AI Gets Companies Aligned With Its Vision at CES 2024

Last week at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, a range of companies of different sizes showcased new AI innovations and their AI-focused plans for the future.

According to CNN, there were pillows that can reduce snoring, mirrors that detect your mood, and a variety of other innovations — from cars that integrate with viral chatbot ChatGPT to pet-like companions.

This year’s announcements made more of an impact than previous years because “nearly every company appeared to be on the same page in 2024.”

Dipanjan Chatterjee, an analyst at market research firm Forrester, said, “It was an almost unanimous tethering to the AI theme … because it has infinite possibilities and a wide range of applications.” He added that previous themes had “limited universal appeal.”

CES serves as the premier event for exhibiting and negotiating deals with executives. Retailers and manufacturers across diverse industries use this platform to showcase major tech trends of the year, shedding light on their involvement in these conversations.

There were some unexpected keynote presentations from non-tech companies such as Walmart and L’Oreal. They discussed their AI visions for the future, which primarily involve a focus on incorporating generative AI solutions to enhance customer product discovery.

Meanwhile, Amazon provided insights into developers incorporating comparable technology into the Alexa voice assistant. Automakers like Volkswagen also announced plans to integrate the widely popular chatbot ChatGPT into their car models this year. The goal of this integration is to assist drivers in managing GPS, infotainment systems, and climate control and make it easier to obtain answers to general queries.

Chatterjee said, “[These announcements] demonstrated how companies are first prioritizing customer needs and then figuring out how technology can best serve them. That’s a far cry from exhibiting cool tech in search of a use case.”

There is a bigger transition taking place at CES, “from technology powering experiences to experiences powered by technology.” Chipmakers Nvidia and AMD showed that they are furthering that shift by unveiling new processors that will help run the next-generation of AI products.

Jitesh Ubrani, an analyst at IDC, a market research firm, agreed that the overall conversation at CES this year felt unique as companies had a general understanding of “how ubiquitous and seamless AI will be in the coming years.” He said, “While many use cases are still unknown, what we do know is that no one wants to be left behind, so they’re starting to invest even before the products and use cases are fully fleshed out.”

Eric Abbruzzese, a director at market research firm ABI Research, said, “It’s no surprise AI was everywhere.” He predicts AI will lead the conversation in the tech world not only throughout the rest of the year but further into the future, too.

However, there will be some hurdles with regulations, and the AI landscape will need to accommodate them. Government bodies, including the White House, are striving to address the speedy evolution of technology.

Abbruzzese said, “Should a regulation tamp down on AI growth in the name of privacy, security or if a big negative news event ties back to AI, then companies will work to shift messaging away — at least somewhat — from AI. Even if their product is still using AI, the ultra-focused AI marketing may diminish.”