The Applied Social Media Lab has three separate panels up for consideration for SXSW in March 2026 through PanelPicker, SXSW’s community-based session selection platform. And we need your help to make these sessions a reality!
Learn more about our proposals, and see how you can vote for your favorite panels.
First Person Identity: Reinventing Social Media Trust
Take back your digital identity and join the First Person revolution. We’re bringing together cutting-edge tools—self-sovereign wallets, verifiable creds, zero-knowledge proofs, and agentic AI—that will let you own your online persona and connections with no middlemen and zero surveillance. Discover how this new trust layer will empower high-vibe communities and unlock powerful new ways to connect and collaborate. Ready to shape the next era of digital authenticity and trust? Join the convo and help us build what’s next.
Turn Up the Neurospice: AI, Conversation, & Diverse Minds
Social media and other interactive technology should center and celebrate neurodiversity and support different ways of thinking, learning, and communicating. How can we best facilitate meaningful neurodiverse participation? We will present research and open source tools we are developing to achieve this in online and in-person interactions, and explore future possibilities. We will discuss the role LLMs can and should play in inclusive conversations. We will involve the audience, aiming to create a collaborative community focused on neurodiversity-affirming social media.
Applied Social Media Lab: Building a Better Internet For All
Social media began as a groundbreaking way to build community and bridge divides – but over time, it has unleashed a dangerously broken system of online exchange. ASML has hired a team of industry-trained technologists tasked with building solutions that center the user again. This presentation will showcase the directions we’ve been building a new, better internet for all—and share an open invitation to become part of our community making open source tools that support meaningful human connection online.
How To Vote
Create an account on the SXSW website, and click the heart icon next to the name of the panel(s) you want to move forward. You may vote for multiple panels under your account.
Community voting is open through August 24.