Another Excellent Meetup! 🎉

Vancouver AI Community Meetup - September 2024

Event Overview

The Vancouver AI Community held its September meetup, showcasing the city’s thriving AI ecosystem through a diverse mix of presentations, performances, and community engagement. The event highlighted the intersection of technology, art, ethics, and inclusivity in AI development.

Key Presentations & Performances

Demonstration Booth - Michel LeBlond

I set up a nice demo booth and demonstrated many projects including the tarot app and Leary circumplex. Attendess of all ages were intersted in playing with the apps and learning about coding with AI Demonstrations of code running in Vscode locally and instructions on how to do it at home were greatly appreciated.

Satirical Art & Philosophical Clothing - Matt Jones

Artist Matt Jones presented his latest collaboration, the “Soul Container Academy Meat Space Preservation Unit,” featuring robot and human hands reaching toward each other in a cyberpunk interpretation of connection between human and machine.

Demystifying Large Language Models - Kush

Software developer Kush provided a technical deep-dive into LLMs, explaining them as sophisticated word predictors rather than sentient beings. He advocated for open-source AI development to prevent concentration of digital power among a few tech companies.

Indigenous Perspectives in AI - Michael & Caroline Running Wolf

The Running Wolf duo brought traditional knowledge to the tech conversation, with Caroline promoting the Signals Festival and IM4 Lab. Michael challenged the AI community’s focus on AGI as a “cargo cult” while highlighting his work teaching AI and computer science to Indigenous youth.

AI-Enhanced Dance Performance - Marina “Orbit Princess”

A groundbreaking “Prompt Me” performance where audience members wrote prompts on post-it notes, which were processed by AI systems and translated into live interpretive dance movements, demonstrating the synergy between human creativity and artificial intelligence.

AI for Good - Amin Sharifi (Enya Learning)

Sharifi presented his work creating digital twins for immigrant students, emphasizing the responsibility that comes with AI power and advocating for using AI to address social challenges and environmental issues.

Real-Time Generative Art - Kevin Friel

The “Pixel Wizard” turned the meetup into an interactive art experience, generating visuals from audience-shouted words while using wireless DMX lighting systems to create an immersive environment.

Traditional Calligraphy Meets AI - Arshia Sobhan

Presented the Autolume project, which blends traditional calligraphic artistry with AI algorithms to create evolving real-time calligraphic designs.

Digital Sovereignty - Brandon Ricci

Explored the concept of users as “digital renters” in corporate-controlled spaces, advocating for personal AI systems that prioritize user data ownership and privacy over advertising-driven models.

Community Highlights

The open mic session featured diverse contributions including:

• Michel Leblond’s AI-generated tarot readings
• High school senior Prajwal Prashanth sharing his University of Waterloo hackathon success story using GPT assistance
• Professional headshots by photographer Michelle Diamond

Looking Forward

The next meetup is scheduled for October 30th at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, continuing the community’s mission to shape an inclusive, ethical AI future where technology amplifies rather than replaces human creativity and connection.

Key Themes

• Human-AI Collaboration over competition
• Open-source development for democratic AI access
• Indigenous knowledge integration in tech development
• Ethical AI applications for social good
• Digital sovereignty and user data ownership
• Art and creativity enhanced by AI technology

The event emphasized building technology that serves all of humanity while maintaining human agency and creativity in an AI-enhanced world.