SXSW 2024: my week in review

At this stage in my career, there’s very few tech events that I don’t know like the back of my hand. I’m used to trade show floors, exhibitor stands and trends briefings, just as much as I’m used to the mid-morning queue for coffee at an exhibition centre. But this year, I had the opportunity to become a first timer once again, as I took to Texas for SXSW, the global tech and arts festival known for its cutting-edge creativity. With the promise of AI, extended reality and beyond the show certainly didn’t disappoint.

This year’s agenda spanned topics including climate change, DEI, creator communities, influencers, health and more, and it was brilliant to have the opportunity to take to the stage at the transportation track to talk about the role we’re playing in breaking down the major barriers to electrification.

Here are some of favourite takeaways:

AI, AI, AI

AI was a big theme throughout the conference, and the overall sentiment was that it won't take your job if you embrace it, but it shouldn’t be ignored.

I was particularly interested in a series of talks from great minds such as ChatGPT head and OpenAI VP of consumer product Peter Deng. A big focus for Deng was on how AI and humanity can ‘co-evolve’, and how we can look to a future where generative AI becomes not just a tool for the workplace, but a “thought partner” to talk through and refine ideas with. Such tools, it was argued, can ultimately free up time for higher-level thinking by speeding up information retrieval and analysis of data.

As we move away from the initial hype of gen AI, I’m keen to see more deeper discussions around where we’re headed next and how AI can empower small, lean teams to innovate at speed and scale. At Etc. we’re already harnessing AI to innovate across many of our verticals, from drones to fintech and healthtech, so I’m interested to hear more about the dual role that people and AI can play together going forward.

Removing the roadblock for EVs

It's no secret that electric vehicles and the need to decarbonise the transport sector is high on my agenda this year, and I was thrilled to discuss what’s happening in this space for Etc. at the transportation track on Tuesday. Consumer interest in the electric revolution is growing across the globe, but when it comes to electric vehicles, a lack of charging infrastructure is holding us back from rolling out the mass transformation needed.

In the UK, more than a million EVs have now been registered, but there are only around 53,000 charge points on our roads - far fewer than the 300,000 the government predicts we need by 2030. In fact, our research found that almost 80% of petrol and diesel drivers point to a lack of convenient EV charging options as a central barrier to making the switch.

With the launch of our EV charging pilots we’re exploring the transformation of green street cabinets - formerly used to store copper broadband and phone cabling - into EV charging units.  This week, I was proud to share with the room more about the role we’re playing in extending the life of these cabinets by taking a circular economy approach to bringing EV charging kerbside. There were some fantastic questions around how we are using current networks and ensuring local governments move at the speed required, and interesting thoughts from the audience around how we meet the needs of the EV revolution by tapping into the resources around us.

Whilst it was great to see some exciting new activations centralising EVs on the ground - such as Porsche's car wash which deposits visitors in front of a Route 66-themed space celebrating the brand’s electric products and e-bike, I hope to see more broader discussions around the solutions that can help us unlock EV adoption in the months to come.

Making healthcare fit for tomorrow

In one of my favourite panels, Dr. Jag Singh, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School discussed how data and remote care will revolutionise the healthcare industry, and how the future of healthcare will be sensor and AI enabled. He shared an interesting take on how every GP has their back turned to the patient as they rush to take notes, but a simple co-pilot assistant could help them actively listen to their patients, especially if they have contextual data about their lifestyle and health measurements before they even arrive.

Oracle’s session on aligning health with the ease of consumer tech touched on a similar point around creating more simplified and intuitive approaches, discussing the essential shift in healthcare towards the same level convenience and intuitiveness expected in consumer tech. The talk also touched upon the role that AI can play in translating these expectations into a reality.

Harnessing AI for digital health innovation is an area Etc. has been exploring for some time now, and we’ve since rolled out our preventative remote initiative designed to prevent, detect and manage cardiovascular disease through early monitoring and pre-emptive intervention in pilots across the North of England.

Underpinned by an AI powered patient monitoring platform which supports early detection of conditions to enable preventative care (the platform categorises patients at highest risk of complications first, based on medical history and demographics such as age, gender, and level of blood pressure readings), it’s an example of how we can harness technology and AI to empower patients to monitor and manage elements of their health.

I was also particularly impressed by the President of Best Buy health, who explained in a standout session how they are re-skilling and utilising the geek squad to support remote care services that help make the home the new hospital, as well as new innovations from health startup Autonomise, who use co-pilots to assist clinicians in the US health sector, to reduce the burden of outdated systems.

That’s a wrap…

Whilst that’s a wrap on SXSW for 2024, it marks just the beginning of Etc.’s latest product roadmap across health, EV charging and more. If you want to find out more about what we have planned in the months ahead, get in touch or visit us at etcdigital.co