When Latitude first opened its gates in 2006, the digital world looked very different. We still texted using SMS, social media was still in its early experimental phase, and artificial intelligence largely lived in the realm of science fiction. The arrival of the iPhone in 2007 – as well as the rapid growth of social platforms like Facebook and Instagram – set in motion a transformation that would redefine everyday life. Over the last twenty years, these innovations have reshaped how we communicate, consume culture, access information and understand the world around us.
Over the last twenty years, the pace of change itself has become one of the defining features of the digital age. Much like the printing press once transformed how ideas travelled, digital innovation has compressed time and distance, allowing information, opinion and creativity to move at unprecedented speed. News breaks instantly, culture shifts overnight, and ideas are shared, challenged and reshaped in real time. This acceleration has brought extraordinary opportunity, while also raising new questions about attention, trust and understanding in a world that rarely slows down.
As part of our twentieth anniversary reflections, we’re inviting you to help identify the digital innovation that has most defined the last twenty years.
OUR PANEL SHORTLIST:
Once a novelty (remember the bubblewrap app?), the smartphone is now an extension of daily life. It has shortened distance, placed information instantly at our fingertips, and reshaped how we navigate the world, quite literally. From music to photography, news and messaging, the smartphone has converged countless tools into a single rectangular object we carry everywhere. It has altered how we experience live events, how we document memory, and how culture moves in real time.
Artificial intelligence has shifted rapidly from being a background infrastructure to a notable and visible collaborator. Machine learning now powers everything from recommendations and translation to medical research and creative tools. Large language models have changed how we write, search, learn and imagine the future of work and creativity.
Alongside these advances come challenges, with AI-generated images, text and voices becoming harder to distinguish from reality. Questions of regulation, trust and authorship also grow more complex. These technologies represent one of the most significant shifts in how humans interact with knowledge, a myriad of systems and even one another.
Social media has redefined connection, community and visibility. It has amplified voices, built movements, and reshaped how culture spreads, often in real time. At the same time, it has transformed attention, identity and public discourse. From activism to art, fandom to friendship, social platforms have altered not just how we share our lives, but how we see ourselves reflected back.
Throughout its history, Latitude has made space for the complexities of this digital transformation. Rather than treating innovation as purely celebratory or purely cautionary, Latitude has championed curiosity, nuance and conversation. In 2025, Cosmic Shambles opened up expansive discussions around science, technology and the future, inviting us to explore digital progress in human terms. Latitude continues to examine how technology reshapes creativity, connection and the way we make sense of the world.
As with many digital shifts, these innovations do not exist in isolation. They’ve overlapped one another, shaping a world that is more connected but more complex than ever before. Now, we’re asking you to decide.
Which digital innovation most defines our last two decades?
With love,
The Latitude Festival Team
