Hey DC: we want to hear your thoughts on AI!
Mt. Pleasant Neighborhood Library, Washington, DC
RegisterThoughtful. Grounded. Invitational.
We convene peers to ask hard questions — and build shared answers.
Cool Slash Scary AI is a decentralized event platform for social entrepreneurs, nonprofit professionals, and civic leaders. We bring people together to examine AI’s promise and pressure, and to co-create practices that keep human values at the center.
What to expect
- Honest conversations about power, governance, and care.
- Practical ideas you can bring back to your organization.
- Space for disagreement, nuance, and shared ownership.
No hype. No panic. Just community learning and action.
Community Events
Join events hosted by our community partners across DC Public Libraries, local hosts, and more. Each event brings together mission-driven leaders to explore AI's impact together.
Summit Events
Our flagship summit events bring together larger gatherings for deep-dive sessions.
Impact reports
Each gathering results in a published report so communities can learn from one another. These summaries reflect shared themes, open questions, and next steps.
Cool AI Sh*t — Baltimore Summit 2025
The inaugural summit convened nonprofit leaders, technologists, creatives, and advocates to explore context-aware AI, ethical responsibility, and authenticity amid automation. The community surfaced productive tensions and a shared commitment to shaping AI’s future together.
Download impact summary (PDF)Cool/Scary AI Impact — Denver Summit 2025
The Denver summit focused on moving nonprofits from AI anxiety to intentional action. Speakers explored human judgment, ethical guardrails, and inclusive design while embracing contradictions like innovation versus regulation.
Download impact summary (PDF)Cool/Scary AI Sh!t — Brooklyn Summit 2025
The Brooklyn summit centered on culture-first AI adoption for mission-driven organizations. Sessions highlighted practical automation, data foundations, and adaptive ethics as prerequisites for responsible scale.
Download impact summary (PDF)About
We believe the only way to ensure AI is equitably realized is to ensure that as many voices contribute to its growth — not just five billionaires in Silicon Valley.
Cool Slash Scary AI brings together nonprofit leaders, social entrepreneurs, and civic technologists to shape AI with the communities most affected by it.
Who it’s for
Mission-driven leaders and doers across nonprofits, philanthropy, civic tech, advocacy, and local communities who want to engage AI with care, clarity, and collective action.
Mission
We are a decentralized event platform that brings communities together to discuss and act on the impact of AI in their lives.
What we stand for
- AI shaped by communities, not dictated by hype cycles.
- Clear governance and shared standards that earn trust.
- Learning that is open, repeatable, and locally led.
How we work
- Convene local leaders around concrete challenges.
- Document insights and publish open impact summaries.
- Support organizers with lightweight, human-centered infrastructure.
Host an event
Want to bring Cool Slash Scary AI to your community? We’ll support you with onboarding, facilitation guidance, and a shared impact summary template.
- Light-touch orientation and accessibility review.
- Brand and communications toolkit.
- Guidance on sponsorships and outreach.
Stay in the loop
We share updates on events, impact summaries, and working groups.
