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What is AGI, and are we close to achieving it? In this talk, I explore the most consequential question in AI today: the path to Artificial General Intelligence. Drawing from the perspectives of leading researchers—Geoffrey Hinton, Yoshua Bengio, Yann LeCun, Fei-Fei Li, and Richard Sutton —I examine competing definitions of AGI, the major architectural approaches being pursued, and what technical breakthroughs remain unsolved. I discuss where we are now (remarkable capabilities alongside surprising limitations), where experts believe we're heading (timelines ranging from years to decades), and what keeps AI safety researchers up at night (emergent deception, self-preservation, and the control problem). Finally, I share my own synthesis from my new book Foundations of Artificial Intelligence Agents Vol. 2: AI Agents. Whether AGI arrives in five years or fifty, the choices we make now will shape what that future looks like.

The Graph AI ecosystem made a major leap in 2025, shifting from “experimental add-on” to the backbone of reliable enterprise AI. As organizations begin scaling real use cases, one thing has become clear: AI without semantics, structure, and context will not survive in production.

On December 9, join Sumit Pal, Strategic Technology Director at Graphwise, Brandon Richards, Graph Technologies & AI Thought Leader for a practical session “Graph COE: Preparing for next generation AI”. We’ll walk through the realities of today’s AI landscape and the architectural patterns that are winning, then dive into the Graphwise Platform and the role of a Graph Center of Excellence (COE).

This session will cover: ⊹ GraphRAG Accuracy Breakthroughs: how graph-grounded retrieval eliminates ambiguity, enforces structure, and delivers verifiable, source-linked answers ⊹ Semantic Automation: how to generate accurate domain models and ontologies in under an hour ⊹ COE Foundations: how a reusable semantic layer reduces cost, eliminates the Bad Data Tax, and supports every downstream AI use case ⊹ Real-World Case Study: Avalara: how they achieved 100% precision mapping using DOM GraphRAG

If your AI initiatives need reliability, explainability, and production-grade accuracy, this webinar is built for you.

Register via the link: https://hubs.la/Q03XcL-N0

A hands-on resource designed to teach the mathematics of signals and systems with MATLAB™ In this newly revised second edition of Practical Signals Theory with MATLAB™ Applications, Richard Tervo delivers an articulate presentation of the mathematics underlying real world engineering applications and everyday electronic devices. The new edition provides extended coverage of communication systems—including digital and spread spectrum communications—as well as a new introductory chapter on using MATLAB™ as a tool to visualize the mathematics of signals and systems. The text contains numerous hands-on examples and expanded end-of-chapter exercises. It is a one-stop reference for signals and systems, explaining aspects of commonplace signal types, orthogonality and signal decomposition, transformations, and the graphical presentation of calculations and results. Readers will also find: A solid introduction to the mathematics of continuous and discrete signals represented in time and frequency domains Thorough coverage of the classic Fourier, Laplace and z-transforms, and their many applications New end-of-chapter worked exercises, a variety of in-line study questions with answers and easily reproducible MATLAB™ code demonstrations Bonus material on related applications in different fields of study and a companion website designed to support additional learning Perfect for undergraduate and graduate students of signals and systems, signals theory, and related areas of electrical engineering, Practical Signals Theory with MATLAB™ Applications will also benefit researchers and professors in the field of system design and signal processing.

We’re continuing our series on verifying Richard Bird’s Pearls of Functional Algorithm Design — exploring elegant algorithms through the lens of formal verification in Dafny. This session focuses on two intriguing problems:

• Pearl 11 – Not the Maximum Segment Sum
• Pearl 2 – A Surpassing Problem

Both pearls highlight the power of functional thinking and the challenge of turning concise, declarative definitions into provably correct imperative or recursive implementations. What we’ll do:

• Review the original algorithmic ideas from each pearl.
• Implement and verify them in Dafny, specifying correctness conditions and reasoning about sequences and recursion.
• Discuss proof decomposition, invariants, and how to express high-level functional properties as formal specifications.
• Work individually or in small groups — sharing progress, insights, and obstacles along the way.

Why attend: If you enjoyed our first Pearls session or want to see how Dafny bridges elegant theory with verifiable code, this is a great next step. You’ll gain hands-on experience transforming functional specifications into verified implementations and deepen your intuition for proof-driven development.

Move faster and manage better. Richard Harbridge, Microsoft MVP, shares practical migration tactics for tenant-to-tenant, Google, and legacy file share/SharePoint Server. Assess quickly, migrate sooner-while preserving what matters. See AI-aware governance in action: controlling sprawl, simplifying access reviews, and streamlining administration. Leave with clarity to consolidate faster and confidence to keep Microsoft 365 compliant, secure, and clean as you scale with Copilot.

Dive into the world of architecting intelligent software with this comprehensive guide. This book explores the principles and practices required to integrate artificial intelligence into existing architectures to deliver scalable and robust AI-driven systems. By the end of this journey, you will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to design and optimize next-generation AI applications. What this Book will help me do Effectively integrate AI-driven components within traditional software systems while maintaining scalability and performance. Understand key architectural risks and how to address them, ensuring resilience and cost-efficiency. Apply architectural principles through hands-on exercises and real-world case studies to solidify your learning. Master AI and ML concepts crucial to modern architectures, such as inference and decision-making mechanisms. Develop actionable architectural strategies for implementing user-centric, high-performance AI systems. Author(s) Richard D Avila and Imran Ahmad bring decades of experience in software architecture and AI technologies. Richard has worked extensively in crafting AI-integrated solutions for enterprise-grade systems, while Imran specializes in making complex AI accessible and manageable for developers. Their combined expertise provides an authoritative and approachable guide to AI systems architecture. Who is it for? This book is ideal for software architects and system designers looking to understand and implement AI within their architectures. It is also a valuable resource for CTOs, VPs of Engineering, and professionals spinning on the edge of technical leadership to keep their systems competitive. Intermediate-level developers aspiring to grow into architectural roles will gain actionable insights into the principles of AI-driven systems design. Beginner architects with a passion for AI technologies will find this book to be a robust starting point.

This session features Richard Lewis, Senior Solution Architect at Matillion, in conversation with Daniel Adams, Global Analytics Manager, from Edmund Optics, as they share how data integration, AI, and cloud technologies transformed technical support and accelerated time to value. Edmund Optics’ team of 50 highly skilled engineers faced a flood of repetitive technical inquiries, averaging 25 minutes per response, across a catalog of 34,000+ components. To streamline support, they partnered with Matillion, Snap Analytics, and Snowflake to build an AI-powered chatbot. Deployed in just 10 weeks, the chatbot delivers instant, consistent answers to common queries, freeing engineers to tackle complex issues and dramatically improving support efficiency.

Please sing up on our official event page with this Link ! ----------

Make governance a reality in a decentralized data landscape

About the evening As organizations increasingly embrace the data mesh approach to overcome the limitations of monolithic data architectures, a pressing question emerges: can robust data governance thrive in this new paradigm, or is it merely an elusive dream?

Hear from data experts from BASF, Mobile.de, Zalando and Thoughtworks as they tackle the complexities of data governance within a data mesh framework. We'll explore the challenges, opportunities, and practical strategies involved. Expect real-world case studies and expert insights on achieving sustainable and scalable data governance in this environment.

Key Takeaways:

• The role of governance in a decentralized data mesh model.
• How to balance autonomy and accountability across data domains.
• Best practices for federated data governance at scale.
• Driving cultural change and data team collaboration.

This session provides data leaders, architects, and practitioners with actionable strategies to build a resilient data governance framework for the modern data mesh. Learn how to make governance a reality in a decentralized data landscape.

About the panelists

Kiran Prakash Principal Data Consultant at Thoughtworks

Carolina Matamoros Ferro Data Governance Lead for data & analytics at BASF

Chase Richards Head of Analytics (DIA Central Teams) at Zalando

Saru Malhotra Team Lead Data and Analytics Strategy at mobile.de

RSVPS: Please sing up on our official event page with this Link !

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Code of Conduct We adhere to the Berlin Code of Conduct to ensure a welcoming and respectful environment for all participants. The event space operates under largely compatible Thoughtworks Meetups & Events CoC.

Accessibility The Location is accessible for wheelchair users. This includes the entrance (no steps to get into the location), toilets and the stage.

Venue: Riverbank House, 2 Swan Ln, London EC4R 3AD

Please note:

1. 🚨🚨🚨A valid photo ID is required by building security. 🚨🚨🚨
2. This event follows the NumFOCUS Code of Conduct. Please familiarise yourself with it before attending.

If your RSVP status says "You're going" you will be able to get in. No need to show your RSVP confirmation when signing in. If you can no longer make it, please unRSVP as soon as possible. *** Code of Conduct: This event follows the NumFOCUS Code of Conduct. Please get in touch with the organisers with any questions or concerns. *** As always, there will be free food and drinks, generously provided by our host, Man Group. ***

⚡ Lightning Talks

1. Can Foundation LLMs Play Go (Weiqi/Baduk) via Text Protocols Alone? - Victor Zommers
2. Why Python is the best language for algorithmic trading - Richard Hickling @richardhickling
3. HangMAN vs AI - Kavit Tolia
4. Comedy Breeder - Samuel Joseph @tansakuu
5. Answering a dumb question with a smart bird feeder - Hugh Evans
6. AI Playgroup event - Ian Ozsvald
7. Mapping the Mind of a Large Language Model - Kefei Hu
8. What we've learnt from the world's largest AI red team - Sam Watts

Logistics Doors open at 6.30 pm (get there early as you'll need to sign in with building security). Talks start at 7:00 pm, with drinks afterwards from 9:00 pm at The Banker (EC4).

We have reduced capacity for this event, but there will be plenty of people to discuss data science questions with!

Please unRSVP in good time if you realise you can't make it. We're limited by building security on the number of attendees, so please free up your place for your fellow community members!