The mission is curiosity, not credentials.
This group exists for people who find AI fascinating and want to talk about it seriously — without the assumption that everyone already has a PhD, or that everyone is a wide-eyed believer with no critical questions.
We meet monthly in Chicago. Talks are short and specific. Questions from anyone at any experience level are welcome. The goal is to understand things better when you leave than when you walked in.
You do not need to be an engineer. You do not need to have built anything. You need to be genuinely curious and willing to listen as much as you talk.
Four things that make this group worth coming back to.
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No gatekeeping
Expertise is welcome and so is the beginner's question. The best rooms have both, and neither makes the other feel small.
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Real talk over hype
We are interested in what AI actually does, what it does not do, and why those distinctions matter. The breathless version exists elsewhere.
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Show the work
The best conversations start with something concrete — a demo, a failure, a result that surprised someone. We prefer specifics to abstractions.
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Inclusive by design
The group is actively welcoming to people who are underrepresented in tech. That is not a disclaimer; it is something we pay attention to.
What actually happens when you show up.
Meetings run about two hours. There is usually one short talk or demo — fifteen to thirty minutes — from a member or a guest. It covers something real: a project, a tool, a paper, a question the person could not stop thinking about.
After the talk, the floor opens. People bring questions, argue about claims, share what they have been working on, or just listen. Nobody is required to contribute. Some of the best members come quietly for months before they say a word.
Some months we skip the talk entirely and run a short collaborative project — a few hours, a shared problem, whatever ships. The archive has examples.
If any of this sounds like your kind of room, come to the next meeting.
RSVP and we will send you the date, time, and location as soon as it is confirmed.