Build, side by side.
Open your laptop. Start something, unstick something, or help someone else move theirs forward. Most of the evening belongs to making.
THE FOUNDING CHAPTER / LEEDS, UK
A city of makers.
A new age of
possibility.
We build with intelligence.
Side by side. With each other.
ROOTED IN LEEDS. OPEN TO WHAT COMES NEXT.53.8° N 1.55° W ✳
A NEW SOCIETY IS TAKING SHAPEIn person, in LeedsFree to participate. Always.First gathering in the making ↗
01 / THE IDEA
What becomes possible
when we build
together?
Intelligence is opening new doors. We want to find out what’s on the other side, together.
Leeds Intelligence Society is a place for people working with frontier AI to meet, make things, exchange ideas and take them further. A room where a conversation can become a prototype, and a prototype can become something that matters.
We’re beginning here, in Leeds. With an open door, an ambitious outlook and a belief that the next era should be something we help create.
Human curiosity.
New kinds of intelligence.
Shared possibility.
New kinds of intelligence.
Shared possibility.
02 / IN THE ROOM
Bring something
unfinished.
An idea. A question. A thing you can’t stop thinking about.
Let’s see how far it can go.
Follow the conversation.
Trade ideas, ask difficult questions and find people who see a different piece of the picture. There is room for a detour.
Carry it into the city.
Keep the work moving between gatherings. Explore tools, evidence and proposals that could make life in Leeds better.
THE FIRST GATHERING
We’re finding our room.
A central Leeds home. A weekday evening. Roughly every three weeks.
Date and venue will be announced once confirmed.
A LONGER HORIZON
The city of tomorrow
starts with the people
in the room.
Over time, we want this society to become a place where people develop and test ideas for Leeds itself: how we learn, share resources, create opportunity and shape the policies that affect our lives.
That starts with people doing useful work together. A founding group will grow through that contribution, helping the society stay open, thoughtful and free.
A Leeds beginning. A wider possibility.
KEEP THE DOOR OPEN
Help make
the room possible.
Participation will be free. A place to gather, access to tools and a little practical support can help keep it that way.
We’d love to hear from people and organisations who can offer a venue, fund the gatherings, contribute compute or lend a hand.
Become a founding supporter ↗Support makes the space possible. The community shapes the work.
03 / YOUR PLACE IN IT
Every society
starts with
someone showing up.
We’re gathering the first people now.
If this feels like your kind of room, put your hand up.
✓ Free to take part✓ All backgrounds welcome✓ No finished idea required
A FEW THINGS YOU MIGHT BE WONDERING
Before you
come along.
Do I need to be a developer?
No. Bring curiosity and a willingness to contribute. Designers, makers, researchers, founders, people with local knowledge and people exploring their first idea all have a place here.
What should I bring?
A laptop if you have one, an idea if you have one, and something you’re curious about. You can also come to listen, pair up and find your way into a project.
When and where is the first gathering?
We’re finding a central Leeds home now. The plan is a weekday evening roughly every three weeks. The first date, venue and access information will be shared once confirmed. Joining the list helps us organise it around the people coming.
Will it always be free?
Free participation is a founding commitment. We’re looking for venue partners and supporters to cover the practical costs, so a ticket price never decides who gets to be in the room.
Does everything have to be about Leeds?
You can bring your own project or explore something completely new. Alongside that open space, we want to develop work that helps Leeds: practical tools, better evidence and ideas for the city’s future.
Who is behind it?
Leeds Intelligence Society is being started by Drew Thomas. It is at its founding stage. The intention is for a small group of contributors to emerge through the work and help look after the society together.
Is this part of the council or a university?
It is an independent initiative. The longer ambition is to contribute useful work and well-tested proposals to Leeds, in conversation with the people they affect.