CES 2020 Is Upon Us (Filed #011)
What to expect and what you'll never see in public. Plus, California's new privacy law explained and saving America's spies in the digital age.
Happy New Year!
With the arrival of 2020 comes the annual trek technologists and enthusiasts make to Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Kicking off next week, hundreds (if not thousands) of companies will be eagerly pitching their wares, from headphones to televisions, appliances, electric vehicles, sexual wellness devices, food tech, and futuristic concepts that may never even be made public. Ahead of the show, let’s take a look at some of what you can expect and main themes:
The A.I. wars will be fought by Google and Amazon
Similar to years past, expect artificial intelligence to be the talk of the show. Amazon isn’t expected to have a show booth but it has been pushing its Alexa assistant into many devices, including those for the home and also in vehicles. But not to be outdone, Google will have a physical presence at CES and is likely ready to establish a stronger beachhead to show off the benefits of integrating with its Assistant. What will be the most interesting tie-in with a smart assistant this year?
We all have 8K but what is it really?
A staple of CES are televisions and this year if we’re not talking about how curved a display is or if it has zero bezels, the news will be on 8K technology. Previous years had 4K and 3D TVs in the spotlight but in 2020, it’s about even higher quality displays for the biggest screen in our homes. We’ll likely fawn over having an 8K TV but how long will it be before we have a critical mass of content available for us—I don’t think there’s a lot of 4K content that most people are consuming right now, even though it might be available. Also, Samsung and LG dueling over who has the better 8K display (because they abide by different standards), will consumers really be able to decide what really is true 8K?
Samsung takes another stab at AI with Neon
Samsung joined the smart assistant space two years ago with the launch of Bixby but it has lagged behind Amazon, Google and Apple. At CES, the company will announce Neon it calls an “artificial human” and claims isn’t a replacement for Bixby. Not much else is revealed about Neon but recent patent filings suggest that the company may have plans to make it into a platform built around a technology called Core R3. Whether Samsung levels up its AI game with a digital avatar of sorts versus a faceless voice assistant would be interesting. Could Neon then be the equivalent of perhaps the computer from Resident Evil before it went crazy, or perhaps the holographic Doctor from Star Trek: Voyager? Okay, maybe a bit of a stretch but this AI could be very interesting…and would it be built by the Viv Labs team, which Samsung acquired?
Future of transportation
Safe bet: There will be more electric cars debuting at CES.
Riskier bet: Will we see more transformative tech like fully autonomous vehicles or flying cars?
Automakers are eager to show how innovative they can get with the technology, appealing to the gadget lovers. Cars eventually begin to look similar to each other so what differentiates them will be what’s inside, including what smart assistant it uses, whether it accepts over-the-air updates, or how it can compete alongside Tesla’s technological innovations. Expect some interesting concepts on what the future of getting around will look like. If anything, there will be some great designs featured.
We value your privacy
Tech companies will be reminding consumers that while they are offering all this convenience and futuristic technology that requires their data and information, privacy is paramount. This continues a trend from years ago following the Cambridge Analytica revelation and also with scrutiny from regulators and Congress over data privacy, not to mention the recent enactment of California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). So while we’re being inundated with promises of 5G, AI, high-tech refrigerators, devices to improve our productivity, the secondary message companies will want to convey is that “we aren’t doing anything with your data without your consent.”
See you in Las Vegas!
I’ll be attending CES this year and plan to cover as much of the show as I can. Let me know if you’ll be there and let’s try to meet up for drinks or catch-up! You can catch me on Digital Trends Live on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for #TechBriefs and I’ll also pop-up on CNET’s live show on Wednesday morning.
As usual, I’m curating the best of CES on Flipboard and you can follow along at flip.it/ces. Special thanks to CNET, VentureBeat, Digital Trends and MarketWatch for their help in curating.
» Stay up-to-date on everything announced at CES here.
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If you’re looking for more up-to-date news about tech, check out my Flipboard magazine “FYI”. You can also follow my magazine “The Long Sunday Read” for great long-form articles about the tech industry. Both magazines are updated regularly.
Each week, Digital Trends and Flipboard produce a segment called “Tech Briefs” where we cover the week’s top tech news in 10 minutes (or so). It’s also available as an audio-only podcast so please subscribe to it in your favorite app (Spotify, Google Play, Apple Podcast, Stitcher, and Soundcloud) because we oftentimes put together some exclusive episodes!
In this week’s episode, we previewed this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, highlighting the upcoming televisions, use of AI, and automotive surprises in store. Be sure to tune into “Digital Trends Live” as I’ll join the show to recap CES daily starting Tuesday!
» To see more episodes of “Tech Briefs,” subscribe to my YouTube channel.
Privacy
Robert Pinsky, The New York Times
Novelists, poets and artists imagine life in the age of surveillance. Part of The New York Times’ year-long Privacy Project.
California’s new privacy law, explained
Sara Morrison, Recode
The California Consumer Privacy Act gives Californians some control over their data, but only if they know how to take advantage of it.
'I am going to say quiet words in your face just like I did with Trump': a conversation with the Zuckerbot
Julia Carrie Wong and Botnik Studios, The Guardian
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg won’t talk to the Guardian. So we fed everything he says into an algorithm, built a Zuckerbot, and interviewed it.
'Shattered': Inside the secret battle to save America's undercover spies in the digital age
Jenna McLaughlin and Zach Dorfman, Yahoo News
When hackers began slipping into computer systems at the Office of Personnel Management in the spring of 2014, no one inside that federal agency could have predicted the potential scale and magnitude of the damage. Over the next six months, those hackers — later identified as working for the Chinese government — stole data on nearly 22 million former and current American civil servants, including intelligence officials.
Facebook Wants Your Medical Data, but Isn’t Legally Obligated to Protect It
Emily Mullin, OneZero by Medium
The company promises its Preventive Health tool is private. Should users trust it?
White Extremism Faces a Subversive Foe Online: Google Ads
Neil MacFarquhar, The New York Times
When people search for hate-filled material online, a new de-radicalization effort sends them in another direction.
States will be the battlegrounds for 2020 tech policy fights
Kim Hart and Margaret Harding McGill, Axios
The tech industry's most consequential policy fights in 2020 will play out in the states, not Washington.
Twitter’s big bet on topics and lists is just getting started
Harry McCracken, Fast Company
The service now lets you follow subjects you love—from anime to archaeology—and is upgrading its long-dormant lists feature. It’s the dawn of a new era.
Apps don’t provide reliable help for suicide prevention
Nicole Wetsman, The Verge
A study found nonfunctioning crisis hotline numbers in six apps.
The Rise — And Rise — Of Mass Surveillance
Megha Rajagopalan, BuzzFeed News
Eavesdropping bureaucrats have been replaced by algorithm-driven facial recognition technology. But the real impact of indiscriminate surveillance may be in our minds.
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