HRF x PubKey: Using AI & Nostr to Build Free Speech Social Media w/ Alex Gleason
- Date
- 2025-07-10
- Location
- New York, NY, USA
- Host
- PubKey
About this event
Free speech social media is no longer a purely theoretical debate. It is now a live engineering, governance, and product question: how do you build online spaces that resist censorship, preserve user autonomy, and still work for real people at scale? At HRF x PubKey: Using AI & Nostr to Build Free Speech Social Media w/ Alex Gleason, you’ll step into that conversation in person in New York with a community that cares deeply about open systems, Bitcoin-adjacent ideas, and the future of speech online. This event brings together people who are thinking seriously about decentralization, social media infrastructure, and the role AI may play in either strengthening or weakening individual freedom. If you’re curious about where Nostr fits into that picture, or how builders are approaching social platforms outside the conventional corporate model, this is a strong room to be in. About the Event This is an in-person gathering hosted by HRF x PubKey focused on a timely and increasingly important topic: using AI and Nostr to build free speech social media, with Alex Gleason at the center of the conversation. The event sits at the intersection of technology, autonomy, and community, making it relevant not only for developers but also for founders, researchers, creators, and anyone following the evolution of open networks. Expect a talk-driven evening with space for real-world discussion rather than abstract hype. The framing suggests a practical exploration of what it takes to build social media systems that are more resilient, less permissioned, and more aligned with user control. Because this is an in-person event in New York, the format also matters. Conversations that start around protocol design, AI tooling, moderation tradeoffs, and censorship resistance often become much more useful when they happen face to face. You’re not just showing up to consume information; you’re entering a room where people can test ideas, compare assumptions, and connect around shared priorities. The combination of HRF, PubKey, AI, and Nostr signals a distinctly values-driven discussion. This is not a generic social media event. It is for people interested in how communication systems can be designed to protect open discourse in a world where platform control, algorithmic influence, and centralized pressure increasingly shape public conversation. What to Expect The evening begins Thursday, July 10 at 6:00 PM EDT in New York. While the exact running order is not listed here, the title makes clear that the core of the event is a focused session with Alex Gleason on the relationship between AI, Nostr, and free speech social media. You can expect the event to center on themes such as: How Nostr changes the architecture of social media What AI can do inside decentralized or open social systems The tradeoffs between openness, moderation, usability, and resilience Why autonomy and user control matter at the protocol level How builders and communities can support alternatives to centralized platforms There will likely be a strong emphasis on practical thinking over broad slogans. The most useful conversations in this space tend to examine the real constraints: discovery, identity, spam resistance, moderation models, incentives, and product design. If you care about whether free speech platforms can actually function well, this is the kind of event that can sharpen your understanding. Given the tags around bitcoin, AI, autonomy, community, and networking, you should also expect meaningful hallway conversation before and after the main program. These side discussions are often where attendees compare tools, discuss emerging projects, and meet collaborators who are working on adjacent problems. Why Attend If you’ve been watching the debate around free expression online, this event offers something more useful than commentary: a chance to hear from someone working on concrete approaches. Nostr has become an important reference point in conversations about open social media, and pairing that with AI raises urgent questions about content systems, interfaces, recommendation layers, and the future balance between machine assistance and human agency. You should attend if you want a clearer picture of what an alternative social stack might actually look like. This event can help you move from broad ideological agreement to sharper technical and strategic understanding. A few reasons this event stands out: It connects ideas to implementation. You’ll be in a room focused on building, not just debating. It brings together aligned communities. The overlap between HRF, PubKey, Bitcoin-adjacent thinkers, and open-network builders makes for unusually substantive discussion. It tackles a question that is becoming unavoidable. As AI systems increasingly shape what people see, say, and discover online, the design of speech platforms matters more than ever. It offers strong networking value. If you’re looking for collaborators, thoughtful peers, or simply a better map of who is working on these problems, this is a smart place to show up. Even if you’re still forming your view on Nostr or skeptical about AI’s role in social products, that is a good reason to attend rather than a reason to stay home. Events like this are most useful when attendees bring real questions and a willingness to examine tradeoffs honestly. Practical Details Location: In person in New York, USA. This is a physical event, so plan to attend on-site and leave room for pre- and post-event conversations. Date and time: Thursday, July 10 at 6:00 PM EDT. Because this is an evening event, it works well whether you’re coming from work, from another meeting in the city, or specifically to connect with the local Bitcoin and open-tech community. Arriving on time will help you get the full value of the main session and maximize your chance to meet other attendees. This event is especially well suited to people who prefer thoughtful, in-person discussion over passive online consumption. If the future of social media, censorship resistance, AI, and protocol-based communication matters to you, this is a high-signal way to spend an evening in New York.
Who should attend
This is for you if you want to understand where free speech social media is heading and meet people actively thinking about how to build it. - You’re a **developer, product builder, or founder** exploring Nostr, decentralized social tools, or AI-enabled communication products. - You care about **free expression, censorship resistance, and user autonomy** and want a more concrete view of how those values can be reflected in actual technology. - You’re part of the **Bitcoin, open-source, or protocol-focused community** and want to connect with others working on adjacent ideas. - You’re a **researcher, writer, investor, or operator** tracking how AI may shape online speech, moderation, discovery, and platform power. - You like events where the conversation goes beyond headlines and gets into **tradeoffs, architecture, incentives, and practical implementation**. - You want **smart in-person networking** in New York with people who care about building alternatives, not just criticizing existing platforms. You do not need to be deep in every technical detail to get value from the evening. If you’re curious, serious, and ready for a substantive conversation, you’ll likely feel at home here.