BLOG: Dear AI, We Need To Talk About Your Soul

How an experimental circle at Bass Coast Festival hacked the narrative on AI, shifting from fear to empowered stewardship.

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We're Not Here to Stop You—We're Here to Guide You

Dear AI, Before We Go Any Further... We Need To Talk About Your Soul

Do you ever get the feeling we're playing the wrong game? Like we've all been tricked into thinking being human is about running hyper-intellectual software, becoming flesh-and-bone Excel spreadsheets?

The question hung in the air, suspended beneath a geodesic dome pulsing with sub-bass from distant speakers. I stood at the center, no slides, no sponsors—just a circle of festival-goers at British Columbia’s Bass Coast Festival, ready to interrogate artificial intelligence beyond the hype and fear.

KEYNOTE: “Dear AI: We Need to Talk About Your Soul”

"Dear AI," I began, "we’re not here to stop you. We're here to guide you."

Indigenous Land, Digital Stewardship

Our session began deliberately, anchored in recognition of the unceded territories of the Nlaka'pamux and Syilx peoples. Ethical technological futures must first honor longstanding indigenous stewardship and diverse worldviews.

"Whose values are guiding these systems?" a participant challenged. "If we don't decide, tech companies will. And whose interests do they represent?"

AI as Mirror—Not Master

Anxiety quickly surfaced—entry-level creative jobs gutted overnight, ESL students falsely flagged by AI detection software, and the looming threat of synthetic intimacy replacing genuine human connection.

"I’m watching a bloodbath out there," said one participant. "Graphic designers, photographers, filmmakers—AI is coming for one creative industry after another."

I nodded, adding, "Even my own mother couldn't recognize a deepfake of my voice. She asked, 'What world do I live in where I don't recognize my son's voice?'"

Another added grimly, "AI detection software flags ESL students better than actual cheaters. The bias is baked in."

Creative Bloodbath or Creative Liberation?

Yet our conversation wasn’t simply doom and gloom. Another participant reframed the moment as a chance for liberation: "What if AI's true power is freeing humans from drudgery, so we can focus on laughter, late-night existential wonder, dancing—everything AI can’t touch?"

I responded with an insight that ignited the group: "Maybe the next evolution isn't about becoming better machines, but becoming worse machines—and better humans."

Small Data, Big Revolution

Discussion turned practical. Philippe Pasquier, from SFU's MetaCreation Lab, described small-model training like AutoLoom, empowering artists to reclaim their creative voice by training AI solely on their personal artistic corpus. "Not one AI—thousands," Pasquier emphasized. "Train yours like tuning a guitar."

A local artist confirmed: "I fed the model my photographs. The results felt like mine—dreamlike, familiar, yet uniquely new. AI as collaborator, not competitor."