Here’s what to expect from this year’s annual show of all-things tech
LAS VEGAS (AP) — As the CES, the Consumer Technology Association’s annual trade show kicks off in Las Vegas this week, the Associated Press spoke with Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association about CES 2024 and what to expect this week.
CES 2024 is here. What are the main themes of this year’s show?
The overall theme of the show, in a sense, is sustainability. It’s green. It’s the UN human securities — including those that focus on clean air, clean water, food as well as health care. And the UN just added a new one, which is technology itself. The show is built around these human securities.
From mobility to health care, the exhibiting companies are providing solutions in the post-COVID world. We’re also getting older, we’re living longer and there’s fewer people to take care of us. Technology is the answer.
AI is everywhere this year. How much safety oversight is there on the devices we’ll see in the coming days?
AI is like the internet itself. It’s a huge ingredient that will propel so much innovation. The difference is now generative AI, which can learn from what you’ve done. And you can apply that to so many different aspects of what we do that will make our lives better — especially in a health care area.
Like any tool since the invention of fire, the government plays a very big role in making sure there are certain safety barriers. We’ve been working with the US Senate and they’ve been hearing from every interested party about what we need — including a national privacy law. AI is a tool and it can be used for doing tremendous good, or it could be used for doing harm. And we want to focus on the good.
Automakers also have a big spotlight at CES. Can we expect any impact from the recent UAW strike?
In terms of a trade event, this is like the biggest car event in the world. We see car companies from all over the world on the floor.
They will be there in different ways, and some choose not to be here for one reason or another. Certainly the strike had an impact for some of the Detroit companies, but the rest of the companies from around the world are very strong — notably from Europe, Vietnam and Japan.
We saw video game expo E3 bite the dust last month. What role dow we trade shows play today and how can CES’s future be ensured?
Since COVID, trade shows have actually become more important for business leaders — because they understand and appreciate that relationship-building. That face-to-face time is very important. A person who goes to CES, for example, has on average 29 different meetings. What is more efficient than that?
And then there’s something you can’t get online, which is serendipity. It’s discovery. It’s learning what you don’t know and it’s being inspired. Someone said to me on the way here, “I love going to CES because I come back optimistic for the world. I come back with 50 ideas and it energises me.” And that’s what’s so important. I think we have a great future, and innovation is going to be what fuels us. And we will get there by gathering the world’s innovators together. – WYATTE GRANTHAM PHILIPS
