Human-in-the-Loop Happy Hour at ACL 2026
An Evening Gathering for AI Researchers & Leaders
Monday, July 6, 2026 · 6:00-9:00 PM · Seaport Village, San Diego
A 2-minute walk from the Manchester Grand Hyatt · Exact address shared upon registration
Hosted by Appen · Open to ACL 2026 attendees · Registration required
About the Evening
Human in the Loop is an invitation-only happy hour hosted by Appen at ACL 2026, bringing together leading AI researchers, NLP practitioners, and industry leaders for an evening of conversation on San Diego’s waterfront.
The field is moving fast. This is an opportunity to slow down, connect with the people shaping it, and have the kinds of conversations that don’t happen on a conference schedule. No panels, no presentations - just the right people, in the right setting, with time to talk.
Who Is Attending
We are bringing together a curated group of ACL 2026 attendees, including:
• Leading academic researchers in NLP, computational linguistics, and AI
• Industry AI leaders and applied research directors
• Founders and senior practitioners working at the frontier of language technology
• Members of the Appen AI team
Attendance is limited to maintain the quality of conversation.
On the Night
The evening is designed to feel like a proper reception - relaxed, unhurried, and genuinely enjoyable. Alongside open bar and catered food, two experiences will be running throughout the evening.
Live Typewriter Poet
Jeremy M. Brownlowe - known as Typewriter Troubadour - will be composing custom poems live throughout the evening. Guests give him a subject or a few words, and he types a poem on the spot, on card stock to keep. A genuinely memorable takeaway.
Aura Photography
The Aura Journey will be running live aura photography sessions throughout the evening. Guests place their hands on biofeedback sensors; the camera generates a one-of-a-kind color portrait printed as an Instax polaroid, with a personal color interpretation. Unexpected and a natural conversation starter.
Details
• Date: Monday, July 6, 2026
• Time: 6:00 - 9:00 PM PDT
• Location: Seaport Village waterfront, San Diego - a 2-minute walk from the Manchester Grand Hyatt
• Address: Shared with confirmed guests after registration
• Host: Appen
• Cost: Complimentary for registered ACL 2026 attendees
• Capacity: Limited - RSVP required
The venue is on the Embarcadero waterfront, steps from the conference hotel. No transport needed - walk straight from the Hyatt along the bay.
Register
Space is limited. To request an invitation, register via the link below. The venue address and event details will be shared with confirmed guests only.
Appen powers the human data for frontier AI. The world's leading AI models are built on more than algorithms; they're built on human expertise. Appen delivers the expert-validated data that trains frontier models, ensuring AI systems understand nuance, context, and complexity at scale. Across six purpose-built data products: Frontier Alignment, Agentic AI, Speech & Audio, Multimodal AI, Physical AI, and Model Integrity. Appen covers every critical dimension of modern AI research and development. With verified domain specialists across 50+ fields, 235+ languages, and operations in 170 countries, and 30 years of experience powering the research behind the models that defined search and shaped today's frontier LLMs.