metropolitan Library: Dublin Branch 75 N High St, Dublin, OH 43017 ([https://maps.app.goo.gl/GL2vbJgUHqTncbHZ9](https://maps.app.goo.gl/GL2vbJgUHqTncbHZ9)) Meeting Room 3 **Doors Open:** 1 PM **Seats:** Limited Seating (first come, first served) **Cost:** Complimentary

We've moved to guild.host Look for us there. https://guild.host/events/buckeye-cocoaheads-nscoders-tcbrk5