AIAIAISXSWAIAIAI: 4 Things We Learned at SXSW 2025
South by Southwest is where tech, culture, and creativity come together. As we look forward to what the future might hold for our industry, our creative duo, Henry Plumridge and Ollie Bartlett dive into what they learned in the here and now.
The typewriter would destroy the individuality of penmanship. The telephone would destroy the art of conversation. Television would destroy novel writing. And virtual reality would spell the end of in-person events.
Yet, there we were. Notepad and pen in hand, on the phone, figuring out where to meet in Shoreditch for the first of many in-person talks at SXSW London.
Throughout the week, we saw lots. Punctuated by regular trips to coffee shops, we did our best to sample the full breadth of what SXSW had to offer. Creativity lectures, design workshops, tech roundups, art installations, live music, short film anthologies – and of course – AI. Lots, and lots, and lots of AI.
Here are some things we took away.
1. F*CK BEING HUMBLE
Both the name of Stefanie Sword-Williams’ talk and its key takeaway. Stefanie began by immediately cutting through the cheese and jargon that usually pads out conversations on career and purpose. Her question to the room was bold and confronting: do you want to be remembered for saving PDFs, or for making something that genuinely affects people’s lives?
At a time when the very definition of creativity is under revision, when things previously labelled “creative” are being exposed as… not, this felt like the stake in the ground many in the room needed.
Stefanie questioned why Citymapper wasn’t doing more to help girls get home safely and why Pampers wasn’t addressing the lack of affordable childcare. All to make the point that commercial creativity still has a job to do: to make sure brands matter. A job both exciting and fulfilling to the creatives willing to rise to the challenge.
2. AI IS BOTH THE MOST THRILLING AND ANXIETY-INDUCING THING IN THE ROOM
For every “yay” for AI, there was a “nay”. Often from the same person, in the same breath.
You don’t need me to tell you the industry is in flux. But in case it helps, it’s not just marketing and advertising. As an example, we heard how AI in healthcare is simultaneously revolutionising patient care, while also raising serious ethical concerns about patient treatment and experiences.
Many creatives on stages repeated the same mantra: AI is just a tool. An extension of our imagination. Something the best of us will use to make our ideas bigger, bolder, and faster.
But there was also a report revealing that the AI gender gap is real and growing. Female creative freelancers have seen their income drop more than twice as much as their male counterparts since AI began gaining serious traction.
So, the hype isn’t over, but neither is the fear. Everyone’s still figuring out where humans fit into this new normal. And, actually, what the hell this new normal even is.
3. THE HISTORY OF ART IS THE HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY
If one idea helped ease our AI anxieties, it was this. It cropped up in a few different talks, in different guises. Optimistic creators reminding us that art has always adapted to new tech, and always will. The paintbrush changed art. The printing press changed art. The computer changed art. AI will, too. The idea will always be king.
The CEO of Spitfire Audio summed it up best. With any new tool, he asks himself one question: is this helping or hindering me in making something? If you’ve played with AI long enough to watch an (almost) fully formed idea come to life in minutes, it’s hard to argue that it’s holding you back.
4. THE JOY OF BEING A MAGPIE
SXSW also gave us a welcome excuse to wander outside of our usual creative corridors. Of course, there were great talks about advertising and branding, but the real inspiration came from elsewhere. Game design lectures on world-building. Horror writing sessions on how to inject thrill into writing. Short films that presented bold and unexpected ways to bring stories and truths to life.
It was all an important reminder that you don’t need to bury your head in D&AD annuals to come up with fresh and exciting ideas. You should bury your head in every type of art, craft, and experience. And steal mercilessly.
So yes, the world is sh*t scared of AI. Of course we are. It’s powerful, new, and we all doomscroll LinkedIn too much. But there’s lots to be hopeful about. The evolving definition of creativity might just be an invitation to leave a bigger mark on the world. Ideas – real, human ideas – are still an absolute necessity to business growth and culture.
Just, right now, it’s all a work in progress. But we’re used to that, aren’t we?
Want to know how AI can help you make your mark on the world? Let’s chat.