Adaptive, Thoughtful, Human — and a Little Bit Weird
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Hi there - On April 1st, we announced the Fully Autonomous Conference: no speakers, attendees, or really any reason for you to be there. The joke was that your AI agent would network on your behalf, take notes in the sessions, and post your LinkedIn recap for you. At an Autonomous Conference, you don't struggle with parking. There is no small talk. And you don’t have to risk feeling awkward in front of strangers. That kind of event would remove the most unpredictable part of any gathering: the people. Everything worth remembering about Responsive is stuff your AI agent can't do. An agent can't enjoy lunch in the Oakland museum garden. It can't feel the room go quiet during a hard conversation or the moment nobody is taking notes because everyone is actually listening. It can't be the stranger in line for coffee who becomes your next hire, cofounder, or closest friend at work. Years ago, I produced an event where a speaker and the event producer met and later married. It is hard to optimize for that. This September, we're doing the opposite of the Autonomous Conference joke. On the 23rd and 24th at the Oakland Museum of California, a few hundred founders, operators, and people leaders will spend two days in the same place. There will be food in the sunshine, complete with Safari animals and popsicles. There will be real disagreements, and perhaps even awkwardness. At Responsive, we judge our performance on human attention rather than engagement metrics. The people you meet in the hallway matter more than the agenda. (Though we’re quite proud of the agenda, too!) Tickets go up in price on Aug. 1
Predictability is gone. What's left – stuff like adaptability, resilience, human connection – is up to us. We hope to see you in September! Best, |
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