Inside SXSW London: Creativity Beyond the Algorithm

Between the two of us, we spent a few days at the inaugural SXSW London – a new satellite of the iconic Austin-based event. We heard from inspiring leaders on creativity, technology and the future.

AI as the waters we all swim in

Refreshingly, Gen AI or as the live transcription called it: “Jedi”, was no longer the main event – but it was everywhere – as an underlying operating system rather than a headline act.

At Klarna, CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski shared how non-technical employees were now writing their own AI-powered code to explore and explain business logic. As a self-described non-technical leader, he now “knows just enough to be dangerous.”

At Starling Bank, CIO Harriet Rees noted a shift in customer expectations: people now anticipate fast, thoughtful responses – instantly. That has profound implications for how we design digital services.

And we heard one of the more unexpected insights: that high-trust societies like Sweden are now more vulnerable to deepfakes and scams. When trust runs deep, the damage from manipulation runs deeper. A sobering reminder of the complex, unintended consequences AI is surfacing – and a call for greater responsibility from all of us.

So while AI might no longer be the headline, it’s reshaping our context – and raising deeper questions about how we design, govern, and connect in this new era.

Instead, four bigger, richer themes emerged: empathy, culture, authenticity and joy.

Empathy as strategic tool

While AI continues to accelerate innovation – from predictive analytics and personalised medicine to healthcare delivery shifting into the home – the conversation has moved on. Technology is speeding things up. But empathy is helping us slow down and ask the right questions.

Peter Skillman of Philips called for “humanity-centred design,” sharing how deep empathy with children undergoing MRI scans inspired a calming, multisensory experience – reducing the need for general anaesthetics from 57% to just 5%. Canva’s Duncan Clark echoed the point, quoting designer Frank Chimero: “People ignore design that ignores people.” And Amy Brown from Google put it plainly: “You can’t build AI for everyone without including everyone.”

The stakes for empathy are rising not only in product design, but in society more broadly. In a world that’s growing ever more polarised, empathy might be our last line of defence. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales reminded us of the value of kind and constructive debate. The mission we helped him define years ago, “Set knowledge free,” has never felt more urgent.

Culture is the new relevance

AI was still very present in marketing conversations – fuelling high-speed content production, decoding emotional responses to packaging, and enabling real-time product iteration. But the industry’s obsession with efficiency is giving way to something more human: cultural relevance.

Brand leaders spoke openly about the need to engage with culture, not just audiences. Hinge CMO Jackie Jantos described how the app immersed itself in small local communities around London. Insights from those spaces didn’t just inform more authentic messaging – they shaped entirely new product features, designed to make people feel more comfortable on the app.

As Cristina Diezhandino, CMO of Diageo, explained: “A brand has six times more chances of success if it is relevant in culture.” And Leandro Barreto from Unilever added: “The best way to stay ahead is to stay close.”

Wolff Olins helped to build both Diageo and Unilever – 28 and 21 years ago, respectively. It’s powerful to see how they’re still adapting and thriving in today’s culture-led landscape.

Authenticity over everything

In the world of luxury, relationships are becoming the new currency. Collaborations, creative directors, and brand mashups once defined success. Now the winners are those who stand their ground and prioritise genuine relationships over hype.

David Fischer, founder of High Sobriety, provocatively stated: “Luxury is now borderline embarrassing.” On stage with him, Charaf Tajer – founder of Casablanca – shared how his deep friendships with artists led to more meaningful, long-term collaborations. Relationships first. Business second.

Enter: joy

If there was one word we heard the most, it was joy.

After years dominated by performance metrics, precision marketing, and ROI dashboards, joy is making a comeback. And it’s showing up in unexpected places – like the wildly imaginative partnership between Formula 1 and LEGO. Emily Prazer (F1) and Julia Goldin (LEGO) explained how they refused to let contracts limit creativity. They dreamed big. Really big. First came the LEGO kits and collectible figures. Then they scaled things up. Full-size, drivable LEGO race cars hit the grid in Miami. Lewis Hamilton had a blast. And so did the crowd. Gaming legend Sir Ian Livingstone wrapped it up best: joy isn't just a nice-to-have. It's a critical part of human experience – and a powerful force for change.

SXSW reminded us that tech is not the story – people are. Empathy, culture, authenticity, joy.

Thank you SXSW London, this is indeed a world we’d like to be part of.

Estelle Wackermann, Managing Director, and Tom Wason, Global Principal