AI speed dating: A hands-on workshop to find the one(s) you can't live without

You could spend years searching for the perfect partner. Instead, let's find your software soulmate(s) in a single afternoon. Building on the popular 10 GenAI Tools and Tricks session, this workshop provides something a 45-minute talk never can: time to actually experiment. We'll move through various categories of AI with live demos and hands-on exercises. Think of it as speed dating... you'll spend just enough time with each tool to know if there's a spark. And, by the end, you'll know exactly which ones deserve a second date. We'll start with the everyday essentials — faster writing, smarter research — then move into the creative stuff: generating images, video, audio and lifelike AI avatars. We'll save the final hour for the main event, agentic AI, where we'll build websites, visualize data and have AI handle multi-step projects from start to finish. Just a warning: you may end up wanting to skip the second date and head straight to the U-Haul rental counter. Everything featured will be current as of October 2026. You'll sign up for free versions of the tools the week before, so we can hit the ground running. Bring your laptop and your curiosity. No coding or prior AI experience required.