Explore the intersection of technology and society at CES 2024 with Brian Comiskey and ITSPmagazine, journeying into AI, sustainability, and inclusive design, while tackling crucial ethical and social implications.
Guest: Brian Comiskey, Director of Thematic Programs at Consumer Technology Association (CTA)
On Linkedin | https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-comiskey15/
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Hosts:
Sean Martin, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine [@ITSPmagazine] and Host of Redefining CyberSecurity Podcast [@RedefiningCyber]
On ITSPmagazine | https://www.itspmagazine.com/itspmagazine-podcast-radio-hosts/sean-martin
Marco Ciappelli, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine [@ITSPmagazine] and Host of Redefining Society Podcast
On ITSPmagazine | https://www.itspmagazine.com/itspmagazine-podcast-radio-hosts/marco-ciappelli
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Episode Notes
Welcome to the Redefining Society podcast! This episode is part of ITSPmagazine's coverage of CES 2024!
Welcome to the Redefining Society podcast, part of ITSPmagazine's coverage of CES 2024! In this episode, we have an insightful conversation with Brian Comiskey, Director of Thematic Programs and Futurist at the Consumer Technology Association.
Brian takes us on a captivating journey through the past, present, and future of technology, providing valuable insights and shedding light on the key themes and trends that will shape our lives in the years to come.
Join Marco Ciappelli and Sean Martin as they journey into the exciting world of CES and explore the impact of technology on society.
Brian shares his expertise on artificial intelligence, sustainability, and inclusive tech design, showcasing how these horizontal technology trends are revolutionizing industries and improving our daily lives. But it's not just about the gadgets and gizmos. The conversation goes beyond the surface to examine the social impact, policy implications, and the importance of considering ethics in the development and use of technology. From discussions on privacy and cybersecurity to the role of technology in creating a more sustainable and inclusive future, this podcast episode pushes the boundaries of our understanding of society in the digital age.
As the conversation unfolds, Brian paints a vivid picture of the CES show floor, where cutting-edge innovations from both established companies and startups come to life. From AI advancements and robotics to digital health and mobility solutions, the podcast explores the exciting developments showcased at CES 2024.
Join us on this thought-provoking journey as we redefine society and navigate the ever-changing landscape of technology and innovation.
Get ready to be inspired, informed, and amazed by the insights from Brian Comiskey and the ITSPmagazine team as they bring you the latest from CES 2024, the ultimate convergence of technology and society!
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Catch all of our CES 2024 event coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/ces-2024-las-vegas-usa-event-coverage
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CES 2024 Las Vegas playlist: 📺 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnYu0psdcllTcuvjsP6zvFyZkL7z2D8WZ
Redefining CyberSecurity Podcast with Sean Martin, CISSP playlist: 📺 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnYu0psdcllS9aVGdiakVss9u7xgYDKYq
Redefining Society Podcast with Marco Ciappelli playlist: 📺 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnYu0psdcllTUoWMGGQHlGVZA575VtGr9
ITSPmagazine YouTube Channel: 📺 https://www.youtube.com/@itspmagazine
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Resources
CES 2024 Tech Trends: https://www.ces.tech/events-programs/ces-events/ces-2024-tech-trends.aspx
Learn more about CES 2024: https://www.ces.tech/
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For more CES 2024 Event Coverage visit: https://www.itspmagazine.com/ces-2024-las-vegas-usa-event-coverage
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https://www.itspmagazine.com/redefining-cybersecurity-podcast
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Please note that this transcript was created using AI technology and may contain inaccuracies or deviations from the original audio file. The transcript is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a substitute for the original recording, as errors may exist. At this time, we provide it “as it is,” and we hope it can be helpful for our audience.
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[00:00:00] Sean Martin: Marco. Sean. It's uh, Shanaky time.
[00:00:07] Marco Ciappelli: You can't tell me what that is. I'm not Irish.
[00:00:11] Sean Martin: It's time for a story. Oh. Some of the best, some of the best storytellers I think, uh, are Irish.
[00:00:19] Marco Ciappelli: Prove it.
[00:00:21] Sean Martin: I can't. I'm not Irish. I'm not Irish. I pretend to be. I pretend to be. But I've heard many a story. Certainly a lot of great writers as well.
Yeah. And uh, yeah, I think they, They get you to think, right? They get you to, to feel what they're feeling, think what they're thinking, see what they're , seeing, yeah. And uh, yeah, a lot of times rooted in history, a lot of history, of course, but with a view for future as well. Yeah. And that's, that's what we're talking about here today.
What's coming up? Uhhuh,
[00:00:55] Marco Ciappelli: we're talking about the future. I'd like to talk about the future. You know what is the best place to talk about the future in this time of the year or at the beginning of next year, actually, in Las Vegas.
[00:01:08] Sean Martin: I know. I know. Not because you're dazzled by all the lights.
[00:01:13] Marco Ciappelli: Well, you know, blinking lights, funny noises.
Technology that can be that, but I think we're at the point that we're not very much driven by that, or host. Actually, I hope we're not driving by that because it's too much embedded in society. And so this place is actually the css, uh, and uh. It has become, as we've spoken with other people already for this year, something that is not really the, the gadgets anymore, the new TV, the new radio, it's actually everything.
It's food, it's space, it's healthcare. And, uh, I'm curious to know how people Thank you. that organized this event, pick what is the theme. And so, you know what we did? We just called a guy.
[00:01:59] Sean Martin: We called the one that picks the themes. Exactly.
[00:02:03] Brian Comiskey: Just another guy. Just another guy.
[00:02:05] Marco Ciappelli: Called that guy. That exact person that you want to talk to when you want to understand how do you kind of like read throughout.
So anyway, enough with the joke. We have uh, Brian Kaminsky here and uh, he's in charge of the So we'll learn what that means, what kind of job that is. And, uh, first of all, welcome, welcome to the show, Brian.
[00:02:31] Brian Comiskey: Yeah. Thanks, Marco. Thanks, Sean. It's a pleasure to be here. I, I, and when I, yeah, I'm happy to be that guy.
That's a very prominent role. Uh, you know, that's a, it's a big deal. Um, So, yeah, I'm Brian Komsky. I'm the Director of Thematic Programs and Futurist here at the Consumer Technology Association. Um, prior to that, my background's actually pretty varied. I, my background's actually in international relations and human rights, and then worked in media analytics for Fortune 500s, including some tech companies and tracking how their coverage went, and then did some work on consulting with the United States Coast Guard on digital transformation and cybersecurity policy.
So, Touch tech in very different ways across a variety of industries, which kind of led me into this current role, which is probably when I say my title, first thing people usually say before you get to the fun, flashy, futurist part, they have the question of like, what's a thematic program? I was like, what does that even mean?
Right. Um, and so, uh, there, there's an S on it for a reason, because the first thematic program really emerges out of actually a partnership that CTA. The consumer technology who owners and producers see us that we've managed in partnership with NASDAQ actually for more than a decade around building thematic stock indexes.
Um, so there's a concept of investing called thematic investing, where if you want to invest in a mutual fund or exchange traded fund that tracks a particular theme, you can do that within and those funds track and index. CTA works with NASDAQ to build out tech related thematic indexes. So, I oversee a portfolio of over about 16 different indices.
About 10 billion, uh, is, tracks these indexes. And our largest one is actually, by funds, is cybersecurity. So it's very fitting to be, uh, with talking with you guys today because that's a space I have to watch quite closely with my team on that. So that's the first thematic program. The other one is related to what we're talking about with CES, which is, is my job along with members of my team here in the research department at CTA to track.
What are we going to see on the show floor at CES? And really, what does that mean for the year ahead? Because the beauty of CES is in January, right? It kicks us off. It sets the stakes, really, for the year. But then also what, you know, is thinking about tomorrow at the end of the day. That's what Futurist does.
Um, and that's what the second thematic program is. Thinking about, well, what is tomorrow for these themes? Is it actually the next day? Is it one to two years from now? Is it ten years from now? Because innovation, right? Tomorrow has such a different timescale all the time. So basically my job is to keep up with what's going on in tech.
And I can tell you is the most fun job I've ever had. Um, and so I'm looking forward to talking about it a bit more with you guys today.
[00:05:18] Sean Martin: I love it, Brian. And my first question, I'm curious, um, the, some, some conferences have innovation labs or startup programs, uh, and where they're looking at. Newly founded or pre seed even companies that, that have an idea.
And then of course there are a lot of well established organizations and some that have received funding, uh, kind of building out their product, hopefully aligned with a runway that, uh, we'll see them succeed. Um, where does the stuff you work futurist to me, that says it's the stuff they throw on a wall and hasn't even.
materializes as an MVP, a minimal viable product, viable product yet, perhaps. We see that at car shows, for example, right? Concept cars and, and things like that. So where does the stuff you bring together at CES kind of fit in, in that spectrum? Maybe I'm missing something completely as well.
[00:06:20] Brian Comiskey: Yo, you're not missing anything at all.
I think you, you've caught on to like, I guess, what's futurist? It's almost what your first question is. Is it always looking to that, you know, that. Pie in the sky tomorrow future. Yes, that's part of it. But I think what helps anyone thinking about the future of any technology trends is to really be able to remember that technology and innovation boils down to two paths.
There's revolutionary, which is what you're getting at this pie in the sky. This is the breakthrough in 10 years, the moonshot technology. Sometimes people like calm, right? So in a lot of ways, like some of the self driving technologies. sometimes are in that category. And I like this example a lot because it leads you to the second type, which is evolutionary.
What are those iterative changes that you see year over year that are actually major breakthroughs and advancements that are going to get you to the revolutionary in the long run? And so CES, if you're sticking with that self driving perspective, Every year we have seen the continued advancements of all the sensor technology, the LiDAR, uh, displays, the other camera technologies that go into making cars smarter because you need to make the car smarter first to get it to even be autonomous in this example.
So that's really the role of a futurist. It's making sure that you're parsing out and defining, okay, what's evolutionary, what's revolutionary. Our show, what I think, what makes it so special is It's not just, there's, it's 3, 500 exhibitors are expected to be there. So like, let's give some context by the numbers.
We have increased our show floor footprint to about 2. 4 nets, uh, net square million, 2. 4 million net square feet. There we go. That's what I wanted to say. And then, within that 3, 500, uh, group of exhibitors, right? You're gonna have your major players, like your Amazons, your Alibabas, your Samsungs, LG, major big booths.
But a thousand plus of those companies are startups and most of them being located in, we have a dedicated section in the Venetian Expo called Eureka Park. And that's where you see really that whole range of these long shot, these moonshot sort of technologies that this is the seed of the idea, right?
This is the spark of innovation where you're seeing them come together in, well, how do you How do you scale that? And so I'm proud to say that CTA, we have a program called the match program, which is a catalyst for that type of innovation where visionary investors and groundbreaking startups actually are able to come together and meet.
And at CES, we have a program that allows them to essentially match capital to innovation. But you also will have those. Products, especially in that start of area that are ready to go, that they're going to be in stores soon if you're a consumer, or it's going to be an enterprise solution or a medical solution.
So a really good example of this is I know there's a company that's focusing on taking AI to analyze electronic medical records. And the whole premise of training them on your EMRs is to reduce your risk of infection after surgery. Because right now you usually find out five days after surgery if you have an infection.
With that analysis, they already are finding that they can reduce it to a two to three day window, which is lifesaving when you think about it at the end of the day of getting that treatment there. So it's a bit of everything at the show floor and you want to make sure that you're getting all stages of innovation.
Otherwise you're not giving the complete picture of the life cycle that breakthrough occurs, right?
[00:09:43] Marco Ciappelli: Yeah. Very cool. I mean, You think about the application. We just actually finished a panel that is to be called AI generative AI prediction for 2024. We kind of made a fun of it, but we had a really cool group of people talking about it.
You have to make prediction is the end of the year. You get the pitch from PR and everything. And so I come fresh from there. But when you what you're doing is really not prediction. I feel like you're actually getting things that are already pretty solid. And How do you, how do you feel the pulse of what is going to really, on your opinion, attract the attention of people?
And I know it is not an easy job, but nowadays is, again, I make always a joke as we did at the beginning about the blinking light and funny noises. There is many more aspects now when you think you get to that point. There is many societal implications, there is sometimes economical implications, there is a lot of things.
So, Is there a secret sauce to put all of that together?
[00:10:51] Brian Comiskey: Sure, right? Like, so we, uh, our research team, the way we think about it too, like, so I'm not, you know, I'm not just coming up with all this in a vacuum, right? I have peers that are incredible and they work together with a variety of ways of kind of getting what's the ground truth because before you get to tomorrow, you kind of oftentimes have to define, well, what's today?
look like. And so I work with, um, colleagues that run our primary research team in our research department. They're the ones who are doing those consumer sentiment surveys and analysis around, well, what do consumers think about women's health? What do they think about electronic or electric vehicles, right?
Getting the ground truth from the consumer themselves around their perceptions around technology. So that's one element. We have a business intelligence team that focus entirely on forecasts. And the idea is, well, how are markets shaping up in terms of total U. S. revenue around a particular hardware device or even software and services?
Like for example, in, uh, and this is the type of insights you can get, which is last year, software and services made up a quarter of in the entire revenue of the U. S. consumer technology market. This year, they're making up a third. About right. So that's a hugely showcasing that there's this software pivot that needs to be paid attention to.
So when you start working with those factors where you kind of have this, what's the forecasting analysis for the industry as a whole, what is the consumer thinking about it? Then it's my job to work with that. And our partners in NASDAQ understanding markets and where investments are going, where do you create this sort of dislike?
Where do you triangulate? In a lot of ways, this is where tomorrow is heading. That way you're not, it's not just There is prediction, but it's being based on reality in a moment. Like otherwise you're just engaging probably in science fiction at that point, right? You are facing your tomorrow on understanding where trends are going.
And that's what you're going to see, um, at CES on the ways it. The first real event we do is we have media days right before the show days. So the show is night, the January 9th through 12th. Um, one of the first things we do is a tech trends to watch and we're going to be opening, um, me and my colleague that are going to be doing it with, well, what's today.
And we're going to talk about how Gen Z is growing in the United States, but not just in the United States. Globally, 90 percent of Gen Z resides in what are called emerging markets by NASDAQ, right? That's Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America. Think about what that means in terms of how they're going to connect online, because a billion more people are expected to come online in the next four years.
Those are smartphone driven markets. Those are different markets from a cultural and economic perspective. So the way they engage with technology is going to be driven out of a different Need and necessity, which all of this boils down to when you think about ingenuity or disruption at its core, right?
These forces that people like to say around technology, it's a balancing act. And one side, really, you have the consumer. And you have enterprise and there's pairs of forces that you have to balance when you're thinking about innovation. The first is value for consumers. They want the best value from a product while enterprises, they want to grow their product.
They want to grow their bottom line. So how do you balance that when you're creating innovation? The next is when you think about it is demand. From the consumer side, along with productivity on the enterprise side. And then the last one is consumers oftentimes want to buy tech out of a necessity. And a necessity either is truly like I need to more efficiently feed my family.
I need to like have better power control. I want to be entertained because I need people need entertainment. How does an enterprise balance innovation to meet necessity? So these pairs of forces really push against one another and whatever can balance those the best, that's true ingenuity and that's what we're trying to track when we're looking at what the future looks like.
[00:14:40] Sean Martin: And I'm curious how far back you look at some of this stuff because it's, it's easy to get caught up. We continue to add and add and add. We fill holes, plug gaps, innovate, leapfrog. We end up with bigger, better systems that do more and achieve things we couldn't imagine years ago. Um, in that view that I just described, we, we miss out on identifying the stuff that we leave behind.
Yeah. Because it no longer works. I don't know. How much of that view do you. Take in and how, how does that shape what you look at in the future?
[00:15:23] Brian Comiskey: Yeah, that's a really good premise, right? Because I've mentioned today and tomorrow, what, so what does yesterday mean for us? And that's something actually we take pretty seriously here.
Um, so, you know, you're coming to asking this at the right time, like, At this CES, we'll be kicking off actually our 100th anniversary as an association, you know, and here's the kicker. We have not always been called the Consumer Technology Association. Back when I was working in media analytics, they, this organization was still called Consumer Electronics Association, right?
And tech was the shift to recognize, okay, we're Adding in this degree, our first name was the radio manufacturers association, actually, right? So back to radio and cars. And so a lot of it is about adding, but when you go back into it, it's really important. While we've been doing forecasting for the consumer technology market for decades, we've been doing holiday studies around what the consumer wants for, I think we're on like.
Year 28 or around. So, so we've been doing this for a while. Our research shop has been around since the nineties. Um, so we've been around for a long time as a research outfit for an association. And the thing you do look at is while you're adding, we take a look at whenever we're adding a category or deleting from the forecast.
You would be surprised in some of the ones that are still in there. We don't talk about as much, like we track turntables. We track VHS sales in the past for it because there are still markets that are there. Cause you have to recognize. As much as like we have 92 percent internet connectivity in this country, but still that doesn't necessarily mean it's quality internet.
And so you have people who are also tech lag, what we call like a late tech adopter, right? So when are they going to incorporate? So you have to make sure you're incorporating what's still like in maybe a long existing technology. But you can also look back at these studies. I like to do them, do this a lot where it's, well, what does it say about consumer preferences in terms of maybe you can identify adoption cycles of certain technologies, um, and make parallels between, okay, this technology was adopted quite quickly, um, after this inflection moment for it.
So, right, if you look at like, So, um, You already had started to see this idea of, you know, sell devices, but then the smartphone happens, you have a particular product. That's the inflection of, well, now everyone has this in their pocket truly. And so what does a, you know, a major new headset do for VR and XR?
Like, when does that happen? And is that the inflection point? That mirror something that you would have seen in 2008, right? When the smartphone revolution started. So there's always a need to look to the past because I mean, it's the most common adage, right? Those who fail history are doomed to repeat it.
And I think that holds very true as someone with a background originally in humanities. That's something that we try to take to with tech where you don't want to lose sight of in some of the ways of the human element of STEM.
[00:18:15] Marco Ciappelli: Well, that's fascinating as I come from a political science and sociology background myself.
So I got into tech and talking about this from the other view point and all the things that you're saying right now resonate really strong with me. As a matter of fact, we have a. We have a series in Redefining Society that is called Once Upon a Time Tomorrow, where we talk pretty much four generation X guys that talk about analog and what it was back in the 80s and what it is now, and you just think about more about the future.
So everything you said, it just makes so much sense to me. Fascinating. So what are let's get to the end. To the concrete thing here, what are the trends and did you did you particularly maybe excited that are coming up at this next event?
[00:19:07] Brian Comiskey: Yeah, well, and Sean actually teed it up pretty well earlier where he was like, you know, I think you did too, Marco, where When you think about CES, you know, the tendency is like, it was Consumer Electronics Show.
That's what we used to, it used to stand for, right? So it was the focus on the gadget consumer side. If you look at just our keynote lineup this year between L'Oreal, Nasdaq, Best Buy, um, you have Qualcomm, Intel, Siemens, Snap. Media Link. You have this representation of the consumer, the enterprise, retail, and markets, right?
So it's a, the whole show itself is, it's always been a big tent, but it's really showcasing that we're capturing the entirety of the innovation life cycle. So that's really kind of, if you ask me like, what's the show about? There's that. We are continuing our partnership with the United Nations Human Securities for All campaign, recognizing human securities are human rights and how technology plays a critical role in this.
Um, in fact, we've announced that there used to be seven human rights pillars. We were actually at the UN earlier this year to announce access to technology as the new eighth pillar, right? Recognizing the role tech plays here. So there's a social impact story here, but let's go to the tech trends themselves.
And as I said, it's a big tent, but three technology trends I'm watching for because they're what I like to call horizontal technology trends, right? When you think about any sort of industry, we think vertically, right? A whole ecosystem from top to bottom or bottom to top, uh, that can be digital health.
That could be mobility as in, you know, cars and boats and, and, and more, or gaming and entertainment. Those are industry verticals. Powerful trends that can cut across and improve the operation and efficiency of them are pretty significant to watch. And there's three in particular that I think that will be on the show for.
First is artificial intelligence. You mentioned talking about generative AI with some folks. That's a tiny slice. Like it's an important slice in the breakthroughs in large language models change the game from being A to B input output to A to A through Z or B through Z output, right? That is impressive, but it's a slice of the ecosystem and CES historically and at this show as well, we'll showcase.
We're going to have AMD and Intel showcasing chip innovation, where it actually all starts, the brain of it all. Then we're going to have platforms like your chat pod advancements, like interactive digital humans at kiosks from companies like mom. ai. You'll have digital twin technology, which is a key component of AI.
with companies like Siemens showcasing industrial metaverse applications that they do in partnership with NVIDIA. You'll even have robotics because people oftentimes want to separate them, but it's really a story of automation and we'll have exoskeletons, consumer robotics, and even supply chain warehouse robotics.
So AI is the first, the other two are sustainability. And then of course, inclusive tech design. And that is what I mean by that is. There's a degree of accessibility. So things like your Garmin smartwatch will be there called the venue three. It has a wheelchair mode that can actually track the movement and fitness metrics for people in wheelchairs, which is a huge way to increase who can use these technologies.
But it's not just a question sometimes of who's using it and how they're using it. But who and how is, who's making it and how are they making it? So we'll see a lot of companies, women led companies, minority led companies, showcasing innovation that has tech design to really make sure that they're improving.
They're increasing their markets really to more people across the globe. And that could be things as like a smartphone app that allows women to be able to easily navigate walking home at night safely by having. Uh, just details of where they're going in terms of like access to resources, right? Um, it could be software as a service, talent acquisition companies focusing on getting jobs for underrepresented communities like formerly incarcerated individuals, right?
What can tech do from an inclusion standpoint to make sure it's not just reflecting one type of user when we're so rich and diverse as a community? And then sustainability, right? It's not just about reducing, recycling and reduction of waste, which is a huge part of consumer electronics story, but CES has this wide ecosystem of showcasing alternative power generation for consumers and wind and solar, green hydrogen through electric vehicle or in electric vehicles for mobility.
But even breakthroughs like graphene batteries that reduce the impact of lithium ion alternatives. So there's this robust ecosystem of how are we making tomorrow more intelligent? How are we making it cleaner and greener and how are we making it more inclusive? That's going to permeate, I think, every booth in every fast.
Section of the show floor.
[00:23:58] Sean Martin: Yeah, that's funny. Uh, it seemed like you were skipping over the ESG and I had a question teed up and you went, you went and answered it for me. So thanks for that. So I want to, uh, I want to switch gears just a teeny bit. Cause I know where you physically sit and some of the work you've done in the past around policy, uh, is important to me.
Um. Because, I mean, we're, we're introducing technologies that can be used in ways that may not be intended, can be used maliciously, can be used accidentally, that, that can cause people harm. So even with all the good things we're trying to do to build sustainability and inclusiveness, some of this stuff can go off the rails regardless.
And so I'm wondering how Your perspective on how much policy is part of what we'll see at CES. Is it baked in? Are there, are there sections carved out for this? Um, little, little view on that if you could.
[00:25:02] Brian Comiskey: Yeah, of course. And, and I guess that's the important part. Um, I, we kind of. Going back from the top, right?
What does a futurist do? I think there's a tendency in the field to only hold to the idealism, which is, it's, it's, there's nothing more nostalgic in a ways, right? Than looking into the future and thinking about tech. It's very World Fair, Jetson, Star Trek. So that's the fun part. But at the same time, there's a tech real, there's a realism that you have to incorporate and think about in terms of IBM once said, when AI and computers were being developed in the seventies, they said, a computer or a, uh, is never accountable, right?
Recognizing that it's the human that's actually accountable for the decisions being made and how they program it. How's the tool? That's the human element. So at C, CTI, we, we always encourage regulation and policies that help put these guardrails in place that all obviously do not hinder innovation. How CES is you're going to see, um, I'm certain.
At the booths, you might get it a little bit, but we have a robust set of conference sessions where we're going to have leading policymakers from across the board and talking about every kind of facet of regulation you can think of, um, from a cybersecurity perspective, I'm, I'm really excited to see the discussions around privacy policy, a little bit more about the U.
S. Cyber trust mark program that's being unveiled, which CTA helped support and develop. Um, I think you've actually had one of my colleagues on the past talking about it, who helped guide that through David Grossman. Um, and so there's going to be a wide range of panels with U. S. government officials, but also you're going to get that perspective.
A third of our attendees are, are from outside the United States. So you're going to get some of these global policy perspectives as well. Cause right. We just saw major, uh, AI, a major AI act passed in the European Union. So I'm curious to see, and you get to see this on the stage on this platform, people, how the United States and how those policymakers are going to react to it.
So you get basically where there's the exhibit showcasing the products and the software and the services that are going to improve consumers enterprise, our world around us. But there's this conversational discussion meeting place that is what makes CES powerful, right? We've done remote shows and we're able to do that successfully.
We've done hybrid, but the beauty of being in person is one, people who come, the average exec has 29 meetings during those days. So they're getting a lot of business done while they're, but they're also able to either be on stage or in these rooms to listen to these conversations unfold. So it's going to, policy always plays a key.
An important role at CES. And those are the conversations as an international relations background, studying government. PoliSci history. That's the, that PoliSci nerd and the former consultant to me saying, okay, I got to see this.
[00:27:55] Marco Ciappelli: Yeah, that's, uh, I don't know how you can do it all. It's, you got to pick your, uh, pick your poison when you go there.
But listen, I, I really appreciate this. It's so in line with everything that I love about. The podcast that we do, uh, you know, Sean, it's a, it's definitely a little bit more in the cyber security space, but I know we both geek out a lot when we connected with society. And you did an amazing job in explaining this mysterious job that you do.
And now it's a little less mysterious. I think it's fantastic. I'm sure the audience will get a better picture when they start reading maybe all the articles coming out or listening to other Uh, podcast that we're going to do and maybe start understanding why there are certain trends and certain kind of technology versus, versus others.
So. Um, Sean, unless you want to add something,
[00:28:49] Sean Martin: I think, I think that's, that's the point I want to make that, uh, Brian, I appreciate, uh, you taking a moment to do you, the why is what you provided for, at least for me today and some of the examples, what is the outcome of this technology, right? Somebody in a wheelchair being able to track their, their fitness.
That's a very powerful why. So it's not just because we can build this technology, it's because it's going to impact somebody's life, hopefully in a positive way. So all the little stories that you shared in there, I really appreciate that, and hopefully people can resonate with one or more of them, and understand what they, I think, can look for throughout the show, um, and listen for throughout the show.
Um, it's those, those why moments. I think those are the most important.
[00:29:41] Brian Comiskey: Well, I'm happy to share them. Uh, it's, it's, that's the fun part is to connect and hopefully, you know, we have a conversation probably post show and we can talk and unpack what, what we did see, right? Cause we're in the prediction mode, but then we can do the.
Retrospective, almost. But, and hopefully I'll be, uh, kind of like a good Irish, you guys talking about Irish authors. I'll be like a James Joyce, maybe. Giving a little bit of a good narrative. That's your author, the strong author. I was like, there's a good Irish author.
[00:30:06] Marco Ciappelli: We can name one. Oh, there are. There are.
I was, I was kidding with Sean. Uh, you are a real futurist because I was going to close with inviting you to come back. And so you just did that. Nice view in the future. So, uh, even on a longer podcast, and we can talk a little bit more and geek out about this kind of stuff. For now, though, I want to invite everybody, of course, to go to CES if they can, if they can't, to just participate by reading and listening to everything happening around that event, because you're really seeing the future there.
And, uh, subscribe, stay tuned for a lot more stories from the event and around this, uh, thematics that we also have.
[00:30:49] Sean Martin: Yep. And, and that, uh, Trends to Watch session is Monday the 8th at 10 a. m., obviously Pacific there in Las Vegas. So be sure to catch Brian and his, uh, colleague, um, presenting some of the cool stuff that everybody will see that week.