Day One: #SxSW First Impressions
We (Jesse and Stef) arrived Friday evening and walked the streets of Austin. We were immediately immersed in all things #SxSW. There was music, crowds, exhibits, lines, homeless, clubbers, diners, all of it. We started talking about what #SxSW was "like". It wasn’t a conference, Disney, or a concert. The closest thing we could come with was that it is a modern version of the World’s Fair in pop-up form. It’s similar in that it’s a large scale event attracting people, politicians, artists, cooks, entertainers and hype. #SxSW is a place to come and experience the future, making you feel simultaneously optimistic and fearful of what the future holds. Here are a few of our thoughts from the day.
Plausible Futures
While excitement for the future was palpable it was tinged with generalized foreboding. The responsibility we have for what we’ve created is starting to dawn on us. @AmyWebb, in her “2019 Emerging Tech Trends Report”, introduced some trends and plausible futures ranging from optimistic to neutral to catastrophic. For each scenario, she estimated the likelihood, based on her data of these becoming reality. In all cases, the catastrophic scenarios were rated most likely to occur. We think this is because the more optimistic futures would require behavior change, cooperation, and well… optimism. Oh, and AI is no longer a major focus. It is assumed and it impacts everything tech touches. #thankyounext
Howard Schultz, in his keynote, expressed fears that the two-party system is fighting extremism with extremism and in the process leaving most voters behind. He imagines a different future and uses the language of startups, hoping to “disrupt the system”.
We got hungry
On a brighter note, kimchi fries brought together a couple Midwesterners, a couple Brazilians, some Swedes and a German around the delight of Korean kimchi and American french fries. Proving that cooperation and cross-cultural exchange don’t need AI… just a food truck and a picnic table.
Future to the Back
As we made our way back from the convention center to the Airbnb, we felt like we were traveling from the future to the past as we traveled from slick installations over heaps of garbage, and then under an overpass serving as a homeless encampment. Much like the World’s Fair, which resulted in some amazing, long lasting artifacts, inspired thinkers, inventors and artists, it also left in its wake some turbulence.
While this all might seem a bit heavy, we were also inspired. Inspired to get to work designing a the future we want. Not the one that just happens. Stay tuned for our Sunday impressions.
Your friends,
Jesse and Stef