07/18/2026

Exp 12/18/2027

cypurr@protonmail.com

cypurr.org

Outline:

• Intro
• Basics of AI
• Q&A
• 10 m Break
• Turning off AI settings

Ground Rules

We DO NOT tolerate language or behavior meant to demean or harm folks based on their identity

Security is scary, let’s be gentle.

Step up; Step Back

Privacy:

• We’re in public! Keep it general.

• Stories Stay. Lessons Leave.

• Journalists, Researchers, etc make yourselves known!

Intros

• Name (Pronouns)

What's your one-sentence review on AI?

or

What's a question you hope to answer today?

Who are we?

We are Cypurr Collective

Cat enthusiasts hosting beginner-friendly cybersecurity events with a holistic approach. Teaching to build community self-defense

Next open meeting

(info via email list)

8/19 @7pm

Basics of AI -context

1966- ELIZA "chatterbot"

Basics of AI - how it started

Chatbots followed a list of rules written by a human

For a long time, focus was adding all the rules needed for convincing language

Idea of machine teaching itself on pause until 1990s

Basics of AI - How it's goin'

Supervised learning

 - "here's the right answer"

Self-supervised Reinforcement learning

- "Try a bunch of things, get a cookie for better attempts"

- Mostly human feedback for popular AI

CyPurr Collective loves____

cats!

beguiled

authority

Basics of AI - LLMs

[Welch Labs - YT]

Most of "AI" these days are Large Language Models (LLMs), predicting one word at a time based on past training

Basics of AI - LLMs

LLMs as "chunky smoothies" of information it's trained on

Rare info more likely to be spit out verbatim "chunks"

More unique/new "blended" combinations of common content

"Blackbox", "nondeterministic". Won't know what comes out of the straw. 

Why now?

Basic methods of AI training haven't changed much, but the scale has.

More data -> 🏭 more data processing 🏭-> better results

Data:

•  LLMs are mostly trained on the "open internet"
  •  any information you can access without permission
• Eyes on novel/private data

Processing:  

• Expensive with environmental/political costs
• Capital forces making a big gamble (running at a loss)

The results...

AI and Privacy

• Open web no longer has obscurity
  • mishandled info can be grabbed for training, return as "chunks"
• Most AI is "Software as a Service"
  • anything the AI sees, is shared with the company server
• LLMs supercharge surveillance
  • humans are no longer a bottleneck
• AI misconduct (esp AI agents)
  • When AI can control what info is shared, it can accidentally share too much

         LLMS

AI Agent

Discussion

• Why do you think there is/was such a major push for AI?
  
   
• How has it changed your life?

Keeping AI
                 in Check

Breach Control

1. Export
2. Backup
3. (optional) Migrate

Backup!

(modified) 3-2-1-1 Backup

• 3 Copies
• >2 storage "types"
  • Paper
  • Harddrive (i.e. hot drive)
  • Thumbdrive (i.e. cold drive)
  • DVD
  • Cloud
• 1 offsite
  • Includes the cloud
• 1 "cold" backup

Easy Examples?

Private Backups

Cryptomator

Encrypts data before putting it on the cloud

Built in? (Time Machine, Windows Backup)

Time Machine has an encryption option, Windows needs file encryption :/

VeraCrypt

Encrypts data for local storage

Kopia

Automatic backups, encrypted, local or cloud

Discussion & Support

Thanks!

cypurr.org

cypurr@pm.me