​AI's Real Cost

Creative Power vs. Planetary Limits

​The machines are thirsty. While AI transforms how we create content, it's consuming water like never before.

​Join us for a raw conversation about AI's double-edged reality: the creative revolution happening in your pocket versus the environmental reckoning happening in our backyards.

​We'll explore how Vancouver's creative community can lead by example… from indigenous-led data sovereignty to local compute clusters that heat your neighbor's home.

AI Climate Paradox

​Creative Power vs. Planetary Limits explores the tension between AI’s: explosive creative potential and its real-world environmental costs.

​Let's dig into water and energy use in data centers, corporate responsibility, and community-led alternatives like indigenous-governed data and compute, heat recapture, and edge/local clusters.

​Opening: Is'gh'li-ya: Anthony Joseph

​Panelist: Amanda Silvera Amanda founded the Society for Original Biometric Identity Rights (SOBIR) and Sobir Technologies (SOBIRTECH), two initiatives focused on protecting human voice identity and building ethical frameworks for biometric rights.

​Panelist: Liz Marshall: Documentary filmmaker investigating AI’s water and energy footprint and the human-planet health link, from Great Lakes data center buildouts to right-to-water movements.

​Panelist: Kei Baritugo: Montreal AI Ethics Institute strategist highlighting power gaps and pushing for AI as an assistive tool, transparency, and policy that protects creative labor.

​Panelist: Kevin Friel: AI filmmaker advancing ethical, local-first production workflows, from edge compute to heat reuse, and championing accountable tools like carbon impact tracking.

​Moderator: Catherine Warren: Entertainment and innovation leader with climate physics roots, former CEO of Vancouver Economic Commission, and founder of Fan Trust, steering ethical AI and sustainability across media.

​How creators, technologists, and policy folks in BC can measure impact, make better choices, and build an ethical, resilient creative economy together.

​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.

This historic episode captures Vancouver AI's biggest event yet: the debut of the First Annual AI Film Festival and the grand finale of the eight-month Rival Technologies Data Storytelling Hackathon. Hear from Hollywood VFX legends who created Gollum for Lord of the Rings, professional animators producing studio-quality work in 3 days for $100, and an 18-year-old who placed second in all four hackathon rounds while maintaining valedictorian status.

The episode opens with a powerful Squamish Nation blessing from newly elected Counselors Anthony Joseph and Johnny Williams, grounding the community in indigenous protocol before diving into the transformation of creative industries through AI.

Warning: This episode contains frank discussions about industry displacement, ethical debates about training data, and strong language about IP rights.

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Standout Quotes

On Ceremony & Time

"Time is our greatest asset, and that's the one thing you can't get back no matter where you spend it." — Anthony Joseph, Squamish Nation Counselor

"When Anthony and Johnny comes up every month and starts singing, I know everything that happens next is gonna be okay. We're here. We made it, we're in the right place." — Kris Krug

On Creative Transformation

"It's like having a co-director that is really weird and just does random shit. But like, cool weird. 90% of the time it's unusable. But 10% of the time you get some real gold." — Luke, Animation Director

"As you go into the unknown and make a human contribution, you carry it from just being a cliche into something unique, original and compelling." — Bay Rate, VFX Legend

"For creative-minded people, it's not a lottery or slot machine anymore pulling and getting a result. Now it's more like you have control over everything you wanna build." — Tim, VFX Compositor

On Musicians & Technology

"My punk rock heart wants everything to be strictly human. But musicians haven't even totally accepted synthesizers yet, and those are from the sixties. There's room for it. Technology isn't bad, it's just the way you use it." — Darby Yu

On Youth & Vibe Coding

"I like coding and vibe coding in general, just building these kinds of products. It's kind of my jam. Even though it feels like I'm sacrificing my time, I really, really enjoy building them." — Prajwal, 18-year-old Hall of Fame Winner

On Industry Change

"Those people that were cogs in the storytelling wheel are getting to have bigger ownership of stories now. I think there's a really amazing opportunity to take the existing skill sets and experiences we all have and convert into vibrant multiple pegs of the economy with unbeatable IP." — Kevin Friel

On Indigenous Voices

"Because we can create things for so much cheaper and gatekeepers have traditionally been white male, this is an opportunity to highlight underrepresented voices in a way that was just impossible before." — Luke

On AI Control

"It's about controlling AI, not using it. If you control your money, you'll have great life. If you lose control of your money, you'll have bad situation. Same with AI." — Karu, ByteDance

On Ethics (Radical Take)

"There is no way to train ethically trained models. That's bullshit. I think we have to give up the idea of IP and trademark to ever enter the true age of AI." — Audience Member

From Classrooms to Clinics: How Surrey AI is Building BC's AI Future

Join Matthew Schwartzman and the Surrey AI community for Meetup #8, where healthcare founders, managed IT operators, photographers, students, and infrastructure builders gathered to share what's actually working with AI in their businesses and lives.

This isn't another hype cycle conversation. It's students explaining how they're using AI when teachers can't teach clearly. It's a life sciences investor breaking down why "do your reg first" could save your startup millions. It's a photographer revealing why magazines are rejecting AI-generated images. It's an IT manager showing how AI email triage reclaims an hour daily.

From FDA approval pathways to Chinese LLM alternatives, from GPU procurement nightmares to the future of persistent AI tutors, this 90-minute session captures the messy, practical, exciting reality of AI adoption across sectors.

Featuring perspectives from:

• Matthew Schwartzman & Cousin Itamar - Host & Surrey AI community architect
• Paul Rex - Life sciences & medical device AI strategist
• Darren - Managed IT services operator using AI at scale
• Michelle Diamond - Professional photographer on authenticity vs. synthetic
• Kris - Educator using transcripts to analyze coaching patterns
• Dean Shev - Infrastructure builder on data sovereignty & multi-model research
• Aliza & Noa - Students showing how Gen Z actually uses AI for learning

Plus insights on BC's data center expansion, the BC AI Task Force consultation, biosimilars, compliance monitoring, wearable sensors, and why community-driven learning beats closed-door innovation.

Part of the BC + AI Ecosystem Association

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ABOUT SURREY AI COMMUNITY MEETUP

Surrey AI Community Meetup is part of the BC AI Ecosystem Association, bringing together diverse practitioners from education, healthcare, business, creative services, and infrastructure to share real-world AI implementations, failures, and successes.

Unlike typical tech meetups focused on demos and pitches, Surrey AI prioritizes cross-industry learning, practical wisdom, and community-driven innovation. With weekly office hours, coworking sessions, and specialized sub-groups, the community creates compounding learning loops that accelerate responsible AI adoption across British Columbia.

Core Values:

• Augmentation over replacement
• Regulation-first roadmapping
• Multi-model approaches
• Authentic human services
• Educational equity
• Data sovereignty
• Human-in-the-loop accountability
• Community-driven learning

Join us for Meetup #9 and become part of BC's most diverse AI community.