Obama rocks SXSW 2024
President Obama addressed the 30th edition of SXSW in a talk moderated by Evan Smith. Arriving late Obama said that he had first stopped at Torchy’s Tacos.
“I ordered a Democrat, then I ordered a Republican, and then I ordered an Independent,” Obama quipped. Personally I can barely finish two of their tacos.
Obama spoke about technology and the global economy. “Everything moves so fast, but this crowd is at the front of that line.”
Obama noted how big data and information are a two-way street that can be used for good and bad. The President recalled how he formed a “world class S.W.A.T. teams of technicians” from Silicon Valley and Austin to fix the healthcare website.
Obama spoke about on-line voting. “The folks who govern the great state of Texas aren’t interested.” However he said that not all states move at the same rate and eventually there would be examples of on-line voting in other states that would serve as a status-quo to end any kind of “digital divide.”
Taking a question from the audience Obama talked about the Apple issue and whether government is an enemy of tech.
A full version of the speech can be found on the SXSW.com website.
— Michael Bergeron
