Vancouver AI: May 28 #WebSummit
Vancouver AI warmly welcomes all members of the community passionate about shaping the future of AI - researchers, creatives, tech enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, professionals, students, and beyond!
Technology isn't neutral and neither are we. Vancouver AI is assembling the brain trust of BC's AI ecosystem—researchers with revolutionary vision, artists with computational minds, and builders who question what they're building.
Our keynotes aren't corporate retreads—they're field reports from the edge, raw transmissions from explorers who've gone beyond the algorithm and returned with something worth sharing.
Carol Anne Hilton | Indigenomics Institute
Indigenomics AI: Mapping Indigenous Economic Intelligence
The Indigenous Economic Intelligence Engine is a transformative, AI-powered platform designed to map, visualize, and amplify Indigenous economic activity, growth, and design.
Rooted in the principles of economic sovereignty, innovation, and modern Indigenous economic design, this tool brings visibility to the Indigenous economy and reconciliation.
Kushal Goenka | VR Developer, Industrial Designer,
UX Designer, Web Developer & CG Artist
Kush rips the lid off search, live-demoing how embeddings read between your keystrokes to surface what you mean—not just what you type.
Gabriel George Sr | Director of Treaty, Lands, and Resources at Tsleil-Waututh Nation
Gabriel George and Damien George remind us this land has a story — and it’s still being told.
Their presence grounds the room in something older than the building and deeper than the tech.
From the Web Summit trade-floor trenches, Vipul Kansal distills aisle-side hustle into community-powered momentum for BC’s grassroots AI builders.
Kris Krüg | BC + AI, TheUpgrade.ai
I asked 44 builders what BC’s AI scene needs — they told me what’s working, what’s missing, and where we go from here.
This isn't about what AI can do—it's about what we can become when we stop treating technology as something that happens to us and start wielding it like the strange, beautiful tool it is.
We're the intersection where diverse disciplines, backgrounds, and interests converge to explore our shared humanity in the age of AI. All welcome, no gatekeeping.
Bring your projects, your questions, your wild ideas—this is where the future gets built together.
The machines are learning. Are we? Join the conversation that matters.
GET INVOLVED:
Want to speak? Have an insight that isn't "AI will change everything"?
Built something weird? Demo spots open.
Join the community: Get in the Vancouver AI CORE Group where the real conversations happen
VANCOUVER AI CORE MEMBERSHIP
Vancouver AI CORE just booted up. 12-month passport to every gathering. Backdoor access to our Members Group Chat & Knowledge Base for raw, unfiltered dialogues. Something built by the community, for the community.
This isn't subscription content—it's community infrastructure. The digital campfire where tomorrow's questions get asked today.
Initialize: https://core.bc-ai.net/
THE SPACE
H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, 1100 Chestnut St. The place with the UFO-looking roof that makes you feel like you're discussing AI in the appropriate sci-fi setting. Fully accessible. Parking available for your carbon-producing vehicles. Transit nearby.
THE SPONSORS
Dimitri Schwartzman: Real estate guy who funds community stuff instead of just buying yachts
SEGEV LLP: Lawyers who can talk about tech without reading from Wikipedia
METACREATION Lab: Researchers who understand AI should make art, not just surveillance tech
TheUpgrade.ai: AI education & adoption for businesses and teams.
RIVAL Technologies: Modernizing research by making it conversational, AI-powered, and mobile-first.
THE PARTNERS
HR MacMillan Space Centre: Letting us use their cosmic dome
BC + AI Ecosystem: Multi-modal, multi-cultural, radically local, and future-facing
Creative Mornings Vancouver: Morning people who somehow still have good ideas
ABOUT VANCOUVER AI
Vancouver AI is a neural network of curious humans mapping the terrain between technology and consciousness.
Since 2023, we've been building a different kind of tech community: one that questions as much as it creates, that bridges art galleries and research labs, corporate towers and garage workshops.
We run monthly gatherings where you'll find the unexpected: AI researchers jamming with musicians, developers debating ethics with philosophers, and entrepreneurs finding inspiration in indigenous wisdom. Together we're co-creating understanding.
No outsiders calling the shots, no Silicon Valley hypercapitalist agenda—just a self-organizing system of people who give a damn about where this technological revolution is taking us and who gets to steer.
ABOUT VANCOUVER AI & THE BC + AI ECOSYSTEM
Vancouver AI was just the start. BC's AI Ecosystem continues to grow, with new community hubs emerging in Surrey, Victoria, Kelowna, and beyond—each contributing unique perspectives to a thriving, interconnected network.
BC + AI represents a collective, province-wide effort to democratize AI knowledge, innovation, and opportunity.
THE FINE PRINT:
Limited to 200 human bodies
Will sell out, just like every other VAI event
Bring stickers to trade. Yes, we're serious. Analog connection in a digital world.
Photography & video will happen. Your mug might end up online. If you're in witness protection, wear a fake mustache.
The machines are watching. Let's give them something worth the bandwidth.
🖤❤️✊🔥🏴