Innovators Roundup: The Future of Commerce (Recap)
After six months of planning, ideating, and refining, the Texas Immersive Institute’s (TXI) 2023 Innovators Roundup took place on 27 October. Formerly known as the “Think & Do”, our team decided to rebrand the experience to better represent our goal: to gather the best minds from industry and academia to learn about, ideate, and discuss innovation. This year, we focused on The Future of Commerce, and how technology is changing the way we conduct business.
Being an invite-only event, we strove to ensure attendees came from a wide range of backgrounds. We had representatives from companies such as Adobe and PWC, and founders of newer companies such as METATAILOR (interoperable metaverse fashion), to Minero (blockchain-based awards and certifications). We also had a nice mix of University of Texas staff and students (many of whom are TXI explorers). These 40+ hand-selected “citizens” were tasked with setting up commerce in “Nexus Texas”, an imaginary ideal city floating in the clouds above Austin.
Over the course of the day:
We had eight different demos for players to experience the technologies of AI, the metaverse, and blockchain firsthand. We showcased projects such as Adobe’s Firefly (generative AI), Coralverse Estates (digital real estate), and Uneeq’s Digital Humans (life-like, AI-powered virtual beings). Citizens earned an “NFT” certificate for completing at least three of the demos, rewarding their participation and learning.
Attendees learned about the future of technology and commerce from Kelley Knutson (former President of Netspend), Chris Duffey (Director of Strategic Development for Emerging Solutions at Adobe), Cristina Diaz (CEO of Minero), and Jordan Henry (Co-Founder of Hologress). Topics included “with rapid advancements in technology, how might businesses prepare themselves for the future of commerce?”, and “what is your definition of the metaverse?” The insights gained from this panel of experts were truly invaluable.
To discuss the topic of ethics in technology and commerce, we had an activity where players identified where they stood on specific ethical topics by literally standing on different lines marked on the floor (three lines represented “agree”, “neutral”, and “disagree”). Statements included, “businesses are allowed to use your data however they want if they compensate you for it”, and “all products should prioritize accessibility for all, even if it slightly reduces their efficiency or makes the product less effective.” We had some heated debates, and overall had a great discussion!
We concluded the day with final reflections, and an activity where everyone shared what they learned, and their key takeaways from the day. To finish it off, our very own Professor Erin Reilly gave a final speech, and thanked everyone for attending!
Now that it’s over, I think we definitely accomplished our goals, and even surpassed our expectations. The feedback we received from attendees was overwhelmingly positive, and highlighted their appreciation for our organization and planning. The Texas Immersive Institute’s 2023 Innovators Roundup was a huge success, and I’m incredibly proud of our team of volunteers (Yuhua, CJ, Kelly, Keyur, and Phoebe) and staff (Azalea and Erin) who helped make it all happen.
Thank you for reading! To learn more about the Texas Immersive Institute, please visit the website here. To learn more about the topics and technologies we covered in The Innovators Roundup: The Future of Commerce, check out the briefing book I wrote here. And finally, to stay up-to-date on all things at the intersection of technology and creativity, follow me on LinkedIn here, where I post articles and other cool things I’ve made or come across!
