Technology Education Collaborative (TEC)
We help people better understand the tech that surrounds them on a daily basis. TEC does this through practical application by hosting in-person, hands-on events ranging from Right to Repair workshops, Privacy meetups and tech field trips and demos.
Our agreement with the Advanced Cyber Systems Lab at GateWay Community College helps us give the general public hands-on access to advanced technologies from 3D printers to a podcasting studio people can use to learn, discover and play.
February Happy Hardware Hour - Phoenix
The Hardware Happy Hour is a social get-together of engineers, designers, coders, and builders, both hobbyists and professionals. There are no presentations or an agenda. We just get together to talk, share projects, offer suggestions, and often learn in the process. If you have a project, bring it! If you need project ideas or help, stop on by!
đź“… Thursday, February 12
đź•– 7 p.m.
đź“Ť Advanced Cyber Systems Lab
Registration is NOT required but helps ensure we order enough food (and is generally appreciated).
All skill levels welcome. This is a low-key social event, so no speakers, just socializing, snacking and tinkering.
If you have a hardware project you're working on, bring it!
If you have a project you're stuck on, bring it.
Or just stop in - There'll be chill, experienced folks who can answer your questions.
We'll supply (almost any) specialty tools and workspace you may need.
There's plenty of software talk, and programmers are welcome too!
And yes, there will be food for participants (TBD; suggestions welcome) But you are always welcome to bring your own food and (non-alcoholic beverages) to the lab, too.
OWASP Top 10 Talk by Gavin Klondike of NetSec Explained
Learn to build AI applications with enhanced security, implementing best practices for secure and responsible AI development. In this session, Gavin will walk through the OWASP Top 10 for Large Language Model (LLM) applications — and cover the most critical security risks associated with AI systems. As the author of two of the OWASP top 10, he’ll share lessons from his work in penetration testing, practical ways these risks show up in real-world environments, and strategies to mitigate them.
đź“… Wednesday, February 18
đź•– 6 p.m.
đź“Ť Advanced Cyber Systems Lab
Directions and parking map: https://techedcollab.org/directions/
Gavin Klondike is a principle security consultant and an independent researcher specializing in penetration testing and AI. He is the former head of demos and workshops for the AI Village and the lead author for two of the OWASP Top 10 for LLM Applications. He is also the founder of the YouTube channel NetSec Explained where he shares intermediate to advanced level network security topics in an easy-to-understand way. He is dedicated to sharing his knowledge with the next generation of cybersecurity professionals, to help them level up their skills. His current research focus is in finding ways to address the cybersecurity skills gap, by utilizing AI/ML to augment the capabilities of existing security resources.
Privacy PIE Watch Party – Data Privacy Week 2026 Kickoff (Recap)
Let's all get depressed about our increasingly dystopian surveillance society together! :thumbsup_tone1: Part support group, part watch party! Come to the ACSL and meet like-privacy-minded folks, enjoy food or snax, and watch the Data Privacy Week 2026 Kick-off from StaySafeOnline.org.
đź“… Wednesday, February 26
đź•– 6 p.m.
đź“Ť Advanced Cyber Systems Lab
About the video: Kick off Data Privacy Week with an eye-opening conversation about the information you share online every day, often without even realizing it. From shopping online to asking questions to an AI chatbot, our digital footprint has grown in ways that can feel complicated, or even out of our control. Join us as we bring clarity to the confusion and give you the tools to feel confident in a rapidly changing online landscape.
You’ll hear from privacy champions and technology experts who break down what “data privacy” really means for individuals today. We'll take a look at how personal information moves through the digital world, why it matters, and what simple steps you can take to take control of your data.
NEW TEC TALKS EPISODE
What Does a CISO & Tech Founder Do?
Ed Vasko,C | CISO, CISSP, (Hon. Doc.), sat down with us for our short segment during which every technologist gets asked the same five questions.
Though the five questions stay the same, the answers and conversation trajectory are always a bit surprising. This episode proved to be no exception as Ed discussed the need for resilience as a founder, the role experiential learning will play in shaping tomorrow's workforce, how the Arizona tech space has evolved over the past few decades and why community building is so important for everyone's security.
Ed offers deep dives into tech, society, leadership and the role of the modern day CISO in today's environment on his Substack, CyberS3ntry. He and his business partner, Mark Dallmeier, co-authored a book on AI adoption in the enterprise space, Opportunity Seized, Squandered, Lost: An AI Business Parable. He is also a widely sought after public speaker and panelist.
TEC will publish a longer conversation with Ed about the future of tech in Arizona in January, so be sure to subscribe to TEC Talks if you haven't already so you don't miss that conversation.
In case you missed it, our podcast TEC Talks is now on YouTube! But don't worry, you can still listen on Castapod and Spotify, too.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TechEdCollab/videos
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/77kG9LJSjCIb284X0MND9q?si=fc85f435d0174340
https://podcast.techedcollab.org/@techedcollab?ref=techedcollab.org
Castapod: https://podcast.techedcollab.org/@techedcollab
The TEC Article Club
Kicking Robots: Humanoids and the tech-industry hype machine by James Vincent
Date Published: November 19, 2025
Publication: Harper's Magazine
Long and Ugly Link: https://harpers.org/archive/2025/12/kicking-robots-james-vincent-humanoids/?src=longreads
The following introduction is by Peter Rubin, Longreads editor. This article was found via their curated list of the best of longform tech journalism.
While the current state of the robotics industry may be completely dependent on AI, James Vincent’s Harper’s feature exists entirely downstream of it. Tangibility matters for a story like this, and Vincent understands that. It’s why we begin with him trying to knock down a robot named Apollo.
After all, robots have progressed from detached arms to cutesy floor-cleaners to doglike contraptions to things that are shaped like people. (Fascinatingly, this isn’t necessarily vanity, or even lack of imagination. As Vincent sets out, it’s a solution to navigating a world built by and catered to human scale and physiology.)
Breakthroughs over the past few years have made these humanoid robots vastly more fluid and capable. But like so many technologies, the robotics sector is also wildly overblown.
Every CEO Vincent talks to, every factory he visits, every demo he witnesses, seems to pull from the same rhetorical playbook, evoking a utopian future that’s just around the corner. Humans with more time on their hands! Abundance and ease for all! (Stop me if you’ve heard any of this before.)
Thankfully, Vincent threads a needle between the two poles of tech journalism: He’s neither credulous nor cynical. Instead, he listens and watches. He smacks a robot with a broomstick. He spools out the claims and canards, the dazzle and the danger. And like most sensible people, he comes to the conclusion that the robot future might actually have some uses—and also happens to be nowhere near “just around the corner.”
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TEC is an Arizona 501(c)3 and all contributions are tax deductible.
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