SXSW 2015
To many people outside of the technology industry, SXSW – or South by Southwest – is known as a music festival. They bill it as the largest festival of its type in the world, where people go to party, and artists launch their careers. But it is so much more than music – there is also a well-respected film festival and an influential interactive element. The interactive part of the festival took place between March 13 and March 17. So, in terms of tech, what were the highlights from SXSW 2105?
It takes place in Austin, Texas every year, and this year’s event attracted 30,000 attendees. Here are some of the highlights.
A Meerkat Loses Its Way
One of the most exciting tech launches so far in 2015 is the video app Meerkat. It allows users to set up a live stream on their mobile device and share that stream with their friends.
It used Twitter as its platform to connect users, but that relationship fell apart on the first day of SXSW when Twitter announced it had acquired a competitor and unceremoniously dumped Meerkat. But it was still a popular innovation at the festival, and remains a company to watch.
Failure is Part of the Success of X
Google X is the division of Google that works on some of its most innovative and exciting projects. Driverless cars and Google Glass are two of the most well-known parts of the project, but there are many others.
The talk at SXSW 2015 by the head of Google X, Astro Teller, was one of the most well attended of the festival. Among other things, he explained that the failure of Google Glass was more about creating the wrong perception than bad technology – users expected a finished product when in fact it was a work-in-progress prototype.
He also talked about another interesting project they are working on – unmanned drones they are developing to deliver parcels and letters.
How to Calibrate a Robot’s Moral Compass
Not everyone at SXSW 2015 was there to champion a product or promote a service. There was also a rally organized by a group called Stop the Robots. They are concerned that the subject of countless science fiction novels and movies will soon become a reality – when artificial intelligent machines start to pose a direct threat to humans.
Those who attended the rally said their main concern is the possibility that machines will soon be able to make decisions “without a moral guideline“.
Mars, St Bernards and Edward Snowden
SXSW is known for its eccentricities and quirkiness as much as it is for debate, innovation and marketing. And this year was no different. At the event you could take a virtual reality tour of the planet Mars while wearing the Oculus Rift headset. If the battery on your phone started running low you could take a screenshot and tweet the accessory company Mophie, who was at the festival. They would dispatch a large and cute St Bernard dog to your location with a wireless charger stowed in his neck barrel collar.
And while the whistleblower Edward Snowden did not do another major talk like he did at the 2014 event, he did take part in a smaller and more secretive debate with about 20 of the main tech industry leaders in attendance at SXSW. The subject was privacy.
Oh, and of course there were the parties – lots of them. They are as much as part of the event as the technology – or the music and film. And while the Interactive element is now dominated by big brands like McDonalds and Pepsi, it is still an important event on the tech industry’s calendar. Roll on SXSW 2016.