Event Summary
This event will be held in person only.
In the early 2000s, the internet was a place we went. The family computer lived in a specific room of the house; we logged on, did what we came to do, and then went back to our actual lives. As the economics of technology shifted toward engagement, retention and attention – that relationship changed. Products became more seamless, persistent, personalized and difficult to leave.
The Future Is Low-Tech is a framework that looks back at technology from the early 2000s to identify design principles that may become increasingly important as AI and digital systems grow more embedded in everyday life.
In this presentation, we will explore:
Orientation: What loading bars, menus, instructions and visible systems understood about helping people know where they are and what is happening
Useful Friction: Why making everything seamless isn’t always better – and how pauses, choices and effort can increase understanding and agency.
Boundaries: What older technologies can teach us about designing clearer beginnings, endings and opportunities to disengage.
Letting the User Go: How we might build commercially successful technology that helps people accomplish something without demanding more of their attention.
This presentation is for everyone, but especially for technologists, designers, product teams, and anyone thinking about what comes next. It offers a practical lens for questioning the assumptions built into the technologies we make: what should be automated, what should remain visible, where people need more control and what kind of relationship we ultimately want technology to have with the people using it.
Continued Conversation & Networking
The discussion doesn’t end when the panel wraps up! Join us immediately following the presentation for post-event networking and continued conversation at Remedy, located at 3rd & Nueces. Connect with fellow attendees, swap insights from the event, and enjoy a complimentary drink on us, thanks to our amazing Austin Forum Annual Partners, Champions, and Friends.
Speaker
Jésabel DC
Jésabel DC is a tech anthropologist and low-tech futurist studying how technology shapes human attention, behaviour, relationships, and agency. Her work, The Future Is Low-Tech, grew out of more than 4,000 hours of anthropological fieldwork and explores how technology can be designed to work better for humans without demanding more of their attention. Her work has been presented at SXSW and Figma Config, where she spoke to approximately 3,000 designers.
Attendance Instructions
In-person
ACC Rio Grande: Building 3000
The Center for Government & Civic Service
1218 West Avenue Austin, TX, 78701
Parking map here! Street parking is free after 6 pm.
In-person attendees, please join us from 5:15 to 6:15 for networking and food. We look forward to chatting with you face-to-face!