023 - Craig Swann (pt. 1) - The History of the Future, Rabbit Holes, Reality Filters, The Post-Truth Age & When Steve Jobs Loves Your Startup

What happens when we are able to superimpose our preferences onto our perception of reality, in real time?

Unmapped is back, and rather than hitting the ground running, we've gone for the phasing instantaneously through time, space & the occasional dimension route.

Craig Swann is hands down one of my favourite human beings to talk to. As co-founder and director of Southstart, Craig has curated a cherished, unforgettable, community-driven and distinctly human experience centred around startups and the future of technology (and therefore humanity). Southstart is a kaleidoscope of ideas, innovation, people and nature of the sort which sucks you into an annual orbit in which Adelaide becomes an unescapable truth the first week of March.

As a human-centred creative technologist and futurist, he threads a paradoxical needle, holding equally a piercing eye for the future and the necessity of protecting what is innately human from the inexorable march of technology. Being able to balance this dichotomy makes Craig an important voice in the conversation of our future.

As an artist, Craig has always been at the edge, pushing the limits of creative possibilities. In the 90s, he founded LoopLabs, the world's first software decentralising and democratising the creative process, allowing people from all over the world to create and collaborate on making music.

This. Was. Before. Google.

In time, Steve Jobs demo'd LoopLabs in the launch of the Safari browser alongside ESPN and The New York Times (wtf) and SXSW came knocking with awards for his groundbreaking creative work with Adobe Flash. Craig shot to a form of creative nirvana, working with the world's biggest brands and speaking globally on all things creativity and technology.

He's now drilling into the latent potential of AI, pushing the limits of what's possible using creative engines such as Midjourney and others. We get into this throughout this incredible interview, split over two parts. Part two drops next week.

Prepare for your mind to be opened and then blown as we take a wild walk down memory lane; and into the tapestry of our future.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00:00 - 00:03:46 - Introduction

00:03:46 - 00:14:21 - Growing up with Computers

00:14:21 - 00:25:05 - Creators vs Consumers, Creators as Curators & The Dead Internet Theory

00:25:05 - 00:36:06 - Infra/Social/Super Structures, The Fight of the Social Structure & The Ideology of the Internet

00:36:06 - 00:45:40 - Digital & AI Natives, The Information Apocalypse & a Post-Truth Age

00:45:40 - 00:54:53 - Power, Spirituality & The Purpose of Technology

00:54:53 - 01:07:02 - Being in Tech in the 90s, Self-Resourcing in the Wild West, The Exponential Growth of Tech

01:07:02 - 01:16:09 - The Rabbit Hole of Endless Curiosity, Technology as a Joy-enabler

01:16:09 - 01:23:08 - What is Art and Who Gets to Do Art?

01:23:08 - 01:31:27 - Reality Filters & Neuralink

01:31:27 - 01:38:23 - The Impacts of Disparate Synthesis via AI & Your New Best Friend

01:38:23 - END - Why Humans Act Differently Online vs Real Life