Main Character of the Week is a weekly column that tells you the most prominent “main character” online (good or bad). It runs on Fridays in the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter. If you want to get this column a day before we publish it, subscribe to web_crawlr, where you’ll get the daily scoop of internet culture delivered straight to your inbox.
Daily Dot journalists just spent nine days this month at the South By Southwest (SXSW) conference. Here, business and arts leaders present their ideas for the future. Quantum computing, artificial intelligence, flying cars, bath houses with light shows, a machine that reads the emotions in your favorite song via Spotify and then makes you a cocktail that tastes like “Bleeding Love” by Leona Lewis.
The conference is historically about fun, splashy ideas. But as political turmoil leads to uncertainty stateside about the economy, human rights, and America’s standing in the international community, one question loomed large: Are we going to be OK?
During the Austin-based tech conference, futurist Rohit Bhargava said it’s recently become the No. 1 question folks ask him. And even at SXSW, it sure feels like we’re in a recession. The sponsors, parties, and events were scaled back. Pre-pandemic, more than 2,000 bands performed at SXSW. This year’s conference featured 1,000—very few of them marquee names.
I think we’ll be OK though. As Bhargava said, there are two key principles for predicting the future when it comes to new technology:
- Who will actually use this?
- What human problem does this solve?
It’s why the Apple VisionPro goggles or delivery drones have been recent flops. We already have laptops and delivery drivers. No one really wants drones dropping off boxes every time they see a sunset. I believe Jeff Bezos realized this a decade ago.
Our coverage of the future at SXSW
Our coverage instead looked at the future of farming, finance, ocean conservation, therapy, electric cars, diversity in the workplace, sports officiating, and sure, the people who are trying to bring back the wooly mammoth.
Experts warned us about A.I., and the man who wants to live forever told us why he’s close. Whataburger erected a museum. The music and film were brilliant and awe-inspiring despite the dwindling enrollment. (SXSW has said that next year it’ll just span for one Saturday.) But I was most taken by Kyle Maclachlan, an established actor pushing himself to understand Gen-Z slang.
When we stay curious, the world opens up. When we pay attention to history and the news, it becomes a lot easier to anticipate and reckon with the waves that are coming.
Main Character of the Week is a weekly column that tells you the most prominent “main character” online (good or bad). It runs on Fridays in the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter. If you want to get this column a day before we publish it, subscribe to web_crawlr, where you’ll get the daily scoop of internet culture delivered straight to your inbox.
