Three North Shore businesses. Three local AI engineers. One week to build something useful.
Nerds Like Me is pairing three North Shore small businesses, each from a different industry, with volunteer local AI engineers. Each team will spend one focused week building an AI-enabled product, service, or workflow that addresses a real business need. We will share the results and the lessons at a public community showcase.
**Applications are open until *11/16***. Sprint and showcase dates will be set after we understand interest and availability from businesses and engineers.
Choose your application
Why we are doing this
Nerds Like Me exists to help local people understand, use, and shape AI. We want our community to own the AI dialogue instead of leaving it to large technology companies. That means sharing practical use cases, taking safety and ethics seriously, preparing local people and businesses for changes in work, and building relationships strong enough to respond together.
Community AI Build Week puts that mission into practice. It starts with a local need, brings technical and business knowledge together, and makes the result visible so others can learn from it.
How it works
- North Shore businesses and local AI engineers apply by 11/16.
- Nerds Like Me selects three businesses in different industries and matches each with an engineer based on fit, scope, and availability.
- Each pair agrees on one narrowly defined, useful result and completes a focused one-week sprint.
- The teams demonstrate what they built, explain what worked and what did not, and share responsible-use lessons at a public showcase.
For North Shore businesses
Selected businesses pay nothing. The engineer’s time is donated. You will work directly with a local technical practitioner, help choose and test the project, and keep the project-specific assets created during the sprint, subject to pre-existing intellectual property and third-party license terms.
The strongest applications identify a real, recurring need and can make a decision-maker available during the week. You do not need to arrive with an AI idea. Start with the part of your business that should work better.
For AI engineers and builders
We are looking for people who can listen carefully, scope honestly, and build responsibly. That includes AI engineers and developers, along with data, product, design, automation, security, and governance practitioners who can contribute to a practical build.
This is a pro bono commitment with a real local business, a real deadline, and a public demonstration. The goal is not a flashy demo. The goal is something the business can understand, test, and continue using or developing.
What “useful in one week” means
A good project is narrow enough to build and test in one week. It could be a customer-facing prototype, an internal workflow, a searchable knowledge tool, a content or research process, an analytics aid, or a small new service. The exact project will come from the selected business’s need and the matched engineer’s judgment.
Projects must use reasonable safeguards for privacy, security, factual reliability, human review, and responsible AI use. We will not force a project where the information, risk, or timeline does not support one.
What happens next
Applications from both groups will be reviewed together. The number of matched teams will depend on the quality of the business opportunities and the availability of qualified engineers. For this first North Shore edition, our goal is three businesses in three different industries. Dates will be coordinated after interest is clear.
Apply if you have a real business need, or volunteer if you can help turn one into a responsible, useful build. Remember to apply by 11/16!!!
Community AI Build Week: North Shore