The annual South by Southwest Conference starts today in Austin, TX, and runs until March 19. The 31-year-old event has become increasingly technology focused, and this year is no different with recurring themes for the SXSW technology sessions focusing on personalization, Artificial Intelligence, virtual reality and augmented reality.

SiliconANGLE will be at SXSW with exclusive interviews from our roving news desk, theCUBE. The team will explore the impact of AI on society, as well as how it is transforming legacy technology companies.

AI for good

AI could have a positive impact on our lives, improving everything from healthcare to safer driving to energy consumption and more. In a recent research report, Google Inc. revealed how it is using its machine learning platform to deliver better breast cancer diagnosis rates than pathologists.

It’s not surprising that one of the major themes at SXSW will be AI with various presentations, including “AI: How Tech’s Next Revolution Will Change Lives,” presented by Diane Bryant, executive vice president and general manager of data center group at Intel Corp. During her presentation, Bryant will share her personal vision for AI innovation.

Microprocessor giant Intel announced in April 2016 that it was shifting its resources with more of a focus on Moore’s Law or additional investing on next-generation manufacturing technologies. The company’s fourth quarter earnings saw its Internet of Things group grow by 15 percent from a year ago, to $2.6 billion in revenues for the year.

SXSW attendees can also visit the Intel AI Lounge where an array of demos will showcase the transformative power of AI.

What to expect

Another AI-focused presentation at SXSW includes Adam Cheyer, co-founder and vice president of engineering at Viv Labs Inc.; Bryan Johnson, co-founder and chief executive officer of Kernel; and Reshma Shetty, co-founder of Ginkgo BioWorks Inc., who will debate the future of intelligence and the collaboration of human intelligence and AI.

Eugenia Kuyda, co-founder and chief executive officer of Luka Inc.; Stan Chudnovsky, vice president and head of product messaging at Facebook Inc.; and Lili Cheng, distinguished engineer and general manager in AI and research at Microsoft Corp. will discuss the rise and future of chatbots.

Visitors to SXSW will also get to enjoy various VR experiences. Sony Corp. has teamed up with American DJ duo The Chainsmokers to provide visitors with an immersive VR video experience of the band’s new song entitled “Paris.”

SXSW attendees can also enjoy a virtual flyby of some of Tokyo’s major landmarks in 8K video with a pixel resolution of 7,680 x 4,320. Unlike other VR applications, the 8K VR motion ride at the Austin Convention Center won’t require a head-mounted display or headphones. The VR experience, which will be produced by a group of Japanese media and entertainment companies, will use a hemispherical screen and surround sound.

Discussing the future of autonomous driving and mastering the map at SXSW will be Dieter Zetsche, chief executive officer of Mercedes-Benz cars and chairman of the board of management at Daimler AG, and Edzard Overbeek, chief executive officer of Here Global B.V.

How to watch theCUBE interviews

There are various ways to watch all of theCUBE interviews that will be taking place at the SXSW Conference, including SiliconANGLE TV and YouTube. You can also get all the coverage from this year’s event on SiliconANGLE.

SiliconANGLE TV

You can watch all of theCUBE’s exclusive interviews and commentary from the SXSW Conference on the dedicated SiliconANGLE TV page.

Watch on the SiliconANGLE YouTube channel

All of theCUBE interviews from SXSW 2017, which runs until March 19, will also be loaded onto SiliconANGLE’s dedicated YouTube channel.

Cubecasts

SiliconANGLE also has podcasts available of archived interview sessions, available on both SoundCloud and iTunes, which you can enjoy while on the go.

Guests who will be interviewed on theCUBE

Some of the guests that will be interviewed on theCUBE at this year’s SXSW Conference include Federico Gomez Suarez, senior technical program manager at Microsoft; Dr. Naveen Rao, vice president and general manager of artificial intelligence solutions at Intel; and Alison Yu, social media manager at Cloudera Inc.

Other guests include Bryce Olson, global marketing director of health and life sciences at Intel; Dr. Mark Gianturco, chief technology officer at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children; and Michelle Bacharach, co-founder and chief executive officer of FindMine Inc.

Live stream of SXSW 2017

If you are unable to attend SXSW in Austin, there will also be a live stream available on the official event page. Videos of certain presentations and sessions will also be uploaded to the SXSW YouTube channel.

Image: SXSW