🤖 Does AI make ordinary people more powerful or more replaceable?

🤖 We're getting together to talk about “Does AI make ordinary people more powerful or more replaceable?”

Imagine a tool that lets you finish your work in half the time. That could mean a shorter week and more freedom, or higher targets and fewer people on the team. The same capability might help someone work independently while making it harder for another person to negotiate decent pay. Who gets to decide what happens to the time you save? The answer may depend less on the tool's intelligence than on who owns it, sets the targets and can refuse the new terms.

The plan
No required advance reading.

What would make AI a source of independence rather than another dependency?
Which skills become more valuable when producing an answer gets easier?
What would make 'learn to use AI' useful advice rather than a way of shifting responsibility onto workers?

When and where
🗓️ Date: Sunday, November 29, 2026
🕒 Time: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM, Vancouver local time
📍 Location: UBC Learning Exchange, 612 Main St, Vancouver, BC V6A 2V3
We will meet at the main entrance.
Arrive 10 minutes before the start; doors close 10 minutes after the start.
Cap: 40

Date update: This event has moved from Sunday, November 22 to Sunday, November 29, 2026. The location is unchanged.