Interview with the E-AI 2026 board of directors: a vision driven by boldness, action and inclusion

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The 2026 edition of Entertain-AI (E-AI) is fast approaching. What if you stepped behind the screen to discover how AI is truly transforming cultural products? What are the implications for creative professions? What emerging movements and next-generation creations are taking shape? Culturemania takes you behind the scenes of an event where creators, the curious, and experts roll up their sleeves to put humanity back at the heart of innovation.

One week ahead of E-AI, taking place on February 18 and 19 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal, Culturemania meets two key members of its Board of Directors to explore the major directions guiding discussions and initiatives within the community: Board Chair Wemba Opota, also Head of AI at Capgemini Canada and a passionate advocate for theatre and the arts, and Brigitte Monneau, who brings 30 years of experience in the creative industries and deep expertise in copyright law. Together, they outline an event designed to serve as a vital bridge between technology and creation.

Leading by example

“At its core, artificial intelligence has creativity embedded in its DNA,” says Wemba Opota. For the Chair of the Board of Quebec’s most significant summit on the subject, if there is one sector that must lead by example, it is the arts—historically at the forefront, often driving major progressive movements. So why not turn this Montreal gathering into a true hub, capable of shining far beyond its borders and positioning itself as an essential global meeting point? For Opota, this is a matter of collective responsibility. “If Montreal and Canada don’t step into this role, it amounts to a form of failure to assist a planet and humanity in danger. We have a duty to engage in this reflection,” he adds.

“At its core, artificial intelligence has creativity embedded in its DNA.”

One of Entertain-AI’s core objectives is to reconcile creative and technological communities. Brigitte Monneau notes that while AI was initially perceived as a threat to copyright, the event aims to establish a forum for respectful dialogue and to demonstrate that coexistence is possible. Wemba Opota reinforces this perspective by asserting that AI is intrinsically creative and that Montreal—with global leaders such as Moment Factory and Cirque du Soleil—has a responsibility to claim a position of international leadership in this conversation. He views Canada as a “third way” between Europe’s strict regulatory approach and the United States’ innovation-first mindset.

2026: “Rolling up our sleeves”

For the 2026 edition, the central theme is action: “Rolling up our sleeves” (Make it real). The goal is to move beyond theory and toward tangible demonstrations, structured around four major themes:

• Human and machine: Re-centering human scale at the heart of technological development;

• Frameworks and freedoms: Defining a regulatory playground with a distinctly Canadian perspective;

• Jobs and transformation: Analyzing changes already underway in production pipelines, such as those at Rodeo FX;

• Mastering and bending the tools: Learning to use AI creatively, notably through the popular “prompt battle.”

Accessibility and inclusion, by design

Inclusion sits at the core of the Board’s strategy. Wemba Opota emphasizes that the event refuses to become an elite-only gathering. This commitment translates into several concrete choices: an inclusive pricing model with four different tiers to ensure accessibility for all, including emerging artists; geographic diversity, with a Belgian delegation this year and plans to invite emerging countries—particularly from Africa—in future editions; and an expanded educational component, through collaborations such as the partnership with L’inis to present concrete outcomes on training the next generation of AI practitioners.

Brigitte Monneau stresses the importance of adapting education to avoid producing “future unemployed professionals” unfamiliar with today’s tools. This risk remains very real in academic environments, where there is still too much reluctance to embrace the benefits of well-regulated AI, often due to a lack of structure and resources.

Human interaction as the driving force

The 2026 event places strong emphasis on interactivity, with three distinct room formats: an exhibition hall showcasing large-scale projects, hands-on workshops (masterclasses) designed to “open the hood” of the technology, and an intermediate space dedicated to direct exchanges and audience questions.

“My position from the very beginning has always been to build a bridge between tech and creation… the idea is precisely to create this forum, this opportunity to see what’s really happening, to see concretely what it does—and what it doesn’t do,” adds Brigitte Monneau.

The final message from both Board members is a call to boldness: “Dare to come.” For them, even if AI can be unsettling, it is precisely through human interaction and the confrontation of ideas that tomorrow’s solutions will emerge.

View the full program here: link

Note: The Culturemania x E-AI contest has just ended. The three winners will be announced publicly shortly.