- talk - Technical Track - Getting Started With AI Engineering
Bridges and Gatekeepers: OAuth and MCP
Thursday 16th October 2025 • 4:20 PM - 4:50 PMAI is no longer just about clever prompts— add in trust, access, and security. OAuth has long been the gatekeeper of the web, deciding who gets in and what they can do. Now, the Model Context Protocol (MCP) is emerging as the bridge that lets AI systems safely connect with tools, data, and services. Together, they’re shaping how we define trust in the age of AI.
In this talk, we’ll demystify OAuth and MCP, showing how they work, where they overlap, and why they matter. You’ll learn:
- How OAuth evolved into today’s backbone for authorization and identity.
- What MCP brings to the table: structured, secure communication between AI models and external systems.
- Real-world examples of OAuth + MCP in action—and the trade-offs to watch out for.
- Practical steps to apply these concepts, even if you’re not a security engineer.
Whether you’re building AI applications or just curious about how trust gets built into the tools around us, you’ll leave with a clear picture of the bridges and gatekeepers behind modern AI.
About Priya Samuel
Priya Samuel is a Technology Architect at HelixML. She comes with 20 years of experience in working with technology systems. She specializes in designing secure, scalable identity solutions and is passionate about making complex security concepts like OAuth and the Model Context Protocol (MCP) accessible to wider audiences. Priya’s work lies in an area that is the intersection of identity, trust, and AI.