Embedded Systems

# 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)**.

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.

Vibe Coding Collective is a global community helping anyone turn ideas into working software with AI. We host relaxed social coding jams in bars, cafés, and maker spaces. Whether you're a developer or have never written a line of code, you'll fit right in! ​On June 23, we're teaming up with [Momen](https://momen.app/?utm_source=luma) for a special edition about building full-stack with vibes. It is the visual backend, that seamlessly turns front-end "vibes" from tools like Cursor or Lovable into scalable databases, AI workflows, and secure, production-ready architectures. ## ​Format 🛠️ ​We team up in small groups of 3-4. ​You'll start by designing and laying out your app by hand, dragging and dropping the screens, deciding how it should look and feel. Then you go from there to vibe-coded backends, including databases, workflows, AI agents, and logins. By the end you've gone from a blank canvas to a real, working app with a brain behind it. ​The goal is to vibe, and learn from each other. ## ​New to vibe coding? ✨ ​No worries. We provide simple starter ideas and example prompts so even total beginners can dive straight in without stress. ## ​Schedule 🕒 ​19:00 — Welcome 19:05 — Intro from the Momen team 19:15 — Live workshop: Building a challenge app with Momen 19:45 — Challenge briefing & team formation 20:00 — Build time 21:00 — Optional demos (show what you made!) 21:30 — Hang out, network, make friends ## ​Who is it for? ​Anyone! Curious coders, tinkerers, designers, founders, AI-curious folks, and developers. If you've ever wanted to take an idea all the way to a real, full-stack app without writing code, you belong here. ## ​What to bring ​- Laptop 💻 \- Vibes ⚡ ## ​Location 📍 ​Brewhouse and Kitchen Highbury 2A Corsica St, N5 1JJ, London ## ​About Vibe Coding Collective ​We're an international community of 3,500+ members across 9 countries, running relaxed social coding jams where everyone leaves with something they built. ​🌟 No pressure, no gatekeeping. Just good people, fun ideas, and some fast-paced collaborative building. ​Spots are limited and our events fill up fast, so RSVP early! ​#AI #vibecoding #AItech #LondonAI #social #fun #socialdrinking

**PLEASE VISIT THE WEBSITE TO CONFIRM SESSION DETAILS AND LET US KNOW YOU PLAN TO ATTEND. THIS IS MANDATORY.** **Want to do something useful with your exercise? GoodGym is no ordinary gym. We're a group of people who get fit by doing good - helping out local charities and community groups with physical jobs like shifting compost and planting trees.** **📍 We meet at** **Papa's Park, 10 - 17 Pulross Road, London, SW9 8AF** **at 6:45pm.** **🏃‍♂️ At 7:00pm we'll run, walk or cycle to do a 30-40 minute task.** **🏃‍♂️ Then we'll head back to where we started by 8:45pm, do some stretches and maybe grab a beverage?** It's FREE. It's fun. It's fulfilling. And we're a very friendly bunch. 🍇 — **BOOK ONTO THE SESSION** **To come to the session click here:** https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions **You will need to confirm your attendance on the GoodGym website** (this includes creating an account with us if you haven’t already - it only takes a few mins). The link above takes you to the session listings in your area - if this session doesn’t fit your schedule, you may find something that does so check it out. p.s. GoodGym is a charity and you will be asked whether you’d like to donate when first creating an account. The choice is yours and does not affect your ability to attend a session. — **FAQ** Not sure you'll keep up? GoodGym is for everyone (18+). Whether you've never run before, or are chasing a marathon PB, you are 100% welcome. We always have a back-marker so no one gets left behind. 70% of GoodGym members start as non-runners so if you're new to this kind of thing you will be supported by people who are all on the same journey. 👍 What do I need to wear? Most of us wear gym/running gear. Make sure you're prepared for the weather. Don't feel like you're fit enough? Our tasks are simple and fun. There are easy jobs as well as more challenging things for those who want a workout! The choice is always yours. Do I need to bring anything? Gardening gloves are really useful for a lot of GoodGym tasks. And a head torch too if it’s likely to get dark. Please bring some if you can but there’s no requirement 🧤💡🧤 What is GoodGym? We're a (really lovely) group of people who use our energy to make a difference in our local community (and in communities across the UK!). We often meet on a weeknight, at least once a week, for a session to do good and get fit. We'd love you to come and join us. Any questions, just pop a comment below or send me a message. Find out everything you need to know at goodgym.org

**Join us on June 23rd for the Stripe London developer meetup. This is an in-person event for anyone building with Stripe. An evening focused on Stripe user experiences, product insights, best practices, and community.** 🍕🍺 **Perks** Food, drink provided! **🎫 Tickets** There is a hard limit for RSVP :) Wait list will be operating on Meetup. **📍Location** The event is hosted at Stripe's London offices near Liverpool St station. **🕚 Rough timings** * 6:00 pm - 6:30 pm: Doors open with refreshments * 6:30 pm - 7:45 pm: Talks and Q&A * 7:45 pm - 8:00 pm: Drinks, food, and networking **📣 Talks** 1. **Enabling Crypto in Stripe - from pay-ins to pay-outs,** Ana Andres del Valle 2. **What developers need to know about payments** \- Allison Farris\, Developer Advocate at Stripe Don't miss this opportunity to connect with the Stripe community. **You must bring a government issued photo ID.** [Stripe developer code of conduct.](https://stripe.com/legal/developer-code-of-conduct)g

**We are excited to invite you to our summer edition of DSL!** 💫 DSL #16 will happen on 25 June, organised by YLD and sponsored by NewDay. Our Eventbrite tickets are now sold out, but you can join our waitlist [here](https://dsl16.eventbrite.co.uk/). More information coming soon. Thank you to [YLD](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/design-systems-london-16-tickets-1989211510175?aff=oddtdtcreator) for organising and [NewDay](https://www.newday.co.uk/ "https://www.newday.co.uk/") for sponsoring this event. **Who are NewDay** At NewDay, their business is focused on a single, clear and defining purpose: to help people move forward with credit. NewDay provides nearly 5 million customers with responsible access to credit, underpinned by best-in-class customer service and exceptional user experience. Their in-house, highly scalable digital platform alongside their proprietary credit decisioning capability unlocks the competitive advantage. Their broad credit product offering enables instalment finance, BNPL, 0% finance and carded and digital revolving credit. NewDay operates multiple direct-to-consumer products and a range of credit solutions with some of the UK’s most loved brands. Their underwriting capability and experience allow them to responsibly say yes to more UK customers making them a merchant partner of choice. NewDay partners to harness the power of data to drive commerce across the UK, creating value at scale. **Who are YLD?** YLD turns digital investments into results by building what matters, delivering with impact, and making sure it lasts. Their product design, tech, and change experts work as one, applying AI where it shortens the path to value. With design at the heart, YLD brings clarity, puts users first, and shapes solutions that succeed from the start. YLD is hiring - check out the [job page](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/design-systems-london-16-tickets-1989211510175?aff=oddtdtcreator) Join the conversation on [LinkedIn](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/design-systems-london-16-tickets-1989211510175?aff=oddtdtcreator)

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.

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.

HELLO HELLO!! We'll be at the THE CAMBRIA today as per EVERY WEDNESDAY!! 🥳 🌟 We'll have wonderful professional Life Model modelling for us tonight 🌟 We'll run a SHORT or LONG POSES SESSION (depending on the week) with POSES from 2 to 30min. 🌟 Check out our INSTAGRAM page for more information! https://www.instagram.com/Camberwell_life_drawing ALL LEVELS WELCOME ! ¸¸.•¨•♫¸¸.•¨•♫¸¸.•¨•♫¸¸.•¨•♫¸¸.•¨•♫¸¸.•¨•♫¸¸.•* Let's get together for some drawing and a glass of wine!! Camberwell Life Drawing is a group for anyone that want to spend a lovely and chilled evening creating some art in a relaxed, friendly and bohemian atmosphere. Untutored life drawing classes, every Monday (ar The Sun of Camberwell) & Wednesday (at The Cambria) evening from 7pm to 9pm. https://secure.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/a/5/8/a/event_464082378.jpeg *£14 per session (Cash or Card)* Some materials will be provided but please feel free to bring your own too! RSVP or drop-in on the night Latecomers are very welcome, too. WE HAVE LIMITED SPACE SO COME EARLY TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT* *WHY US?* Untutored Cozy room with beautiful lighting and Bohemian looking venue Relaxed, friendly atmosphere and cool people! All abilities welcome!! Don't be shy!! A glass of wine/beer for the interval & pub for a post-session wind down chat and possibly another drink. Background soft music Like us on Facebook & Instagram for more informations! https://www.facebook.com/camberwellifedrawing https://www.instagram.com/Camberwell_life_drawing

AI assistants are getting more capable. The question is how we build effective workflows around them. At DevDay London, [Lucy Joyce](https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucy-joyce-597485166/), [Ash Shakrani](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ash-shakrani/) and [Arun Kurian](https://www.linkedin.com/in/arun-mathew-kurian-39b8aa5a/) will explore harness engineering through the lens of a payment integration. From requirements and design through to implementation, they’ll demonstrate why context alone isn’t enough for successful AI-assisted development. Drawing on real-world experience, they’ll show how engineering harnesses, reusable context, standards, and validation workflows help teams move beyond experimentation and build reliable, scalable AI-assisted development practices. **This session will unpack:** 🎯 Why “more context” isn’t the answer on its own 🎯 What engineering harnesses are and how they create reliable feedback loops 🎯 How standards, workflows, and validation reduce AI-generated rework and technical debt 🎯 Practical techniques teams can adopt immediately to improve AI outcomes 🗓️ **Save the Date:** 25th June, 2026 📍 **Location:** Sahaj Software, 1 Quality Court, London, WC2A 1HR 🕕 **Time:** 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM (BST) The evening will feature: 🎤 **One engaging talk** with Q&A 🤝 **Plenty of time for networking** over free pizza and non-alcoholic drinks Don’t miss this chance to learn, connect, and share with fellow tech enthusiasts. 👉 Please click the link below to register. https://sahaj.ai/events/harness-engineering-in-practice-from-requirements-to-implementation/

**Love to Drum - Djembe and Percussion Fun!** Join us for an exciting drum circle experience with our regular host, Simon, who will be teaching simple and not-so-simple West African based drum rhythms. Together, we'll create uplifting and positive vibrations through the power of drums and percussion instruments, sharing in the joy of making music in a friendly and inclusive environment. Whether you're a beginner or have some experience, this drumming session is open to all. You'll have the opportunity to learn Djembe and Dundun drum rhythms and playing techniques. It's a chance to immerse yourself in the world of drumming and connect with others through the universal language of music. Don't miss out on this joyful and enriching experience! No matter your level of ability, you're bound to enjoy it. The cost for the entire session, including drum hire, is £20. Tickets also available at https://www.simonrowesounds.com/blank-3-1-1

\> This group has a new home\. \[Luma → [https://luma.com/ldn_software_guild](https://luma.com/ldn_software_guild)]([https://luma.com/ldn_software_guild](https://luma.com/ldn_software_guild) ) **About the London Software Guild** ​The London Software Guild gathers developers, architects, and teams across London who care deeply about the craft of building great software. No fluff, no vendor pitches — just people who take the work seriously, sharing what they've learned the hard way. *** ## ​**Talk:** Dimming the Lights ​**Abstract:** Lessons from the front lines of transforming our enterprise SDLC into a dark factory. We'll talk about quick wins, surprising sticking points, the unsolved problems of orchestration and validation, and controlled experiments and challenges that you can try with your team. ## ​**🎤 Speaker:** Macey Baker, Community Engineer at @Tessl ​**Bio:** As Tessl's Founding Community Engineer, Macey Baker is busy helping to build the future of AI-native development (and helping you build it too). Now an AI code generation obsessive, she got her start as an early employee at tech unicorn Intercom in San Francisco, before jumping the pond and roaming the London startup scene, working primarily in big data / ML houses. Some of her best friends are LLMs. *** ## ​Talk: Secrets in Plain Sight ​**Abstract**: Your AI assistant needs to understand your code, but your model provider doesn't need to know your credentials. We'll explore a novel guardrail architecture that lets models reason about sensitive data they never actually see — preserving full performance without the leak. We'll cover the design philosophy, the tradeoffs, and why context-aware approaches outperform blanket redaction. ## ​**🎤** Speaker: Daniel Trugman, Co-founder and CTO at Requesty ​Requesty is building a novel AI Gateway that provides a complete control plane for any AI use case. The team at Requesty is building innovative solutions that solve the problems of tomorrow for AI trailblazers.

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

Join the CONNECTED Westerville Mastermind Group for a dynamic afternoon of B2B networking! This event is perfect for professionals looking to expand their business connections, share insights, and foster collaboration within the community. Whether you are a seasoned entrepreneur or just starting out, this event offers a valuable opportunity to exchange ideas, build relationships, and grow your network in a supportive environment. Connect with like-minded individuals, explore potential partnerships, and discover new opportunities for professional growth. Don't miss out on this chance to enhance your business network and take your career to the next level with CONNECTED Westerville Mastermind Group! We meet the 4th Monday of every month from 11am-1pm. Welcome and general networking from 11am - 11:30am with core meeting 11;30 - 12:30 and a final round of networking from 12:30 - 1pm.

**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

WQC has weekly Thursday night social nights at the Westerville Java Central. Come and grab a coffee and connect with the community: low stakes, chill environment, and tasty drinks. No registration is required; come as you are.

**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)

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.