After nearly four decades, SXSW is not just surviving — it continues to set the agenda. This year’s festival reaffirmed its status as a place where the biggest ideas in tech, media and marketing come to life.

Emily Twomey, EVP and CMO of Razorfish, captured the sentiment best: “SXSW is back with such relevance.” The reason? This year’s theme — human belonging and AI’s role in building new communities — struck a chord with attendees.

“I love that because that’s playing to the highest good of AI,” Twomey said. “This conference can get us past that efficiency conversation — like using ChatGPT to write emails — and get to that human connection.”