Join Portland's AI & ML community.
Practical AI. Local intelligence. We're a welcoming group of builders, learners, creatives, and curious Portlanders figuring out AI together — bring a project, test a model, learn the basics, or just come say hello.
Free to join · Beginners welcome · No experience required
Why join
A local community, not a landing page
Membership is free and open. Here's what you get when you join.
Find your people
Meet builders, researchers, artists, and curious neighbors who are all figuring out AI together — in person, right here in Portland.
Learn without pressure
Ask beginner questions freely and go deep when you're ready. Curiosity is genuinely enough to start.
Build real things
Bring a project, join a working night, or contribute to community projects. Get hands-on help from peers.
Stay in the loop
Members get event invites, a community channel, project updates, and a newsletter — never any spam.
What members do
Ways to take part
Every member picks their own way in — from your first prompt to shipping evaluation harnesses.
Applied AI Night
Monthly working sessions for projects, workflows, datasets, prompts, prototypes, and product questions.
Join a project nightModel Evaluation Lab
Hands-on sessions for testing model outputs, retrieval quality, failure modes, safety risks, and readiness.
Test a modelAI Literacy Studio
Beginner-friendly workshops on AI basics, prompting, data privacy, copyright, and evaluation.
Start learningCreative AI Salon
A space for artists, writers, musicians, designers, and creative technologists to share process and questions.
Share creative workResponsible Deployment Roundtable
Small-group sessions for organizations considering AI adoption, policy, procurement, and governance.
Bring an organizationStudy Hall
Low-pressure sessions for courses, papers, notebooks, tutorials, and personal projects.
Join study hallMember voices
Why people stick around
"I showed up knowing almost nothing and left with a study buddy and a project. Nobody made me feel behind."
"The Model Evaluation Lab changed how our team ships. We actually test failure modes now instead of hoping."
"As an artist, I finally found a room where people take both the tools and the ethics seriously."
How we treat each other
A community that's welcoming and rigorous
Beginner questions are welcome. Deep technical work is welcome. Sharp questions about privacy, labor, copyright, accessibility, and accountability are welcome. These shared norms keep it that way.
Read our community norms- Name uncertainty clearly.
- Don't present demos as proven systems.
- Disclose data sources when possible.
- Keep private and sensitive data out of public sessions.
- Respect creative ownership and attribution.
- Critique systems, not people.
There's a seat for you here.
Portland doesn't need to wait for AI to happen to it — we can learn it, build with it, and shape its use together. Joining takes two minutes and it's free.