Team Luminary in front of Sydney Opera House

The highlights of SXSW Sydney 2024

Inspiration was surging for 38 of our team members, who came together from locations across Indonesia and Australia for this year’s SXSW in Sydney. With over a thousand different sessions to attend, it was impossible to get to every session. So, we’ve wrapped up the top trends that we’ve seen emerging.

Clarice Greening

28 October 2024

4 minute read

AI (here we go again)

How can two letters create so much controversy? Most of us feel like talking about AI has been overdone, but as an ever-evolving topic, there’s always more to learn.

The imminent release of AI Agents was the next big thing that was being talked about at SXSW. They were pitched as efficient and collaborative coworkers, rather than your CEO. 

These invisible robots for software are doing work directly generated by the AI back end engine in systems, saving a human from having to interpret AI commands and process them. As always, this means enhanced efficiencies for humans, freeing up their time to work on more complex and exciting creative tasks.

Energy transmission and climate 

Climate change should be top of mind in every sector, but it was great to see the variation of topics covered this year in regards to how the planet is changing and what companies are doing to try and reverse the destruction.

WWF gave an insight to the global ‘ocean superhighways’ that whales travel through and how making small changes like moving shipping lanes by just fifteen miles can reduce whale strikes by 90%. Those whale populations are crucial to sucking up carbon from the atmosphere and if they decline, the lungs of our planet will shrivel.

On land, the focus was renewable energy and how iron ore processing is the way forward to transform the resource sector in Australia to try to exceed the goal of 43 percent reduction in emissions from 2005 levels by 2030. 

Green energy and low emission techniques are giving us a chance to significantly cut emissions of trading partners like China, but the reality of their outputs in just one week exceeding what Australia produces in a year, made us realise how bad the global situation is. 

Innovative technology like shifting silver to copper for better conductivity and improving hydrogen production were some of the future plans for how Australia can harness their strengths in the renewable energy scene, helping fight the problems globally.


whales in the ocean

Productivity and inspiration

Everyone wants to be more in the moment and feel inspired more often.

Johann Hari, a researcher and author, presented about the loss of our focus due to constant impacts on our attention and how our phones (and socials) are crushing our attention, focus and happiness. Did you know that constantly being interrupted has the same impact on your IQ in the short term as smoking marijuana? Mind blowing, and not in a good way.

A workshop hosted by Dara Simkin talked about how playfulness at work can make you four times as productive and how it increases adaptability. We’ve all tried to convince our kids to do some chores by making it feel like a game and the truth is it works on adults too. 

Play has to be prioritised more in the office to make more exciting and innovative work, whether that creative bravery is through brainstorming sessions or spicing up regular meetings. It doesn’t just reap good ideas, it enables us to be adaptable in varied environments, setting us up for success in the future too.

people sitting in front of audience presenting

Innovations in medical science

One of the most impressive topics in this space was about how robots are being used for social interaction in aged care. Andromeda Robotics introduced us to Abi the robot, and as you can imagine, it triggered a lot of conversation about ethics and privacy. 

Design choices like bright eyes and colours alluded to Abi's perceived personality, which evokes empathy and connection, particularly for vulnerable groups like the elderly and children in healthcare settings. 

Another incredible talk was in neurotech, on how implanting computer interfaces into blood vessels in the brain are awakening motor signals for people suffering from diseases like paralysis. We felt very lucky to listen to the scientists speaking so candidly about the creation of the tech and what it means for the future of patients’ quality of life.

It did leave us contemplating if these advanced and invasive treatments feel in the realm of cyborgs as well as breakthroughs though.

All in all, it is clear that these topics not only dominate the conversation at the moment but they also shape our future. As we move forward, balancing the progress in technology with ethical considerations and environmental sustainability will be the key to success.

Want to tap into the expertise of an agency that’s been in operation since 1999?

Get in touch

Keep Reading

Want more? Here are some other blog posts you might be interested in.