SXSK Vol. 2 — March 01, 2026
Editor’s Note
We hope you are thriving in the age of AI. In this issue, we explore the many dimensions of artificial intelligence. We begin with the Publisher’s Letter, which offers John Kim's thoughtful reflections on AI as well as support for early-career alumni with it. We then share updates from UTAKA (The University of Texas at Austin Korea Alumni Association) — including the Membership Development Committee’s first meeting of the year, and the Social Committee’s call for applications. We also highlight the latest update on UT alumni in Korea, as in news of a UT alum giving a talk on K-Pop, dance, and AI, along with the latest news from UT and across the State of Texas — developments that are closely connected to ongoing conversations about AI and its future direction. This issue also features Max Park in our second installment of the UT Member Interview series. In addition, we share practical guidance on writing effective AI prompts, as well as reflections on the idea of AI as a close friend or even a confidant.
—Ji Hyun Ahn / Editor-in-Chief / GER '21
Publisher's Letter
John Kim (PGE '05), Publisher of SXSK and President of UTAKA, introduces the newsletter's name as a playful reworking of SXSW — South by South Korea — and shares his vision for the platform. He reflects on navigating the rapid pace of AI development and the alumni association's role in supporting members' professional growth in this shifting landscape. As a personal example of AI's possibilities, he introduces awed.life.
→ Read the full letter here.
UTAKA News
🗞️Membership-Development Committee's First Meeting in 2026
On February 3, UTAKA's Membership-Development Committee met with President John Kim (PGE '05) to map out plans for a more active and sustainable alumni association in 2026. The committee, which oversees member recruitment and management, had played a central role in revitalizing the association in 2025, including organizing the General Alumni Gathering on September 19. This year's discussions included implementing a full membership system to strengthen the association's operations going forward.
→ Read more
🗞️Social Committee Recruitment
UTAKA's Social Committee is currently accepting applications from alumni who wish to join. In 2025, the committee organized a wide range of community events — including Seoul Longhorn Run, Texas Hold'em Game Night, monthly First Thursday gatherings, the Alumni Cup, and social contribution activities such as the Briquette-Sharing Volunteer Activity and fundraising efforts.
→ Read more
Alumni News
🗞️Dr. Chuyun Oh (PPP '15) Talks K-Pop, Dance, and AI at the Texas Global Alumni Summit
Dr. Chuyun Oh (PPP '15) will deliver a plenary address at the Texas Global Alumni Summit on April 17, titled "Globalizing K-pop Entrepreneurship: from Austin to Seoul." Drawing on her research, she will trace her journey from Austin to Seoul, where she helped establish K-pop dance studies as an academic field, and explore how K-pop operates at the crossroads of music, fashion, beauty, and AI. Registration is available on the summit's official website.
→ Read more
UT Member Interview
🗞️Alumni Interview: Jong Hyun "Max" Park (MPA '09) Part 1 of 2
Max Park begins his days with a consistent exercise and meal routine, a habit rooted in his high school rugby days, and still seeks out purposeful spaces — like the law school library he favored as a business student. He reflects that luck plays a larger role in life than expected, though he believes people who keep moving and seek opportunities ultimately shape their own paths, and finds the greatest professional reward in helping individuals or companies reach meaningful turning points. Recently relocated to Vancouver, he appreciates the clean air after years in Seoul — and quietly hopes to one day form a band again, returning to the drums he played in college.
→ Read more
UT Stories
🗞️UT Expands Its AI Education and Computing Infrastructure
The University of Texas at Austin is making two major structural investments in AI and computing: a new School of Computing, approved by the UT System Board of Regents and set to open in Fall 2026, will bring together computer science, information, and statistics and data sciences under one roof, with 50 new faculty hires planned to expand both enrollment and university-wide access to AI education. Alongside this, the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) has been running dedicated courses in AI and computational science, covering everything from supercomputer optimization to the design of responsible intelligent systems. Supporting both efforts is a growing infrastructure of NSF-funded supercomputers including Frontera, Vista, and the upcoming Horizon system.
→ Read more
🗞️UT's Oden Institute: Harnessing AI and Supercomputing to Power the Future of Digital Twin Research
UT researchers are deploying AI-powered digital twins — real-time virtual replicas of physical systems — across energy, medicine, defense, and natural hazard applications, with their work distinguished by physics-based models that make predictions more reliable than conventional pattern-finding AI. With the Horizon supercomputer arriving in 2026 at 100 times the AI performance of its predecessor, UT is positioned to expand this work further.
→ Read more
Texas News
🗞️Samsung Reaches Privacy Settlement with Texas over Smart TV Data Collection
Samsung reached a settlement with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over its Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) technology, agreeing to obtain explicit user consent before collecting viewing data and to display clearer opt-in screens — resolving the lawsuit against it. Paxton's original suit had also targeted LG, Sony, Hisense, and TCL for allegedly harvesting and monetizing viewer data without consent; legal action against those companies continues. Samsung maintained that its devices have never surveilled users and that privacy controls have always been available to customers.
→ Read more
🗞️SXSW 2026: K-Pop's Data Playbook Meets AI's Ethical Reckoning
SXSW 2026 (March 12–18, Austin) features sessions at the intersection of two forces reshaping global culture: K-Pop's data-driven global expansion and AI's growing impact on the music industry. A March 16 panel unpacks how Korean labels use analytics and a global-first philosophy to build devoted fan communities across markets, while sessions on March 13 and 14 tackle the attribution crisis created by AI music generation tools and the broader governance questions the industry has yet to resolve.
→ Read more
🗞️Texas Positioned to Lead Global Data Center Expansion as AI Buildout Accelerates
Texas is on track to surpass Northern Virginia as the world's largest data center market by 2030, driven by over $600 billion in projected AI infrastructure spending from tech giants. Abilene, home to the Stargate AI data center initiative, captures both sides of this boom: local officials point to rising tax revenue and business activity, while community leaders report that an influx of construction workers has driven rents sharply higher and pushed low-income residents out of an already strained housing market.
→ Read more
Lifestyle
🗞️✍🏻The Art of Writing Effective AI Prompts for Your Work
Most people treat AI prompts like search queries, but three frameworks drawn from humanities disciplines reveal a more precise approach: accounting for cultural bias built into AI's training data, treating prompts as genre-driven rhetorical acts with four deliberate components, and actively instructing AI to produce meaning rather than just information, so the output can make an impact. The article offers concrete prompt templates for each framework — from generating culturally adapted versions of a document to diagnosing exactly which component of a prompt broke down when the output falls short.
→ Read more
🗞️AI as Friend and Confidant: What to Know Before You Share
I — a humanities-trained writer initially resistant to AI — grew curious after observing people around me turn to AI for emotional support, beauty advice, and relationship guidance, with some going so far as to call it their only friend. The piece examines why AI feels like a safe confidant, while making clear what that safety costs. The article cautions that careless reliance on AI for intimacy may lead to some issues.
→ Read more
Careers
🗞️Careers: Suntek Systems Inc.
Suntek Systems Inc., a maritime and air logistics software company founded by UT alumni, is currently hiring for positions in both the United States and South Korea. Open roles include a Customer Success Representative in Irvine, CA (with visa sponsorship available), a Software Engineer at Seoul headquarters, and a Business Development position also based in Seoul. Interested alumni can apply online at suntekscm.co.kr/careers or send a resume in Korean or English to joonho.sung@utexas.edu.
📢 We'd love to hear from you.
Please send your submittals to editorinchief@sxsk.news
-For our [Alumni News] section, please e-mail us recent alumni updates you would like to share.
-To be featured in the [UT Member Interview] section, please e-mail us your responses to the questions from here and a photo of yourself.
-Under our [Lifestyle] section, we’re welcoming contributions on the topics below or any other theme you’d like:
💄 What’s in My Makeup Bag 👝
🪞 Skincare Routine 🫙
🥝 Your Signature Recipe 🍎
🍴Your Go-to Restaurant🥢
🏌🏻 Living an Active Life 👟
🧳 Travel Experiences 📷
📖 Book Reviews & Recommendations 🔖
⌚ Watches & Jewelry Reviews 💎
🚗 All Things Cars 🚜
📱 Techs & Software Reviews 💻
🧠 AI & Technology 🤖
💵 Investing & Personal Finances🪙
-If you are seeking to work with alumni, please send us your job postings for inclusion in the [Careers] section.
We look forward to featuring our community’s voices.