CES 2025: Pivot or Die

I just got back from the Consumer Electronics Show 2025, the annual showcase of the tech industry’s ambition and innovation. I noticed three core trends:

• A near-term future of AI in everything imaginable - whether or not it adds value.
• Bold claims and contradictions about sustainability.
• Innovations that raised big questions: are we building a better future - or losing our way?

I had the pleasure to briefly meet Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Technology Association and author of Pivot or Die. The title feels like an apt reflection of the moment we’re in - where technological ambition must reckon with its impact on people, society, and the planet.

You Get AI! You Get AI! Everybody Gets AI!

It should come as no surprise that Artificial Intelligence was the darling on display. AI-enabled makeup mirrors, AI water filters, AI gardens, AI workout equipment, AI sex toys, AI tractors. AI in everything, whether it added value or not.

After a particularly gruesome scene between a robot vacuum cleaner and my nervous dog over the holidays, I was curious to see the latest in robot vacuum technology. I spotted Narwhal’s new robot vacuums, which use computer vision and AI to detect and avoid pets. This struck me as unnecessary - my dogs and cats already use their onboard sensors to avoid the vacuum.

On the other hand, Roborock’s products impressed me with their use of cameras and AI to classify environments and decide whether to vacuum or mop, avoid obstacles (no more gruesome scenes!), and even sort objects like socks. One model even adds a robotic arm to move small obstacles. AI like this shows promise - but it raises the question: where is the line between value and novelty?

Sustainability and Tech - Strange Bedfellows

Sustainability was another trope. As an avid Electric Vehicle enthusiast - I made the 2,500-mile (4,000 km) return journey to CES in my EV - I was thrilled to see Scout’s upcoming vehicles and NXP & Foxconn’s (manufacturer of the iPhone) OEM EV platform. There were more e-bikes than one could ride in a lifetime, fully autonomous vehicles, “land aircraft carriers,” and flying cars. (Still waiting for those promised flying taxis, Bell/Uber!)

Yet AI - one of the most energy-intensive technologies - predictably stole the spotlight. Training a single large AI model can consume as much energy as 500 cars in a year. By 2026, the electricity demand of AI and data centers could rival Germany’s total consumption.

I saw many smart gardens, but what is the point of an AI-enabled home garden if it fills our food with microplastics, costs more carbon to grow, and puts farmers out of work?

The wildfires in Los Angeles - the worst ever - raging just on the other side of the Mojave Desert underscored the urgency of the climate crisis. What does “sustainable tech” mean when innovation itself accelerates environmental challenges? What does it mean when a crowd of tech enthusiasts packs into The Sphere to see A Postcard From Earth, a spectacle imagining humans abandoning a ravaged planet for the stars? It was not lost on me that the two largest tech moguls are also the biggest proponents of private space exploration.

Health Tech: Progress with Privacy Risks

Wearables and data-first wellness tech continue to push forward. Body analysis, non-invasive glucose monitors, urinalysis, the Hormometer? (like a thermometer but for hormones) - all have transformative potential. I personally believe in the quantified self, but these tools generate large, valuable, and highly private data sets.

This trend raises serious questions about data ownership and security for the end-user, the companies collecting the data, and even national security. Data sovereignty is an urgent issue to address as this technology integrates further into society.

Beyond consumer applications, real-time body-response and fatigue monitoring show promise for improving workplace stress and safety. But after 20+ years in contact centers, I know the barrier to this technology will be managers misusing it for surveillance and discrimination rather than employee wellbeing. Any tool can become a weapon without a foundation of trust, talented leadership, and psychological safety.

XR and Privacy

Extended reality (XR) has some great industrial applications now - but societal barriers to adoption remain sticky. Think smart glasses projecting overlays to help machinists find tools, visualize process steps, or get live advice from an expert. The Haply Minverse is a truly remarkable haptic-enabled metaverse controller; think a 3D mouse, allowing the user to feel textures, forces and deepen immersion with precision control. This allows designers to feel what a surface might be like, reducing waste, or an operator to more precisely control a robot than ever before while still remaining safely at a distance.

Yet on more than one occasion, I saw more simple extended reality devices (like Meta’s smart glasses) spark discomfort among attendees - technology enthusiasts themselves - recoiling from being recorded unknowingly. Just as in health tech, privacy and transparency must be central for XR to succeed. Google Glass, a fundamentally good product, failed over a decade ago because of these very issues.

A Greater Distance From One Another - or Freeing Us to Be Together?

Much of the technology at CES seemed caught in a paradox: it could either deepen human connection or drive us further into our devices. Robots designed to clean litter boxes and make coffee clearly give us time back, freeing us to connect with others. But humanoid robots for companionship? That feels like a wedge, pulling us away from real relationships.

I noticed this tension everywhere. Honda’s 0 Saloon is an AI-enabled car that promises to read the driver's emotions and adapt. "I was nervous at first, but then Saloon got to know me. Saloon knows my favourite colour... and comforts me when I'm sad. Saloon is my partner." It felt like technology trying too hard to mimic human connection - while missing the point entirely.

That’s why meeting Austin Boer , co-founder at SLEKE. , stood out. Sleke creates minimalist phones designed for calls, texts, and simplicity - helping people unplug from distractions without giving up the essentials of modern life. Unlike much of what I saw, Sleke’s focus isn’t on pushing boundaries for the sake of it. They’ve built a product that prioritizes user experience and connection, and they’ve built that product in a sustainable way. It was the quiet promise kept in a sea of shiny shouty shilling.

The Bottom Line

CES 2025 showcased what’s possible, but many of the innovations felt like solutions chasing problems. At the end of the 18th century, Spanish artist Francisco Goya remarked, “the sleep of reason produces monsters.” But without sleep, we cannot dream.

If we’re in the business of change, of innovation, of customer experience, of digital, of leadership… we need to ask ourselves: Why do we innovate? Are we solving problems that truly matter? Are we solving the right problems - the most important problems? Do our colleagues, customers, and society trust us to deliver on our promises??

And if not - what are we going to do about it?

Trademark Notice: CES? is a registered trademark of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)?. Any references to CES, its events, or its exhibitors are made for editorial purposes only and do not imply endorsement by or affiliation with the CTA. All other trademarks and company names mentioned in this article (e.g., The Sphere, Meta, Hormometer, Roborock, Scout, Foxconn, Google Glass, Sleke, Haply) are the property of their respective owners.