Everyone's talking about Artificial Intelligence (AI), but how many of us truly understand its real-world applications? Is it just a fleeting trend, or is it already an indispensable part of our professional toolkit?
The TechPods team firmly believes in the latter, which is why we invite you to the 8th edition of our Tech Talk TechPods series: “AI in Action.” This year, we’re focusing not just on theory, but on practical application - how AI is transforming the software development world, solving complex business challenges, and integrating into your daily workflow. We’ve ensured you will leave with concrete ideas, new knowledge, and, most importantly, answers to your burning questions.
The Agenda: From the Big Picture to Social Network Security
We have prepared three in-depth talks led by our expert colleagues, each demonstrating AI in action based on their experience building intelligent solutions:
1. The Big Picture: What is the significance of LLMs for the IT industry?
🎙️ Speaker: Mihail Panayotov (Co-founder & CTO, TechPods)
Mihail Panayotov - CTO and co-founder of TechPods, with over 20 years of IT experience - is one of the industry's "dinosaurs," but is a huge "early adopter" at heart. He’s always one step ahead in testing new technologies, giving him a unique perspective. As an expert in complex solution architecture, he will present “The Big Picture” and reveal how Large Language Models (LLMs) are fundamentally transforming the software industry, and what new challenges and opportunities are emerging. Mihail will share how AI currently occupies a primarily "scientific" role in his work as he tests various models, but he is already actively using LLMs for code generation and the automation of data integration and processing.
2. Democratizing Data for Non-Technical Users with AI
🎙️ Speaker: Borislav Kavalov (Sr. Software Engineer, TechPods)
How often do product managers or support teams need to extract data quickly, only to have to pull a developer away from their core work? Borislav Kavalov - a Sr. Software Engineer with over 4 years of experience in Backend and Data Engineering - will present a solution to this common problem. Borislav, who has worked on the design and implementation of systems used by millions of users and processed petabytes of data using NLP and Big Data techniques, is the person who knows how to enable the user to get their job done 10x faster. In his talk, “Democratizing Data for Non-Technical Users with AI,” you’ll learn how AI can be used to create a chatbot that understands database structure, generates necessary queries, and visualizes the results in beautiful, presentation-ready charts.
3. AI-powered protection in social networks
🎙️ Speaker: Plamen Tsvetanov (Backend Developer, TechPods)
Social networks are often riddled with scams and the unauthorized use of content. Plamen Tsvetanov, a Backend Developer with over 4 years of experience and a strong interest in AI, will delve into “AI-powered protection in social networks.” For Plamen, technology is constantly changing, and AI is already an integral part of his work, serving as a productivity tool or a rubber ducky. He will demonstrate how AI can be utilized as a powerful shield to protect users from scams (often exploiting the images of famous individuals), and how it can assist with the strict enforcement of copyright.
Panel Discussion: Putting AI to Work – Key Tech Debates
One of our main goals is to create an opportunity for dialogue! Therefore, following the lectures, we invite you to a panel discussion on the hot topic of “Putting AI to Work.”
Our panelists - Dragomir Parvanov (Senior Full-stack Developer), Lyubomir Ivanov (Senior Software Engineer), Lyuboslav Lyubenov (Senior Software Engineer), and Tino Tokich (Senior Software Developer) - will discuss how AI has changed the daily work of developers. They will focus on the tools and technologies they currently use, and how these impact productivity, code quality, and the creative process. The discussion will also cover the key challenges of integrating AI into existing workflows and the question of how to balance automation with necessary human oversight. Panelists will share concrete successful projects and lessons learned from the "hallucinations" of AI models. Special attention will be paid to the future of Pair Programming (developer versus AI), AI-driven development, the role of prompts, and Vibe coding. The discussion will conclude with the crucial question: Will AI replace developers, or simply make them better?
Event Details
🗓️ When: October 21st, 7:00 PM (Doors open at 6:30 PM – please arrive on time to start promptly!)
📍 Where: Campus X, Event Center (in the Telerik Academy building), Sofia.
🥂 Networking: Following the discussion, we invite you to a Networking Cocktail - the perfect opportunity to exchange ideas with speakers and colleagues in an informal setting.
Admission is free, but registration is mandatory! Don't forget to reserve your spot: ➡️ Link for Registration
AI isn't the future - it's the toolkit of today. Join TechPods TechTalk vol. 8: AI in Action and gain practical knowledge for building intelligent solutions!
