The Future is Low-Tech

This event will be held in person only.

n 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.

Attendance Instructions

In-person

Join us at The Center for Government and Civic Service, ACC Rio Grande: Building 3000 where you will be checked in at the front. Parking map here!

In-person attendees, please join us from 5:15 to 6:15 for networking and snacks. We look forward to chatting with you face-to-face!