Sloss Tech Conference 2026

“The South’s Hottest Tech Conference.” ✅ Attended and confirmed. Hottttt!

Honestly, I often dread these tech events and conferences (I know I am in good company here). This year I was especially reserved because I assumed that it would end up being an All-AI, Only-AI, Hip Hip Hooray Forever-AI party, and I would understand as that is the only thing that tech seems to care about these days. No need to go down an AI boomer vs. doomer rabbit hole, I’m just saying it isn’t just in the air, it IS the air. It can be…exhausting.

So imagine my surprise when I strolled into Sloss Tech and pretty much instantly felt that AI was in attendance but it was not the guest of honor. It was, to my delight, me. You. Humans. Artists. Real people. **deep breath of gratitude

There was, of course, an undercurrent of AI throughout but the real focus in most of what I witnessed centered on the human piece. How are we as creative minds using these tools to bolster what we already do so well? How are we shaping this technology to work within our frameworks instead of letting it drive what we do? How is creativity, artistry, soul still showing up in our work in tech? Humans will not be replaced. At least not quietly?

I came away from those three days with a phone full of new and interesting contacts, a lift of inspiration, and dare I say, a good bit of hope for the future. Here are some of the talks and panels I was inspired by:

• Salaam Green- Birmingham’s Poet Laureate- Salaam shared a wonderful piece on the South and go the crowd hyped to start us off

• Talia Cotton- Fascinating look at how she and her team design with code, trigonometry notes included

• Visalaw.ai (pitch competition winner)- The Pitch Competition was a blast and Visalaw.ai took home the grand prize for the work they are doing in the field of immigration law

• Code Isn’t Neutral: Why Culture Must Shape Culture (THIS was my fave panel- such a powerful conversation around the intersection of culture and tech. Chef’s kiss 🤌🏼)

  • Aisha Goss (moderator)- CEO of The Center for Cultural Power

  • Aniyia Williams- Omidyar Network and The Tech We Want

  • Bosko Kante- Grammy Winning Music Producer- gave us a demo of the instrument he invented: Electrospit Talkbox (it was awesome)

  • Hank Washington- Hank Designs and fuzzie.co

• Zac Brown, CEO of Argis Labs- The Leadership Playbook I Wish I'd Had (And How I Wrote It the Hard Way); hard won lessons in leadership from a guy who has been around the block

• Elizabeth Anderson, CEO of LunarLab- Trust Issues: What to Do When Your Data and Your Users Are Telling You Different Stories; title says it all, sharp look at the truth behind user data from an expert in Product Strategy

• Kelli Lucas, President and UX Designer at LunarLab- Designing in the Age of AI: What Actually Matters (and What Doesn't); a VERY timely talk about design in the age of AI and how we can be much better at it

Thank you, Sloss Tech for a thoughtful, inspiring, powerful few days! Can't wait for 2027.