Information Science

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.

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/)

Do you want to meet new people in a relaxing chill atmosphere surrounded by new books? Do you dislike loud and smelly places like pubs and clubs? This is the event for you. Science and Philosophy Book Club is creating a new kind of meetup where people who love books and knowledge can meet new friends in a big book shop. We will explore around different sections of the book shop together as a group while making interesting conversations with each other. We will go to both fiction and non-fiction areas. If you feel shy and feel nervous to come alone, I will make sure you will feel comfortable and accomodate to your needs. I will help introduce you to others so you can go over the barrier of anxiety when approaching a new person. We will meet on the ground floor lounge area of Doubletree Hilton Hotel at 6 p.m. It is an amazing cosy bar with classy vibes. We will wait for everyone to show up while getting some drinks and socializing. At 7 p.m we will head to the Waterstones book store near Russel Square and UCL. After we explore the book store, we will come back to the hotel bar and stay there for the rest of the night. This event requires £5 donation to cover the venue fees. You can pay via cash or card. Thank you for helping the book club!

This **in-person theatre** and **livestream** talk is available online from Gresham College to Basingstoke Science subscribers. **ADVANCE BOOKING AND PAYMENT IS REQUIRED FOR THIS TALK.** **More details and booking instructions on the Gresham web site:** **[https://www.gresham.ac.uk/speakers/professor-robin-may](https://www.gresham.ac.uk/speakers/professor-robin-may)** **SUMMARY** #### Part of: **[The Sir Thomas Gresham Annual Lecture Series](https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/series/gresham-annual-lecture)** What does modern physics have to say about the meaning of time? Is it a fundamental feature of reality or merely an emergent property from something deeper? Does time flow, and is the present moment special when Einstein tells us that all times coexist? Where does the arrow of time come from, if all the fundamental laws of physics are symmetric in time? In this lecture, Jim Al-Khalili examines many of these issues and gives our best guess answers as we understand the universe today. This is the Annual Sir Thomas Gresham Lecture. **LIVESTREAM TIMING** **The livestream will go live at 6.55pm, and the introduction will begin at 7.00pm. If you register but miss the livestream, the video will be available to you via the same link for two weeks after the event date.** For more information on livestreams, see the information below, or [visit our FAQs page](https://www.rigb.org/whats/faqs-ri-livestreams). Please use the event link you have been provided with. Gresham College has offered an outstanding education to the public free of charge for over 400 years. Today, Gresham College plays an important role in fostering a love of learning and a greater understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Please consider making a donation on their web site to support the work of Gresham College.

Dear Members, Join us for our first evening Meetup of 2026, where we'll explore why data foundations are the true differentiator for AI-ready insurers, and what practical steps firms are taking today to get there. Whether you're thinking of about portfolio intelligence, delegated authority oversight, or building towards agentic AI applications; this session will ground the conversation in what actually matters first: your data. **What's on the Agenda** * **Arrivals & drinks** \- settle in\, say hello * **Hot Take Poll** \- "*What's the biggest blocker to your firm becoming AI-ready: data quality, data access or data culture?*" * **Fireside Chat** \- Convex and Provectus share their perspectives on building data foundations and what agentic AI means in practice * **AWS Technical Spotlight** \- data foundations for insurance\, plus a live demo of InsuranceLake * **Programme Update** \- hackathon challenge tracks revealed and team sign\-ups open * **Networking & light bites** This session is designed for professionals across the London Market who are interested in how data foundations unlock AI value. **Programme Reminder** This meetup is part of your build up towards our London Market Hackathon in October 2026. Each session explores real market challenges, shares practical approaches, and helps teams prepare for the hackathon. More details on the hackathon coming at this event! **Please remember to bring a government ID such as driving license or passport for registration.** Come ready to learn, share, and connect! We look forward to seeing you there!

**!! 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)**

**Please note this is an online event. If you want to attend in person, please RSVP to our [In-Person Event.](https://www.meetup.com/producttank-london/events/315211795/?utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=share-btn_savedevents_share_modal&utm_source=link&utm_version=v2&member_id=347816072)** **\-\-\-\-\-\-\-** The "Product Manager" has never fit one mould, and AI is pulling the seams apart faster than ever. The consulting PM with the polished decks, the big tech PM optimising a metric three layers deep, the engineer-turned-PM still half in the codebase—these archetypes shape how we hire, coach, and judge PMs, but they were always more caricature than craft. This month we put them on the table and ask what's still true. Our speakers share their own journeys and talk candidly about how the role is shifting as AI moves from a roadmap item to a collaborator in the work itself. Expect honest stories over tidy frameworks, and a real look at how the role mutates depending on where you sit. **Our speakers:** [Kiran Virdee](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kvirdee/) \- Head of Product @ Accenture UK [Stephen Down](https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-down-3b824146/) \- Senior Product Manager @ Channel 4 [Valeria Stromtsova](https://www.linkedin.com/in/lerastromtsova/) \- Product Owner @ myenergi As always we will close our meet-up with a candid discussion and Q&A. This event is sponsored by Accenture UK. **Location:** Link to be shared soon **Timings:** 7:00 - Talk starts / streaming starts 8:00 - Q&A 8:30 - Q&A Finish 9:00 - Close Please note that the event will also be live-streamed on our YouTube channel and images will be taken throughout the evening. To keep up-to-date with our upcoming talks, follow our [LinkedIn page](https://www.linkedin.com/company/producttanklondon) and our [YouTube channel.](https://www.youtube.com/c/MindtheProductTV) \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-

**Latest Dojo Location!** **Knotty Pine Brewing** 1765 W 3rd Ave, Columbus, OH 43212 We're going to try a new dojo location for a few weeks and see how it works Dojos are informal Python group study sessions where everyone interested in Python gathers to learn about Python, help others with Python, or just hang out. Everyone is welcome from Python beginners to experts. Bringing a laptop is encouraged (we'll have extension cords and power strips). If there's something you want to learn leave a comment on this invite so we can plan ahead. We're looking for speakers for our Monthly Meetups! Fill out the form if you are interested in presenting to the Python Community. https://forms.gle/ehSfUAC2WgR34Crq9

**💫 Cape Coral Singles Night — Speed Dating Over Zoom** Spend an evening meeting Cape Coral singles face to face on Zoom, matched by age and personality before you arrive. **What to expect:** - Register and take a short personality quiz - Jump on Zoom when the event starts - Meet singles in guided one-on-one rounds - Get your mutual matches by email afterward **Pick the age range that fits you:** → **Ages 18-32** — [Register here](https://theliveround.com/product?productId=573&productType=onlineSpeedDating&city=Cape%20Coral&groupurlname=manga-k-drama-foodie-language-feast-network&ar=18-32&face_v=8.0) → **Ages 30-46** — [Register here](https://theliveround.com/product?productId=573&productType=onlineSpeedDating&city=Cape%20Coral&groupurlname=manga-k-drama-foodie-language-feast-network&ar=30-46&face_v=8.0) → **Ages 40-58** — [Register here](https://theliveround.com/product?productId=573&productType=onlineSpeedDating&city=Cape%20Coral&groupurlname=manga-k-drama-foodie-language-feast-network&ar=40-58&face_v=8.0) → **Ages 55+** — [Register here](https://theliveround.com/product?productId=573&productType=onlineSpeedDating&city=Cape%20Coral&groupurlname=manga-k-drama-foodie-language-feast-network&ar=55+&face_v=8.0) > Important: RSVP is not the same as registering. Use your age link below and complete the quiz to secure a place. Limited capacity. Your next great conversation is one click away. 🌷

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.

Bienvenue! We host a twice-a-month French conversation club at La Chatelaine on Lane. All levels welcome! Whether you're new to French or running for Président de la République you are welcome here! We often read plays together, play vocabulary games, and generally enjoy the delicious food available at La Chatelaine! We will be at the long table in the back of the restaurant. A bientôt!

**🌹 Orlando Singles Meet on Zoom: Live Speed Dating** No apps, no awkward bios. Just live one-on-one Zoom chats with Orlando singles picked for you. **What to expect:** - Register and take a short personality quiz - Jump on Zoom when the event starts - Meet singles in guided one-on-one rounds - Get your mutual matches by email afterward **Pick the age range that fits you:** → **Ages 18-32** — [Register here](https://theliveround.com/product?productId=573&productType=onlineSpeedDating&city=Orlando&groupurlname=manga-k-drama-foodie-language-feast-network&ar=18-32&face_v=8.0) → **Ages 30-46** — [Register here](https://theliveround.com/product?productId=573&productType=onlineSpeedDating&city=Orlando&groupurlname=manga-k-drama-foodie-language-feast-network&ar=30-46&face_v=8.0) → **Ages 40-58** — [Register here](https://theliveround.com/product?productId=573&productType=onlineSpeedDating&city=Orlando&groupurlname=manga-k-drama-foodie-language-feast-network&ar=40-58&face_v=8.0) → **Ages 55+** — [Register here](https://theliveround.com/product?productId=573&productType=onlineSpeedDating&city=Orlando&groupurlname=manga-k-drama-foodie-language-feast-network&ar=55+&face_v=8.0) > Note: clicking RSVP alone won't get you in. Register via your age group and take the quiz. Places fill up. Register, relax, and let the night do the work. 😊

Granville Land Lab 2025 Burg Street | Granville MEADOWS FOR MONARCHS PROJECT Learning Landscapes Tour + Community Science at the Land Lab Wednesday, July 1, 2026 9 a.m. - 12 noon: Program 12- 12:30: picnic lunch *meet at shelter house near Granville Intermediate School playground* Free. Registration Required so we know to expect you,[ click here https://www.lickingpollinatorpathway.org/land-lab-tour](https://www.lickingpollinatorpathway.org/land-lab-tour) Want to make your own wildflower meadow? Residents of licking county can sign up for this free program to receive free seed and training https://www.lickingpollinatorpathway.org/meadows **ABOUT THE EVENT** Join Pollinator Pathway for a morning at the Land Lab, a ~100-acre prairie and outdoor learning space just steps from Granville Intermediate School. This event explores how schools and other campuses can create living classrooms and contribute to community science. * **Tour the Land Lab:** Award-winning environmental science educator Jim Reding will lead guided tours through prairie, wetlands and other restored habitat, sharing the story behind this nationally-recognized space and the students and partnerships who helped make it happen. * **Contribute to Community Science with iNaturalist App:** Learn to identify and document plants, pollinators and other wildlife using iNaturalist. Dr. Karen Goodell, professor of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology at The Ohio State University at Newark and one of Ohio's foremost experts on native bees will share how to use this powerful tool to learn about the natural world while contributing to scientific research. * **Connect & Collaborate:** The morning program concludes with an optional BYO picnic lunch and networking at the Land Lab shelter house, overlooking the prairie. **🌸Anyone passionate about conservation and outdoor learning is welcome🌸** **WHAT TO BRING, WEAR & PREPARE** * **Download the iNaturalist app (the new one vs. the "classic" one) & create an account prior to the event if you don't have one already.** * **Sunscreen** * **Water bottle** * **Insect repellent** * **Hat** * **Comfortable closed-toe shoes suitable for uneven terrain** * **Light-colored clothing.** * **Long pants and socks are encouraged.** * **Please bring a reusable water bottle** * **Packed/picnic lunch.** **Picnic table seating will be available at the shelter house overlooking the Land Lab**

**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