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.

Vancouver AI Community Meetup #21: Indigenous AI, Plant Communication & The Future That Doesn't Look Like Silicon Valley

Join BC + AI Ecosystem Association: https://bc-ai.ca/membership/

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What happens when you merge 10,000-year-old Indigenous knowledge with cutting-edge AI? In this groundbreaking September 2025 meetup, the Vancouver AI Community explores radical alternatives to Silicon Valley's vision of artificial intelligence.

Johnny Williams from the Squamish Nation opens with traditional ceremony and shares how AI transforms him from document parser to cultural advisor—one of only 60-70 Squamish language speakers using AI to protect cultural heritage. Artist Manuel Axel Strain presents a revolutionary vision: building AI systems to interpret plant communication and enable actual dialogue with forests.

This isn't your typical tech conference. Against the backdrop of Vancouver's booming AI week, 150+ community members gather at HR MacMillan Space Centre to explore what AI becomes when grounded in Indigenous wisdom, ecological consciousness, and community values. From a $20,000 ByteDance hackathon announcement to the launch of BC's AI Discord, this episode captures a pivotal moment where technology meets traditional knowledge.

Features Dave Olson's wisdom from Japan on archiving and kindness, the Mind AI & Consciousness group exploring quantum computing and consciousness, and practical discussions on data sovereignty, ethical AI development, and what it means to build technology that honors rather than extracts.

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Extended Show Notes

Opening & Context (0:00-5:00)

Johnny Williams: AI as Cultural Preservation (5:00-15:00)

Dave Olson from Japan: Archive Everything (15:00-20:00)

Community Infrastructure & Announcements (20:00-35:00)

Mind AI & Consciousness Group Update (35:00-40:00)

Manuel Axel Strain: Indigenous AI & Plant Communication (40:00-65:00)

Technical Implementation & Partnerships (65:00-75:00)

Community Growth & Next Steps (75:00-85:00)

Closing Thoughts (85:00-90:00)

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Key Quotes

Jonny Williams: "AI allowed me to go from being a document parser to being a cultural advisor. I'm one of the only people that speaks the language left on this planet."

Dave Olson: "Always be archiving 'cause the internet has a very short memory. Always be kind 'cause you never know who you're gonna meet on your journey."

Manuel Axel Strain: "We all descend from the sky... we all came from this single cell that first started."

Kris Krug: "AI doesn't have to look like Silicon Valley. It doesn't have to look like Mark Zuckerberg. It can look like Johnny Williams. It can look like Uncle Weed."

Tags

#IndigenousAI #PlantCommunication #VancouverTech #AIEthics #CulturalPreservation #SquamishNation #GenerativeAI #CommunityTech #DataSovereignty #QuantumConsciousness #AIFilm #BCTech #Decolonization #BioCommunication #TechActivism #IndigenousKnowledge #CreativeAI #PlantIntelligence #AIConsciousness #TechCommunity