South By Southwest was strange this year. No convention center to anchor the event: it’s a giant hole in the ground right now, being rebuilt from scratch, much like [insert your analogy here] will also need to be rebuilt in the age of AI.
This South By was all about convergence. How AI will impact [xyz] continues to be the dominant theme at the conference and in so much tech coverage (including on this podcast; sorry!).
Join Kwaku and me as we converge on the key themes this year, which... are all about convergence.
Robots that play soccer?... Sure!
An AI Cyrano de Bergerac to help you whisper sweet nothings in your lover's ear?... Why not!
Pants that you wear (or do they wear you) that are an e-bike for your legs... OK, then!
Falling in love with an AI (and its business model)... uh, OK, I guess!
AI that can tell you whether to have another slice of brisket (yes, duh, you’re in Austin!)... Critical!
So, come on along to Austin for what’s become an annual tradition: Kwaku and my SXSW Rooftop Revue.
This year recorded in fabulous 4K with a three camera setup that we didn’t deserve! Big thanks to Podcast Movement Evolutions, Nomono, The Podcast Academy, and Simplecast!
And stay tuned for a few more episodes from a wild week!
Chapters:
00:25 SXSW 2026: everything everywhere all at once
01:23 Kwaku stumbles into a World Economic Forum session on convergence
05:54 Reinforcement learning and robot soccer
09:07 Amy Webb's three convergences: emotional outsourcing, unlimited labor, human augmentation
09:55 Pants that are an e-bike for your legs
11:27 The mental tax of running a fleet of AI agents
13:28 Your boss wants you to pay for your own augmentation
16:07 Esther Perel, Spike Jonze, and falling in love with Her business model
18:55 An AI Cyrano de Bergerac to help you win your lover’s heart
25:30 IRL is the antidote!
If you don’t already get Future Around & Find Out emails, go ahead:
Future on…
~ Dan