Your Guide to BKC@SXSW 2018

The Future of Secrets Sarah Newman, Jessica Yurkofsky, and Rachel Kalmar

Details: March 9-17 - Fairmont Verbena Room Are secrets uniquely​ ​human?​ Our​ ​private​ ​lives ​are mediated and​ ​recorded​ ​by​ ​digital​ ​devices. ​Where​ ​are​ ​our​ ​secrets​ ​now? Where​ ​will​ ​they​ ​be​ ​in​ ​the​ ​future,​ ​and​ ​who—or what—might​ ​read​ ​them?​ ​How​ ​will​ ​intelligent systems​ ​of​ ​the​ ​future​ ​process​ ​the​ ​data ​we​ ​leave​ ​behind?​ ​Will​ ​they​ ​know​ ​things​ ​about​ ​us that​ ​we​ ​don’t​ ​(and​ ​never​ ​could)​ ​know​ ​about​ ​ourselves?

The​ ​Future​ ​of​ ​Secrets​​ ​is​ ​an​ ​interactive​ ​installation​ created by Sarah Newman, Jessica Yurkofsky, and Rachel Kalmar from metaLAB at Harvard. It is an immersive experience that includes sound, projection, and interaction; the installation asks​ ​participants​ ​to​ ​anonymously share​ ​their​ ​secrets ​as​ ​a​ ​way​ ​to​ question​ ​the​ ​trust we​ ​place​ ​in​ ​machines​, and ultimately​ ​reflect​ back​ ​our​ ​own​ ​humanness.​ ​What​ ​does​ ​it​ ​mean for​ ​us​ ​to​ ​share​ ​so​ ​much​ ​of​ ​ourselves​ ​through ​complex ​systems and digitally distributed networks?​ The installation inspires delight, surprise, and reflection while evoking questions about uncertain technological futures.

Keep the Internet International, Not Internal! Fabro Steibel, Barbora Bukovská, Malavika Jayaram, Jan Gerlach

Details: Friday, March 9th, 2018; 11am-12pm – Hilton Austin Downtown Salon F The internet enables access to knowledge for everyone and across national borders. However, legislators and courts around the world are now seeking to enforce national laws globally. Such extraterritorial jurisdiction to remove content from the web is a worrying trend both for fundamental rights online and the cohesion of the internet itself. Our panel explores the threat of creating many disconnected national networks and what should be done to avoid it.

What Does it Take to Change People’s Minds? Laura Dawn, Elizabeth Spiers, James Slezak

Details: Saturday, March 10th, 2018; 11am-12pm – Fairmont Congressional B In the era of Trump, the notion of truth is under attack today as never before. With digital media rapidly displacing models that served us for two generations, we face crucial choices. Will the new landscape further divide and misinform us, or can new forms of digital communities, campaigns and services reverse the slide? Four leading figures from the worlds of digital media, advocacy and data join for an interactive session to debate emerging solutions and threats, and explore what we can do.

Ending the Dangerous Disconnect Between DC and AI Tim Hwang, John Delaney, Terah Lyons, Clark Jennings

Details: Saturday, March 10th, 2018; 5-6pm – Hilton Austin Downtown Salon F The AI and DC communities are just beginning a crucial conversation about how to ensure the benefits of the AI revolution are shared and its risks are minimized. In 2016, the Obama Administration published a roadmap to help policymakers prepare for AI. In this session, experts from DC and Silicon Valley advance the debate, addressing how best to engage policymakers, what issues require the most urgent attention, and how to work constructively with the stakeholders shaping our intelligent future.

Smashing the Firewall: Reporting in Iran Sim