Tech & Innovation | VML

CANNES, FRANCE - JUNE 24: Francine Lacqua, Demis Hassabis and a guest onstage for 'The Future of Creativity with Demis Hassabis' on Day 3 of Cannes Lions 2026 on June 24, 2026 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Shane Anthony Sinclair/Getty Images for Cannes Lions)

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Cannes Lions 2026: Key Trends

AI inspires conversation around what technology cannot automate: the human element

Two women chat on a sofa. One woman is black with an Afro hairstyle wearing a black sweater with white spots, and the other is a white woman with a wavy bob in a geometric colour block sweater.

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Gen X's power era

The oft-overlooked generation is becoming a formidable consumer force.

An outdoor, paved courtyard area filled with people socializing in front of industrial-style buildings. Some people are sitting at wooden picnic tables and high-top bar stools under beige umbrellas, while others walk through the space. In the background, there are shipping containers, brick buildings, a white car parked on a lower rooftop, and a large, stylized bow sculpture pointing toward the sky on the right.

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SXSW London 2026: Trends and insights

Wielding creativity to write a better future

Neo humanoid. Courtesy of 1X Technologies

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The humanoids shift

The next generation of artificial intelligence is shedding its screen-based constraints to walk, stretch, and pray alongside humanity.

Quartz concept ring. Courtesy of Modem and Retinaa

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Proof of humanity

The digital world is facing an identity crisis and people want proof of life.

DogTV

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Five pet care innovations

Even as the cost-of-living rises, petrents continue to splurge on their pets.

Alibaba

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Superapp sovereignty

The race is on. Companies are competing to build the single app that will command every corner of our lives, redefining convenience and control.

What appears to be a classical tapestry on closer inspection depicts a crowd of adoring women around another in the centre wearing jeans and a denim shirt.

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Tastemaking brands

For brands looking to cement their tastemaking credentials, Milan’s Salone del Mobile provides a showcase.

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The human premium

In a world flooded with AI, the human touch is everything.

Vigloo hero

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AI micro-dramas

If micro-dramas were built for speed, AI just pressed fast-forward.

Bar interior featuring paneled wood booths, mirrored wall, teal blue divider screens and round black tables, with retro style globe lamps.

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Retro-futurist design

In an era of technological overwhelm, the future looks more like the past.

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SXSW 2026: Trends & insights

Welcome to the era of applied AI.

Aza Raskin on stage at SXSW 2026. He wears a beige casual jacket, white shirt and black jeans and is gesturing with his hands.

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SXSW 2026: Wild intelligence

AI is breaking the ultimate language barrier: between humans and nature.

Mikael Kågebäck wears a light button-up shirt and sits against a softly blurred indoor background. He has a shaved head with a reddish-brown beard.

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SXSW 2026: Q&A with Mikael Kågebäck, CTO at Sleep Cycle

"Sound is an incredibly rich signal for health"

A person with their back to us looks at a screen which shows instructions for tasks like prform jumping jacks and close an open door.

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SXSW 2026: Body proxy

Artists offer a provocative lens on the future of work

Austin skyline at dusk shows the bridge into the city over the river into Downtown.

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SXSW 2026 preview: Ones to watch

Our session picks from this year’s conference