From the heart of Austin, Texas, SXSW 2025 gathered business leaders and visionaries around the world for an electrifying week of forward-thinking exchange. This year's conference tended towards resilience amid global uncertainty, featuring stronger international voices than ever before.
Below are some findings from our Culture team who hit the ground running at this year's event.
Nivara Xaykao, Culture Director: Artificial intelligence was, predictably, the big topic at SXSW 2025, with many sessions speaking to how humans can evolve or stay a step ahead of the technology. The conversations that stuck with me the most revolved around getting back to the essence of what makes us creative—and that’s our inherent weirdness and unpredictability.
It was the rallying cry of famed media theorist Douglas Rushkoff in his keynote, Weirding the Digital. It was present in Ian Beacraft’s talk on How Not to Screw Up an AI Transformation and Maggie Jackson’s exploration of Uncertainty, of which my biggest takeaway was that as AI becomes programmed to confirm our biases and move us towards the mean, the most powerful thing we can do is to challenge and diverge.
This is particularly resonating in a week where we saw OpenAI appropriate Studio Ghibli’s singular animation style to illustrate the powers of their new image generation tool. Ironically, most of the generated images making the rounds are based on existing memes and pictures captured by real people, created by real people, and featuring real people.
In a twist of poetic justice, the 4K restoration of Princess Mononoke that hit theaters the same weekend ended up stealing the box office. That’s the thing—GenAI feasts off of the unique quirks and artifacts of human life, and we are quickly running low on original source material. To paraphrase Douglas Rushkoff, what happens when the ‘weird’ that fuels creativity runs out?
Laila Carey, Culture Analyst: In a world growingly attached to digital automation and artificial intelligence, it was satisfying to witness SXSW 2025 be such a sincere embrace of humanity in all its beauty. From the panel discussion on how space influences human interaction to Debra Patt and Troy Sarich's conversation about creating more personalized healthcare strategies, prioritizing the needs of real people along with the advancement of new technologies seemed to be the overarching sentiment.
Other sessions even captured the quirkiness of humans, with Liquid Death and Meow Wolf radiating the power of absurdity as it connects audiences in deeper and more memorable ways and Taboo Group touching on the revolutionary freedom of breaking from the conventional path.
Lastly, I can’t skip over the unwavering passion of creatives on display even amid turbulent times, as Issa Rae bore her grievances with the unraveling state of DEI and proudly proclaimed her continued commitment to strengthening Black representation in Hollywood.
Jordan Lewis, Senior Strategist: Amidst a backdrop of dismal consumer confidence headlines, a trust crisis, and escalating geopolitical tensions, this year’s SXSW provided a refreshing “stay the course” tone, opting for practical progress over milquetoast retreat.
This was especially pronounced with HOK Architect's presentation addressing the necessity of neuroinclusive design. Using scientific research, the firm found increases in productivity and happiness occurred for all participants, upending the divisive narrative that marginalized groups are disproportionately benefiting from such investment. Other companies like LUSH took an even more defiant stance against recent attacks on parity progress, releasing three bath bombs explicitly named “Diversity,” “Equity,” and “Inclusion.”
Apart from political issues, the encroachment of AI on the creative space was another topic speakers like Holly Herndon took up with playful, practical solutions. Delving into new platforms like Holly+ and Public Diffusion, she demonstrated a viable path forward for feeding the generative creative craze while preserving artist IP and funding.
On the other end of the tech spectrum, Lightphone provided a grounding moment for conference attendees, speaking on the importance of brand transparency and product co-creation as a solution for rampant cynicism in the consumer marketplace. This isn’t to say everything was bright and cheery at SXSW, and certainly, scattered sarcastic remarks about the day’s headlines, followed by a mix of audience laughter and groans, made a regular appearance. But despite the darkness, a balanced sense of realism won over.
Former Obama speech writer David Litt remarked on the importance of “gallows” humor”—embracing lightheartedness in difficult times—and the near-omnipresence of Elmo at this year’s conference brought unexpected smiles and an outlet for challenging emotions.
Overall, SXSW provided an oasis of resilience and served as a reminder that the momentum of collective progress is too great to be derailed by momentary turbulence.