Mallory Mejias

Mallory Mejias is passionate about creating opportunities for association professionals to learn, grow, and better serve their members using artificial intelligence. She enjoys blending creativity and innovation to produce fresh, meaningful content for the association space. Mallory co-hosts and produces the Sidecar Sync podcast, where she delves into the latest trends in AI and technology, translating them into actionable insights.

A surgeon’s gloved hands reach for a surgical instrument on a sterile tray, with faint blue AR grid overlays suggesting a VR training simulation in a bright operating room.

5 min read

World Models: The Next Frontier of AI for Associations

Three years ago, if you'd told association leaders that AI would be writing their member communications, answering complex certification questions, and personalizing learning paths, they'd have said that technology was decades away. But quietly,...

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Sidecar Sync podcast Episode 97 cover image featuring Mallory Mejías and Thomas Altman, with the tagline 'AI Knowledge for Associations'

38 min read

Exploring Interactive AI Simulations and World Models with Thomas Altman | [Sidecar Sync Episode 97]

Summary: Thomas Altman, co-founder of Tasio and Betty, joins Mallory Mejias for an electrifying deep dive into the future of AI through the lens of...

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Minimalist loading screen showing a progress bar at 45% on a dark charcoal background, with the text “Loading GPT-5…” in light gray, a small frozen spinning loader icon, and “45%” displayed below in soft peach.

4 min read

The Rocky Rollout: What OpenAI's GPT-5 Launch Teaches Associations About Innovation

Have you tested out GPT-5? You might have noticed it's been a bit buggy. Connection failures, voice mode not working, responses that feel oddly cold...

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Vector illustration of nested technology devices—server, desktop, laptop, smartphone, smartwatch—arranged like Russian dolls, each with a glowing AI brain icon

4 min read

Open Models Are Getting Smaller, Smarter, and More Practical

The open source AI movement continues to accelerate. Microsoft, Meta, Mistral, OpenAI, DeepSeek, and Google have all released open models in recent...

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Sidecar Sync podcast Episode 95 cover image featuring co-hosts Mallory Mejías and Amith Nagarajan, with the tagline 'AI Knowledge for Associations'

29 min read

Rapid Fire AI Updates & The Coming Energy Reckoning | [Sidecar Sync Episode 96]

Summary: In this episode of Sidecar Sync, Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias tackle the latest developments in AI with a fast-paced series of...

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Top-down view of a green circuit board where hot dogs in buns replace copper traces, glowing in places, with labeled sections 'Memory' and 'Processing'.

4 min read

From 250,000 Hot Dogs to One: How Biology Will Transform AI Economics

In 1997, world chess champion Garry Kasparov sat across from IBM's Deep Blue supercomputer in one of history's most famous matches. Kasparov's brain...

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A car dashboard GPS display in dark mode shows three route options to “AI Success” from “Your Association”: a blue toll road (Proprietary APIs, fastest, $$$$), a green balanced route (Open Models as Service, 25 min, $$), and an orange scenic no-toll route (Self-Hosted, 45 min, $), with a glowing AI brain icon marking the destination.

8 min read

Big Models, Small Models, Open, Closed: Making Sense of Your AI Options

GPT-5. Claude 4.1 Opus. Qwen. Llama. The new gpt-oss models. If you're feeling overwhelmed by the avalanche of AI options, you're not alone. Every...

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Vintage comic book illustration of a magician pulling colorful ribbons of binary code and circuits from a USB stick, with the word “BEHOLD!” in a speech bubble and “WHOOSH” sound effects in the background.

4 min read

OpenAI Embraces 'Open' AI—What It Means for Associations

OpenAI—the company that arguably put the "closed" in closed-source AI—just released their first open models in six years. As HubSpot Co-Founder and...

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A raised human hand with five fingers extended, palm facing forward, against a soft gradient background, with a business suit sleeve visible at the wrist.

5 min read

GPT-5: Revolutionary Leap or Overhyped Update? What Associations Need to Know

OpenAI's latest flagship model promises to "just do stuff"—that's how AI researcher and Wharton professor Ethan Mollick describes GPT-5's core...

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