SXSW: That's a wrap
by Big Tomorrow| March 31, 2017 | More Articles
We came. We saw. We seriously soaked it up. As we say goodbye to another SXSW and begin to settle back into our daily challenges, we want to share what we learned, and some themes that emerged which seem most relevant to our work as experience designers. But let's start with a shout-out.
Austin rocks. (We knew this already, but it bears repeating.)
We owe a heartfelt thanks to the people of Austin, as well as the gracious hosts and generous speakers of SXSW. Once again, they demonstrated the power of community to do amazing things. To pull off a conference of this magnitude that offers such diversity of thought requires a tremendous, concerted effort. The city and its "pathologically helpful" people truly embrace SXSW, and while some might think the conference has gotten too big, we believe it takes both quantity and quality to give SXSW its unique spirit and make such valuable collaboration possible. It is truly an "interactive" conference, where we learn, work, and get inspired. Beyond the speakers and panels and "work" topics, we are treated to music and film and artists that help us tap into our emotions, and cope with the messiness required to solve our industries' challenges. So thanks, Austin!
And now, what did we learn? Our top five themes from SXSW:
1. Data is indeed our destiny.
The good news is that we are indeed seeing the promise of big data starting to emerge. Machine learning is already happening in many industries. But like all nascent technologies, there is still much to be discovered and improved. While things like pattern recognition show great promise, not all data is created equally, and we’re reaching a point where we simply are generating too much data to parse. As David Bray of the FCC says, “we will drown in data.” The nuanced skills needed to analyze different types of data and make it usable and communicable remain big challenges. Which leads to our favorite SXSW theme...
2. Humans still matter. (Whew!)
With so much discussion and attention on the future of AI and machine learning, it was comforting to hear experts like Microsoft fellow Eric Horvitz and others position the role of these technologies as serving and improving human intelligence, and not replicating it. And that perhaps "humanity" will be what defines the next generation of "killer apps." Certainly, John Maeda thinks so, in a few reaching and freeform Q&A session during his sxswedu talk he passionately underscored the need for a “Yoda,” an individual that could act as mentor and instigator of personal growth. Regardless of goals, technology will be best applied in bringing people together. AI will certainly have an impact on jobs across various industries, but increasing human productivity will be the focus, allowing our human brains to focus on more complex problem solving. IBM recently suggested that perhaps to reinforce this notion, AI should be relabelled as augmented intelligence, or even intelligence augmentation (IA).
3. Design thinking is bigger than we thought.
As experience designers, we were thrilled to discover design thinking and the concept of human-centered design being widely discussed and implemented in significant ways. We heard conversations and exercises that explored design thinking for the dyslexic, using design thinking to tell richer brand stories and build more intelligent chatbot conversation, as well as hearing about the new program at UT's Center for Integrated Design. The variety was inspiring. An important topic that resonated with us was the importance of designing for inclusion. From the intentional exclusion of audiences that happens to the more nebulous unconscious bias that exists among us, understanding design's role in ensuring equity, and encouraging empathy is a theme we will be discussing and exploring more at BT.
4. There are some insecurities about security.
Remember back in 2013, when the number of connected devices hit 7.1 billion, matching the number of humans on Earth? Well, according to David Bray, CIO of the FCC, we’ve easily passed that number now, and are on track to have 75-300 billion connected devices by 2022 with only 8 billion humans. What hasn't quite kept up with the numbers is an understanding of the role security plays in the connected world where every device is capable of talking to each other, and being hacked. As we’ve already seen with recent distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, this proliferation of devices continues to create a massive need for data security. According to T K Keanini, Principal Engineer and Product Line CTO of Analytics at Cisco, who spoke at W2OatSXSW, cybercrime is cheap and incredibly lucrative, so it’s increasingly imperative that both consumers and companies take more steps to ensure their systems are secure, especially as the number of online devices increases.
5. Optimism is alive and well.
Given the current political climate, what might be the most heartening aspect of SXSW this year was the positive vibe in the room. Sure, there may have been a wee bit of complaining from uber addicts in the throes of withdrawal, but what we mostly heard throughout the week was respectable discourse, honesty, and a lot of people using their energy to ponder solutions. During the keynotes for SXSWedu, both Brene Brown and Roberto Rivera stressed the value of positivity, empathy and narrative in creating change, all music to the ears of designers like us. Equally encouraging is that SXSW 2017 saw more government participation than ever before, with over 30 US mayors in attendance. Let's hope this trend continues!
If you haven’t had a chance to read the interviews we had with leaders in Education and Healthcare yet — take a look and let us know what you think in the comments.
Big Tomorrow is a design consultancy based in Austin and San Francisco.
We help organizations solve complex challenges by building experiences that improve how people live, work, learn, and play. We’re design thinkers and doers who uncover opportunities, accelerate growth, and deliver meaningful results. Think we can help? Get in touch.
