Google I/O Extended: Building the future of mobile with AI

Leeds Mobile's May meetup is a Google I/O Extended event, hosted at Parallax's city centre offices on Thursday 21 May 2026. Two talks cover the practical and strategic implications of AI for mobile engineers.

First, Gil Nobrega presents I, Developer: Asimov's Laws for the AI Coding Era. The premise is straightforward: AI coding tools promise speed but frequently undermine the architectural discipline that production software requires. Nobrega translates Isaac Asimov's Laws of Robotics into a three-part framework for working with AI tools rather than against them. He's a Senior Mobile Engineer who has scaled apps to millions of users at Tide and EE, and is a Flutter contributor with a background in theoretical physics.

Second, Mark Wilcox gives The Present & Future of AI in Mobile Software. Drawing on William Gibson's observation that the future is unevenly distributed, Wilcox looks at what's already happening with startups and early adopters, then maps hardware trends, model capabilities and the economics of AI to sketch where mobile development is heading. Wilcox is a Principal Engineer at Olio and has worked in mobile for 25 years. He argues the industry has changed more in the last six months than the previous decade.

The evening also includes a raffle for two free tickets to droidcon London 2026. You need to be present on the night to enter.

Leeds Mobile is one of the longer-running mobile-focused meetup groups in the city, bringing together Android and iOS engineers, Flutter developers and mobile-adjacent technologists. Events are free and typically draw a mix of junior engineers and experienced tech leads. Parallax, the Leeds-based digital agency, is hosting for this edition.

Why attend

Both talks are technically grounded rather than promotional. Nobrega's session offers a concrete framework for teams already using AI coding tools and wrestling with the consequences for code quality. Wilcox brings 25 years of mobile industry perspective to a question most engineers are actively thinking about.

The format is practical: talks run roughly 40 minutes each with a break between them, and the evening finishes with a prize draw and optional drinks. If you work in mobile or are building AI-assisted tooling, the droidcon London raffle alone is worth showing up for.

Agenda

• 17:30 Doors open
• 17:30 Pizza and raffle tickets
• 18:00 Event starts
• 18:10 Talk 1 — Gil Nobrega: I, Developer: Asimov's Laws for the AI Coding Era
• 18:50 Short break
• 19:10 Talk 2 — Mark Wilcox: The Present & Future of AI in Mobile Software
• 19:50 Wrap-up and prize draw
• 20:00 Close — optional drinks at a nearby pub

Speakers

• Gil Nobrega — Senior Mobile Engineer; Flutter contributor and open-source maintainer; previously scaled apps at Tide and EE; background in theoretical physics.
• Mark Wilcox — Principal Engineer at Olio; 25 years in mobile software development.