Details & RSVP (London, Newspeak House, Sun 2 Nov, 14:00–20:00).
We’re running a 6-hour Open Space Technology (OST) unconference at Newspeak House London, on Sunday 2 November, 14:00–20:00. Let’s share what actually works (and what doesn’t) when working with AI.
Share ideas and worries about the future.
Get inspired.
(Get terrified, optional.)
Bring prompts, workflows, patterns, policies, experiences, current research, and hard-won lessons: both the “this could work” and the “this could go wrong.”
Who’s this for? Builders, coaches/educators, founders/civic-tech, policy/alignment folk, curious newcomers.
An unconference, specifically one based on open space technology, is a space for sharing among participants: we offer some structure at the start, spaces where to offer sessions (or just joining a topic), a way to tell each other what we are interested in and what we can offer, and a closing circle to tell each other what happened.
Think about the juicy part of a normal conference, around the coffee area or the buffet, where interesting (we hope) serendipitous (we are sure) conversations and meeting happens.
This, but for the whole event.
I (Alex) am curious about how other people are using AI, what they are learning, I want to share what I am learning, my worries, hear about their worries and possible solutions. Also, I love unconferences, a great middle space between unstructured meetup, and overly (for me) structured workshops. In short, why an unconference? Because I think it would be great, it would be useful, and I love unconference and I am deeply into AI.
(OST in 60 seconds)
We start together, build the agenda together, then split into parallel sessions.
We have only one law, that I adore:
the Law of Two Feet: If you’re not learning or contributing, move to another session (or take a break, or do what nourishes you). Guilt-free.
And 4 (and some) principles:
Format (in this event): Opening circle → marketplace (we propose sessions) → four session blocks → group synthesis → social
Above all: it is going to be fun.
If you need more than that, here are a few reasons:
If you want to tell everyone what you’ve learned: come.
If you want to warn everyone we need guardrails (and have ideas): come.
If you want to listen, test, and contribute: come.
Kind-of. Not only.
Initially I wanted to make it only for AI safety, but:
a) I am do not have that many contacts in that world
and
b) I also really care about how we use this productively, and I am actually excited about it (if/until we don't get all killed/disempowered, I know).
So consider this "AI Risk friendly". Bring a session on how to get involved. On policy. On your new research. On what we can do. What kind of bunker we should build, no, forget that.
(Exact times may shift slightly on the day.)
13:30 Doors open
14:00 Opening circle (purpose, principles, logistics) — 20m
14:20 Marketplace (build the grid) — 20m
14:40 Session Block A — 45m
15:30 Session Block B — 45m
16:20 Break — 20m
16:40 Session Block C — 45m
17:30 Session Block D — 45m
18:20 Closing circle — 30m
18:50–20:00 Social / teardown
We will have up to 7 spaces for sessions at the same time.
Since it IS an unconference, we do not know exactly what will happen, and the topics that will be covered. This is a possible start:
We will do it at the event, during a beautiful messy moment at the start.
You can bring a more polished presentation, demo, topic.
You can bring just a question, or something you tried and got curious about.
We will propose the topics, describe them, host them, see who comes.
Do I need to be an expert? No. If you’re curious and constructive, you’re in. Experts welcome, egos not required.
Keynote speakers? No keynotes. If you’re keynote-caliber, host a session or a 5-min lightning.
Can I just listen? Yes, but you’ll get more by proposing, asking, or demoing.
What should I bring? Curiosity and desire to learn and share. A problem, demo, or story if you want. Laptop optional. Power adapters if you need them.
Are these questions frequently asked? Not all of them, but for other unconferences, kind of yes.
The event will be facilitated by Alessandro Pedori, a Newspeak House fellow-candidate, co-founder of the IFS Collective, and AI engineer + architect with over a decade of experience designing participatory events. He has a deep love for Open Space Technology and a strong curiosity about how other humans are navigating this whole AI thing: its risks, its opportunities, and what it means for us.
Be kind. Be specific. Debate ideas, not people. Show, don’t hype. Zero tolerance for harassment. Breaches = removal.
Posted on: