Movie Screening of The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist

In partnership with Rainier Beach Meaningful Movies Project, we’ll be screening a film that takes on one of the biggest issues shaping our lives right now: artificial intelligence.

From the filmmakers behind Everything Everywhere All at Once and Navalny, The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist follows filmmaker and father-to-be Daniel Roher as he tries to make sense of the rapidly changing world of AI.

Rather than simply presenting AI as either good or bad, the documentary explores its possibilities as well as its risks. It brings together voices from across the AI conversation and asks what this technology could mean for our jobs, communities, relationships, democracy, creativity, and future. It's designed to make a complicated subject approachable - and to get people talking about what role we want AI to play in our lives.

Our post-film speaker, McKane Andrus, is a PhD candidate in Human Centered Design & Engineering at the University of Washington. Their research explores how AI can challenge concentrated power and instead support human and ecological flourishing. Their current work with local food sovereignty groups considers what AI could look like when rooted in community values of connection, healing, and autonomy. Previously, they worked on AI fairness and accountability at the Partnership on AI and researched AI alignment at the Center for Human-Compatible AI.

This screening will be in person and followed by a community discussion.

Sustainable Ballard and Center for Spiritual Living Ballard partner with the Meaningful Movies Project to present documentaries in our neighborhood.

To stay informed about future screenings, you can subscribe to our newsletter (sent out about once every three weeks). We’d love to hear what you want to see! What topics do you want to explore? Do you have a specific movie to recommend? To provide input, or if you are interested in volunteering with Meaningful Movies Ballard, please e-mail info@sustainableballard.org

The Meaningful Movies Project is a non-profit organization that assists neighborhoods, groups and individuals organize, educate and advocate using the power of documentary film and relevant conversation to build positive and meaningful community and a more just and peaceful world.

Events are all-volunteer organized and run. They are always open to the public at no cost, and rely on donations from attendees to remain sustainable. The events are “owned” by the community.