Softwire Lightning Talks, Gen AI edition: Six experts in sixty(ish) minutes
A Gen AI event like no other.
What can we learn from endless Generative AI “failures”? What happens when you give an internal team every AI tool money can buy and tell them to just go nuts? What is it really like at the frontlines of working with Large Language Models (LLMs)? And, probably most importantly, is Gen AI really killing the planet?
All this and more at our latest Lightning Talks event, as we explore places where others fear to tread.
Expect intelligent summaries of what’s going on in the Gen AI space, alongside giant timers, questionable PowerPoint graphics, and obnoxious klaxon noises when time is up.
There will be time for audience questions in between the talks, then time for networking fuelled by more free pizza and drinks than you can shake a reasonably large stick at.
Come to our Cambridge office in October as our experts put Gen AI through its paces, far from the madding crowd and against the the clock enforced by the dreaded klaxons.
A comprehensive compendium of all the times AI didn’t solve my problems, and the one time it did.
A tour of my love-hate relationship with AI. Come along to hear about some of my most epic AI-caused fails, and the one-time AI actually saved the day. Maybe AI is truly the hero we expect it to be.
Lucy Gonzalez
Strategic Programme Director for AI/ML, CUP&A.
Lucy is the Strategic Programme Director for AI/ML at CUP&A. How this came to be is a mystery, especially to her.
After reading Philosophy in university, she briefly worked in radio, was a content writer for a now defunct Mexican news website, and for a while made a living as a language teacher, newspaper columnist, translator, interpreter, and photographer, all at the same time. In the UK, she transitioned to project and programme management, and somehow ended up managing research projects in tech, most recently at Google DeepMind.
Bionic Interns. Can you boost productivity by using every single AI tool available?
AI code assistants are supposed to improve development velocity. So presumably, the best team is the one that uses the most AI, right? I’ll be talking about what we learned when we put this theory to the test by letting an intern team loose with every AI tool money could buy. Essentially the software development equivalent of seeing if trainees in forklifts can stack shelves faster than professional weightlifters.
Stuart Knowles
Software Developer, Softwire
After finishing my PhD in experimental nanophysics I discovered a love of solving problems that can be seen without a microscope and I’ve been happily working at Softwire ever since.
I’m passionate about all things related to data, science, and data science, so it naturally follows that I’m very keen on AI. I’ve worked on and with a wide variety of AI tooling systems both for clients and my own curiosity.
Recently, I was given the nebulous task of “Championing Softwire’s understanding of AI developer tools”, and this talk is the second in a series to that end. The first: “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Microsoft Word anymore: A practical guide to writing with Chat LLMs” was largely themed around The Wizard of Oz, so this isn’t the strangest AI talk I’ve ever given.
What If i just tried…?
For the past two years this has pretty much been my day job. AI has been constantly evolving and with every new model new things are possible: we’ve just got to find them. Join me as I talk through what it’s been like on the frontlines, throwing prompt spaghetti at a constantly evolving LLM wall to see what sticks and always asking “What If i just tried…?”. You should leave with the confidence to try things out for yourself and some tips on how to get started!
Shivam Chandarana
Senior Software Developer, Softwire
I was given a choice 2 years ago: work on a “normal software” project or experiment with the newly released GPT-3 API. Naturally, my love for mystery, puzzle-solving, and theory-crafting drew me to the latter so here I am!
In my nearly 4 years at Softwire, I’ve worked on a variety of projects, always gravitating toward the quirkier ones that challenge me to think outside the box.
When I’m not wrangling AI, you’ll likely find me locked in escape rooms (10 in the Netherlands, with 24 more planned for Athens), performing improv comedy, or diving into my latest craft obsession—right now, it’s origami, and my desk is overflowing with papercraft animals.
Oops! My LLM melted the ice caps!
Is AI really going to turn the planet into a climate-change-induced wasteland? Or has its impact been blown massively out of proportion?
Tom Hamner
Software Developer, Softwire
Being part of the sustainability team at Softwire really made me reevaluate the way I viewed the work I’d been doing with AI. As someone who has been working on AI projects for the better part of a year, I suddenly had the epiphany that in the ever-changing world we live in, maybe AI is actually doing more harm than good?
Come with me on a journey as I contextualise how our AI use affects the planet, whether we need to be worried or not, and what we can do to make it better!
Outside of AI wrangling, I’m a keen runner, and enjoy sewing clothes, crocheting plushies, and going to indie music gigs!
* Stay tuned, as we’ll confirm the final speakers shortly*
Agenda
- 18:00 – Arrival, welcome drinks and snacks
- 18:30 – Lightning Talks start with Q&A in between
- 19:45 – Pizza, drinks and chit-chat
- 20:30 – Carriages
Secure your free spot
Our Lightning Talks are free to attend – but spaces are limited, so make sure you reserve your spot as soon as possible.