Although the 2020 election is still 20 months away, there was a fervor about the next presidential election that overran SXSW. The theme that ran throughout SXSW was change. A change not only in politics, but a change in tech as well.

For two days at the ACL Theater, the Texas Tribune and SXSW partnered together to host a series of Conversations About America’s Future. There were a slew of candidates and other major politicos, including Elizabeth Warren, Kevin McCarthy, Amy Klobuchar, and John Kasich.

This was where I saw so consistently the theme of change emerge. It wasn’t simply from Democrats who were looking to retake the White House in 2020, but also from Republicans who were looking to either take back their party or take back the House of Representatives. Everyone was talking about learning from past mistakes, adapting to where the country is now, and moving forward.

But it wasn’t simply that people were talking about political change, there was also a change in how people were discussing tech. Long gone are the days of trust when it comes to mega-tech companies. There’s a sense of distrust, unease, and skepticism in all that tech is offering.

Elizabeth Warren called for a breakup of companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon. Amy Klobuchar chastised tech companies for not rallying behind her proposed rules for how political ads would operate online. Kevin McCarthy lambasted Google for listing “Naziism” as an ideology in line with the Republican Party.

That’s not how SXSW used to be. It used to be the haven for tech lovers to gush over the newest apps and wearables and updates. There was a definitively different vibe this year. Other than 10,000 folks flying past on electric scooters, the doubt about tech was definitely the biggest change I saw at SXSW this year.

I’m very curious to see how these sentiments filter into next year. If change is what so many people are interested in, then will there be actual change to report back on at SXSW 2020? Will there be a smaller batch of Democratic candidates willing to come speak to SXSW? Will Republicans have learned the lessons of 2018 and respond with a new platform and marketplace of ideas?

Only time will tell, but it seems that the times, they are a-changin’.