AI Builders Brisbane - for AI Experts, AI Engineers & AI Agent Builders

Welcome to Brisbane AI Builders for AI Enthusiasts, AI Engineers & AI Agent Builders event!

Date: Third wednesday of every month

Time: 5.15pm

Note - 6pm building front doors get locked, we will need to come a get you. Please msg.

Agenda:

5.15pm-6pm - Food and Networking

6pm-6.30pm - Welcome and AI News

6.30pm-8.30pm - Sessions

Location: Microsoft Brisbane, Level 28, 400 George Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000

Come join us for a night filled with exciting discussions, presentations, and networking opportunities with fellow AI enthusiasts and professionals. Whether you're an experienced AI engineer or just starting out as an AI agent builder, this event is perfect for anyone looking to delve deeper into the world of artificial intelligence. Don't miss out on this chance to learn, share ideas, and connect with like-minded individuals in the heart of Brisbane. See you there!

Session 23rd September 2025

Speaker : Samson Blackburn

Topic: "2022, OpenAI makes a big splash with Artificial Imagination, Time magazine publishes DALL-E 2 as one of 2022's best inventions. Three years later and Synthography has evolved into a full creative industry, reshaping design, marketing, gaming and entertainment. In this talk, we will provide a point-in-time capture of the markets best Foundational Models, a glimpse into the industry future and a technical look under the hood of current professional workflows for the Amateur Synthographer."

Speaker: Priyanka Shah

Microsoft AI MVP | Generative AI Leader | Avanade AI & Tech Leadership | International Speaker & Author | Top Voice of AI

Topic: From RAGs to Riches: Decontructing RAG and its variants to get the most out of LLMs and Gen AI assistants.

Session Details: Wed 20th Aug 2025

Local Intelligence: Running LLMs Natively, No Cloud Required - Jernej Kavka

Imagine an AI that runs entirely offline—fast, private, and directly connected to your application’s logic. In this session, we’ll explore how locally hosted large language models (LLMs) can interpret natural language prompts and invoke real-time functionality without ever touching the cloud. From smart environments to embedded devices, we’ll demonstrate how this approach unlocks new possibilities for responsiveness, autonomy, and data sovereignty. We’ll wrap by showing how .NET 9’s new AI-native method invocation makes this not just possible—but practical

I want to leverage AI – but I’m a little overwhelmed by my options - Martin Catherall
Whether you’re a beginner in IT or a seasoned professional in another area of IT, you’re likely aware of AI tools like Chat GPT and Copilot. But after supplying a few prompts to one of the LLMs on the market, you’d like to take your skills to the next level – but where should you start? This session will guide you through the maze of Copilot, Copilot Studio and AI Foundry so that you can start making sense of everything AI on the Microsoft Platform – which encompasses many non-Microsoft LLMs. This short session should help to cut through the noise and leave you with some options of the next steps on your AI journey.
While this session will use the Microsoft stack as its frame of reference, the scenarios that are up for discussion are applicable to the wider AI landscape.
If you’re new(ish) to the AI field then please come along and bring your questions, if you’re a more advanced AI user then please come along and share your experiences and help other IT professionals understand the AI options out there and what they may need to upskill on to keep themselves up-to-date.

About Martin
Martin Catherall is a Data Architect working on Microsoft Data Platform technologies. He is currently based in Brisbane, Australia.
Martin’s career has expanded from the world of SQL Server Administration and T-SQL development to encompass data engineering and architecture on the Microsoft Azure and Fabric Platforms – including recent adventures in the world of AI.
He has over 15 years’ experience in the data industry and has been a recipient of the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Award since 2014
When he is not engaged in data related activities, he can be found exploring the Queensland landscape (he’s recently escaped Melbourne), learning about Minecraft or Super Mario from his kids and learning the guitar – despite being tone deaf!
Martin is the co-host of DataPlatform downunder
https://www.meetup.com/en-AU/data-platform-downunder-meetup-group/

IMPORTANT: Event scheduled for 16th July 2025 has been move to 24th July 2025.

Session Details: Thurs 24th July 2025

Session 1: Ryan Davis - How Not to Translate a Videogame (2025 ver.)

Have you ever wanted to play a game, but tragically found that it isn't available in your language? Ryan Davis has, and in this talk we’ll find out how the current state of AI and agentic capabilities make using a machine to solve this problem far more effective than even a mere five years ago (albeit still ill-advised). We’ll compare approach, results, and limitations of the past and present, and hear some of the learnings that this AI-builder-in-~training~ gaming came up with along the way. If we’re lucky, we might even get to see a game or two. A light-hearted overview of a fun application of AI to scratch a personal itch, with real-world implications.

Ryan is a Director of Oexa, where he helps healthtech vendors, healthcare practitioners, and patients alike with products that make patient care smarter and more connected. He prefers Azure over AWS, iOS over Android, Nintendo over Sony, and tabs over spaces.

Session 2: Evan He - Living by Design: Using AI as Your Life Operating System

How to use AI to find purpose, know yourself, plan your path, and live intentionally. From finding purpose to planning his career, from building a house to building habits, Evan experiments with AI as a Life Operating System- one that helps him understand himself better, reflect deeply, and take action on what matters. He now shares this journey with others, hoping to spark conversations and co-create better ways of living with AI.

Evan is an AI Innovation Manager with 20+ years of experience across delivery, coaching, and transformation. But beyond the job titles, he’s a curious human on a mission to live more intentionally- with AI as his thought partner, life coach, and daily companion.

Session Details: 18th June 2025

Priyanka Shah

Microsoft AI MVP | Generative AI Leader | Avanade AI & Tech Leadership | International Speaker & Author | Top Voice of AI

Talk: Azure AI Foundry build announcements and deep dive on Foundry local and Intelligent model router with Demos

Meg Cruickshank

Meg leads innovation and AI adoption at Suncorp. She is driven by passion for understanding and empowering humans in the face of future tech, something that has become particularly critical in the age of AI. She is focused on user experience, human value, ethical frameworks and the bigger picture.

Talk: Talking about all the non-engineering challenges of ensuring you can get the value of a scaled agentic workforce. Tech is a key part, but only one part, of achieving benefits.

Session Details 21st May 2025

AI Regulation is Coming: How to Accelerate Through It

Description: AI regulation is no longer a distant concept – it's fast approaching in Australia. How can builders, engineers, and businesses prepare for the changes ahead? This session unpacks the anticipated shape of upcoming Australian AI regulations and explores the practical implications for developing, deploying, and managing AI solutions locally. We'll discuss proactive strategies to navigate compliance requirements, mitigate potential risks, and crucially, explore how organisations can leverage this evolving regulatory landscape not just to survive, but to accelerate innovation and build greater trust in their AI systems within the Australian market

Bio: James Gauci is the CEO and Founder of Cadent, a pioneering ethical technology studio that specialises in AI governance and human-centred software development. He also founded Ethē, an AI governance platform helping organisations implement responsible AI practices and align with international standards like ISO/IEC 42001 efficiently.

With a unique background combining 10 years of product, delivery, and AI, degrees in Business (MBA) and Psychological Science, alongside certifications in AI governance and information security (CISM), James brings a distinctly human-centric perspective to technology. He has led significant technology projects for Australian Government, Queensland Government, tech scale-ups and Fortune 100 companies.

James is deeply involved in the ethical considerations of technology, previously serving as the Chair of the IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology (SSIT) Australian national committee and lecturing in cybersecurity ethics. He is focused on ensuring technology, particularly AI, is aligned to human values.