President Barack Obama speaks to Evan Smith (left) of The Texas Tribune on March 11 at the Long Center for the Performing Arts during SXSW Interactive about using technology to make it easier for citizens to engage with their government.[/caption]

President Barack Obama, the first sitting U.S. president to attend the South by Southwest Conferences & Festivals, emphasized using technology to make it easier for citizens to engage with their government during his remarks March 11 at the Long Center for the Performing Arts in Austin.

Obama, interviewed by Evan Smith—CEO and co-founder of nonprofit news organization The Texas Tribune—discussed civic engagement and catalyzing people in the private and nonprofit sectors to help tackle some of the nation’s challenges.

“We are at a moment in history where technology, globalization, our economy is changing so fast,” he said. “And this gathering, South by Southwest, brings together people who are at the cutting edge of those changes. Those changes offer us enormous opportunities but also are very disruptive and unsettling. They empower individuals to do things that they could have never dreamed of before but they also empower folks who are very dangerous [to] spread dangerous messages.”

Asked about his thoughts on the overlying issues with Apple Inc. refusing to provide the FBI with software to access the iPhone of the San Bernardino, California terrorist, Obama said he could not discuss the specifics of the case.

“I am of the view that there are very real reasons why we want to make sure the government cannot just willy-nilly get into everybody’s [smartphones] that are full of very personal information,” he said.

President Barack Obama speaks March 11 to a crowd of about 2,000 at The Long Center for the Performing Arts during the 2016 South by Southwest Conferences & Festivals.[/caption]

He also issued a call to the tech community to help the government come up with solutions that acknowledge concerns from all parties.

“We’re going to have to make some decisions about how do we balance these respective risks,” he said. “And I’ve got a bunch of smart people [working on this.] We have engaged the tech community aggressively to help solve this problem.”

On the issue of voting, Obama said the U.S. is the only advanced democracy in the world that makes it difficult for its citizens to vote.

“We systematically put up barriers that make it as hard as possible for our citizens to vote,” Obama said. “It is much easier to order pizza or a trip than it is for you to exercise the single-most important task in democracy and that is for you to select who’s going to represent you in government.”

He said it is important for people such as those attending SXSW, regardless of their party affiliation, to design the systems to improve voter participation.

“How can we create safe secure smart systems for people to vote easier online and what are the technologies to help people be aware of what they’re voting about, who they’re voting for?” he said. “You don’t want the federal government engineering all that, but what we can do is to have the incredible talent represented in this auditorium really spend time thinking about that and getting to work on it.”