Manchester Digital is excited to announce that The AI Cafe will be running the afternoon session at AI Futures Day during the Digital Skills Festival 2026.
The AI Cafe was Manchester’s first meet-up dedicated to exploring artificial intelligence and was co-founded by David Edmundson-Bird of Manchester Metropolitan University Business School and Phil Birchenall of Diagonal Thinking. Known for its open, exploratory approach, The AI Cafe brings together practitioners, academics and creatives to share ideas without sales pitches or hype.
David Edmundson-Bird said:
“I’m really excited that The AI Cafe is coming to the Digital Skills Festival. It’s a privilege to be able to share a snapshot of the fascinating stories and AI thought-leaders from our events over the last two years.”
Phil Birchenall added:
“The AI Cafe’s so different to so many other events that are out there. No-one’s here to pitch, sell or hit you over the head with their ‘expertise’; they come to explore and share. We hope AI Futures Day attendees enjoy our session as much as we undoubtedly will!”
The afternoon will feature three sessions:
- Raising the Dead: Building a Business with AI, Memories and Momentum
Tom Stables, Lecturer in Digital Marketing at the University of Lancashire and founder of an early-stage AI venture, shares a live case study of a startup built using AI at every stage. From nostalgia and storytelling to generative tools, Tom explores what happens when AI becomes part of the entrepreneurial process, whether the result is success or a valuable lesson. - The New Media Literacy: How to Think When the Tools Think Back
Krishna Stott, Creative Director at Bellyfeel, and Phil Birchenall explore what it means to operate in a post-digital, post-social and post-AI world. They challenge outdated questions about AI and focus instead on the growing gap between how media actually works and how people are taught to understand it, calling for a new kind of media literacy built on better questions. - A Bowl of AI Please
Steve Moyler, former McCann Digital Creative Lead and now Creative Innovation lead at THG, shares insight into how AI is transforming creative workflows. Drawing on over 25 years’ experience, Steve explores how AI is becoming a collaborative partner in content creation, prototyping and iterative design.
