As event producers, we get a front row seat, or more accurately a behind the scenes seat, to industry leading Keynotes.

This past year, an interesting trend stood out for us. A growing number of keynote presentations at our Technology clients’ events contained a message around the dangers of technology. Topics such as ‘unplugging’ from technology and the word ‘addiction’ were used. Yup, you read that right. In the words of Arianna Huffington during a keynote at Samsung Developers Conference, “the human operating system needs some downtime.”

At a client’s annual kick-off, while keynote speakers promoted the gains they’re making in digital communications, they also acknowledged the addictive power of technology and the toll it takes.
Hands up if the first thing you do when you wake up is reach for your phone at your bedside and….

Check your social media feeds, emails, and texts.

See addictive.

Brain Extenders and A.I.

We also heard from Ray Kurzweil, who by the way called our smartphones – ‘brain extenders.’ His brilliant mind came to life in his talk on the power of AI. It’s a loaded argument with leading thinkers cautioning against the dangers of AI while Kuzweil tells us it can only “enhance us.” He pointed out, technology has always had risks and failures, but great minds can overcome them. Not gonna lie when he went into nanobot territory it was a little frightening, but the main message is that technology will prompt the next evolution of humanity.

Lawrence Levy, author and former CFO of Pixar, provided a behind the scenes glimpse of what it meant to work alongside Steve Jobs in building Pixar into a powerhouse entertainment conglomerate. (PS that’s our stage design in the photo on his website!). But one of the most telling parts of his presentation was when he acknowledged he gets asked a lot, “Why did you give it all up?” His answer: “The cost of stress and loneliness was too big. In the end, it meant a low level of joy and fun.”

So, what do we do when our technology is ubiquitous with our lives?

Back to Arianna, who pointed out even concert artists are asking their fans to put their phones down and enjoy the moment.

In her Samsung keynote, the message wound around to: “Manage our technology and we’ll be better humans.” We’ll free up our minds to think, to be creative, to solve problems, to authentically connect with the people in our lives if we unplug. It’s no longer about augmented reality – but “augmented humanity.”

So, who’s up for the challenge? You can start by trying out Arianna’s Thrive app – which will monitor your time on your phone apps. Or, you could just put it down.

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