Tech Events in Liverpool

Artificial intelligence is likely to change our lives strongly, whether we want it or not.

Some bad things it can make:

1. Artificial intelligence that has different goals than us and that can lead to our extinction (on average, experts and people interested in artificial intelligence assign 10-30% chance that this will happen).
2. A lot of us might die due to AI-assisted biological risk (there is around 5% chance that around 50% of people will die because of that - very loosely based on forecasts from Metaculus.com).
3. Concentration of power and inequality.

The good things involve scientific and technological progress and increased productivity leading to people living longer and being happier, in general.

One of the above is likely to happen soon. Forecasters from AI Futures predict that transformative AI will be created around 2028, and those forecasters have been generally right predicting the progress so far.

I believe that there are things that you can do so that it goes well for you.

The question is:
What can you do so that your life after transformative AI is good?

That's the topic I'd like to discuss. I have my answer to that question that I'd like to share, but everyone will have equal opportunity to express their opinions, and you don't have to express any opinions if you don't want to.

If you want to discuss something else, then it's fine too but the above question will take a priority.

This meetup is for everyone - for those who are interested in the topic of artificial intelligence, and those who are not (but still want their lives to be good). It's for AI optimists and AI haters.

The event will happen only if there are at least 3-4 attendees.

There's going to be 2 pizzas (for free) divided on maximally 8 attendees.

Rules:

1. If you want to come just to eat pizza and you're not interested in AI, that's fine and that's allowed, as long as you don't do anything that takes your attention away (e.g. using phone for a large part of the meetup).
2. No unethical advice, i.e. advice that benefits an individual at the expense of the collective.

The penalty for violating the rules is not being allowed to come to the next meetup, if there is any.

For our September meet-up, we have two talks lined up covering API security and AI-driven architecture.

Talk 1: Secure by Design
Delivered by Samuel Tochukwu Offiah

What:
A hands-on session covering 12 essential security controls for ASP.NET Core APIs, from JWT authentication and RBAC to input validation, secrets management, and CI/CD security scanning, all mapped to the OWASP Top 10.

Why:
Security is too often bolted on after the fact. This session makes the case for designing it in from day one, giving you a repeatable, structured approach rather than a reactive one.

How:
Each control comes with live C# code you can take straight into your own projects, building up a practical defence-in-depth checklist by the end of the session.

Takeaways:

• A ready-to-use security checklist for ASP.NET Core APIs, mapped to the OWASP Top 10.

Talk 2: The Architectural Harness
What will you learn?

Most teams know their architecture has problems. Few know which ones are worth fixing first.

Join Chris for a hands-on look at using token-efficient LLM techniques to continuously profile architectural estates, surface the biggest risks, and prioritise the work that actually matters - without burning a fortune in tokens.

A practical approach to using AI to keep your architecture honest.

Food

We have a selection of food available including Vegan options but if you'd like to know more please drop one of our organisers a message before the event via the group message forum. (https://secure.meetup.com/messages/)

If you would need assistance to leave the building in the event of an evacuation then please let us know via the group message forum. (https://secure.meetup.com/messages/)

Schedule

Doors open from 18:00

Intro and welcome 18:40
Speaker Starts 18:50
Pizza at 19:20
Speaker Starts 19:40

Close ~21:00 (Don't feel bad if you have to leave early for a train/bus/lift home - no one will be offended)

Live Steam Link
https://www.youtube.com/live/hPF831K_3jo?si=Er6xz9SoH4YjIYmp

(Please like, subscribe, and share to show your support)

Travel

http://dotnetliverpool.org.uk/how-to-find-us

Train - James Street station is a 10 minute walk from the Lab. Liverpool Lime Street is approx 15-20 minutes walking distance.

Driving - Underground parking available at Liverpool One.