Gillian Armstrong

Hi there! I'm a Specialist Solutions Architect at Amazon Web Services. I have worked with many technologies across the full stack, and currently focus on Generative AI. My current passion is in understanding the new paradigms that Cognitive Technologies are bringing to human computer interaction, and how Serverless is changing how we think about and design software.

I love discussing technology, thinking up big ideas, and making them reality. I also enjoy sharing what I'm learning at conferences, meet-ups, and in my blog posts.

But, enough about me - I want to hear about you. Come chat to me on twitter or pick one of the other options below.

Here's some of the places you can find me...

LinkedIn
Twitter
Blog Posts
virtualgill@outlook.com

Here's some of what I've been writing...

Live Meeting Assistant with Amazon Transcribe, Amazon Bedrock, and Knowledge Bases for Amazon Bedrock
A walk-through of setting up a generative AI meeting assistant.

Best practices for creating Amazon Lex interaction models
Improving the recognition in your Amazon Lex bot

The next sustainability slow movement — slow software?
Can we rethink how we write and use software to be more sustainable?

How to cheat at Machine Learning by not owning a cow
Why using Managed AI Services isn't cheating at all.

The Impact and Ethics of Conversational Artificial Intelligence
As we use more natural interfaces with technology our relationship is shifting to one where we increasingly humanise them.

Delivering business value through serverless
In a serverless architecture the business logic and not the infrastructure should be the 'hard part'.

Alexa Conversations: A Developer’s Opinion from re:MARS
Alexa is getting more conversational by shifting skills to be more transactional.

Responsive Personality Design in Chatbots
How do you design a bot personality that can work in multiple channels?

Why your Chatbot needs to Care about Context
Your chatbot knowing what’s up is the secret to a great experience.

Helping Your Baby Bot Learn To Chat Like A Grown Up Bot
In a conversation the user is always right – what are you doing to keep improving your bot’s understanding? Baby bots need help to grow up.

Software and the Storyteller
Once upon a time a storyteller became a software engineer.

Writing a Tech Talk Using Storytelling Techniques
Giving a Technical Talk isn’t so different from telling a story.

Here's some places I've been speaking...

GOTO × AWS EDA Day London 2024
Outsmarting the genie: How to make smart architecture decisions when building Gen AI applications

BelfAWSt User Group
AWS re:Invent 2023 re-cap: GenAI

AWS re:Invent 2023
The opportunities and challenges of generative AI in contact centers

AWS UG Meetup
Interview with Dr. Werner Vogels, CTO Amazon

AWS Cloud Day Dublin
What are you waiting for to add AI capabilities to your applications?

AWS London Summit 2023
AIM302 - How to create delightful conversational experiences using Amazon Lex

ServerlessDays Belfast at Night
Panel: The Evolution of AI and Serverless

Digital Government Conference 2022
AI to drive innovation in the delivery of public services

Belfast Women in Tech
How AI is changing User Experience design

Serverless Summit 2022
Panel: Modern App development and Testing

BelTech 2022
The challenges of Implementing AI in Real World Systems

BASH
Xmas Bash - Tech Industry Panel

AWS re:Invent 2021
BIZ208 Enhancing audio and video with Amazon Chime ML and DSP

AWS Online Tech Talks
Process Documents Faster Using AWS Machine Learning

Bias in AI : STEM Event

AWS re:Invent 2020
Using AI to automatically find insights in email: A rapid prototyping story

AWS Power Hour: Machine Learning
S1 E8 | Episode Bonus!

ML Zero to Hero Meetup
AWS AI Services Overview (Oct 2020)

AWS Power Hour: Machine Learning
S1 E1 | Intro to ML

PipelineAI Meetup
Applying a Serverless-First Mindset to bring AI into the Enterprise

The Virtual Bash on Ethics
AI Ethics for Developers: Embrace your Inner 5-year old

ServerlessDays Belfast (organising team)

AWS re:Invent 2019
AIM305 Automate content moderation and compliance with AI

AI Con (conference chair / track host)

Serverless Chats
How Liberty Mutual is Embracing Serverless

GDG Belfast - Pi European Roadshow
A Journey into Applied AI Cloud Services

AWS Developer Influencer Summit 2019
A Developer's Journey into AI: Building a Digital Assistant using Amazon's AI Services

ConverCon 2019
Conversational Implementations-Delivering Amazing Experiences in the Real World

Cardiff ServerlessDays
Serverless and Chatbots

AWS re:Invent 2018
Crafting a Conversational Platform Strategy

QCon San Francisco
Serverless and Chatbots: A Match Made in the Cloud

HUBWeek
Artificial Intelligence: Real Life

ConverCon 2018
Why is Natural Language Understanding so Hard to do in Practice?

Digital DNA
The Intelligent Workplace: Everyday AI

Serverless CPH
Smarter Serverless Chatbots

The Machine Learning Mega BASH
Natural Language (mis)Understanding

Artificial Intelligence - Northern Ireland
Humanising Computers using Conversational AI

JeffConf Hamburg
Conversational AI and Serverless

AWS User Group Dublin
Future of Cloud - All The Unmissable News From Re:Invent 2017

AWS Re:Invent 2017
Building a Voice-Enabled Customer Service Chatbot Using Amazon Lex (MCL301)

AWS User Group Belfast
Artificial Intelligence Services in AWS

Convercon 2017
Conversational Implementations - Delivering Amazing Experiences in the Real World.

Beltech 2017
It's Good to Talk - Building the Right Chatbot