SXSW isn’t just about movies or music. The annual Austin festival has also become a hub for inventors and entrepreneurs who use technology in exciting new ways.
So while my colleagues in the entertainment section score interviews with Dropout TV stars and hit the I Love Boosters red carpet, I went looking for the latest word in tech. Here’s what I learned while attending panels on robots, playing next-gen VR games, interviewing AI experts — plus eating a dangerous amount of tacos to power me through it all.
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AI Doom is out. AI Apocaloptimism is in.
If it feels like they’re adding AI to everything, it’s because they’re adding AI to everything. It seemed like every other booth and event at SXSW was about some new way to integrate AI into … whatever doesn’t have it yet. It’s a gold rush, still loves a bubble until it pops.
SXSW offered panels about runaway AI, job loss, environmental crisis, cognitive decline, and everything else you need for your full-blown panic attack before heading to the IBM AI Sports Club for a consoling round of drinks with other apparently obsolete humans.
But between the AI doomers and the AI goldrush crowd, a middle path is emerging: AI Apocaloptimism.
The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist is one buzzy new documentary at SXSW. Mashable hosted a panel about the movie with its producer, Daniel Kwan ( one half of the “Daniels” duo that directed 2023 Oscar winner Everything Everywhere All At Once).
An Apocaloptimist, according to Kwan’s movie, is someone whose eyes are wide open to the perils of AI, but also to the promises. The AI Doc is also a call to action for viewers to support responsible AI development and regulation. You can catch it in theaters from March 27.
Bleeding-edge tech on display at XR Exhibition
As in years past, SXSW hosted an XR Exhibition, where artists, pranksters, and game developers debuted installations on the bleeding edge of XR technology. It wasn’t new, but it has shown more staying power than the AI trend. Of all the tech I saw at SXSW, this is the event crowds were most excited about. There was a line and rush at the door when the hall opened.
Ironically, however, this event’s popularity may be a sign that XR in the wider world is not popular. Most people don’t have Meta Quests, Galaxy XR headsets, or Snap Spectacles, so they jump at the chance to try them.
SXSW saw the global debut of Fabula Rasa, a virtual reality game driven by fully improvised and AI-generated conversations. I wrote about the experience immediately after trying it, and it could be a preview of what RPG games will become in the AI era.
Imagine this: No more dialogue trees or circular conversations. You can talk, in real time, to every character you meet.
‘Fabula Rasa’ is the new AI VR game that made me ask: Is this the future of RPGs?
Snap also hosted the U.S. debut of a new augmented reality art exhibition with Jonathan Yeo, the painter behind a controversial portrait of Sir King Charles. Yeo’s exhibit powered by the Snap Spectacles.
Mashable Light Speed
Some AI is doing good
ElevenLabs, the AI audio company, announced a new initiative at SXSW that’s genuinely exciting — the company pledged to restore 1 million voices for people with permanent voice loss.
The company announced the news with Rebecca Gayheart Dane, the actress and wife of actor Eric Dane, who recently died after a struggle ALS. Dane worked with ElevenLabs to clone his voice prior to his death, which he used to talk to his family and care team. Now ElevenLabs is looking for people all over the world to participate in the 1 Million Voices Initiative.
“Because [AI] can be used for good, and maybe this will inspire others, other AI companies, to do something good with their capabilities instead of something nefarious,” Gayheart Dane said.
One Silicon Valley founder told me that EleveLabs is “dialed in,” and the company’s lawyer said they’ve been shipping products and models at a furious pace. While the company’s AI music album was a swing and a miss, the company is certainly generating buzz with its new models and AI tools. I heard from multiple people at SXSW that they were using ElevenLabs voice models in their own products, including Fabula Rasa.
Robotaxis are everywhere
Two Waymos and a Cybertruck drive into a bar…
Credit: Timothy Werth / Mashable
For Austin locals and San Francisco visitors, robotaxis are old news. As someone coming from New York, I got to take my first Waymo robotaxi rides in Austin. It was weird!
SXSW itself was sponsored by Rivian, which showed off a self-driving electric truck. I also saw a lot of Zoox robotaxis, and Tesla took the opportunity to show off its new Tesla Robotaxis. (I saw a Robotaxi in a big display case … being towed by a Cybertruck.)
Credit: Timothy Werth / Mashable
Welcome to the future. The cars aren’t flying, but they are driving themselves.
Sustainability tech
Climate and sustainability has long been a popular topic at SXSW, and this year was no exception. Several sustainability startups were recognized at the annual SXSW pitch competition, and preventing waste was a common theme among the winners.
Promising new companies like PLNTmatter take plant waste and turn it into sustainable fabrics. EcoSphere Organics sends a robot around Detroit collecting food waste to make upcycled products. MayimFlow helps eliminate water waste at data centers.
I also saw a startup called Flotier that wants to bring compact wind turbines to commercial rooftops, so that buildings can harness solar and wind. It’s one of those ideas that makes you think, why aren’t we doing this already?
The Ammortal Chamber, built for Darth Vader
Credit: Timothy Werth / Mashable
Have you ever wanted your very own Darth Vader chamber you can climb into when you need to refresh?
That’s how I’ve taken to describing my experience inside the Ammortal Chamber, the $160,000 rejuvenation machine that combines light therapy, molecular hydrogen, breathwork, vibroacoustics, pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF), and guided meditation into one experience that will refresh even the crankiest Dark Lord of the Sith.
As the Ammortal sales rep told me, it lets you plug yourself in like a cell phone. If you frequent medspas, you may see Ammortal Chambers on the spa menu soon. The devices are also popular with pro athletes, I was told.
The creator economy grows up
The days of creators negotiating brand deals themselves in lengthy negotiations with a massive power imbalance are over. Or, at least, that’s the idea. I interviewed Arthur Leopold, the CEO and co-founder of Agentio, a platform that lets creators match with brands and sign deals in a couple of clicks.
AI analyzes their body of work to find natural brand partners, and creators don’t need to worry about sketchy contracts they don’t understand.
Agentio hosted a panel with YouTube megastars Rhett and Link, the company’s marquee clients, and they made a compelling case that billions of ad dollars will soon be shifting to creator marketing.
I also spoke with Snap’s head of creator partnerships team, who walked me through monetization tools like Snap Spotlight and the newly launched Creator Subscriptions tool, currently in beta.
