The first Hype Studies Conference '(Don't) believe the Hype' took place in Barcelona, the 10th-12th of Septemer. Human-Ist member Jascha Bareis is co-founder of the Hypestudies.org group.

Over 400 registered participants, 80 presentations in 20 panels, 15 workshops, 8 artworks, and 5 short films. Summarising the diversity and quality of contributions is impossible, but it was just impressive how young and old, local and international and all these different disciplines intersected: STS scholars met journalists met psychologists met designers, artists teamed up with engineers, discussing topics from music industry to computer games, from AI to quantum, from Cyberlibertarianism to K-POP Fandom, from shitpublishing to dropping saliva, from TEDIUM to smoke vending machine.

It became apparent that Hype Studies is rich, colorful - and needed. It grows and thrives on interdisciplinary engagement with exchange of topics, perspectives and people from all around the world. A community with a beautiful spirit of curiousity, peer-support - and fun!