Notes Before SXSW 2024
by Jay CuthrellShare and discuss on LinkedIn or HN
See also: Notes Before SXSW 2024
See also: SXSW 2024 Days 1-3
See also: SXSW 2024 Days 4-9
Iām heading to Austin, Texas this week for SXSW 2024.
Getting Informed
In the past, I would live blog SXSW. Or, when there was a microblog social network of the times, I would live post hot takes. This time, I will not subject newsletter readers or social media followers to this real-time stream of stuff. Instead, I will revisit this same post over the nine (9!) days of SXSW 2024 and send the final update as a regular Fudge Sunday update.
Trust me. Your inbox will thank you later. SXSW 2024 begins this week and I am pumped. I am also oversubscribed. Of course, this is normal. Letās visualize to set the moodā¦ For example, this is Day 1 at SXSW 2024 (so far) for me.
Strong start, right? Bold. But, I think we might have a problem. By we, I mean me. Day 2-9 at SXSW 2024 (so far) is even more packed with collisions. Exhibit A: Interactive, Film, and Music collide
Eagle-eyed readers may notice the artifacts sneaking in at the top. Yes, those are bands and artists which means I also have many decisions to makeā¦ and my own need to sleep as a human that would like to function and partake of the prior programming choices I made.
And then there are folks like the Ausnio team making me consider even more things! š¤£
Update: Work Plug
Disclosure, I work for IBM.
At SXSW 2024, IBM is sponsoring the Artificial Intelligence track!
As a shoutout to my fellow IBMers, Iām planning to check out these sessions:
- Why the Future of AI Should be Open featuring Dr. Dario Gil
- Quantum Computing: Real, Revolutionary, Right Now! featuring Heather Higgins
- Why We Should Be Talking About Quantum featuring Heather Higgins
- How AI Is Changing the Art of the Job featuring Nickle LaMoreaux
- UX Researchers and Designers Meet Up featuring Andreina Dyer
Keynotes
As there are only seven (7!) keynotes, I have selected the ones I feel strongest about but Iām also ready to vote with my feet.
- Keynote: Privacy-in-Progress: Redefining the Boundaries of Being Online
- Keynote: A Conversation with Dr. Joy Buolamwini
And thenā¦ there are films to screen.
Films
There will be an astounding 451 screenings at SXSW 2024. Most films have multiple options and I am penciling in a few.
First, the truly high-brow onesā¦
Second, the ones I want to digest and think aboutā¦
Maybe Iāll pick up some short format features along the way.
Sessions
There is an amazingly daunting amount of sessions with unique voices from a diverse tapestry of industry, academia, and government. I needed to make hard choices!
Day 1 is always a rush just as it is a hard slog making it to Day 7. If SXSW has human bookends, they would be Hugh Forrest (Day 1) and Bruce Sterling (Day 7).
As I narrow down my selections strategically, I will also judiciously apply my Platinum Badge entitlements and my allocation of SXXpress Passes. Tactically, Iāll be able to decide in the first 5 minutes if I am voting with my feet to find a discussion outside a session or flip to an alternate session that overlaps.
B-Sides, Parallel Events, and Unconferences
As you might expect, there are activations to be had even outside regular SXSW events and venues.
Day 1 Friday 08-March Decisions to be made
- AI & Productivity: A Workplace Love Story?
- Featured Session: 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2024
- Clinical AI is Not Just Any AI
- How Gene Editing Is Fueling a Health Revolution
- Investing in the Future of AI Infrastructure
- Beyond the Horizon: Unleashing the Power of Future AI
Day 2 Saturday 09-March Decisions to be made
- Amy Webb Launches 2024 Emerging Tech Trend Report
- Life After Big Tech: Where Are Laid Off Workers Now?
- Strategic Foresight 101 (AM)
- Quantum Computing: Facts, Fiction, and the Future
- On The Arrogance of Man in the Age of Thinking Machines
- From Algorithms to Arms: Understanding the Interplay Of AI, Social Media, and Nukes
- SXSW Pitch: Enterprise & Smart Data
- Quantum Computing: Real, Revolutionary, Right Now!
Day 3 Sunday 10-March Decisions to be made
- Designing the Future: How Innovators Create Whatās Next
- How The Cloud Is A Trap
- Privacy and AI: Taking Back Control Of Our Data
- Factors Influencing the Future
- Who is Real? Augmentation vs Authenticity of AI Agents in VR
- Mind-Machine Merge: Seven Future Trends in a Post-AI World of Work
- Dichotomies: Visions of Technologyās Role in Divergent Futures
- Co-Creating the Near Future with Spatial Computing & AI
- Whereās the Creativity in Quantum?
Day 4 Monday 11-March Decisions to be made
- Breaking the Confidentiality Paradox: A Secure GenAI Roadmap
- Secure Surveillance, Privacyās Future and the Data Goldmine
- Ripping Out the Machine: The Future of Model Deletion
- Predicting Our Future Off-Earth: Beyond the Hype
- Exploring Emerging Tech: Real vs. Hype
- AI, Health Care, and the Strange Future of Medicine
- Artificial General Intelligence: Possibility & Responsibility
- Why the Future of AI Might Lie in Synthetic Data
- AIās Renaissance: A Dynamic Shift for Business and Society
- Innovating at Scale: The Role of AI for Idea Validation
- Dungeons & Dragons & Cybersecurity: Gamifying Your IR Plan
Day 5 Tuesday 12-March Decisions to be made
- Evolving Cyber Threats: The Role of Abandoned Technology
- AI Next Frontier: Breaking the Chains of Colonial Algorithms
- AI Isnāt Coming for Your Job, But Those Using It Will
- Enabling AI Everywhere
- Does Data Privacy Fit into the Growth of A Creator Economy?
- Humanoids or Augmented Humans: Accelerating Autonomy with AI
- Itās About Time for A Quantum Leap in Timing
- Rewards and Risks of Multimodal AI
- Whispers In the Code: Real Stories of Responsible AI
- Beyond Boundaries: Tech and Humanity Converge
- Build Your Own Open Source 5G Tower
- Conversational Video AI: Talk to Anyone Anywhere all at Once
- Swarms: Current Research and Future Applications
- Future-Proofing Computers for an Evolving World
Stay tunedā¦ and updates will be made to this same post.
Day 6 Wednesday 13-March Decisions to be made
- The Tech Industry and Cold War Two: Risks, Threats and Opportunities
- Inside the AI Revolution: How AI is Empowering the World to Achieve More
- Learn, Adapt, and Succeed in the Age of AI
- Amazon on the Future of Artificial General Intelligence
- Ethics in an AI World: Better to be Seen or Unseen?
- Super Connectors Meet Up
- How Generative AI Unlocks Creativity in Non-Creative Sectors
- The Real-Time Internet & Other GAI Futures
Stay tunedā¦ and updates will be made to this same post.
Day 7 Thursday 14-March Decisions to be made
- Unconventional AI: Exploring Orthogonal Strategies
- Business, Life, and the Magic of Austin: A Conversation with Michael Dell
- Beyond the Hype: Policy for Keeping AI in Check
- Whatās Next In Robotics
- Navigating the Future of Industries with AI
Stay tunedā¦ and updates will be made to this same post.
Day 8 Friday 15-March Decisions to be made
Stay tunedā¦ and updates will be made to this same post.
Day 9 Saturday 16-March Decisions to be made
Honestly, I might just take Saturday to pipeline my prior notes and Fudge Sunday wrapup post. š¤£
Stay tunedā¦ and updates will be made to this same post.
Music
My top picks so far are varied by genre, venue, and my ability to stay awake.
- Zheani
- Earth Tongue
- Nagasaki Swim
- Library Card
- dust
- Kyra
- Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys
- Richard Spaven
- SPRINTS
- Tokyo Syoki Syodo
- Tramhaus
The rest of the list is narrowing down slowly.
- Akoļ¼aåļ¼
- Amis du Teche
- Bleach Lab
- Bones and Jones
- Carla Geneve
- Chalk
- Ebi Soda
- Gurriers
- Sofia Kourtesis
- VLURE
I suspect my need for sleep will be the most rigorous filter.
Update: SXSW 2024 Days 1-3
Disclosure
I am linking to my disclosure.
p.s. As Iāve gotten older, I have come to appreciate getting snail mail. If you have time to drop me a postcard that would be amazing. āļø
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