Introducing AI Second Brain Meetups

We’re officially launching AI Second Brain Meetups, a network of local in-person meetup groups in cities around the world!

This is for anyone who is building what we call a “Second Brain” – a trusted system for curating your knowledge and enhancing your productivity and creativity. We’ve been talking about it for years, but with the rise of AI, it’s taken on a whole new meaning.

These meetup groups are meant to connect people with like-minded peers in their city or region, and provide a place to discuss what you’re working on, learning, struggling with, and building in this area.

For now, we’re looking for volunteer hosts who can commit to hosting a meetup where they live. Click the button below to express your interest by September 3. The brief form will ask you to pick a tentative location, date, and share why you’re excited to be the organizer:

Why We’re Doing This

When I first moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2012, I knew no one. I had no insider connections, no special knowledge, no network of any kind. I felt like the ultimate outsider, and didn’t know where to even begin learning from others.

Fortunately, I discovered a secret hack – I started joining local meetup groups. I attended a dozen of them on a variety of topics before stumbling on a Quantified Self meetup. It was a simple, peer-to-peer format, with people sharing what they were learning in their pursuit of “self knowledge through numbers.”

I eventually volunteered to give a talk myself, which took place at the Evernote headquarters in Redwood City. Little did I know that that moment would introduce me to some of the most pivotal relationships of my career, and in a way, give rise to my work teaching digital notetaking, organization, and now, how to use AI.

I want to give others the gift that I was given, and provide the same kinds of opportunities for serendipitous, in-person connection. That’s rapidly becoming even more important than before, as AI transforms how we work and collaborate.

AI is an incredible technology, probably the most powerful of our lifetimes. Before our eyes, it’s redefining what it looks like to take notes, capture knowledge, organize and curate ideas, and more generally, build a career and a life you’re proud of.

At the same time, the more we adopt AI, the easier it becomes to spend an entire day without talking to a real human being. These meetups are our attempt to push back against the ways that AI erodes human socialization and to get to know each other in a deeper way than the Internet allows.

There’s a tidal wave of change washing over us right now, and not just from AI. This historical moment is demanding that we adapt in response – our attitudes, perspectives, habits, and ways of navigating the world.

And I know the main way that humans change, and have always changed, is through community. We need to see examples of what a different future might look like before we can embrace it. We need role models of what a new identity could feel like before we can become that new person. We need to be able to pick and choose and remix elements of other people’s realities to construct our own.

We are advocating for a very specific way of using AI: as an extension and amplifier of our natural abilities. I want to live in a future where AI grows my knowledge and enhances my learning, instead of substituting it. I want technology that puts me in deeper touch with myself, others, and the wider world.

By its very nature, I can’t realize that vision alone. My hope is that these groups continue to meet up over time, that they grow and spread, and that they form part of the social infrastructure that we’re all going to need to face this new era with courage and optimism. I hope it becomes a forum for people to form the relationships – as collaborators and mentors and friends – that will make a bigger difference to their future than any technology ever could.

How to host

Right now, we’re looking for local hosts who can volunteer to organize a meetup in their area.

Hosting is easy. You don’t need an agenda, a budget, or event-planning experience. Pick a meeting spot, such as a coffee shop or food court. Pick a date that works for you sometime in October or November. Bring something like a sign that makes you easy to spot. And that’s about it.

We’ll create an event page for your meetup in our Circle community, and share it with our audience across all our channels so attendees can RSVP. We’ll also share guidance for hosting your meetup. 

Everything beyond that is up to curious people on similar wavelengths talking about what is lighting them up and firing their imagination right now.

I invite you to be part of the movement!

Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly does hosting involve?

The host picks a date, time, and venue, then shows up with something that makes themself easy to spot.

Once you submit these details, we build your city’s event page in Circle for you. From there, you’re the point of contact: letting us know right away if anything changes, and setting up a way to reach your attendees directly, whether that’s a Circle group DM or your own WhatsApp group.

There’s no agenda to write and no experience required. The main thing we ask is that you follow through: hold your date once it’s set, since people are traveling to be there.

Is this a one-time thing or ongoing? 

The goal is ongoing. Organizers are encouraged to schedule the next one while everyone’s still at the first.

Do I need any experience to host? 

No. Pick a spot, pick a date in October or November 2026, and bring a sign. 

Do I need to be an AI expert or have a perfect Second Brain to organize?

No. You just need to be curious enough to show up and bring others along with you. Some of the best hosts are still figuring their own system out. That’s the point of these meetups: a room full of people learning together, not a room where one expert has it all figured out.

Why only one organizer per city?

It keeps things simple. If a given meetup grows, the host can always bring in help. But someone needs to show up, pick the spot, and make the call for this first meetup. 

What actually happens at a meetup? 

No agenda required. People share what they’re building, learning, or stuck on with AI and Second Brain systems right now.

I don’t want to host; I just want to attend. How do I find a meetup near me?

Head to our event calendar — as hosts confirm their city, date, and location, their event pages will show up there. Check back once hosts are announced (early September).

Is there a cost to attend?

No. These are free, informal gatherings. Organizers are volunteers giving their time to bring people together locally.

Do I need to be a paying member to host or attend?

No. These meetups are open to anyone, paying member or not. If you’re curious, you’re welcome.

I don’t know anyone in my city. Should I still come?

Yes. Most people show up without knowing a single other person in the room. That’s what a first meetup is for.

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