— CESing it through: The Consumer Technology Association stood its ground despite a wave of cancellations to hold its biggest tech attraction in-person in Las Vegas. Those who hedged it would be empty are in for a surprise.
— Health tech’s time to shine: This year’s summit is focusing more than ever on innovations in health care, an area that continues to explode three years into the pandemic.
— Comin’ for you, Gen Z: Samsung and Zoom are among the companies at CES edging further into the next generation of consumers, even as Washington sounds alarms about tech targeting younger markets.
GREETINGS FROM VEGAS! John Hendel and Alexandra Levine here. We’re thrilled to be in your inbox for this special edition newsletter on all-things tech policy at CES. John’s reporting from on the ground in 60-degree, sunny Vegas, and Alex remotely from 60-degree, sunny California. (Sorry, snowbirds.)
Have questions about what we’re seeing IRL? Tips on people we should chat with or other CES happenings? Send ’em over to [email protected] and [email protected], and follow @JohnHendel and @Ali_Lev on Twitter for more tea.
CES: THE SHOW MUST GO ON — After weeks of dominoing, high-profile dropouts due to the Omicron variant — cancellations topped off by Monday’s massive East Coast snowstorm and the ensuing travel chaos — the tech world has forged ahead with one of its most coveted trade events. Just a smaller version than 2020’s pre-pandemic expo, and a day shorter than originally planned.
CES kicked off in Las Vegas on Wednesday, but for what is typically one of the biggest tech exhibitions on the planet, it’s quite a different sight than the old days. The gaudy Vegas stages, ballrooms and convention centers that in past years have been abuzz with futuristic gadgetry and entrepreneurs hoping to get noticed seemed quieter than usual at first, leading some to predict tumbleweeds rather than a thriving global gathering. (Twitter users had had a field day from afar, suggesting that CES might as well stand for “Completely Empty Show” or “Cavernous Event Space.”)
But Consumer Technology Association CEO Gary Shapiro, whose trade group organized CES and stood by the decision to hold an in-person event despite a flurry of criticism, argued that navigating problems is what the tech industry does best. “With all the upheaval of the past several weeks, it may be a bit messy,” he contended Wednesday morning. “But you know: Innovation is messy. It takes us out of our comfort zones. And we know it’s important to create a space where those with big ideas and big ambition can gather.”
There was still a long, snaking line for attendees to pick up CES badges at the Las Vegas airport Tuesday night when John arrived. And despite some gaps in the convention space, programming hiccups and an overall substantially lower turnout than pre-pandemic, the CES sites were still buzzing with hundreds of people and rarely felt empty, with attendees of all sorts still swarming the spaces and filling the shuttles. A big mix of exhibitors still stood ready to chat — with sections of the exhibit hall floor devoted to topics such as smart cities and robotics, space tech and fintech — and attendees largely seemed to abide by the Covid protocols like masking.
— The biggest CES dropouts have both underscored their own power — and their smaller rivals’ struggles. Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok and Twitter were among the top tech companies that bailed on attending in-person, dampening interest in the conference overall and infuriating some startups that rely on the gathering to showcase their work and plant flags in policy debates. “We’re sick and tired of seeing stories about companies pulling out (though understandable) instead of the technologies that will be showcased,” said one pitch from a virtual reality firm eager to chat about the metaverse. Fodder for Friday’s panel on competition (or lack thereof) in the tech industry, perhaps?
As tech and telecom giants dropped their in-person plans, so did various policymakers, from cabinet leaders such as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.). Clyburn will not even speak virtually, his office confirmed this week. And Republican FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington, who was slated to speak Thursday about 5G wireless technology, “will not be attending either online or in person,” his office said. Even Paris Hilton, who until the 11th hour was planning to headline a panel on the future of NFT’s, did not show up.
— Even so, unlike many things related to Covid, CES has mostly resisted being politicized. Federal leaders from both sides of the aisle, and organizations across the political spectrum, are still planning to show up in-person. Look no further than Friday’s tech policy roundtable featuring Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.). The show has even added policymakers in recent days, including Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) — who once helped put on CES himself as a former leader of the trade group and will be speaking on Friday’s antitrust panel.
SETBACKS? TECHLASH? NOTHING TO SEE HERE — Leaders of the Consumer Technology Association struck defiantly optimistic notes as CES got underway, despite all the logistical chaos and debate over whether holding a global tech conference amid a record Covid surge was a good idea.
— Give the people what they want: “We heard loud and clear from our exhibitors that they were ready to return to in-person events, and that the exhibitions and conferences are the lifeblood of small businesses,” Executive Vice President Karen Chupka said Wednesday, touting CTA’s vaccination requirement for CES attendees and the fact that the group provided participants with free Covid-19 tests. “But we also heard from our community, from all of you, that you were ready to come and step back up, now that you’re vaccinated, masked and ready to do your part as attendees — and as human beings.”
— “Technology is the answer, and it’s here at CES,” Steve Koenig, CTA’s vice president of research, said during Monday remarks at a press-only event on 2022 tech trends. In his 45-minute address — delivered on a Las Vegas stage and virtually to around 250 other reporters — Koenig rattled off a utopian vision of all the ways the tech industry could still help people, embracing a casually celebratory tone that cut against the sharp critiques about tech giants’ size and privacy failings that have dominated Washington in recent years.
Koenig mentioned none of that backlash. Instead, he touted the association’s latest industry figures showcasing that the U.S. consumer tech industry is projected to generate more than $505 billion in retail sales revenue, 2.8 percent over 2021. “A new high for the industry,” he added. “Which is why we say growth and momentum, still in play. We’re still growing.”
He also touted “pandemic pivots” that sent consumers reaching to their smartphones and other devices for new ways to order food, embrace wellness and tap into streaming video entertainment. “Once they start to level that up, they want more and they want more,” he added of consumer purchases.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: HEALTH CARE TECHNOLOGY — CES this year is focusing more than ever on digital health tech, from telemedicine and remote patient monitoring to tools aimed at improving mental health and personal wellness. The CEO of Abbott, a leader in at-home Covid tests, will on Thursday give the first-ever CES keynote by a health care company, and many other health tech upstarts are participating in the summit.
With fast-spreading variants, test shortages and stresses to the health care system already carrying over into 2022, adoption and growth of these technologies will only continue to explode — trends that entrepreneurs, clinicians and other leaders in the space will continue exploring throughout the week (including during Thursday’s panel, “The Trend Barometer”).
We checked in with René Quashie, the Consumer Technology Association’s first-ever vice president of policy and regulatory affairs for digital health, about what to watch as these innovations take center stage at CES and beyond.
— What will become of mental health tech as Americans enter the pandemic’s third year? The shortage of clinicians in the mental health space — a longstanding issue exacerbated by the Covid crisis, as more people sought psychological support — means there will be even more focus on how technologies like telemedicine, augmented and virtual reality and mindfulness apps can help bridge the gap, Quashie said.
A panel on Thursday will include more on the challenges and opportunities surrounding innovations in mental health.
— Can remote patient monitoring close the divide on health equity issues? Without the ability to remotely monitor chronic diseases, which tend to afflict medically underserved groups, “we’re really not going to make a dent in the health equity conversation,” Quashie said. “So remote patient monitoring tools that are geared for historically underserved communities — that take into account the digital literacy of the user, simplicity of use [and] broadband access … are going to be absolutely key to watch.”
— And what happens to telemedicine and digital health once rules relaxed during Covid are reinstated? Early in the pandemic, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services waived certain requirements around licensing and providing telemedicine, and HIPAA regulations were loosened for some digital health tools. Many of those exceptions are still in place, but there are questions about how use of these products, services and innovations will change once the crisis subsides.
“What kind of penetration are they going to have in the health care market?” Quashie said. “How is the health care system going to integrate all these new technology-enabled solutions within their practices, within their clinical workflows?” That’s up for debate at Thursday’s sessions on the digital transformation of our health care system and digital therapeutics, data and tech.
HERE’S LOOKING AT YOU, KIDS — Like many of the social media companies we cover, electronics giant Samsung and videoconferencing service Zoom are accelerating their pursuits of younger users. That’s colliding with increasing concern by lawmakers and regulators in Washington about tech titans edging more aggressively into younger markets.
— Samsung followed a short keynote by CEO Jong Hee Han on the company’s commitment to sustainability with lengthy presentations from the company’s Future Generation Lab — an internal group focused on tapping into Gen Z and making sure Samsung’s products speak to up-and-coming consumers and creators. They touted new gaming tools; colorful, AI-powered home appliances; and a portable screen called “The Freestyle” that can help users transform their spaces into a movie theater, city skyline, party venue or other backdrop. The talk also highlighted Samsung’s “Solve for Tomorrow” program, aimed at nurturing the next generation of tech leaders and helping young people solve social issues through mentorship by Samsung employees.
— And Zoom, which exploded in popularity during the pandemic, zeroed in on education. Pat La Morte, the company’s global education solutions lead, joined CES in person to talk everything from Zoom-bombing to the metaverse — an emerging area he says has stoked “intrigue and interest” within the company, which has a team considering what that could look like. “Schools are asking for it,” La Morte added. “How can we create a virtual campus that will look like a campus?”
TECH’S SUPPLY CHAIN CONUNDRUM — Another challenge bound to permeate a lot of the week’s sessions and speeches is a squeezed supply chain. CTA’s Koenig, during his kickoff session with reporters, described the strain of high shipping costs and the pinch that has posed for small- and medium-sized businesses. He suspects friction at U.S. ports will remain the reality for much of 2022 before any resolutions.
— One key part that’s uniquely hindering tech, he added, is the semiconductor chip shortage.
“What’s the real fix? We just need to simply build more chip-making facilities,” he said. He pointed out that three-fourths of semiconductor manufacturing facilities are in East Asia, which could put the globe “one earthquake or typhoon away” from trouble. He said promising expansions are underway involving big companies like Intel and Samsung but predicts many years more before these issues even out.
— These concerns mark one key area where tech industry interests line up with President Joe Biden and top lawmakers. The White House and Congress have spent months wrestling over how to address these chip shortages and their economic fallout. Policymakers have been fighting to pass the United States Innovation and Competition Act, an investment bill meant to bolster U.S. competition with China and including massive pots of money to super-charge chipmaking efforts. A version passed the Senate last year, but House and Senate lawmakers are still debating what a final bill should look like.
The following events will be livestreamed on Thursday.
Noon ET — A talk by the CEO of Abbott, the first health care company to keynote CES; more here.
1:20 p.m. ET — “Seizing the Opportunity of Tech Innovation with 5G.”
3:40 p.m. ET — “Privacy 3.0: What is Needed in an Evolving Digital Age?,” featuring former FTC Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen and others.
6 p.m. ET — A chat with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on how tech is shaping the future of transportation.
6 p.m. ET — “Digital Therapeutics and Road Ahead: Defining Health Outcomes Through Data and Tech,” featuring leaders of Pear Therapeutics, Happify Health and others.
7 p.m. ET — “Gaming Health,” featuring leaders from Genentech, Neurable, AdaRose and Waya Health.
