Anthonia Ogundele of Ethọ́s Lab joined Vancouver AI Meetup #30 to talk about youth, parents, Blackathon, Hogan's Alley, and what AI education looks like when…
Notes & highlights
Published: · 27:04
Anthonia Ogundele of Ethọ́s Lab joined Vancouver AI Meetup #30 to talk about youth, parents, Blackathon, Hogan's Alley, and what AI education looks like when it starts from community trust instead of tool hype.
This talk moves through the kitchen table conversations parents are already having, the cultural infrastructure around Ethọ́s Lab, and the reason young people told Anthonia they need to use AI in community. The point is not just faster prompting. It is values-first practice, mentorship, and spaces where Black and Indigenous youth can become creators and decision-makers.
**What you will hear:**
- How Ethọ́s Lab and Blackathon use AI as a tool for cultural imagination
- Why Hogan's Alley became a youth design and storytelling prompt
- What parents are wrestling with as AI enters schools and home life
- Why trusted community organizations matter for AI adoption
- How youth programs can teach ethics, confidence, and creative agency together
**Context:** Vancouver AI Meetup #30 marked 30 consecutive monthly meetups at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre. Anthonia's session connected directly to BC + AI's education work and the local need for safe, culturally grounded places to learn with AI.
**Chapters:**
0:00 - Vancouver AI intro
0:49 - Anthonia begins with the parent lens
2:40 - Parents, youth, and AI anxiety
5:38 - Blackathon as cultural infrastructure
7:54 - Youth reimagining Hogan's Alley
9:59 - Values-first AI practice
12:24 - Physical space and culturally affirming innovation
15:33 - Teens asking to use AI in community
17:01 - Summer design sprint at Ethọ́s Lab
18:41 - Q&A: why community matters for youth
20:06 - Schools, teachers, and trusted adoption
25:14 - AI music, consent, and parent pragmatism
**Credits:**
Speaker: Anthonia Ogundele, Founder & Executive Director of Ethọ́s Lab
Host: Vancouver AI / BC + AI
Video: Pixel Wizard
Venue: H.R. MacMillan Space Centre
**Territory acknowledgment:** Filmed in Vancouver on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.