GoKawiilSouth by Southwest 2026 kicked off Thursday in Austin, Texas. Allyza Umali/CNET
We are deep into South by Southwest, and the conference and festivals have brought icons from TV, film, music, comedy and tech to Austin, Texas. How does all of this intersect? So far, we've seen tech leaders talk about creativity and creators explore technology. That's only going to keep going.
Our highlights so far include director Steven Spielberg talking AI in film (and why he doesn't use Instagram), some new features from Spotify that make it easier to tell the platform what music you don't want to hear, and a new documentary that explores how social media and AI have crushed our attention spans.
What's yet to come? Actor Jamie Lee Curtis, fitness guru Robin Arzón and chef José Andrés make up just a fraction of the star-studded lineup. Executives from companies such as Nothing, Google DeepMind, OpenAI, Signal and Cloudflare are also there.
Artificial intelligence has naturally been the talk of the town, with panels delving into how it shapes the way we work, play and live on a daily basis. We expect to hear a lot about how AI is changing the internet, this massive digital web of connections we're all tangled in. And we'll see new ways to experience the world through virtual and augmented reality, immersive tech experiences and physical intelligence.
CNET's writers and producers are on the ground in Texas to witness it all IRL. Check back here for the latest updates and see what's new and what's coming.