Every year, in Austin, just before spring, South by Southwest (SXSW) holds the big international entertainment event. Dedicated to culture, cinema and music, the festival is also “the place to be” to smell the latest trends in new technologies. Faithful to the appointment, Perle Bagot, the co-founder of the Hub Institute, has identified the ten trends that should not be missed this year. Keep In Touch sums it up.

1/ AI: from fascination to reflection

À South by southwest, which took place from March 8 to 16 in Austin, AI (generative) remains the undisputed star, attracting all the attention during the three days of this event followed by several hundred thousand visitors. In terms of intensity of exchanges, the Texan festival remains unrivaled, in conferences, debates, meetings, with unique speakers, as much pure players as Gafam, on major current issues, even if political and concerns of ecology did not take center stage this time. In the discussions, there are always a lot of questions about the future, that's the DNA of SXSW: we come to Austin to gain perspective, to wonder about the future. At this 2024 edition, after the excitement of previous editions, particularly on the Metaverse, we could feel an end-of-party atmosphere, “ a little hungover ". And, in the debates, a new desire for reflexivity, shared by many speakers, with a background of concern also on different subjects such as the evolution of work. The question of value remains central: who holds this value? Is it man, machine? AI fascinates as much as it frightens. And the controversies are rife!

2/ All “future shocked”?

The context of the rapid development ofgenerative artificial intelligence recalls this formula invented by sociologist Alvin Toffler (1928-2016) in the book “Future Shock” published in 1970, which became a bestseller. We are all " future shocked ". This “shock of the future” is the stress caused by rapid change, particularly in technologies that exceed human capacity to adapt. This shock can be particularly serious when people feel like they have no control over the changes, Toffler explained. This is what we were able to feel, quietly, during these three days in Austin. Tensions, tensions, questions, on the future of professions (content industries) and on the environmental impact since we know that AI remains energy-intensive and that the main source of digital pollution comes from the manufacturing of electronic devices. Generative AI is far from perfect and must be regulated: fake news, plagiarism, copyright, security, etc.

3/ The chip, big winner

Following news in the semiconductor sector allows you to understand the movements and challenges of generative AI. Mark Zuckerberg has announced that he wants to invest massively by the end of the year in graphics cards from Californian chip giant Nvidia for generative AI – to the tune of $10 billion. Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAI) presented him with a plan to build new silicon chip factories, through a fundraising of seven trillion dollars. On both sides of the Atlantic, we are witnessing an “arms race”: the EU is investing massively to become less dependent on Asia while the United States is gaining power thanks to mega-projects. Valued today at more than two trillion dollars (ahead of Amazon, Microsoft, Apple), the world leader in GPUs Nvidia now supplies 80% of the microprocessor market (main component of generative AI systems). Among Nvidia's new 2024 products, which its CEO Jensen Huang unveiled during the major developers' conference which took place in mid-March on the West Coast, include "super chips" 30 times more efficient than the previous generation, the one having used to train existing AI models. Their other big project is the first robot equipped with specific technology (Gr00t) designed to understand what humans say, imitate their movements, learn from their own experience on how to interact just by observing.

4/ The race for alliances

The race is on between digital giants, but also with open source players. Players in generative AI are already becoming giants themselves, with high valuations and exponential growth not always proportional to that of their turnover. OpenAI (valued at over $80 billion) in the lead, followed by Hugging Face, Anthropic, Inflection, Cohere, etc. We are also seeing new partnerships between Gafas and players in generative AI, typically OpenAI with Amazon and Microsoft. Note the merger (not yet official) between Apple and Google's AI, Gemini. An alliance at first glance surprising on the part of Apple which we know is rather closed to its ecosystem. Is this opportunism on the part of Apple being late on these subjects? At the same time, we are witnessing the apogee of the founders of tech, these visionaries (Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg, Cook, etc.) who have become true gurus with their crazy ambition to save humanity.

5/ X, Y, Z… and T

The formula comes from Amy Webb, founder of the foresight firm Future Today Institute, who opens the festival each year with a well-attended conference on trends. The former journalist talks about the emergence of a new generation in this technological era. After generations X, Y, Z, it’s time for “Gen T”. T for transition (technological). A proactive generation, even militant, she says.

6/ Great cycle, great machine

The formula is also from Amy Webb. The addition of new technologies commits society to profound political, economic and societal changes, she explains. Faced with what she calls the “super cycle”, this great transition, Amy Web develops a very American-style speech: “ We don't have to submit, we don't have to give up ". And to detail this new arsenal. Everything is good in fact to continue to feed data into the models. Connected objects (the Internet of Things or IoT) are no exception, they are even at the heart of the issues, particularly in health. Amy Webb also spoke of the emergence of “ face computers »: these mask-shaped wearable devices, adapted to the human face, capable of generating information (deciphering purchasing intentions for example) from emotions using sensors sensitive to pupil dilation. With organoid intelligence we are taking technology one step further. Exit AI, welcome to OI, with machines made up of real neurons, computers made up of human cells which would, according to the specialist, be efficient and consume less energy. Finally, the last innovation to watch: the emergence of the Large Action Model (LAM) with the commercial success, at the last CES Las Vegas, of Rabbit R1. The device that has the ability to learn and reproduce actions autonomously knows how to perform tasks on various applications by imitating human interactions. Sending messages, choosing music, remote shopping.

7/ AI and work: the big upheaval

New skills, employee experience, digitalization of the workplace, continuous learning, employee training, decentralized workplace, huge subject! The value of work is everywhere in the debates on generative AI. By 2028, 50% of employees will have an AI assistant (source Gartner). The key to millions of jobs lost or modified, according to Goldman Sachs. In Austin, experts mainly speak of a “ boost » productivity. According to Ian Beacraft and Mike Bechtel of Deloitte, a quarter of tasks could be automated. They emphasize the importance of telling new skills. Generative AI appears like a second brain, a “ sparring partner » freeing from dependence on technical expertise. Technicality is giving way to creativity.

8/ “Makers” versus “talkers”

In entrepreneurship, valuation changes sides. With generative AI we are moving from a world of technical know-how to a world of skills that only humans possess. According to John Maeda, VP design & artificial intelligence at Microsoft, generative AI therefore gives power back to those who think (entrepreneurs) compared to those who do (developer, engineers, designers)... Generative AI leads to a revolution for production of content at lightning speed and the war for talent is changing. Bonus now for creative-generalist, the one who alone creates maximum value, the talker who knows how to talk to machines, the solopreneur... The profession of “prompt engineer” is intended to become a skill for everyone. Just like IT thirty years ago! We have learned to use a computer, now we will have to learn to speak to the machine.

9/ At the AI ​​school

Training in generative AI tools is the great challenge of the future. This is Sandy Carter’s message: “ Stop resisting and start training!» During a conference also very well attended, the former general manager of IBM listed the three key skills which according to her are strong: “ transition management, empathy, tech ". Once again this new era of work will depend on the way in which we consider work, continues the expert, with impacts on the way of working in a team (fewer numbers, skills less focused on technical know-how) and on the generated value. AI must be integrated throughout the company, she insists. It is a multifaceted disruption characterized, as we have seen, by the addition and complementarity of technologies: AI but also connected objects, “ face computers », digital twins. Finally, she returned to the issue of traceability, “ tokenization » assets on the blockchain ensuring traceability, security and management of property rights.

10/ RS facing the wave

In both BtoB and BtoC, social networks are riding the wave and generative artificial intelligence is being exploited for the development of innovative uses. Thus Tinder is experimenting with a tool aimed at improving user profiles by recommending a selection of their five best profile photos. AI allows LinkedIn to personalize news feeds and support the user in optimizing these posts. AI works at Meta through the use of a conversational bot designed to increase engagement and at TikTok through the creation of more eye-catching advertising scripts. YouTube announced the creation, in partnership with Universal Music, of an incubator dedicated to generative AI. Spotify has unveiled an AI-powered DJ. Finally, Instagram is developing an “AI friend” whose gender, age, personality, name, etc. can be chosen. In the background of these innovations, the question of transparency arises? Platforms could, in fact, soon add “AI-generated” mentions.