Balancing Ambition and Reality: Evaluating the Trade-offs of Using LLMs in Real-World Applications

The hype is real, but so are the costs. Let's cut through the noise and discuss what actually works when deploying LLMs at scale.

Stop guessing. Start deciding—with data, peer insights, and hard-won experience. Join fellow engineering leaders navigating the same pressure to integrate LLMs without compromising on reliability, budget, or trust.

We’ll dive into the questions keeping tech leaders up at night:

1. ROI Reality Check: Where do LLMs deliver measurable business value, and where do traditional systems still win on cost, reliability, and performance?
2. Evaluation Frameworks: How are teams actually measuring LLM effectiveness beyond demos? What metrics matter when accuracy isn't binary?
3. The Hidden Costs: Latency, data privacy, model drift, and infrastructure reality—what no one talks about in the marketing materials.

This isn’t about chasing trends. It’s about making smarter, informed decisions—grounded in technical rigor and business impact.

Meet Your Host

Neha Chourasia, Senior Engineering Manager at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

With 18+ years building enterprise applications and data-intensive systems, Neha knows what it takes to evaluate new technologies under real-world constraints. She leads teams that balance ambitious goals with operational realities—exactly the mindset needed for an honest conversation on LLMs.

Why Join?

If you're hearing “Should we be doing something with LLMs?”—this is where you get the perspective to answer confidently. Walk away with practical takeaways, peer insights, and frameworks to guide your next decision.