Naperville News Digest: Guest speakers to discuss artificial intelligence at TEDx event; Neuqua Valley High School to present ‘Guys and Dolls’ musical; costumed Star Wars characters to visit downtown Water Street

Guest speakers to discuss artificial intelligence at TEDx event

U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, recently appointed to the Congressional AI Task Force, will talk about the myths and realities of artificial intelligence as one of the speakers at a TEDx Naperville Live event on Thursday, April 25.

Doors open at 4 p.m. at the Henry Schacht Theater, Nokia campus, 200 Lucent Lane, Naperville, with live speakers set to begin at 4:30 p.m. and selected TED Talks screenings presented from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

Other guest speakers include Ian Foster, division director for data science and learning at Argonne National Laboratory, and Anne Lee, chief technology office partner for Nokia Bell Labs.

In a TEDx Live event, organizers hold a license to show talks that will be performed at the annual TED conference in Vancouver, Canada. In addition to the screening of the selected TED talks, there will be several speakers on stage to talk about “Myths and Realities of AI: Demystifying the future of AI.”

Tickets are $20 and include food and drinks. For more information, go to www.tedxnaperville.com.

Neuqua Valley High School to present ‘Guys and Dolls’ musical

The Neuqua Valley High School theatre program will present the classic musical “Guys and Dolls” at 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, April 25-27, at the high school auditorium, 2360 95th St. in Naperville.

“Guys and Dolls” tells the story of gamblers and the women who love them and is set in Depression-era Times Square. It is directed by Johnathan Pontarelli.

Tickets are $10 for students and $15 for adults. Advance purchase is encouraged because shows are likely to sell out, organizers said.

For tickets and more information, go to www.nvhstheatre.com.

Costumed Star Wars characters to visit downtown Water Street

Characters from Star Wars will meet with visitors and pose for photos during an event being held from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, May 4, on Water Street in downtown Naperville.

This is the third year the Downtown Naperville Alliance has arranged for the 501st Midwest Garrison, a chapter within the world’s largest Star Wars costuming group, to appear.

The Midwest Garrison provides a way for Star Wars fans to meet and network with one another, a news release said. All costumes are handmade to be as close to film authentic as possible.

The meet-and-greet is weather dependent and will be canceled in the event of rain. For more information, go to www.downtownnaperville.com.