SXSW PanelPicker Trends: Increased Jobs?
The Forrest Four-Cast: August 23, 2018
Only one week remains until August 30, when the community voting and commenting function closes for the 5000+ speaking proposals 2019 SXSW PanelPicker. Log into your account now to cast your ballot for your favorite ideas. Create a SXSW account here if you don’t already have one.
The August 30 deadline also means we only have a few more installments of this series of posts on trends and themes within the PanelPicker. These trends and themes are compiled by comparing the total number of speaking proposals on a given topic in the 2019 interface to the total number of speaking proposals in the 2018 interface.
Today let’s examine what the PanelPicker says about jobs. The 2019 interface sees 223 proposals focused on this topic. This is more than a 10% increase over the number of job-related proposals from a year ago (195). This jump is not surprising, particularly given the high number of proposals on artificial intelligence and robots — and the concerns that these new technologies will significantly disrupt the current employment ecosystem.
Three of the most interesting job-related speaking proposals in the 2019 interface include:
— The AI Opportunity: It’s the People, Not the Algo
— How It Feels to Actually Lose Your Job to a Robot
— The Impact of Automation on the US Workforce
Many (but not all) of these job-related speaking proposals occur in the Future Workplace track.
Otherwise, you can discover other topics of interest in this interface by typing in your favorite keyword in the “Search” bar on the left sidebar of the PanelPicker. Or, better yet, keep track of the running list of ideas that are getting the most traction in this year’s interface by simply bookmarking this post from Medium.
About 500–600 of the 5000+ speaking proposals in the 2019 PanelPicker will be accepted as sessions for March Magic in Austin. These accepted sessions will be announced via the SXSW website in mid-October. Learn more about how the voting / judging / acceptance process works for PanelPicker proposals via this page.
And if you want to take part in all the discovery, brainstorming, creativity, deal-making, and cross-industry networking that is SXSW, register before the early-bird deadline of Thursday, September 13 to get the season’s lowest badge rates. After you buy your badge, book your downtown Austin lodging for the event via SXSW Housing and Travel.
Hugh Forrest serves as Chief Programming Officer at SXSW, the world’s most unique gathering of creative professionals. He also tries to write at least four paragraphs per day on Medium. These posts often cover tech-related trends; other times they focus on books, pop culture, sports and other current events.
