SXSW Day 2

Posted on the A Mind at Work LinkedIn company page on 3/14/26

DAY 2: A new day brought a new venue into the mix, the JW Marriott. This year’s conference is missing its central nerve center, the Austin Convention Center, which was torn down after last year’s event. SXSW has always been a decentralized affair, spilling into many of the city’s largest hotels and conference centers, but this year, there is a gaping hole where the primary venue once was. They are rebuilding, but the new facility likely won’t be ready to host any events until 2029. It’s worth noting that the old building wasn’t really the heart of the event; that label is best applied to the staff and volunteers who calmly shepherd the throngs from location to location. Here’s a sampling of smart things I heard on Day 2. (Attribution of ideas below intentionally not called quotes. I’m not a journalist, but I did my best to capture the spirit of what these folks said. Anything without attribution is all A Mind at Work).

-Mission-driven BRANDS need purpose-driven PEOPLE if they are going to succeed. If Gen AI helps reduce the number of low-level tasks on your plate, you need to pivot to the harder work of understanding your purpose.

-Stop thinking of Al as doing the work of 50% of the people. Start thinking of Al as doing 50% of the work, for 100% of the people. -Jensen Huang, Nvidia (seen on a slide in a session, Huang is not at SXSW as far as I know)

-When you reach the top of your FIRST summit, you will need to climb down before you can tackle your NEXT peak. -Gustav Söderström, Spotify

-When your thoughts and feelings become something, it’s an expression of art -Daniel Lismore

-Art is what you can get away with. -Andy Warhol (also not at the event, to the best of my knowledge).

Starting Day 3 with a talk from Futurist Amy Webb from Future Today Strategy Group!