Come argue with us in person.

• Amber Case, founder of the Calm Tech Institute and author of Calm Technology. She’ll talk about building technology that respects our attention and agency, and what AI should feel like when it’s actually made for humans.+Amber Case

  Founder · Calm Tech Institute

  Amber Case, founder of the Calm Tech Institute and author of Calm Technology. She’ll talk about building technology that respects our attention and agency, and what AI should feel like when it’s actually made for humans.

• Ana Serrano, president of OCAD University. She’ll talk about culture’s job in shaping technology, and why artists and educators need a real say in what gets built.+Ana Serrano

  President & Vice-Chancellor · OCAD University

  Ana Serrano, president of OCAD University. She’ll talk about culture’s job in shaping technology, and why artists and educators need a real say in what gets built.

• Lynda Brown-Ganzert, CEO of RxPx. She’ll bring 30 years of digital health receipts and ask whether the technology is actually making life better for patients.+Lynda Brown-Ganzert

  CEO · RxPx Inc

  Lynda Brown-Ganzert, CEO of RxPx. She’ll bring 30 years of digital health receipts and ask whether the technology is actually making life better for patients.

• Zaro has spent more than 15 years building communities around some of gaming’s biggest global franchises. He’ll share what live-service games learned about earning trust and listening at scale, then ask a simple question: as the machines get smarter, what keeps humans in the loop?+Zaro

  Community Futurist · Electronic Arts

  Zaro has spent more than 15 years building communities around some of gaming’s biggest global franchises. He’ll share what live-service games learned about earning trust and listening at scale, then ask a simple question: as the machines get smarter, what keeps humans in the loop?

• I’m Kris Krüg, founder of Futureproof and executive director of BC + AI. I started this festival to get artists, builders, skeptics, and curious weirdos into the same room to compare notes, disagree, and figure out what the hell we’re going to do with AI together.+Kris Krüg

  Founder & Festival Director · BC + AI Ecosystem Association

  I’m Kris Krüg, founder of Futureproof and executive director of BC + AI. I started this festival to get artists, builders, skeptics, and curious weirdos into the same room to compare notes, disagree, and figure out what the hell we’re going to do with AI together.

• Mayumi Rollings, co-founder and CEO at Tiny Ghost Studios. She’ll talk about running an AI-powered animation studio without losing the artists, the craft, or the plot.+Mayumi Rollings

  CEO & Co-Founder · Tiny Ghost Studios

  Mayumi Rollings, co-founder and CEO at Tiny Ghost Studios. She’ll talk about running an AI-powered animation studio without losing the artists, the craft, or the plot.

• Peter Bittner, independent AI trainer and consultant. He’ll get practical about teaching AI to working people, especially newsrooms and communications crews, without drowning them in another stupid tool list.+Peter Bittner

  AI Trainer & Consultant · Independent

  Peter Bittner, independent AI trainer and consultant. He’ll get practical about teaching AI to working people, especially newsrooms and communications crews, without drowning them in another stupid tool list.

• Kevin Friel, festival director and founder of the BC + AI Film Club. He’ll talk about what happens when filmmakers quit waiting for permission, make stuff, screen it, and learn together.+Kevin Friel

  Festival Director · BC + AI Film Club

  Kevin Friel, festival director and founder of the BC + AI Film Club. He’ll talk about what happens when filmmakers quit waiting for permission, make stuff, screen it, and learn together.

• Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archive. He’ll talk about saving the web, keeping knowledge open, and what a library owes the people who haven’t been born yet.+Brewster Kahle

  Founder & Digital Librarian · Internet Archive

  Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archive. He’ll talk about saving the web, keeping knowledge open, and what a library owes the people who haven’t been born yet.

• Jos Duncan-Asé, founder of Love Now Media. She’ll talk about empathy as a media practice, who gets to tell the story, and what it looks like when communities own their own narratives.+Jos Duncan-Asé

  Founder · Love Now Media

  Jos Duncan-Asé, founder of Love Now Media. She’ll talk about empathy as a media practice, who gets to tell the story, and what it looks like when communities own their own narratives.

• Sara Blenkhorn, director of innovation at the Buckminster Fuller Institute. She’ll get into life-centred AI, better ways to govern and own what we build, and institutions that serve more than shareholders.+Sara Blenkhorn

  Director of Innovation · Buckminster Fuller Institute

  Sara Blenkhorn, director of innovation at the Buckminster Fuller Institute. She’ll get into life-centred AI, better ways to govern and own what we build, and institutions that serve more than shareholders.

• Brett Gaylor, VP Creative at Hololabs. He’ll bring 20 years of remix culture, surveillance documentaries, and interactive storytelling to the question of who gets to shape the algorithm.+Brett Gaylor

  VP Creative · Hololabs

  Brett Gaylor, VP Creative at Hololabs. He’ll bring 20 years of remix culture, surveillance documentaries, and interactive storytelling to the question of who gets to shape the algorithm.

• Sarah Downey, founder of Sarah Downey Consulting. She’ll get practical about AI strategy, policy, and readiness for nonprofits that can’t afford to lose their values in the rush to adopt.+Sarah Downey

  Founder · Sarah Downey Consulting

  Sarah Downey, founder of Sarah Downey Consulting. She’ll get practical about AI strategy, policy, and readiness for nonprofits that can’t afford to lose their values in the rush to adopt.

• Philippe Pasquier, professor and director of the Metacreation Lab at SFU. He’ll talk about making art with AI without handing it authorship, and what new forms of expression show up when artists stay in the loop.+Philippe Pasquier

  Professor & Director · Metacreation Lab, Simon Fraser University

  Philippe Pasquier, professor and director of the Metacreation Lab at SFU. He’ll talk about making art with AI without handing it authorship, and what new forms of expression show up when artists stay in the loop.

• Simon Haworth, CEO of Intellomx. He’ll talk about what AI is actually changing in drug discovery, where the hype runs out, and what builders in BC can do about it.+Simon Haworth

  CEO · Intellomx

  Simon Haworth, CEO of Intellomx. He’ll talk about what AI is actually changing in drug discovery, where the hype runs out, and what builders in BC can do about it.

• Loki Jorgenson, CTO and director of innovation at Circle Innovation. He’ll get into consciousness, agency, and what it means to build powerful systems when nobody has clean answers.+Loki Jorgenson

  CTO & Director, Innovation · Circle Innovation

  Loki Jorgenson, CTO and director of innovation at Circle Innovation. He’ll get into consciousness, agency, and what it means to build powerful systems when nobody has clean answers.

• Alexandra Samuel, independent technology journalist and author. She’ll get practical about working with AI without handing it your agency, judgment or humanity.+Alexandra Samuel

  Technology Journalist & Author · Independent

  Alexandra Samuel, independent technology journalist and author. She’ll get practical about working with AI without handing it your agency, judgment or humanity.

• Sev Geraskin, founding VP of engineering at PolarGrid and president of the Economy of Wisdom Foundation. He’ll get into distributed AI infrastructure, community intelligence and who gets to shape the systems underneath all this.+Sev Geraskin

  Co-Founder & VP of Engineering · PolarGrid · Economy of Wisdom Foundation

  Sev Geraskin, founding VP of engineering at PolarGrid and president of the Economy of Wisdom Foundation. He’ll get into distributed AI infrastructure, community intelligence and who gets to shape the systems underneath all this.

• Stephanie Dick, assistant professor in SFU’s School of Communication. She brings the long view on AI: where our ideas about machine intelligence came from, who gets to define knowledge, and what those histories still do to work and public life.+Stephanie Dick

  Assistant Professor · School of Communication, Simon Fraser University

  Stephanie Dick, assistant professor in SFU’s School of Communication. She brings the long view on AI: where our ideas about machine intelligence came from, who gets to define knowledge, and what those histories still do to work and public life.

• Taleeb Noormohamed, MP for Vancouver Granville and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation. He joins the festival from the federal AI policy table, where implementation, innovation, and public accountability are no longer abstract.+Taleeb Noormohamed

  Member of Parliament · Vancouver Granville

  Taleeb Noormohamed, MP for Vancouver Granville and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation. He joins the festival from the federal AI policy table, where implementation, innovation, and public accountability are no longer abstract.

• Michael Running Wolf, board chair at IndigiGenius. He builds machine-learning and immersive technology for Indigenous language reclamation and asks who owns the systems, data, and future those tools create.+Michael Running Wolf

  Chair, Board of Directors · IndigiGenius

  Michael Running Wolf, board chair at IndigiGenius. He builds machine-learning and immersive technology for Indigenous language reclamation and asks who owns the systems, data, and future those tools create.

• Shane Gibson, founder of Professional Sales Academy. He’ll turn the art of asking better questions into a practical human skill for working with each other and with AI.+Shane Gibson

  Founder & Keynote Speaker · Professional Sales Academy

  Shane Gibson, founder of Professional Sales Academy. He’ll turn the art of asking better questions into a practical human skill for working with each other and with AI.

• Kristen Delphos, vice president of communications and public affairs at UL Research Institutes. She’ll show how a team of science writers learned to trust AI by building it, and what happens when the hero’s journey meets the scientific method.+Kristen Delphos

  Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs · UL Research Institutes

  Kristen Delphos, vice president of communications and public affairs at UL Research Institutes. She’ll show how a team of science writers learned to trust AI by building it, and what happens when the hero’s journey meets the scientific method.

• Kerris Hougardy, senior vice president of people at Ting Internet and Tucows. With Raj Parmar, she makes the case for discernment: the one human skill that cannot be automated, and the one that decides whether AI at work helps or quietly erodes critical thinking.+Kerris Hougardy

  Senior Vice President, People · Ting Internet · Tucows

  Kerris Hougardy, senior vice president of people at Ting Internet and Tucows. With Raj Parmar, she makes the case for discernment: the one human skill that cannot be automated, and the one that decides whether AI at work helps or quietly erodes critical thinking.

• Raj Parmar, HR leader and business partner at Tucows. She builds AI literacy inside companies and bets on the people who know when to stop and say wait, let’s check that.+Raj Parmar

  HR Leader and Business Partner · Tucows

  Raj Parmar, HR leader and business partner at Tucows. She builds AI literacy inside companies and bets on the people who know when to stop and say wait, let’s check that.

• Dean Shev, CTO and co-founder of VHT.ai. He builds ECHNA, a health navigation assistant that has to answer to real patients, HIPAA, and PHIPA at the same time, which is where healthcare AI stops being a demo and starts being somebody’s medical record.+Dean Shev

  CTO and co-founder · VHT.ai

  Dean Shev, CTO and co-founder of VHT.ai. He builds ECHNA, a health navigation assistant that has to answer to real patients, HIPAA, and PHIPA at the same time, which is where healthcare AI stops being a demo and starts being somebody’s medical record.

• Suzy Easton, Vancouver musician and technologist. She solders her own pedals, hides the circuits inside repurposed appliances, and treats AI as one more instrument to play rather than a thing to prompt.+Suzy Easton

  Musician and technologist · Independent

  Suzy Easton, Vancouver musician and technologist. She solders her own pedals, hides the circuits inside repurposed appliances, and treats AI as one more instrument to play rather than a thing to prompt.

• Ashley Smith, AI visibility strategist and founder of Show Your Proof. She runs a live check on how you actually show up in AI search, what proof of you is out there, and what to fix first.+Ashley Smith

  AI Visibility Strategist · Show Your Proof

  Ashley Smith, AI visibility strategist and founder of Show Your Proof. She runs a live check on how you actually show up in AI search, what proof of you is out there, and what to fix first.

• Ben Shneiderman, emeritus professor at the University of Maryland and founding director of its Human-Computer Interaction Lab. He wrote the book on human-centered AI, and he lives in Kitsilano now. He’s coming to argue for AI that keeps people in control.+Ben Shneiderman

  Emeritus Distinguished University Professor of Computer Science · University of Maryland

  Ben Shneiderman, emeritus professor at the University of Maryland and founding director of its Human-Computer Interaction Lab. He wrote the book on human-centered AI, and he lives in Kitsilano now. He’s coming to argue for AI that keeps people in control.

• Lane Becker leads Wikimedia Enterprise. Wikipedia is free; keeping it available takes people, infrastructure, and money. He brings a view from inside the work of sustaining the knowledge that AI depends on.+Lane Becker

  President, Wikimedia Enterprise · Wikimedia Foundation

  Lane Becker leads Wikimedia Enterprise. Wikipedia is free; keeping it available takes people, infrastructure, and money. He brings a view from inside the work of sustaining the knowledge that AI depends on.

• Andrew Zolli, chief impact officer at Planet. He’ll talk about what it means to photograph the entire surface of the Earth every day, and what all that seeing is actually worth when the hard part is getting people to act on what they can already see.+Andrew Zolli

  Chief Impact Officer · Planet

  Andrew Zolli, chief impact officer at Planet. He’ll talk about what it means to photograph the entire surface of the Earth every day, and what all that seeing is actually worth when the hard part is getting people to act on what they can already see.

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