(Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
– Third law of science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke.
Next week, I will attend CES, the world’s preeminent consumer electronics trade show, as a media representative. It’s scheduled to kick off on January 9 in Las Vegas, appropriately enough. (CES used to be called the Consumer Electronics Show. But that’s a moniker that makes the show’s sponsor, the Consumer Technology Association, today shudder). This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CTA, a testament to how far we’ve come in consumer electronics in particular and tech in general.
The event is a melting pot of innovation and technology, with over 3,500 exhibitors, including over 1,000 startups. Exhibitors and attendees span almost every industry. Healthcare, transportation, AI, beauty tech, smart home solutions, sustainability, and gaming, among other things, will be out in force. The multiple expo halls are filled to the brim with new gadgets and prototypes.
Last year’s show drew over 100,000 people. It’s a massive conga line stretching from the Convention Center at the north end of the Strip to Mandalay Bay at the south end. It’s part computer science, part giant party, part marketing and part, well, schmaltz.
Why CES Matters to Legal Tech
I am one of the few legal tech journalists who regularly attend CES. So what’s one poor little lawyer turned legal tech blogger doing here amidst all the glitz and glamour? Three reasons.
1. The Future of Consumer Tech Products
CES is all about the future. What is possible. What is coming for consumer products. CES has historically introduced tech that, in different forms, later finds its way into the mainstream and for that matter, legal.
Learning about these products helps me anticipate how emerging tech could change the legal landscape. These changes are particularly important with the development of Gen AI.
Gen AI will change legal perhaps more than Google search, iPhones and the internet combined transformed our ability to access and use information. And Gen AI will be at the forefront in this year’s show.
Yes, the legal industry is behind consumer tech when it comes to adoption. But it’s good to get some notion of what is possible — now and in the future. (As far back as 2020, CES speakers were saying that AI would permeate every facet of our commerce and culture. Who would have predicted how right they would be?)
2. Identifying Trends and Their Legal Implications
Last year, CES highlighted trends like decentralization — removing the middle person from transactions — and AI’s growing influence. These trends have profound implications for the legal profession, from how we handle financial transactions to the evolution of e-discovery. It’s not an overstatement to say that understanding these trends is crucial for anticipating future challenges and opportunities in legal.
Oh, and by the way, unlike law firms, the Big 4 accounting firms attend CES as both presenters and exhibitors. (Deloitte gives guided tours to the exhibit floor). One has to ask: What do they see that legal doesn’t?
3. The Energy of Innovation
CES is the ultimate entrepreneurial spirit and innovation hub. It’s about exploring the possible. It’s the energy and attitude of the entrepreneurs there. It’s the feeling that they are looking for solutions and new things instead of focusing on what can’t be done. To quote the science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke’s second law, “The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.”
That mindset is in stark contrast to the cautious and risk-averse legal sector. We want perfection first time all the time. We talk too much about why some technology just won’t work for legal. That it’s unreliable, and the coup de grace: It creates potential ethical issues. We don’t see the magic.
There’s another reason exposure to fresh ideas is critical. One of my clients used to say, let’s be careful. We don’t want to find ourselves in the closet talking to ourselves too much. As a reporter and observer of what happens in the legal world, it’s easy to fall victim to the closet phenomenon. Most of us go to the same shows, see the same people, say the same things. It’s nice to get out into a different world. It helps see things in legal for what they are. Or what they are not.
Exposure to the entrepreneurial spirit that permeates CES helps me maintain a fresh and open-minded approach to technology in law. To focus on possibilities rather than limitations.
The Magic of CES 2024: What to Expect
This year, CES will focus on four key themes. The themes are access to technology, partnership with the UN’s Human Security initiative, and the centennial celebration. And, of course, more than anything else, Gen AI. CES promises each theme will offer a unique lens through which we can view technology’s current and future state.
And while last year’s show took place shortly after the introduction of ChatGPT and Gen AI was not front and center, this year’s will be all about Gen AI. It will be all about what it can do. Gen AI will appear in cars, scooters, headphones, speakers, and cameras, among other things introduced at CES. It’s rumored that Intel, Qualcomm, and AMD will announce chips that will work to process AI on devices that carry them. This will reduce the need to upload information to the cloud and speed up response time exponentially.
And always a big draw is Eureka Park, which showcases the over 1,000 startups. Eureka Park is housed in the basement of the Venetian Expo convention center. Here, crammed in aisle after aisle of exhibit space, are startups hoping to make the next big thing. Here is where you find people pursuing their passions and dreams. A place that offers a glimpse into the future through the eyes of hopeful entrepreneurs.
CES is not just about technology; it’s a blend of computer science, marketing, and revelry. The event turns Las Vegas into a giant, interconnected stage for innovation. It makes me think of Arthur Clarke’s first law: “When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.”
As I prepare to attend CES for the sixth time, I hope to bring you some insights and stories. Whether exploring the latest in Gen AI, delving into the potential of the Metaverse, or simply soaking in the entrepreneurial energy, CES 2024 is always an enlightening experience.
Stay tuned.
Stephen Embry is a lawyer, speaker, blogger and writer. He publishes TechLaw Crossroads, a blog devoted to the examination of the tension between technology, the law, and the practice of law.
