It comes as no surprise that the prevailing subject of the past year took center stage at an event focused on innovation. Claire Dunton of Luminary explores the diverse viewpoints surrounding AI at SXSW.

Attendees of SXSW seeking to sidestep discussions on AI would find themselves disappointed, as AI permeated nearly every talk and panel discussion from the festival’s commencement to its conclusion. Given AI’s profound influence on the trajectory of technology, music, and the entertainment industry, there couldn’t have been a more fitting platform to delve into its impacts than SXSW.

With 33 members of the Luminary team present at the inaugural SXSW Sydney festival, our array of interests allowed us to delve into various perspectives and insights shared by leaders across multiple disciplines.

Here’s a glimpse into their reflections on AI.

AI will threaten some TV and film, but not all found at SXSW

During his appearance on the third day of SXSW Sydney, Charlie Brooker, the creator of Black Mirror, confessed to harboring significant concerns about the future of technology and the role AI will assume. Recognizing that his acclaimed series frequently revolves around unsettling scenarios stemming from an excessive dependence on technology, Brooker expressed particular apprehension regarding the potential threat to creativity. Reflecting on a previous experiment where he tasked ChatGPT with crafting a Black Mirror episode, Brooker was momentarily taken aback by how adeptly the AI replicated the show’s typical formula and atmosphere. However, upon further examination, he realized that the AI lacked substance and merely mimicked existing episodes without generating original ideas.

Brooker suggested that for “procedural” TV shows—genres following a fixed formula such as police procedurals—a future might exist where AI contributes 80 percent of the content, with the remaining 20 percent refined by human intervention. Emphasizing the importance of original, human-driven concepts and productions is essential for distinguishing ourselves amid the influx of AI-generated content.

Which roles will be replaced by AI, and will that create a greater gender inequality?

Throughout various SXSW sessions, numerous leaders referenced a striking statistic from the World Economic Forum’s ‘Future of Jobs Report’: by 2025, 85 million jobs globally are projected to be displaced by AI, while 97 million new jobs are anticipated to emerge. This statistic left a profound impact, particularly during a panel discussion focused on machine learning and AI exacerbating gender inequality for future generations of women.

Moderator Robyn Foyster, editor and entrepreneur at Women Love Tech, led a discussion with a panel of three women on this topic. Foyster highlighted the reality that statistically, many of these “replaceable” jobs, such as clerical work, call center roles, cashiers, and bank tellers, are predominantly held by women. She emphasized that without support systems to educate this demographic about emerging roles (such as prompt engineers), there’s a risk of exacerbating both the pay gap and the skill gap.

SXSW experts on how yesterday’s biases are being built into the future

Tracey Spicer, the author of “MAN-MADE: How the bias of the past is being built into the future,” shared intriguing insights into how gender and career are depicted online. Likewise, Catriona Wallace, an AI and Metaverse specialist and fellow panelist, emphasized the need for improved representation of gender and race in online spaces.

Spicer noted that ten years ago, searching for “CEO” would predominantly yield results featuring white men in suits, with minimal representation of women and even fewer women of color in the results. This bias extends to AI-generated art and graphics, which often replicate existing stereotypes and reinforce biases. Essentially, these technologies perpetuate and propagate these biases to the millions of users who consume and share such content, thereby perpetuating outdated stereotypes in the modern world.

What happens to trust in a world of fakes and replicas?

Amy Webb, a futurist and prominent figure at SXSW, expresses concern over the potential erosion of trust due to the rapid and widespread adoption of AI. Through her futurist work, she has identified alarming trends where deepfakes are infiltrating hospitals and clinical settings, posing a threat to trust in healthcare. This erosion of trust could exacerbate social divisions and hinder ethical retailers and providers from effectively reaching their target audience.

Similarly, Brooker echoed these apprehensions at SXSW, highlighting the importance of agreeing on a shared reality to address global issues effectively. He noted the prevalence of misinformation in the sources used for AI learning, which can perpetuate inaccurate and unethical theories and ideas. This raises the question: are we inevitably stuck in a limbo between fake news and reality?