President Barack Obama made history as the keynote speaker to kick off South by Southwest Friday. In its 30-year history, this was the first time a standing President has appeared at SXSW—an annual music, interactive media/tech and film festival.
“First of all, I’m here because I like any excuse to come to Austin, Texas,” President Obama said.
That may have been part of it, but the main reason Obama went to SXSW was to recruit some of the top minds in tech and encourage them to team up with the government.
Obama took a look back at his presidency to discuss why technology is important to government. When President Obama first took office, he focused his efforts on the Affordable Care Act but when it came time sign for people to sign up, things didn’t go so well.
“Then the website didn’t work. This was a little embarrassing for me, because I was the cool, early-adapter President,” Obama said. He poked fun of himself to point out that the government could use some help from the top minds in the tech world.
Now, seven years later, Obama said technology is more important to the U.S. government than ever before. The President described technology as the best tool to improve the relationship and communication between the American people and the government.
“We’re at a moment in history where technology globalization and our economy are changing so fast,” Obama said. “Those changes offer us enormous opportunities, but are also very disruptive and unsettling.”
The keynote Q&A shifted its focus to the longtime debate of security versus privacy.
Obama said new technology offers great opportunities but those advancements, if in the wrong hands, can be used against the U.S. He also noted that new technologies can cause a sense of mistrust between the people and government. Obama said that’s the reality of the “post-Snowden” world.
When asked about the controversy with Apple, Obama said he’s not allowed to comment but generally speaking he said, “I air on the side of civil liberties.”
“An anti-government mentality grows when people feel frustrated that they’re not getting good service,” Obama said technology can improve those services. He joked that if he could reform every DMV in the U.S. public opinion of the government would greatly improve.
Obama said the toughest problems are government problems—national security, poverty, education. Those are issues the private sector doesn’t need to figure out.
The President said he went to SXSW to recruit, to ask some of the most talented people in tech to consider working with the government. Obama said he has ten more months in the White House and he wants to prepare, to bring in the right people before he passes on the baton.
“As I’m about to leave office, how can we start coming up with new platforms, new ideas, new approaches across disciplines and across skill-sets to solve some of the big problems that we’re facing today.”
The Q&A session lasted about 45 minutes. Then the President headed to the Downtown Opera House, and then on to a private fundraiser in West Austin. Obama was back on Air Force One by Friday night – headed to Dallas for Saturday events for the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
First Lady Michelle Obama will be in Austin next week, she is scheduled to speak at SXSW Interactive on Wednesday.
