Sensing, Simulating, and Storing the Future

⌖ Leeds · Platform

Hosted by The Curve

A closed-door Leeds discussion for senior professional-services leaders on shadow AI, data sovereignty and accountability for AI-assisted decisions. Taking place from 8:30am to 10:30am on 4 November 2026 at Platform in Leeds, this focused session from The Curve tackles the gap between formal AI policy and how artificial intelligence is already being used inside organisations. From informal AI use to defensible control Employees may be turning to personal AI accounts because approved tools are inadequate or unavailable. Governance policies may reflect how the organisation operated a year ago, while regulation and everyday usage continue to evolve. Meanwhile, ownership can become unclear when an AI-assisted decision produces the wrong result. Rather than treating these challenges as employee discipline issues, the discussion will examine them as questions of organisational design. Attendees will explore: - Where sanctioned and unsanctioned AI may already be operating, and what that exposes - How to size governance according to genuine risk rather than impose blanket processes - Where data sovereignty matters, and where it may sit lower on the risk spectrum - How governance can withstand model drift, regulatory drift and growing teams - What effective governance looks like when translated from principles into daily practice - How organisations can train and supervise junior staff who may not yet recognise when AI output is wrong The aim is to help leaders move away from ungoverned or informal AI use and towards confident, proportionate and defensible control, without assuming that every business needs the same framework. Speakers and format The conversation will include Fiona Widd, Head of IT at Clarion Solicitors, and James Ridgway, CTO at The Curve. This is not an AI hype session or a lecture focused on the wording of legislation. It is a small, in-person, closed-door discussion for senior leaders in professional service organisations, designed around candid peer exchange and practical experience. The session will operate under the Chatham House Rule, creating space to discuss shadow AI, unclear ownership and operational exposure openly. Breakfast will be provided. View the event and registration details

Sponsors: CGI

⌖ Leeds · Oulton Hall Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort

Hosted by Concorde Technology Group

Explore cybersecurity, AI and emerging threats at a four-hour, in-person summit near Leeds on Friday 27 November 2026, hosted by Concorde Technology Group. The Digital Defence Summit offers a focused opportunity to understand how the cybersecurity landscape is changing as artificial intelligence advances and new digital threats emerge. Running from 12:00pm to 4:00pm, the event combines expert discussion, an interactive quiz and dedicated networking time in a relaxed setting. What to expect The centrepiece is a panel discussion hosted by Sally Roberts and featuring leading cybersecurity experts. The speakers will examine the latest trends, challenges and innovations shaping cyber defence, alongside developments in AI and their implications for the wider security landscape. The published agenda includes: - 11:30am, Doors open: arrive early and get settled before the programme begins. - 12:00pm, Arrival and lunch: enjoy coffee and food while meeting industry leaders and fellow attendees. - 12:30pm, Cybersecurity expert panel: Sally Roberts opens with a fun-fact quiz before guiding a deeper conversation about cybersecurity, innovation, emerging challenges and AI developments. - 1:30pm, Networking and refreshments: continue conversations from the panel, refresh your coffee and connect with other attendees. This format gives participants space not only to hear informed perspectives but also to compare experiences and make new professional connections. Rather than concentrating solely on presentations, the summit builds discussion and networking directly into the programme. Who should attend? The summit is particularly relevant to people interested in cybersecurity, AI, digital risk and emerging technology. It should also appeal to technology professionals, business leaders and others who want a clearer view of the forces reshaping digital defence. The listing welcomes all ages, and no specific experience level or technical prerequisites are stated. View the event and registration details

⌖ Santiago · Hotel Mandarin

Hosted by Red Hat

Red Hat Summit: Connect Santiago 2026 explores how enterprises can adopt AI while retaining control of their data, infrastructure and technology strategy. Taking place on 27 October 2026 at Hotel Mandarin in Santiago, this Red Hat conference is designed for technology leaders and enterprise IT professionals working through the practical complexities of artificial intelligence adoption. It will be particularly relevant to teams operating at scale or within regulated industries, where governance, security and control cannot be treated as afterthoughts. What to expect The programme examines enterprise AI through an open-source lens, focusing on how organisations can pursue innovation without surrendering control of their underlying systems. The published themes include: - Data sovereignty and the enterprise AI challenge, considering the relationship between AI strategy, organisational data and infrastructure control. - Industry-specific applications, exploring AI in the context of real operational requirements rather than as a one-size-fits-all technology. - The open-source approach to enterprise AI, looking at how open technologies can support enterprise adoption and long-term flexibility. This is more than a high-level strategy conference. According to Red Hat, Summit: Connect offers access to technology experts alongside hands-on learning opportunities with Red Hat solutions. Attendees will also have options to meet Red Hat partners and exchange ideas with peers facing similar implementation questions. Who should attend? The event is aimed at technology decision-makers, enterprise architects, infrastructure and platform teams, cybersecurity professionals, and IT leaders responsible for introducing AI into complex organisations. It should also be useful for practitioners assessing how data sovereignty and industry constraints affect architecture choices. View the event and registration details

⌖ Ho Chi Minh City · Sheraton Saigon Grand Opera Hotel

Hosted by rockbird media

retailX Ho Chi Minh 2026 is an all-day conference on AI, omnichannel retail and digital commerce, taking place on 27 October in Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam’s retail and e-commerce market is evolving rapidly as digital adoption, changing consumer behaviour and investment in modern retail technology reshape how brands attract and serve customers. Presented by rockbird media, retailX Ho Chi Minh 2026 will bring senior retail leaders, e-commerce professionals, brand executives and technology innovators together to examine the strategies driving this transformation. The in-person conference runs from 8:00am to 4:00pm on Tuesday 27 October 2026 at the Sheraton Saigon Grand Opera Hotel, 88 Đường Đồng Khởi, Ho Chi Minh City. What to expect Across keynote presentations, executive panels, interactive roundtables and real-world case studies, attendees will explore how retailers can use technology and customer insight to build sustainable growth. The programme focuses on: - AI-powered retail and emerging commerce technologies - Omnichannel and digital commerce strategies - Digital transformation within retail organisations - Customer engagement and experience innovation - Data-driven approaches to the changing consumer landscape - Emerging retail and consumer trends in Vietnam The emphasis is on practical insight rather than theory. Attendees can learn directly from leading Vietnamese retail and e-commerce executives, hear how organisations are responding to market change and examine examples drawn from real business activity. Business connections Networking is a central part of the eight-hour format. Alongside the conference sessions, retailX offers curated networking opportunities and one-to-one business meetings. These are designed to help attendees meet senior retail and technology decision-makers, connect with relevant solution providers and discuss potential commercial partnerships in a focused setting. View the event and registration details

⌖ Cambridge · The Glasshouse @InnovateCambridge

Hosted by Cambridge Centre for Data-Driven Discovery

Explore how the Financial Times turns data and AI strategy into organisational value with Chief Data Officer Kate Sargent at this University of Cambridge seminar. From research to real-world AI Taking place in person on Tuesday 27 October 2026, from 4:00pm to 5:00pm, this Beyond Academia seminar offers a practical perspective on deploying data science and artificial intelligence beyond the university environment. The session will be held at The Glasshouse @InnovateCambridge, 100 Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 1LQ. The Beyond Academia: AI & Data Science Applications series is designed to bridge the gap between high-level research and implementation inside organisations. Invited leaders and professionals examine the technical, architectural and operational realities of AI innovation while introducing attendees to career opportunities outside academia. Hear from Kate Sargent Kate Sargent, Chief Data Officer at the Financial Times, is responsible for the organisation’s Data and AI Strategy and for creating value from its data assets. Since joining the FT in 2023, she has led its award-winning Data & AI Governance, Data Science & AI, Analytics, Research and Business Intelligence disciplines. Kate brings 30 years of experience across major consumer-facing organisations in retail, travel and media. Her work focuses on using data to understand and influence customer behaviour and generate commercial value. Alongside her executive role, she is an industry commentator, board adviser and mentor, with a particular commitment to early-years skills development and increasing awareness of careers in data and analytics. Attendees can expect insight into: - How data and AI strategy operates within a global media organisation - The challenges and opportunities involved in implementing AI innovation - The role of governance, analytics, research and business intelligence - Translating data assets into practical and commercial value - Non-academic career pathways in data science and AI The format is an engaging one-hour talk with plenty of opportunity for audience Q&A, giving researchers and students direct access to an experienced data leader. Who should attend?… Register for this event

Sponsors: Bennett School of Public Policy · C2D3

⌖ San Francisco · Silicon Valley AI Hub

Hosted by Voxel51

Build an end-to-end physical AI workflow in Menlo Park on 27 October 2026, using real robotics data, FiftyOne and a live fine-tuned YOLO11n detector. Co-presented by Voxel51 and Nebius, this three-hour, in-person meetup combines expert lightning talks, informal networking and a technical workshop at Silicon Valley AI Hub. The focus is practical: turning raw robot logs into curated training data, producing labels, training a computer vision model and reviewing its predictions in the original multimodal recording. What you’ll do The workshop uses DROID, a real-world robotics dataset loaded into FiftyOne as a native multimodal MCAP recording. Attendees will work with synchronised camera feeds, proprioception and language data on one timeline, with no ROS installation required. During the session, you’ll: - Explore a DROID robotics recording in FiftyOne’s multimodal MCAP viewer - Extract and browse frames, then filter and deduplicate the dataset - Compute embeddings and investigate the curated frames through similarity search and embeddings visualisation - Use open-vocabulary detection to auto-label the robot gripper and target objects - Fine-tune a YOLO11n detector on the generated bounding boxes - Evaluate the resulting model and view its predictions on the original MCAP timeline Embeddings and model training will run through Nebius Serverless AI Jobs. The evening closes with a walkthrough of Nebius Token Factory, including chat and vision models, fine-tuning and credits. You can also explore the FiftyOne documentation before attending. Evening format - 5:30–6:30 PM: Networking, food, drinks and lightning talks from local practitioners working across AI, machine learning and computer vision - 6:30–7:30 PM: From raw robot logs to a curated dataset, including multimodal exploration, frame extraction, deduplication and embeddings - 7:30–8:00 PM: Auto-labelling, live YOLO11n fine-tuning and model evaluation - 8:00–8:30 PM: Nebius Token Factory walkthrough This is a technical, hands-on event for people interested in robotics datasets, computer vision, machine learning and physical AI. It offers an opportunity to follow a complete model-development loop while meeting others working in the Silicon Valley AI community. Before you attend… Register for this event

Sponsors: Nebius