Cutting Through AI Hype with John Berryman (Part 2 of 2)

​Join us for the second in a two-part series that goes beyond AI buzz and into practical insight. This event will feature a dynamic blend of presentation, group discussion, and open Q&A to help you and your team build smarter with today’s most powerful AI patterns.

​We’ll begin with brief introductions, then dive into a featured talk by John Berryman—an AI expert with deep experience building real-world systems. After his presentation, you’ll head into breakouts to reflect and collaborate with peers before reconvening for part two of John’s session and a live AMA.

​Speaker: John Berryman
John Berryman is the founder of Arcturus Labs. His journey through AI and search technologies includes contributing to GitHub Copilot's early development, where he worked on the team that brought AI-assisted coding from concept to reality. Throughout his career, John has helped build search and recommendation systems that millions use daily – from GitHub's code search infrastructure to Eventbrite's discovery platform and the US Patent Office's next-generation search system. This blend of experience in both foundational search technologies and cutting-edge AI applications gives him unique insight into building practical, powerful LLM applications.
John shares his expertise through two books: Relevant Search, which reveals the art and science of building search applications, and Prompt Engineering for LLMs, which guides developers through the emerging practice of language model application development.

​Talk Description
AI is evolving fast—but so is the hype. With countless frameworks and buzzwords competing for attention, it’s easy to get lost in the noise. In this talk, we’ll cut through the complexity and show how core concepts like prompt engineering, RAG, and agentic workflows are all built on the same simple patterns. Once you understand the fundamentals, your team can move faster, prototype smarter, and avoid getting locked into the wrong tools or trends.