AI Tinkerers - City Organizer QuickStart Guide
đ Welcome, Future AI Community Leader!
Are you an active builder in AI? Are you eager to connect with fellow active builders in your community and around the world? Become an AI Tinkerers city organizer and lead the charge in your local AI revolution!
đ What is AI Tinkerers?
AI Tinkerers is a global network exclusively for active builders, engineers, and researchers creating cutting-edge AI technologies and applications. We organize monthly meetups in cities worldwide, featuring technical demos and in-depth discussions that drive innovation across the AI spectrum. Our community fosters connections among highly skilled practitioners committed to pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence.
See also: General FAQ, Sponsor Guide
Why become an AI Tinkerers city organizer?
Connect with top AI builders
Network with passionate AI practitioners, entrepreneurs, and engineers.
Become a âgo-toâ resource
Establish yourself as a leader in your local AI community.
Gain industry visibility
Open doors to exciting opportunities in the AI world.
Learn from the Best
Cultivate a Network of Experts.
Shape the Future of AI
Play a vital role in driving AI innovation in your city.
Experience Rapid Growth
Watch your community flourish as interest in AI explodes.
Join a Global Network
Collaborate with organizers worldwide in exclusive monthly office hours.
đ How to Get Started: Your 5-Step Launch Plan
- Apply: Fill out our quick application to become a city organizer.
- Plan: Choose a date and secure a sponsor/venue for your first meetup.
- Create: Set up your event page using our easy-to-use platform.
- Promote: Spread the word through your network and social media.
- Host: Run an engaging meetup with demos, networking, and collaboration.
How do I become a city organizer?
City organizers are responsible for planning and coordinating monthly meetups in their city. This includes identifying a sponsor and venue (often the same), promoting the event and managing event logistics (via the tools provided on aitinkerers.org). Being a city organizer offers the opportunity to connect with AI builders, expand your network, and contribute to the growth of the community.
The city manager should be an active builder themselves and must be âVC neutralâ in their community. For a healthy ecosystem itâs important that AI Tinkerers organizers be active builders as their day job, and not investors or service providers to the community.
The AI Tinkerers website (the one youâre on) provides tools for Event & RSVP managements, emails (and reminders), and attendee screening - tailor made to reduce the burden of being an organizer. And, by being part of the broader community and this website, we each benefit from each otherâs efforts.
If you're ready to become a city organizer, please apply here
How does each city work?
Each AI Tinkerers city chapter is similar in the following way:
- In person meetups, roughly monthly
- Member curation to ONLY hands-on technical builders
- Quick community demos (5 minutes each usually) + networking
- The platform to manage the automation of RSVP, reminder emails, speaker submissions, etc
In addition, sometimes meetups have spotlight topics with special guest speakers to dive into particular areas in a deeper way for 20 to 30 minutes. These have included walk-throughs of significant AI research papers and fireside chats with industry leaders.
Do the city organizers decide how many events take place, etc
Yes, but the average is 1x / month
How much work is it to be a city organizer?
Being a city organizer requires some time investment to set a date, coordinate sponsors, set up the page and screen members, but not an overwhelming amount thanks to the automation built into the AI Tinkerers platform.
The overall interest in AI, combined with the exclusive technical nature of AI Tinkerers creates a dynamic where there are many motivated sponsors who will take care of the logistics surrounding venue and food for these meetups. The main tasks left to organizers are:
- locking in the event date and sponsors
- setting up the event page
- reviewing registrations and demo proposals to ensure that only genuine AI/ML builders and practitioners are marked as attendees. This member screening is crucial to maintaining the quality of each meetup.
Itâs likely not difficult to find a co-organizer to share responsibilities, however it is entirely possible for a single motivated organizer to run a monthly meetup on their own.
Yeah but how do I actually get things going in my city?
Step 1: pick a date about one month out. Then ask a sponsor to commit (but indicate we can change the date). Psychology of having a date makes it more real.
Also, much easier to target a sponsor that has a venue or has hosted / sponsored similar events before, since it will be easy for them to make it happen. Tip: Share the Sponsor an AI Tinkerers Meetup page with potential sponsors to help them understand why they should support your events.
Step 2: Create the page. I recommend copying the content from Berlinâs inaugural AI Tinkererâs event because they had a very successful first event with over 300 registrants and a long wait list.
Recommended: include basic boilerplate information so prospects know what AI Tinkerers is all about. For this, you can copy âWhat is AI Tinkerers?â and âWho is this for?â from the Berlin page as a guide.
Step 3: Promote your event! Post the page online and in our discord. For your first event, itâs critical to do direct 1:1 outreach to friends and influential folks in your local community asking them to attend, present and help promote the event.
AI Tinkerers is A place for LLM nerds to trade secrets. The screening and curation to 100% active builders makes these meetups extremely valuable to participants, different from other meetups and very attractive to sponsors (who otherwise would not be able to attend.)
The experience of most cities is that after the first two meetups, organic growth through word of mouth will largely take over. These days we just make the page and the emails go out to the list and the event fills up in a few hours with a healthy waiting list. For example, Chicagoâs first meetup had around 25 people, but in just a few short months, their meetups filled up with over 100 AI practitioners in attendance and over 80 people on the wait list.
How can I effectively promote and grow attendance for the first meetup of a new AI Tinkerers chapter, particularly through targeted 1:1 outreach?
Identify people in your community who you know are active tinkerers and ask them for their help. Focus on personalized 1:1 outreach to key individuals in your community:
- Founders or employees of AI/tech startups in your area
- Angel investors who are well connected in the tech community
- Computer science professors or researchers from local universities
- Active members of local tech communities or co-working spaces
Emphasize the unique focus of AI Tinkerers and how it aligns with their interests, and ask if they have something to demo at the event or know anyone who could participate. Invite them to attend and share at the event.
Once someone agrees to attend you can follow up by asking them to share the event on their social media (especially Twitter or LinkedIn), and recommend 2-3 other potential attendees from their network.
If you have lined up a sponsor for your first event, ask them to promote the event page too.
Remember, the key is to make each invitation personal and to clearly communicate the value of attending the meetup. This approach not only increases attendance but also helps build a strong, engaged community from the start.
Whatâs an example of 1:1 outreach to promote an event?
I prefer a two step approach, something like:
Hi Paul, Iâve been following your work on (company or project) and I wanted to let you know that I am launching the (city name) chapter of AI Tinkerers and we would love to have you attend and, if youâre willing, present. Hereâs the information: (event link). Please let me know!
Then, if they reply, you can say something like:
Thank you! Looking forward to meeting you. By the way, would really appreciate if you can help spread the word on Twitter or to a few active builders that you know. thank you
This is all great, but how do I market my events and get people to show up, find great speakers, etc?
Hereâs some tips to get you started:
- Start small and focus on quality. Directly reach out to folks in your community that are âoff the deep endâ engaged in hacking and building with AI and large language models, as well as leaders in your community. Our first meetup was an informal meetup in a restaurant with just 12 attendees consisting entirely of leaders from significant AI companies, research labs and startups.
- Pick a date. Thereâs something about having a deadline that makes everything come together.
- Get the word out. Post on social media, local tech forums, and other relevant online platforms to spread the word.
- Partner with others. Collaborate with local incubators, VC funds, and leading tech companies in your city to sponsor, host and get the word out.
- Be consistent. Hold your meetups regularly (e.g., once a month) to maintain momentum and foster a sense of community.
How do I create an inclusive and diverse community?
Fostering an inclusive and diverse community is crucial for AI Tinkerers as it drives innovation, enhances the quality of ideas, and creates a richer learning environment for all. Our MedellĂn chapter has developed effective strategies for achieving this, particularly in gender inclusiveness. Learn from their experience - article link
Screening Attendees for AI Tinkerers: A Guide
The goal is to cultivate a vibrant community of active builders who collaborate, share knowledge, and push the boundaries of AI/ML innovation. To achieve this, the key focus should always be on selecting active builders who demonstrate the capacity to contribute. And as interest in your community grows, your group will become more selective over time.
Defining âActively Buildingâ:
- Model Training & Fine-tuning: Individuals actively involved in training and fine-tuning machine learning models, including experimenting with different architectures and optimization techniques.
- Developing Tools & Infrastructure: Those who contribute to building the tools and infrastructure that support AI/ML development, such as frameworks, libraries, and platforms.
- Building Applications with ML/Generative AI: Individuals creating applications that leverage machine learning and generative AI technologies to solve real-world problems.
- Contributing to Open Source AI/ML Projects: Active participation in open-source AI/ML projects, demonstrating a commitment to collaborative development and knowledge sharing.
- Competing in Kaggle Competitions: Engaging in Kaggle competitions showcases a passion for applying AI/ML skills and tackling challenging problems.
Although âActive Buildingâ often occurs during oneâs day job, it often takes place at nights and on weekends. Many Tinkerers are transitioning from day jobs in one technical area to AI/ML/Generative AI via experimentation in side projects or other collaborations.
Screening Criteria for Edge Cases:
1) Highly Technical Profiles (But No Proven AI/ML Experience):
- Look for evidence of active learning and engagement with AI/ML: This could include online courses, personal projects, participation in hackathons, or contributions to AI/ML communities.
- Consider their technical background and potential for transitioning to AI/ML: Strong software development or cloud architecture skills can be valuable assets for individuals interested in AI/ML.
2) Executives (CTOs, CPOs, CEOs, etc.):
- Assess their hands-on involvement in AI/ML development: While executives may not be coding daily, some, especially in early-stage companies, are deeply involved in technical aspects.
- Consider their technical background and understanding of AI/ML: Executives with a strong technical foundation and a clear vision for AI/ML implementation in their companies can be valuable members.
- If their background is not technical, their day job is not technical, and there is no evidence of actively building, then they are probably not a good fit for the group.
3) Data Professionals (Data Engineering, BI):
- Evaluate their experience with AI/ML tools and techniques: Look for individuals who utilize AI/ML in their data roles or demonstrate a strong interest in expanding their skillset.
- Consider their contributions to data infrastructure that supports AI/ML development: Data engineers and BI professionals play a crucial role in building the foundation for AI/ML applications.
4) Students:
- Focus on demonstrable effort and passion for AI/ML: This could include relevant coursework, personal projects, research involvement, or contributions to open-source AI/ML projects.
- Consider their technical background and learning trajectory: Evaluate their potential for growth and contribution to the AI/ML community.
Remember, the goal is to cultivate a vibrant community of active builders who collaborate, share knowledge, and push the boundaries of AI/ML innovation.
Polite Ways to Reject People
Scenario | Example Response |
---|---|
Asking why waitlisted if the event isnât full | Thank you for your interest. There may be a slight delay between our waitlist updates and the public event page given the number of applicants pending review. Weâre reviewing applications to ensure the best fit for our hands-on AI active builder focus. |
Non-technical applicant | We appreciate your interest in our AI Tinkerers group. However, our meetups are specifically focused on hands-on building and technical collaboration for those actively working on AI projects. Unfortunately, we donât believe it would be the right fit at this time. |
Executive without recent hands-on experience | While we value your leadership experience, our meetups are centered around active, hands-on AI development. We encourage you to engage in some personal AI projects or courses to align with our groupâs focus. |
Student without demonstrable AI projects | Thank you for your interest. We look for members with some hands-on AI project experience. We suggest working on personal AI projects or participating in AI hackathons to build your portfolio before applying again. |
âBut Iâm a VC with lots of tech skillsâ | We understand you have valuable tech skills and industry knowledge. However, our group is specifically for those whose day job involves actively building AI systems. As a venture capitalist we welcome you to contribute in a sponsor capacity. |
âMy company asked me to attend in order to recruitâ | We appreciate your interest, but our meetups are not intended for recruitment purposes. We aim to maintain a non-commercial environment focused on peer-to-peer learning and collaboration among active AI builders. If you are personally involved in hands-on AI development, weâd be happy to consider your individual application. |
The AI Tinkerers Platform
To ensure a consistent, high-quality experience for organizers and attendees across all cities, using the AI Tinkerers platform is a requirement for all AI Tinkerers chapters. This platform offers unique features and benefits specifically designed to foster a thriving AI builder community, including:
- Streamlined event management: Easily create event pages, manage RSVPs, send automated reminders, and track attendance.
- Community-focused tools: Features like speaker proposal management, attendee screening, and attendee directories help curate high-quality events and facilitate meaningful connections between members.
- Unified global network: Be part of a larger community and benefit from shared resources, knowledge, and connections across all AI Tinkerers cities.
- Reduced workload: Automation of key tasks frees up your time to focus on building your community and engaging with members.
With all cities on the AI Tinkerers platform, we strengthen the global AI Tinkerers community and maximize its impact for everyone.
The Basic Infra
The website for aitinkerers.org and each of the city pages (e.g. seattle.aitinkerers.org) are run as independent DREAM.page sites.
Each city is an independent blog, and provides:
- the ability to post content to your city page (i.e. a blog)
- the ability to create events with RSVP forms for registration
- automated emails and reminders for the events you create
- the ability to email subscribers
- the ability to email event attendees
- a listing on the aitinkerers.org websiteâs nav
- built-in tools to allow the community to demo proposals
- QR Code check-in functionality
- printable name badge labels
- tools to screen attendees*
*Provided that you ask registrants for LinkedIn, Github or Twitter URLs, the system will automatically pull in publicly available information (for example, for GitHub we pull in repo count, stars and follower count) to help you get to know your attendees and to screen in case there is more interest in the event that space to accommodate everyone. )See âwho is AI Tinkerers for and not forâ in the AI Tinkerers FAQ).
How do I sign in?
A: Go to aitinkerers.org/signin and enter your email to get a magic sign in link.
How do I create a city page?
A: once youâve been elected a city organizer, we will provision a city page with itâs own blog and weâll make you an owner.
Once this happens, your city will appear on the menubar of aitinkerers.org and all other cities. You subscribers, content and meetups will be part of your city, to be managed by you, separate from other cities.
To express interest in becoming a city organizer please apply here.
How do I create something in the AI Tinkerers Font?
The AI Tinkerers typeface is a multi-colored image, not a font. We made a tool so you can generate text in the brand style. See AI Tinkerers Title Renderer.
By the way, you can order AI Tinkerers laptop stickers here (see also: city by city stickers)
How do I create a blog post?
- If youâre not already signed in, go to https://aitinkerers.org/signin and enter your email to get a magic sign in link to sign in
- Click your city name in the menu bar
- Click the âAdd blog postâ button at the bottom of the page.
I recommend only attempting this from a desktop (not mobile).
If youâre signed in, youâll see a red âsettingsâ link the menu bar of your city page:
Once youâve create a new page, it will be a draft. You can toggle between editing and previewing by hitting your escape key.
PLEASE NOTE: As you make edits, your changes are auto-saved.
In order for your page to be live an accessible to visitors, you must (a) give it a publish date that isnât in the future and (b) enable the publish switch:
For information on creating content using markdown, see simple guide to markdown.
How do I create an Event with RSVPs?
Events are pages that advertise a meetup or other event and give you a way to collect RSVPs, automatically send reminders and manage the attendance of your events, as well as collect emails and other information that can be used to advertise future events.
To create an Event, you just create a blog post and enable the Event functionality, like this:
- Create a blog post as per the instructions above
- Switch the âenable RSVPsâ to on
- Fill in your event details (time & date, etc)
- Create the long-form content about your event (located below the event details pane)
By default, anyone registering for an event will also be subscribed to your blog. Opting out of blog emails is easy for them, and is separate from event emails.
What are the important details about Events & RSPVs that I should know?
There are a few things to know, in no particular order:
- Date & Time: you can fill out a date and time or a time range. Just enter plain English like âMay 11, 2023 at 4pmâ or âMay 11, 2023 from 4pm to 8pmâ. You must have a start date and time set in order for your event to be valid.
- Location: this can be a location with address or just plain text. If you donât want to share and address, you can enter a short note here and share detailed location information over email later.
- Maximum attendees: if your eventâs venue is capped, you can set that here and enable a waitlist. Otherwise, everyone expressing interest in your event will be given a confirmation that they are able to attend.
- Maximum attendees: if your eventâs venue is capped, you can set that here and enable a waitlist. Otherwise, everyone expressing interest in your event will be given a confirmation that they are able to attend.
In the bay area and in Seattle, interest in AI Tinkerers meetups has exceeded the supply of space. So to help manage attendance, there are a few useful features:
- Attendee screening: if you give your event a maximum attendance cap, then your attendees will be able to express interest in an event (i.e. register), but they will be confirmed as attending according to the screening option that you select: (a) Open - this means people will be immediately confirmed in the order they register, until the cap is met, (b) Manual Screening - this means that you will have to review and add attendees by hand using the âmanage attendeesâ feature, (c) Auto Screening - this means that people will be confirmed based on the information they provide when registering.
- Collect Information: email is required to register for an event, but if youâd like to collect more information from attendees (information that will help the Auto Screening process), then select an option from this menu.
- Send Reminder Emails: if enabled, the system will send automated reminder emails to your attendees 24 hours before the event and on the day of the event. This helps to ensure that they donât forget about the event and have all the necessary information they need to attend.
How it looks to visitors to your page:
How do I email my event attendees?
Once youâve created an event page, as long as youâre signed in you will see some buttons on the top of your event page:
Click the email button to go to a screen that lets you email attendees based on their RSVP status (confirmed, waitlisted, etc)
Remember though, if you enable reminder emails on your events, the system will automatically send people the following emails:
- confirm their registration or RSVP
- event reminder 24 hours before the event
- event reminder the morning of the event
What do the automated reminder emails look like?
There are different types of reminder emails, but generally they contain:
- the basic event details
- helpful reminders
- a way to cancel and opt-out
- an ical attachment so people can easily add the event to their calendar (if they are confirmed / not waitlist or awaiting screening)
Under settings there is an email tab where you can view all the types of emails that are sent and explore sent mail.
If Iâm using the automated reminder emails, will I still be able to email attendees a custom update message in case there is something I need to communicate with them?
Yes. When youâre signed in youâll see an âemailâ button on your event page. From there you can select people (eg.g. all, or just confirmed, or just waitlisted, or whatever), compose and email, view the preview, and then send it.
How do I manage attendance?
Click the âmanageâ button to go to a page that lets you view and manage attendees. From this screen you can change the status of any attendee. Please note that as you change attendee status, they will receive confirmation emails.
You can also use this screen to search for a particular person by entering their email or name (or a substring). This is great when your pal emails you and says âhey can you mark [person] as confirmed?â
You can also tag individuals as sponsor, host, volunteer or venue. This is super helpful because you can filter to those tags when you email people (great for emailing speakers to arrange a pre-meeting or emailing sponsors to thank them after an event.)
What tools are available to help screen attendees and foster engagement?
By requesting registrants to provide their LinkedIn, Twitter, or Github URLs during registration, the system will automatically pull publicly-available information from those pages. This data is used to populate a search and filter interface for quick review of each registrant. In addition, attendees are given access to an attendee-only directory where they can connect with other attendees.
To process a registrantâs RSVP, click either âAttendingâ or âWaitlist,â and they will receive an email notification:
You can view more information about the registrant by hovering over the flask icon. However, please note that this information is processed through GPT-4 using publicly-available data and may contain inaccuracies:
The search and filter UI is dynamically built based on companies, skills, and other information gathered from the provided profile URLs:
Attendees will receive an aggregated synopsis of other attendee bios in the event reminder emails, fostering networking and increased engagement.
How do I email everyone who is subscribed to my city and has ever attended any past event?
Easy. From your city page, click the settings link at the top of the page, then click to the âSubscribers & Emailâ section, then look for the âGo to Email Composerâ button. This lets you email everyone who is subscribed to your city blog.
Note that by default, anyone registering for an event will also be subscribed to the blog and will receive notifications wen you create new events. They can easily opt-out of these more general blog emails you might send and still receive important event-related emails.
Also by default: attendees are given a post-meetup survey and these results are summarized for you so that you can learn how to improve the meetups.
What other emails will they receive?
The only emails subscribers will ever receive are the emails you send, and the automated event reminder emails they get when theyâve RSVPâd to one of your events, and the post-event survey (if you have enabled it.)
How do QR Codes function in tracking attendance at events?
QR Codes are an effective tool for tracking attendance. Each attendee automatically received a unique QR Code in their confirmation email, which they can present at the event. Organizers can use a camera or smartphone to scan the QR Codes of the attendees, marking them as âattended.â This information is then stored in the event management tool, allowing organizers to keep track of previous attendees.
Alternatively, event organizers can opt to display their own QR Code (via print or a projector), which attendees can scan themselves to check in at the event.
How do I manage demo proposals?
Enable âSpeaker Proposalsâ on the event set up page to allow your community to propose talks to give at the meetup. When you enable speaker proposals, registrants will see a link to submit a proposal, with fields to describe their talk and provide links.
As manager, youâll receive a notification when talks are submitted, and youâll have access to a tool to review each proposal along with biographical information associated with the member who submitted the talk. Simply click âapproveâ or âsidelineâ to accept or deny a proposal. Accepted demos will be confirmed as attendees to the event and tagged as speaker so you can easily identify your speakers on the day of the event.
Enable speaker proposals:
Tool to review speaker proposals:
How many demos should we have?
First, rather than quantity, focus on quality. Demos, not pitches. and select for talks that share the code behind their innovations.
Assuming a total meetup time of 3 hours, then a good maximum number of demos is 8 total demos of 5 minutes each.
This can be best orchestrated with a 10 minute break between sets of 4 and breaks up what would otherwise be a long time sitting. That said, 6 or fewer demos in one long session is ok too. More than 8 demos is not advisable.
A more interactive variation on 5 minute talks is a format that allows for 1 or 2 quick questions from the audience. Participation is naturally engaging and feedback has been positive. If you take this more interactive approach then I recommend fewer talks: 4 to 6 talks max for an evening.
Remember, the open networking is also highly valued.
Finally: make use of the âspeaker orderâ functionality available in the demo screening tool as this will help presenters be ready and speed up transitions between speakers on the day of the event.
How do I conduct the demo portion of the event?
We made a page about this
How do I conduct the meeting itself?
Here are some tips:
- Open with âwhat is AI Tinkerersâ (see above).
- Welcome and thank people for coming
- Thank your sponsors and give each 1 minute to introduce themselves and say hello.
- Make it interactive! Say things like âraise hands if this is your first timeâ â> applause. then ask topical things like, âwho switched from gpt-3.5 or haiku to Gemini Flash in their apps?â and then pick one hand and ask âcan you share why?â
- Keep time on the demos and keep the pace and excitement high
- Allow plenty of time for open networking
Anatomy of a First Meetup
AI Tinkerers - London had a successful launch with their Inaugural AI Tinkerers Meetup.
The page contained sections for:
- What is AI Tinkerers? - to enforce what AI Tinkerers is all about. This was copied from the FAQ.
- Who is this for? - information that is crucial for attracting the core audience, also copied from the FAQ.
- Past Event Photos - photos from recent AI Tinkerers events in San Francisco and Seattle give a general vibe and FOMO for what the meetups are like.
- Schedule - outline the schedule. AI Tinkerers events focus on 5-minute demos from the community + networking. Spell that out so people know what to expect.
Any questions?
Please reach out to the organizers channel on the AI Tinkerers discord if you have any questions.