Bruce Sterling's 2018 SXSW keynote: Disrupting Dystopia, or what the tech arts scene could and should be

Cory Doctorow 7:54 am Fri Mar 16, 2018

Since the first days of SXSW Interactive, Bruce Sterling has closed the festivities with a haranguing, funny, provocative keynote and nearly every year (2017, 2016, 2014, 2013, 2012 etc) we link to it.

Bruce's 2018 keynote was called Disrupting Dystopia, and after some funny and scary stuff about the relationships between cities and their governments (pro-net neutrality, climate-concerned) vs nation-states (and their denialist policies) it settles down into its main theme: the need to cultivate a genuine, endemic tech arts scene.

Sterling proposes that tech has matured. Moore's Law is dead, the scrappy startups are now colossi, and it's time to settle down into the role of monied elders, cultivating and patronizing the arts.

Sterling has many years of work in the electronic arts, curating festivals and judging competitions, and he devotes some time to describing how art works, in the nuts-and-bolts level of building gadgets that interact with people during a week-long show without breaking down, and how this relates to the playfulness of children and the willingness of dutiful grandparents to splurge in the gift-shop on the way out.

As ever, it's quite a romp.

Disrupting Dystopia [Bruce Sterling/SXSW]

(via Beyond the Beyond)

(Image:
inUse Experience
, CC-BY)

Drone filmmaker captures Children's Fairyland from the view of a flying fairy — and it's downright magical

There's still magic in the world, as evidenced by this fairy's-eye view of Children's Fairyland, that charming 70-year-old storybook theme park in Oakland, California. You might remember that when I'm… READ THE REST
This deck of wholesome activities inspires mini-adventures

We've been writing about Lea Redmond since 2009 here on Boing Boing. She's just one of those kind of people who consistently makes neat things — a real Happy Mutant!… READ THE REST
This house for sale in Pittsburgh is filled with whimsical themed rooms

Listed at $159,900 this 1,075 square-foot home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is bland on the outside but features rooms with outer space, submarine, tropical island, and moonbase motifs. The owners put… READ THE REST
Short Post, just one paragraph

Dessert cheesecake wafer bear claw fruitcake. Fruitcake chupa chups donut candy canes marzipan. Apple pie sweet roll tart chocolate cake macaroon marshmallow carrot cake gummi bears sweet. Pastry sugar plum… READ THE REST
Save 50% on a 1-year subscription to Dashlane's premium password manager

We all know vital information about ourselves and our private digital accounts can be compromised by cybercriminals. However, many would be frightened to know just how compromised they and their… READ THE REST
The Bite Helper removes the itch of a mosquito bite in seconds

While mosquitoes have certainly earned their title as the deadliest animal on earth, their impact on most of our lives is usually a lot less consequential. But even though they… READ THE REST