Cool/Scary AI Toronto 2026
Description
Free, community-led forum on AI’s promises and risks for social impact—lightning talks, small-group dialogues, and actionable next steps.
Cool / Scary AI SUMMIT - TORONTO isn’t a celebration of artificial intelligence—it’s a clear-eyed look at how AI is already reshaping mission-driven work, for better and worse. This half-day gathering brings together nonprofit leaders, digital practitioners, and creative technologists to explore the real-world implications of AI in social impact spaces.
Forget the corporate hype. This is an alternative to the usual conference circuit: an intimate, high-energy space for honest conversations about what’s working, what’s risky, and what’s next. No rigid agenda. No buzzword-laden keynotes. Just a curated lineup of speakers sharing lived experiments, cautionary tales, and breakthrough ideas.
You’ll hear from nonprofit teams, social entrepreneurs, and movement technologists applying AI to solve real problems—while wrestling with the ethical, operational, and cultural questions that come with it. Formats include TED-style talks, panel discussions, podcast-style interviews, and fast-paced Pecha Kucha presentations to keep things sharp and grounded.
If you’re looking for real talk—not just optimism—about how AI is transforming mission-driven work, this is your space.
Sponsors
Agenda
The Personal Trainer Model: Why Your Fundraising Team Needs a Coach, Not Another AI Tool
Micah Alder — Anyone Can Fundraise
AI at Scale: Balancing Innovation, Cost & Governance
Rina Rosen
Build a 9-person dev team for $20/Month
Abdul Al-Basith
Stop Building Reports, Start Asking Questions: AI, Predictive Analytics, and the Future of Nonprofit Data
Jake Martin White
The Currency of Effort (and Why It's A(i) OK to Let It Go)
Erik Rubadeau
The Opaque Permissions Problem: Extending Your Organization’s Access, Security, and Privacy Controls to AI Before It Costs You
Will Mattfeld-Sarbaugh
What's Cool? What's Scary?
Eric Squair
Community Is Your Enshittification Moat. Stop Messing it Up.
Tasha Van Vlack
How do LLM grooming techniques manipulate LLM-powered search outputs and what threat do they pose to how Canadians learn and make democratic decisions?
Claire Kerr — Care2
How Humans Are Shaping AI?
Dihan Chandraratne
How will you spend your Mission Dividend
Ben Childers
Amplification Partners
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
