Primary takeaway from SXSW 2023 – designers will be at the epicenter of the inevitable world of AI and XR.
Design is the interaction of humans with the world around us. It is all encompassing and has existed since civilization. The design toolbox changes with context and environment but the essence of design does not change. The essence being – the ability to understand the necessary workflow required and the skill to create an experience that satisfies an intended purpose.
SXSW has been a showcase of top of mind technologies and trends. Around 18k attendees and over 350 sessions curated from the global community and spanning the world’s of tech, film, music, and beyond, each of which ignite conversation and collaboration. It’s no secret that AI and XR is going to radically change the way humans live. It’s imminent. A large number of sessions and exhibits arrested to this projection summarizing that the industry is obviously unsure and is making every effort to rapidly align and strategize. The uncertainty of what AI will replace, assist, or completely redefine is very concerning. Content creation, ownership, regulation, security, and consumption are complex areas that will see significant changes. Education, medicine, military and all lifestyle verticals will undergo a revolution.
This is going to be a series of posts to actually dig into the details but what is very clear is that the context of our environment is radically changing once again. New workflows, new experiences, new tools, new channels and delivery mechanisms, new consumption styles and expectations – all these define our new context. Humans who are trained to understand this uncertain new context and deliver experiences in them are “designers”. Designers will be more in demand in this new context than ever before. In fact designers will have to do the heavy lifting of teaching the industry and handhold corporations in navigating this unclear path forward.
#design #ai #sxsw2023 #kaalo
