

AI in Education Meetup #8
Hyperstition: Stories That Build Themselves
What if the stories we tell about AI in education are already shaping what AI becomes?
Join us for our 8th AI in Education meetup, featuring Dr. Rachel Horst (UBC Master of Educational Technology) on hyperstition: fictions that make themselves real through repetition, iteration, and belief.
The fears, fantasies, and metaphors we use... mind, threat, magic... get fed back into the machines and start to shape what they become. AI narratives are already doing this, whether we intend them to or not.
Rachel argues the response isn't correction or containment. It's proliferation. We need more narratives. Stranger ones. Ones that don't already know how the story ends.
And we need to ask what that means for education. How we teach these systems. How we imagine them. Whether our teaching is repeating the same stories we should be questioning.
After the talk, we'll break into groups to do exactly that — imagine different stories, build different possibilities.
Come. Listen. Question. Imagine.
Schedule
6:30: Doors open
7:00: We start (right on time!)
8:00: Event wraps up; mingling & conversation
8:30: Doors close
Ring the doorbell at Ethọ́s Lab for entry.
Who belongs
Educators (K–12 & post-sec), students, parents/caregivers, youth-program leads, mentors, industry folks ready to support (not recruit), researchers, artists, designers, and all curious neighbours welcome.
Big love to Ethọ́s Lab
Ethọ́s Lab is a youth‑powered innovation studio centring Black futures and community imagination. Their space, leadership, and care make ED + AI possible.... thank you for holding the centre and keeping the vibe welcoming and bold.
With Support From BC + AI Ecosystem Association
BC + AI led by Kris Krüg is a grassroots network of educators, technologists, artists, and community builders shaping a uniquely BC approach to AI rooted in accessibility, community, and ethical design.
Questions or want to get involved? [email protected] or [email protected].
We look forward to learning and unlearning together.