Buckle Up: 7 Key Takeaways from CES

I have been going to CES for years, and there is always a remarkable flood of ideas. But as many CES veterans know, it’s important to filter things that might seem interesting with true innovation and change.

CES always has a theme. For several years, it was all about prototype autonomous cars, with lounge-chair backseats envisioning a post-driver world. So far, that has not materialized. This year, in fact, car manufacturers were noticeably sparse. More on that in a moment. Remember the glasses craze that quickly fizzled out or the overhyped promise of 5G?

Not long ago, the theme was a remarkable resurgence of audio, driven by the catalyst of Amazon Alexa, Google Home smart speakers, and podcasts. But at this CES, even the Amazon exhibition fundamentally lacked smart speakers. Today, smart speaker usage has dwindled to listening to music and setting egg timers. The larger category of voice assistants is due for a reset (hello Apple … please get Siri right) and voice search will become much more powerful.

While not everything at CES is revolutionary and reshapes our world, for me, it is always an opportunity to look over the horizon and think with a little more flexibility.

This year, CES was dominated by AI. It was everywhere—from robots to jaw-dropping graphics. Some innovations showcased have the potential to be truly transformative, while much of it felt like AI-generated noise or what is being called “slop.”

The real challenge lies in discerning what matters: which technologies and companies will drive meaningful change, and what implications this holds for the audio and entertainment industries.

Here are seven key takeaways:

1. Agentic AI: machines that think and reason

The chip maker NVIDIA is now the richest company in the world, surpassing Apple. I watched its founder and CEO, Jensen Huang, deliver a masterclass on AI’s potential during a 90-minute Steve Jobs-like keynote. He focused on the profound change and mind-blowing progress in chip capability. He highlighted the shift from perception AI (machines understanding the world) to generative AI (machines creating content) and now to agentic AI—intelligent systems that perceive, plan, and act autonomously. You can watch Jensen’s keynote here

Get ready to hear the term “agentic” a lot.

Agentic AI represents a significant leap forward. It refers to systems that can make decisions and act without direct human intervention. Unlike earlier forms of AI, these systems don’t just respond to commands; they learn, adapt, and collaborate with other systems in real time. That’s how fast all of this is moving.

NVIDIA’s newly announced Cosmos system for robotics, autonomous vehicles and new crazy powerful chips for laptops enable machines to function with human-like reasoning. It’s a transformation that will redefine fields as varied as healthcare, logistics, and even creative production.

Without getting too techy here, Nvidia chips quickly break data into small pieces called "tokens." These tokens are like building blocks that help AI systems understand language, images, and other types of data. The chips are designed to handle many tasks at once, which means they can create and multiply tokens in large numbers (think millions) with dazzling speed. This is the core to the gorgeous videos and pictures we are seeing, advanced tools for science and medicine, and even technologies for self-driving cars.

2. Autonomous cars are back on the table

As I mentioned, the dream of autonomous cars stalled but that may change. Six years ago, an NVIDIA executive candidly admitted to me, “We’re not so good at merging traffic or driving in white snow.” The key issue, of course has been safety. Mowing down pedestrians is not a good look for the industry. Just last week, a driver in Arizona went viral when his Waymo taxi started spinning in circles in a parking lot.

But, thanks to the massive leaps in computational power and AI capabilities, this year, the narrative has shifted.

The new chips instantly analyze scenarios, giving vehicles far better capacity to navigate complex environments, from urban congestion to adverse weather conditions. While full autonomy is still years away, this renewed momentum suggests we may finally see autonomous cars move beyond prototypes and into real-world applications.

3. Here comes super-automation

A new term for me was “super-automation,” in which AI can handle increasingly difficult and multi-step tasks like a fully autonomous factory where robots not only perform individual tasks but also dynamically adjust production lines, optimize resource allocation, and even identify and resolve potential issues without human involvement.

Super-automation has the potential to transform the media landscape as well by revolutionizing areas ranging from audience engagement to production workflows, news reporting, and subscription strategies. You name it.

With AI-driven tools, media organizations can create far better personalized content recommendations, power real-time interactive experiences, and automate community moderation to foster deeper audience connections.

My mind is going on this one.

4. The shift in search and marketing

Industry analyst Shelly Palmer held his annual (and always valuable) CES Innovation Series breakfast and made a bold prediction: the era of link-based search is over. “Google has killed itself,” he declared, pointing to a future where AI summarizes queries, negating the need to click links. We are seeing Google summaries today.

Today, we are seeing summaries that upend the ecosystem Google has built and likely changes how all of us will collect answers to our questions and needs. In short, this shift will probably upset Google’s $237 billion ad business (I Googled that) and many traditional marketing strategies. It’s unclear what it means for more traditional queries such as “top money podcasts.”

5. AI will execute better than you

AI is poised to revolutionize execution, automating tasks with speed and precision that humans can’t match. AI can take on an assignment that would have engaged a mere mortal for 5 hours and do it in 5 minutes ….. or less.

Sure, this is great for factories, but it’s also impactful for creators. Whether you are editing a video, generating a report, or crafting marketing copy, AI frees up creators to focus on what truly matters: creativity.

6. AI won’t out create you

While AI can handle the “too much to do” problem, it can’t replicate the emotional resonance or originality of human creativity. As Jeffrey Katzenberg noted at the Palmer breakfast, “Every business is in the storytelling business.”

True creativity is born from human experiences, intuition, and the unique ability to evoke emotion. AI, at its best, is a tool—a powerful one—but it’s only as effective as the creative direction it receives.

The future belongs to those who can harness AI’s efficiency to amplify their creative edge rather than replace it.

7. Sphere: Delta’s CES Showstopper

Hard to believe the hot ticket at CES was for a 100 year-old company. Delta Airlines celebrated its 100th anniversary at CES and did it in style at the Sphere. With its 160,000-square-foot wraparound LED display, and 167,000 audio speakers, this jaw-dropping venue delivered a sensory overload to nearly 18,000 attendees. Inside, immersive effects like soundscapes, scents (coffee!), and bursts of air (plane taking off) made Delta’s celebration impressive.

But Sphere wasn’t just about spectacle. Delta’s CEO Ed Bastian used the event to roll out major announcements, from a new concierge service that uses AI to help tailor your experience to partnerships with Uber - thanks for the $20 credit - and YouTube (no in-flight commercials).

Lenny Kravitz performed, Tom Brady made an appearance, and Delta employees were on hand to soak it all in. The event proved that creating an immersive experience can make all the difference in the crowded CES landscape. And a great reminder to broadcasters and podcasters that people love a show.

It’s the beginning of the beginning

There were so many different visions of the future at CES 2025. For me, being there made one truly big thing clear: while the tools of creation are evolving, the heart of creativity—connection and storytelling—remains unchanged. Those who adapt to this new AI-driven era with humanity and imagination will be the ones to shape its future. AI will inevitably outperform humans at execution, automating tasks with precision and speed. But people are more creative than AI. The challenge lies in leveraging AI to enhance that creativity rather than fear its capabilities. As I often say to my clients; “mediocrity is getting crushed.”

Mark Cuban appeared at the Palmer breakfast. His take on AI resonated with the crowd – he said, “Those who are great at AI are going to win.”

As Jeffrey Katzenberg put it, “we are at the beginning of the beginning.”

Coming back from CES, it is more clear to me, the opportunity ahead lies in how creators and AI collaborate to redefine what’s possible in content creation. The challenge lies in balancing the efficiency of AI with the authenticity and emotional connection that only humans can deliver.

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