March 13 & 14, 2026 @ The Belmont in Austin, Texas DURING SXSW
LIGHT HOUSE 2026 IS ON ITS WAY!
WATCH THE LIGHT HOUSE 2025 RECAP
WHAT IS
THE LIGHT HOUSE 2026 will bring together technologists, funders, artists, activists and dreamers to explore how love – as practice, as infrastructure, as resistance – can reshape our digital future.
We're Back!
The Tech We Want returns to Austin for our fourth annual gathering in March 2026, and this time, we’re leading with what matters most: love as our operating system.
While the tech world obsesses over large language models, we’re investing in more powerful invisible forces: human connection, collective care, and the relationships that hold us together when systems fall apart.
What to Expect...
two days of connection and world-building
Rewriting the Code
Challenging the stories and metrics that shape our relationship to technology
Community as Infrastructure
Building systems, spaces, and funding models rooted in care and community control
Convening TO BUILD COLLECTIVE POWER
Designing gatherings that create conditions for trust, coalition, and collective power
Technology that Strengthens Bonds
Creating digital futures where connection, not engagement, is what matters
Kicking off with an equitecH brunch
Join 150 founders, funders, and ecosystem builders.
Our signature Lightning Talks, hands-on activations from community partners, and the kind of joyful, generative gathering that reminds us why we’re in this fight!
Schedule
Day 1
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Equitech Welcome to THE LIGHT HOUSE! *separate registration required
*Registration is separate. Link here to request to join: https://luma.com/peq53vu8
THE LIGHT HOUSE partner Equitech’s famous brunch event kicks off the start of THE LIGHT HOUSE’s fourth year of creating space for responsible innovators and technologists. “Equitech Welcome to THE LIGHT HOUSE” is a limited registration place for mission-driven, under-estimated founders, funders, and allies to convene, make connections, and celebrate each other!
Join friends and colleagues from Baltimore to Austin, London to The Bay Area, Oakland to Tulsa, and many places in between as we gather to share in like-minded fellowship, our best practices, potential partnerships, and link up our pipelines across the country, and the world.
1:00 PM – 1:15 PM Opening Remarks: Why We're Here
Join us as we kick off **THE LIGHT HOUSE 2026**, where we embark on a journey to make responsible innovation the standard in technology! Leaders from Omidyar and The Tech We Want will share their insights on the vital role of fostering human connection, enhancing participant experiences, and nurturing genuine collaboration. Let’s come together to celebrate these values as we pave the way for a brighter, more equitable tech future!
1:30 PM – 3:00 PM Fishbowl Discussion 1 | What’s Tech Got to Do With It? Building the future from wherever you are
Explore the importance of responsible tech and how we can bring it from the edges to the center of our lives. This session dives into the challenges faced by tech product builders and innovators who prioritize values like privacy, equity, and community benefit.
Join a rich discussion with builders, advocates, and everyday tech users as we consider what it takes for responsible tech to become the standard instead of an exception. Together, we can envision a better tech future.
1:30 PM – 3:00 PM Library Session 1 | Designing Breakthrough Pilots: How Educators and EdTech Founders Build the Future of Learning Together - by Ed Farm
School pilots are where innovation meets the real world, where ideas are tested, tools evolve, and teachers help shape the future of learning. At Ed Farm, we believe that transformational technology emerges when educators, founders, and district leaders come together with a shared commitment to equity, creativity, and impact. This spirit is at the core of the Ed Farm Innovation Challenge.
This interactive workshop brings those voices into one room to unpack what makes K–12 pilots meaningful and sustainable. Participants will explore the pilot journey from multiple perspectives, hear honest insights from practitioners who navigate these decisions every day, and examine the conditions that allow new tools to thrive in classrooms.
We’ll dig into what districts actually need, the role of teacher voice in product development, and how founder–teacher collaboration accelerates innovation. We’ll also spotlight the unique leadership that educators bring to designing learning environments that center culture, community, and student empowerment.
Whether you’re launching your first pilot or refining your next one, you’ll leave with frameworks, strategies, and mindsets that help build pilots grounded in partnership, equity, and impact.
3:15 PM – 3:45 PM Lightning Talks: The Tech We Want Mix
Each Lightning Talk is a bite-sized proposition, each discussing a different aspect of responsible innovation. We know this work requires a multitude of perspectives, diverse strategies and driven community leaders.
In 5-minute chunks, the Lightning Talk exemplifies how everyone holds “a different piece of the puzzle” when it comes to building this emerging tech ecosystem.
Title: Who Thinks When the Machine Decides?
Lightning Talk Speaker: Katya Hancock
As AI takes on roles once filled by teachers, peers, and internal struggle—explaining, negotiating, deciding—it changes how young people practice thinking itself. When friction disappears, so does judgment. This talk examines schools as cultural systems and how AI can strengthen agency, wellbeing, and the capacity to actively participate in communities.
Title: "Digital Hush Harbors": The Power of Black Churches in building a Liberating Black Tech Ecosystem
Lightning Talk Speaker: Dr Fallon Wilson
In this dynamic talk, I explore a truth often overlooked in conversations about innovation: the Black Tech Ecosystem does not begin in Silicon Valley—it begins, offline, in sanctuaries. Black churches have long served as trusted community anchor institutions—organizing hubs during the Civil Rights Movement, economic cooperatives during segregation, and trusted spaces for political education and workforce development. Today, they remain one of the most powerful yet underutilized forces in building a liberated Black digital future. This speech will highlight how Black churches function as critical digital and “physical” infrastructure—translating AI, data privacy, and digital equity into live language; building trust where tech institutions cannot; and mobilizing intergenerational leadership to shape ethical AI systems. If liberation is the goal, then our tech future must be rooted in institutions that already know how to organize for freedom.
Title: The New Playbook for Fiscal Sponsorship
Lightning Talk Speaker: Paul Spitler, Hack Club Bank
The ability to move money fast and act with shared agency can often be the difference between a successful and efficient project and one that struggles to access funding, build accountability and exercise transparency among its supporters and team members. During this talk I’ll be discussing how teenagers taught us the lessons of working in shared agency and how we’ve been able to apply the wisdom of young people organizing to the financial tools that now move 30 million in non-profit funding at HCB.
Title: The Fork in the Code: Why We Need to Regulate AI Now
Lightning Talk Speaker: Ellen Jacobs
Generative AI technologies are already having a profound impact on society and we’re at an inflection point on whether to regulate them. Some argue that putting rules around the development and use of these technologies will stunt them and prohibit us from collectively reaping all the potential benefits. However, from pollution to increased rent and grocery prices to harmful chatbots, we have already begun to see harms that prove we need regulation to protect users today and ensure that there is a better AI future for everyone. This lightning talk will illustrate the two divergent paths to and walk through the areas of regulation needed to ensure a digital future built on shared power, prosperity, and possibility.
4:00 PM – 5:30 PM Fishbowl Discussion 2 | Am I The Drama? The Sweet and the Sour of Movement Building
This session is an honest conversation about what movement building actually feels like from the inside. We want to hold both the sweetness, finding your people, building something that matters, watching collective power move; and the sourness: the ego, the friction, the 2am trust breakdowns, the slow realization that you might be the one making things harder. Our thesis is that healthy movements require generative conflict, that the hard relational work isn’t a distraction from movement building but is the work, and that we do each other a disservice when we romanticize the outcome without being honest about the cost.
We’re inviting you to come ready to be personal and reflective, to share what you’ve learned about yourself in the process of building collectively. Where have you been surprised by your own role in the drama? What’s tested your ability to stay in the room? And what’s kept you in it anyway? The goal is for people to walk away believing that movement building is still possible — and better equipped to navigate the hard parts with honesty and grace.
4:00 PM – 5:30 PM Library Session 2 | Clarity in Chaos: A New Framework for Entrepreneur Growth - by Black Innovation Alliance
Entrepreneurship is entering a new era. Capital is tighter, markets are shifting, and the traditional models of founder support are proving insufficient for the complexity and pace of today’s environment. In this session, Black Innovation Alliance introduces Source Code, a scalable, stage-based framework designed to meet entrepreneurs where they actually are. By identifying a business’s maturity level, Source Code replaces generic advice with precision and helps founders focus on the behaviors and priorities that matter most right now. Join us to explore how rethinking support models can equip entrepreneurs to build resilient, high-performing businesses in an era of uncertainty.
5:45 PM - Venue Closed for Private Event
See you tomorrow!
Day 2
1:30 PM – 1:45 PM Welcome to THE LIGHT HOUSE – Opening Remarks
Join us for the opening remarks of Day 2 of **THE LIGHT HOUSE 2026**, as we continue the momentum from yesterday’s inspiring discussions! Today, we shine a spotlight on journalism in the age of technology, exploring how responsible innovation can elevate storytelling and truth in our digital landscape.
1:45 PM – 2:30 PM Lightning Talks: Reporters In Residence – Presented by Omidyar Network
Title: Who Powers AI? The Labor Behind the Infrastructure Boom
Lightning Talk Speaker: Aaron Mok
We talk about AI as software and algorithms. But AI is also electricians upgrading substations, construction crews building data centers, and engineers designing chips. This talk reframes AI infrastructure as a labor story and asks who benefits, who bears the risk, and how the race to build AI’s physical backbone is transforming work in industries far beyond tech.
Title: Is Resistance Futile? What's at Stake In the Military's Battle with Anthropic.
Lightning Talk Speaker: Sharon Weinberger
The Pentagon is pressing Anthropic to lift restrictions on how the military can use its AI models—a precedent-setting clash that may determine whether private companies or national security institutions write the rules for AI. The outcome will show who truly holds the authority to impose guardrails on frontier technology.
Title: Why Tech Bills Matter Even If They Don’t Pass
Lightning Talk Speaker: Marty Swant
Tech bills fail all the time in state legislatures and in Congress, but they’re still worth following even when they don’t get much momentum. I will talk about AI bills being introduced across the country, the powerful tech lobbies trying to stop them, and what the volume and variety of legislation can be a temperature check for public sentiment.
Title: The Last Conversation
Lightning Talk Speaker: Varsha Bansal
What happens when people use general purpose chatbots for companionship? Through two reported cases, I’d like to talk about the impact of prolonged use of AI chatbots on people’s mental health, and delve into the question of why some people choose to interact with a bot and not humans.
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM Library Workshop | Co-creating Tomorrow – A workshop with the Dream Machine Academy
Register to secure your spot in this popular workshop. Link here https://www.eventbrite.com/e/co-creating-tomorrow-a-workshop-on-the-future-of-society-the-light-house-tickets-1983481722225
Join Dream Machine Academy for a hands-on journey into the future. In this intimate workshop, we’ll move beyond speculation to active creation—imagining and designing solutions to tomorrow’s challenges using the power of collective intelligence and responsible AI. Leave with new connections, practical tools, and a vision for the future you want to help build. Because the best way to predict the future is to create it together.
2:45 PM – 4:15 PM Fishbowl Discussion 3 | Can AI Be Ethical? An Audience-led Fishbowl Dialogue
Can AI be ethical? If yes, how? If not, why? Whether we like it or not, AI is here and it is up to us to set the terms and conditions – through policy, socially, culturally, in workplaces, all the way to our families and personal lives. How might we anticipate, mitigate and repair the harms that AI can bring? What principles might we want to ground ourselves in to assess its life cycle? Join us in an audience-led, facilitated fishbowl dialogue where we dig deeper, learn from each other and explore what it means for us to have AI in our lives.
4:30 PM – 6:00 PM Fishbowl Discussion 4 | Expanding the Capital Stack: Alternative Finance for Alternative Futures
We are at a generational socio- technological turning point yet status quo capital structures will lead to unrealized potential for responsible innovation and prosocial tech products, services, and outcomes. How can we better leverage varying capital structures ranging from venture capital, public sector funding, philanthropic, and even crowdsourcing to drive more inclusive ecosystem growth? What if all these levers of capital could be directionally optimized to tackle existing inequities while also unlocking transformative solutions? This is a conversation geared towards funders and investors, changemakers and technologists who are interested in identifying these opportunities.
6:30 PM Venue closed — Rejoin Us Later Tonight!
The venue will be closed as we transform the space for our thrilling closing party—an unforgettable celebration you won’t want to miss!
9:00 PM – 12:30 AM Lights Out! THE LIGHT HOUSE Wrap Party
Get ready for an unforgettable night at The Belmont! This is your chance to let loose and connect with friends and allies from the responsible innovation movement like never before. Say goodbye to the networking grind and embrace a lively evening of fun and celebration!
At Lights Out!, we’ll dim the lights and pump up the energy on the dance floor! Local legend DJ Kickit will be spinning the hottest throwbacks and latest hits, creating the perfect vibe for mingling with fellow tech enthusiasts.
Join in the excitement with our fan-favorite Karaoke stage, the LIGHT HOUSE Tech Bingo Prize Bar featuring special The Tech We Want collaboration swag from Austin artist FEEBEE, and a brand new mirror photobooth that’s sure to capture all the fun moments. Don’t miss out on the chance to shake off the day and revel in the best wrap party in Austin! Let’s make some amazing memories together!
Other activations at THE LIGHT HOUSE to keep an eye out for:
1:30 - 3:30 friday and saturday
Join the & Company team at our Patio Coffee Lounge to connect with the &tag team and explore innovative solutions for taking control of your advertising data. Enjoy their free baristaed coffee bar and get exclusive early access to &tag’s empowering product—there’s so much to love!
11:30am- 5:00pm on friday 1:30pm-6:00pm on saturday
Join Amoofy and their founders at their phonebooth installation, where you can play a part in shaping THE LIGHT HOUSE’s collective vision for a responsible innovation future. This engaging experience invites you to share your thoughts and ideas while exploring the exciting possibilities that lie ahead!
3:30-5:30 on friday
Stop by for free instant headshots with the one and only Chloe Jackman Photography! This is a fantastic opportunity to refresh your professional image while connecting with fellow attendees. Don’t miss your chance to capture a great shot and make a lasting impression!
JOIN THE TECH WE WANT IN AUSTIN
March 13 & 14, 2026
The Belmont | Austin, TX
during SXSW 2026
This isn’t just another tech conference. It’s a homecoming for everyone building the future we actually want to live in.
MARCH 13 & 14, 2026
AUSTIN, TX @ THE BELMONT
#TeamHuman | #TheLightHouse2026 | #LoveIsOurLLM
Mark your calendars.
Gather your people.
Let's build together
Follow @thetechwewant on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and Substack for updates.
The Light House is presented by The Tech We Want, a project of Omidyar Network