Every year, hundreds of tech conferences take place all over the world to host the app economy’s brightest minds in one shared space to uncover the latest trends in tech and culture, and how the two work (or clash) together. This March, I (Caitlin Irr, global membership communications manager here at ACT | The App Association) had the privilege of attending not one, but two of these amazing events to interact with the latest and greatest innovations in tech, expand my mind with thought-provoking panels and keynotes, and appreciate the local culture that Austin and New Orleans have to share. Below is a breakdown of the hottest topics out of SXSW (South by Southwest) and New Orleans Entrepreneur Week (NOEW) in 2023.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Shocker of the century! But in all seriousness, AI is something we cannot escape both literally and metaphorically, so it of course took center stage at both SXSW and NOEW. Panels around AI applications in business and personal life zeroed in on the pros and cons of this rapidly developing technology and spurred interesting exchanges related to responsible AI and ethical obligations to consider as a critical piece of the rollout of this technology. Unfortunately, we know that racial bias already exists in the digital tools we currently use, and this fact becomes even more alarming when you think about racial bias, AI, and its healthcare applications. Everyone should be able to use something as mundane as an automatic soap dispenser and our industry has a responsibility to take a serious look at who is creating and using this technology before we think about applying AI in high-stakes use cases.

Workforce

The workforce of 2023 is not the workforce of late 2019/early 2020 and, culturally, we’ve seen this shift for a number of reasons. However, two major reasons stand out: one – the global pandemic that not only changed a lot of people’s life priorities and goals but also how and where they work, and two – AI.

It seemed nearly every workforce panel at SXSW had at least one founder mention how the pandemic changed their business. Since early 2020 a significant number of companies have offered permanent telework or remote work options, and therefore have been able to cut costs and increase productivity. This transition has now led to some business leaders implementing a four-day workweek, a trend that has proven to be positive for companies and their employees in recent years.

Even though AI got its own little shoutout in an earlier trend, many panelists continued to link AI to the workforce revolution currently happening in the United States and the rest of the world. The four-day workweek I mentioned earlier? Wildly possible with the implementation of AI in the workplace. For every fear that AI will take jobs entirely, there were just as many positive voices saying that AI could make our jobs easier, allowing us to be more productive while working a fraction of the hours, ultimately giving us more time to spend on our health, loved ones, and overall quality of life.

Web3

2022 was the year of Web3, in fact, it was at last year’s NOEW that I was first evangelized by the world of Web3 and all it had to offer. And while Web3 might have taken the backseat (but not the third row) to AI in 2023, so much innovation continues to happen in this space. New Orleans, a place rich with history and culture, and a vibrant tourism hub is harnessing the power of Web3 to bring accessible, unique experiences to their city. Not only is Web3 helping people create an entirely new revenue stream for the city, but Web3 is also able to preserve and protect parts of local culture for centuries to come.

In Conclusion

Events like SXSW and NOEW empower innovators as they embrace, redefine, and grow in ways that lead to a stronger, more vibrant app economy. If you’d like to receive regular correspondence about in-person and virtual tech conferences and events happening worldwide, please contact [email protected].