SXSW 2025: Where is convergence in times of uncertainty?

By Dani Graicar

Founder of PROS agency

At this year’s festival, Meredith Whittaker, one of the most influential voices in digital privacy advocacy and president of the Signal Foundation, and Jay Graber, leader of Bluesky, showcased the power of women in technology. But one particular session continues to resonate in my mind: the conversation between psychotherapist and human relationships expert Esther Perel, futurist and strategist Amy Webb, and Frederik Pferdt, former Chief Innovation Evangelist at Google, who tried to keep up with the two powerhouses in the room.

The original festival lineup had planned for a conversation between Esther and Peter Attia, recording an episode for the delightful podcast Where Should We Begin. Esther is my favorite person at the festival, and I was lucky to be side by side with her two days before this panel—precisely when she found out that Peter could no longer participate due to personal reasons. But the solution they found couldn’t have been better. Esther steered the conversation into a fascinating debate about the desired future, framed like a couples therapy session (her specialty), exposing deeply complex questions.

If many of this year’s talks and panels were lukewarm, this one brought tension and intensity. On one side, Frederik argued that each of us is responsible for our own happiness and that “those who know how to be grateful and kind will transform their own future, others’ futures, and the world.” In a peace-and-love tone, he added: “The future is not what happens to you. It’s what you make happen.”

On the other side, the pragmatic and hyper-planned Amy squirmed in her chair, insisting that “data doesn’t lie” and that “the future doesn’t belong to individuals, but to circumstances.” She emphasized: “A desirable future is one where people actively participate, based on what is known to be true today, recognizing what can and cannot be controlled.”

The ever-skilled Esther tried to find the intersection between their viewpoints and even playfully jabbed at Amy with a sharp remark: “How can you tell a huge audience at this festival that we’re going to be replaced by robots without feeling anything, and they still applaud you?”

Mars vs. Venus, sensitivity vs. data, lightness vs. intensity… The conversation turned into a gift for the SXSW audience and made me reflect on how increasingly difficult it is to communicate with those who think differently. This complexity becomes even greater in times of uncertainty when no truth seems absolute.

The Trust Barometer reported last year that 32% of Brazilians believe it’s not even worth trying to talk to people with different political views—surpassing the international average. Additionally, 80% say that mutual respect has declined in the country. This phenomenon isn’t exclusive to Brazil; it has grown in the U.S. and worldwide. We are witnessing an unprecedented polarization, marked by religious, political, and even general intolerance toward differences.

This panel mirrored the dynamics of romantic relationships, where perspectives on the same lived experience can be completely opposite. It also reflected humanity’s struggle to seek convergence in uncertain times.

It will be worth listening to the podcast once it’s released. But with the caveat that Amy’s body language was practically an episode of its own—such was her discomfort.

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Dani Graicar is the founder and CEO of PROS agency. A journalist by training and an entrepreneur by vocation, she launched her first public relations agency at 19, followed by ten other businesses. Today, in addition to leading a team of over 100 people at PROS, she spearheads Movimento Aladas, supporting female entrepreneurship and leadership.