Hey there, AI innovators and future-shapers, Kris Krüg here, reflecting on our last gathering and looking ahead to our next adventure in the Vancouver AI Community Meetup series. We’re building something special here, and I’m excited to share the journey with you all.
June 27th: The Intersection of AI, Art, and Human Creativity
Our June meetup at Future Proof Creatives studio was a testament to the power of interdisciplinary collaboration. Here’s what we explored:
Event Highlights
1. Interactive Sound Walks with Ove Holmqvist Ove Holmqvist, the maestro of sound and tech, transported us into a sonic landscape where geospatial interactions met physical computing.
His app turned our movements into music, crafting an auditory tapestry that was both ethereal and profoundly grounding. With Movesense sensors, the line between the physical and the digital blurred, creating a space where each step became a note in a grand, real-time composition.
2. Autolume: Post-Photographic Cyborg Art I took the community on a journey through time and tech with Autolume, an AI-powered, post-photographic experiment. Imagine teaching a baby AI brain with 20 years of film portraits and watching it bloom into a digital entity capable of creating new art forms.
This project, in collaboration with Metacreation Lab for Creative AI at SFU, showcased the beautiful chaos at the intersection of analog nostalgia and AI futurism. By feeding the AI with a vast archive of analog film portraits, Autolume learns to interpret and recreate human faces in entirely new artistic expressions, merging the past’s tactile essence with the future’s digital innovation.
The demonstration illustrated not just the technical prowess of AI but also its potential to redefine artistic boundaries, creating a unique symbiosis between human creativity and machine learning.
3. Lionel Ringenbach’s CompoVision Lionel Ringenbach introduced us to CompoVision, an installation that doesn’t just see but interprets.
Real-time visual data transformed into interactive art, making us participants in a living, breathing digital organism. This piece not only caught the eye but also sparked a collaboration with a major tech firm, proving that in the digital age, art and opportunity are just a pixel apart.
4. Networking and Community Building The evening was a hotbed of intellectual synergy, with researchers, investors, artists, coders, entrepreneurs, and students mingling over gourmet bites and artisanal brews. The conversations flowed as freely as the ideas, each interaction a potential seed for the next big thing in AI.
Spotlight on Cool Peeps and Projects: Our community is a network of networks, and many inspiring individuals and projects took the mic that night:
- Jackson Wu AKA _shyang kicked off the event with some fresh beatboxing and announced his upcoming talk at Sean Flanagan’s Playshop.
- Richie from Open Rep AI spoke about Anthony Green’s AI mastery series, followed by Anthony sharing his insights.
- Soham, a Socratica guy and Vancouver Atelier founder, invited attendees to join the Atelier community.
- Alexandra Samuel, a famous writer and business thought leader, entertained us with funny and embarrassing stories of our friendship.
- Gabriela Arno from Co-Founders Hub introduced her event, ‘Meet Your Co-Founder,’ and discussed the upcoming sticker swap at the July AI meetup.
- Kushal Goenka, an open-source AI advocate and engineer, shared his latest projects and insights.
- Kenny Mack Truck from the Vancouver Bandits basketball team, discussed his experience in the CEO AI workshop and creative work he’s doing in marketing.
- Yangos Hadjiyannis, a big deal at SIGGRAPH, talked about his AR/VR spatial video lab.
- Prajwal Prashanth gave a talk about his Jarvis AI assistant and about The Knowledge Society (TKS).
- Kevin Thomas Kevin featuring AI sign language interpreter he’s gonna demo in July.
- Ayden Lum, an Atelier co-op participant, introduced himself and shared the workshops and newsletters he’s been involved with at Future Proof Creatives.
- Matthew Schwartzman, a high schooler, shared about his teen-focused podcast interviewing non-traditional successful entrepreneurs.
- Donald Jukes discussed the Minimal Viable Demos event and its blend of art, technology, science, and humanity.
- Ed Kennedy from Run Diffusion explained cloud AI tools and their applications for creative professionals.
- Dr. Patrick Parra Pennefather engaged the crowd with intros and improv and general hilarious commentary.
- Sian Flanagan shared insights from her book, performed a couple amazing original songs and announced her multi-passionate entrepreneur play shop.
- Jay David Milroy: “Love the mix of art and engineering. Love how you lift up others. I hope to try and find a way to participate and contribute.” Jay, your observation reflects the essence of what we’re trying to achieve – a blend of technical innovation and creative expression.
- Darren Nicholls: “This is one of my favorite networking events.” Darren, it’s connections like these that drive innovation forward.
- Yangos Hadjiyannis: “Beautiful, authentic and meaningful event. Thank you Kris!” Authenticity and meaning are at the core of what we do, Yangos. Glad it resonated.
- Wanda Halpert: “This was an excellent meetup that had people of all ages and background in AI discussing their progress and uses of this emerging tech.” Wanda, you’ve highlighted the strength of our diverse community. It’s this variety of perspectives that enriches our understanding of AI’s potential.
- Ed Kennedy: “Fantastic event! Half lab/half party! Great speakers, great experiments, great networking. Always a pleasure!” Ed, you’ve nailed our approach – serious work in a fun, collaborative atmosphere.
- Joe Leano: “My first event.. what an amazing experience. Everyone there had such amazing ideas. Amplified my creativity and looking to come back to next event.” Joe, welcome to the community. Your fresh perspective is invaluable as we continue to grow and evolve.
Huge thanks to Peter Holst and Viktor Serbin for documenting the event. Revisit the evening here: Photo Gallery Recap Video
And a heartfelt thank you to our sponsors and partners who make this possible: Holistic Hybrid, AugXLabs, Metacreation Lab at SFU, Vancouver Biennale, Creative Mornings Vancouver, Internet Masterminds, The FATALE Festival, Sons of Vancouver, VLACC, and Taylight Brewing.
July 25th: Exploring Local-First AI in a Global Context (Now with Sticker Swap!)
Our next meetup aligns with LOCALHOST week and IETF 120, offering a unique opportunity to explore AI through the lens of decentralized technologies. Here’s what we’re diving into:
- Decentralized AI: We’ll examine how open-source, decentralized web technologies are reshaping AI development and deployment.
- Applied AI: Through live demos, we’ll showcase real-world applications of AI across various industries.
- Ethical Considerations: We’ll continue our ongoing discussion about the ethical implications of AI as it becomes more integrated into our daily lives.
- Local Innovation: As part of our ‘Localhost’ theme, we’re spotlighting Vancouver’s contributions to the global AI landscape.
NEW: AI Sticker Swap!
Get ready for a fun addition to our meetup – a sticker swap! We’re inviting all attendees to create and bring stickers to share and trade.
These don’t have to be AI-themed; they can represent your personal brand, a project you’re working on, your company, or any idea you’d like to share. It’s a great way to network, showcase your interests, and add some personality to your gear.
I’ll be bringing a variety of tech and AI stickers to kick things off, but we want to see what you’ve got too! Whether you’re designing new stickers or bringing your existing collection, come prepared to swap. It’s a casual, fun way to break the ice and learn about what others in our community are passionate about.
So get creative, bring what you have, and let’s see what kind of unique sticker collections we can create together!
Key elements of the evening:
- Presentations on AI and decentralized web synergies
- Interactive sessions exploring industry-specific AI applications
- Networking opportunities with local tech leaders and innovators
- Sticker Swap: A fun, informal way to share our AI passions
- Local AI Showcase: Celebrating Vancouver’s homegrown AI innovations
This event is part of LOCALHOST week, culminating in the Our Networks conference on July 27th. We’re exploring how local-first tech can empower communities and reshape our digital interactions.
To our IETF 120 participants: We extend a warm invitation to join us and experience Vancouver’s vibrant AI community firsthand.
Our goal remains constant: to foster a community that drives innovation, shares knowledge, and thoughtfully considers the real-world applications and ethical implications of AI. Whether you’re deep in the trenches of research, driving business innovation, exploring artistic applications, or simply curious about AI’s potential, you have a place here.
Join us on July 25th as we continue to explore and shape the future of AI, rooted in our local community but with a global perspective.
Looking forward to another evening of insight, innovation, and meaningful connections.
Stay curious and keep pushing boundaries,
Kris Krüg
CEO, Future Proof Creatives
Host, Vancouver AI Community Meetups
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