by
Artur
Widak/Anadolu
via
Getty
Images)
I’m
on
my
way
to
Las
Vegas
for
CES.
Just
like
every
year
for
the
past
seven,
I’m
starting
my
January
by
attending
the
preeminent
global
tech
event
where
among
a
few
other
things,
AI
may
be
discussed.
I’ll
bring
you
my
observations,
thoughts,
and
usual
skepticism.
And
talk
about
why
CES
is
not
important
just
to
consumer
tech
but
to
legal
and
legal
tech
as
well.
CES
In
January
January.
The
holidays
are
over.
It’s
back
to
work.
Back
to
school.
When
I
was
a
practicing
lawyer,
it
meant
starting
all
over
at
0
billable
hours
and
origination
credits.
It’s
winter.
And
you
think
the
party’s
over
But
it’s
only
just
begun“Whole
Wide
World”
–
Mick
Jagger
and
Keith
Richards
But
for
some
150,000
of
us,
it
means
it’s
time
for
CES,
the
mammoth
nonstop
conference,
show,
parties,
and
sales
pitches
stretching
from
one
end
of
Las
Vegas
to
the
other.
It’s
labeled
the
“world’s
premier
technology
tradeshow”
by
the
show’s
producer,
the
Consumer
Technology
Association
(CTA),
North
America’s
largest
tech
trade
association.
I
can’t
dispute
that
CES
is
the
largest
and
certainly
the
most
well-known
tech
trade
show.
The
show
starts
on
January
4
with
two
full
media
days,
followed
by
four
days
of
educational
sessions,
keynotes,
press
conferences,
and
multiple
exhibit
halls
that
will
likely
feature
the
wares
of
over
4,500
exhibitors
along
with
some
140,000
if
not
more
attendees.
(See
CTA
2025
Audit
Statements
housed
on
the
CES
media
website
for
last
year’s
numbers.)
I
will
be
there
for
as
much
of
it
as
I
can
do
for
Above
the
Law
and
offering
my
insights
and
thoughts
along
the
way.
(As
an
aside,
as
someone
who
has
co-chaired
a
premier
legal
tech
show,
ABA’s
TechShow,
I
can
only
imagine
what
the
holidays
must
be
like
for
CES
event
planners
staring
down
this
show.)
Why
Am
I
Here?
Now
for
the
big
question:
what’s
a
lawyer/legal
tech
journalist
doing
here?
Legal
tech
is
legal
tech,
it’s
not
consumer
technology,
right?
Wrong.
So
many
developments
in
consumer
tech
ultimately
find
their
way
into
all
sorts
of
tech
used
in
businesses,
including
legal.
It’s
important
to
know
where
tech
is
going
in
general
since
that
too
impacts
legal
tech.
It’s
important
to
hear
what
those
outside
legal
tech
are
doing
and
thinking.
It’s
critical
to
hear
how
they
view
things
and
what
excites
them.
And
yes,
much
of
what
they
display
at
CES
is
pie-in-the-sky
tech
that
won’t
happen…
until
it
does.
It’s
also
enlightening
to
hear
what
concerns
and
challenges
them
as
well.
Legal
tech
is
not
tech
unto
itself.
It’s
tech
for
a
particular
market
but
it’s
still
tech.
In
the
past,
I’ve
written
about
such
things
as
the
coming
impact
of
agentic
AI,
deepfakes,
workforce
management
in
the
age
of
AI,
the
metaverse,
how
to
make
legal
tech
decisions,
quantum
computing
and
cybersecurity,
among
other
topics,
all
relevant
to
legal
every
day.
But
beyond
all
this
and
perhaps
most
importantly,
as
I
have
written
before,
it’s
also
about
the
attitude
and
vibe.
The
people
at
CES
are
looking
for
ideas
that
could,
might,
or
possibility
work.
And
even
if
they
don’t,
that’s
okay
too
because
they
could
lead
to
something
that
does.
Legal,
on
the
other
hand,
too
often
looks
for
ways
things
won’t
work.
At
CES,
change
is
everything.
Legal?
Change
is
anathema.
This
Year’s
Big
Topics
What
are
some
of
the
big
topics
this
year?
Last
year,
the
main
area
of
intersect
highlighted
by
the
attendees
was
of
course
AI,
based
again
on
the
CTA
Audit
Statement.
It
was
followed
by
IoT,
vehicle
technology
(it’s
often
said
CES
is
the
world’s
largest
car
show,
by
the
way),
and
robotics.
This
year,
CTA
representatives
believe
the
transformative
power
of
AI
and
agentic
AI
along
with
health
and
mobility
will
be
big
topics
for
discussion.
Robotics
will
continue
to
be
hot,
along
with
smart
glasses,
spatial
computing,
and
energy
innovations,
which
will
also
be
front
and
center.
The
latter
is
of
particular
interest
given
the
potential
challenges
to
the
energy
infrastructure
that
AI
may
bring,
a
critical
topic
we
have
recently
discussed.
I’m
particularly
looking
for
the
challenges
to
AI
and
its
implementation.
I’m
looking
for
how
we
as
a
society
can
manage
the
disruption
AI
might
bring.
Those
issues
weren’t
exactly
front
and
center
at
the
recent
AI
Summit
which
I
attended
and
discussed
last
month.
We
will
see
if
they
are
talked
about
here.
Media
Days
at
CES
CES
always
offers
two
days
just
for
media.
The
media
days
kick
off
with
various
press
conferences,
the
most
extravagant
being
that
of
Samsung
and
LG
Electronics,
along
with
several
other
well-known
companies
(Apple
stopped
attending
the
show
years
ago).
The
press
conferences
are
used
for
product
announcements
and
are
full-scale
productions
unto
themselves
instead
of
cut-and-dried
lists
of
features
and
benefits.
But
the
highlight
of
media
days
for
me
has
always
been
the
Tech
Trends
to
Watch
presentation
on
the
first
day.
The
report
is
based
on
surveys,
statistics,
and
research
of
CTA
and
is
a
good
way
to
see
where
technology
is
going
and
what’s
on
the
horizon.
I
have
written
about
this
session
and
what
it
reveals
before.
It’s
immediately
followed
by
Unveiled
Las
Vegas,
where
media
representatives
are
given
a
first
look
at
what
many
of
the
exhibitors
and
sponsors
will
be
showing
and
demoing
on
the
main
exhibit
floor
during
the
week.
It’s
smaller
scale
than
the
main
exhibit
floors
and
offers
more
opportunities
to
talk
to
the
vendors
about
what
they
are
doing
and
seeing.
The
Keynotes
The
list
of
keynote
speakers
reads
like
a
who’s
who
of
consumer
electronics
and
for
that
matter,
industry.
This
year
includes
keynote
presentations
by
the
CEOs
of
Siemens,
Caterpillar
(if
you
have
to
ask
why
a
tractor
company
CEO
is
giving
a
keynote
at
a
tech
conference,
you
are
a
little
behind
already),
AMD,
Vivendi,
General
Catalyst,
and
Lenovo,
among
others.
There
will
be
presentations
by
the
global
managing
partner
of
the
consulting
firm
McKinsey
along
with
those
of
the
CEO
and
President
of
CTA
itself.
Networking
and
Education
To
say
CES
is
like
a
multi-ring
circus
is
a
bit
of
an
understatement.
It
includes
10
cavernous
exhibit
halls
—
it’s
the
only
show
I
have
ever
been
to
where
you
have
to
actually
wait
in
line
to
view
the
exhibit
spaces
of
some
more
well-known
vendors.
With
over
4,500
exhibitors,
it’s
almost
impossible
to
see
everything.
The
halls
are
divided
up
topically,
so
that
does
make
planning
a
bit
easier.
There
are
also
ample
networking
possibilities,
a
plethora
of
parties,
and
ample
other
events.
But
one
of
the
highlights
for
me
are
the
numerous
educational
sessions
that
take
place
throughout
the
week.
As
set
out
below,
these
sessions
can
be
enlightening,
scary,
informative,
and
entertaining.
But
as
in
most
years,
I
am
sure
there
will
be
branches
and
spin
off
sessions
that
highlight
new
and
interesting
issues
and
challenges.
I’m
reasonably
sure
I’m
going
to
hear
a
lot
of
AI
babble
and
hype.
In
many
ways,
that’s
what
CES
is
in
large
part
about:
dreaming
big,
living
large,
and
short
on
details.
But
that’s
another
reason
I’m
here,
to
help
separate
the
hype
from
reality.
One
cautionary
note:
given
the
number
of
attendees
and
multiple
exhibit
halls,
the
logistics
of
attending
many
of
the
sessions
can
be
a
challenge.
Try
covering
the
roughly
mile
and
a
half
from
the
Convention
Center
to
the
Venetian
Center
along
with
thousands
of
other
people
all
moving
in
different
directions
at
the
same
time.
I
will
be
making
a
lot
of
game-time
decisions
based
on
what’s
hot,
what
may
pertain
to
legal,
and
often
what’s
logistically
possible.
Once
Again,
Stay
Tuned
So,
this
year,
just
like
the
last
seven,
I’ll
be
in
Vegas
bringing
you
what
I
learn,
see,
and
hear.
I’m
sure
I
will
be
talking
about
AI,
agentic
AI,
the
practical
challenges
of
AI,
and
the
hype
machine.
I’ll
be
drawing
the
connection
between
what
I
hear
and
learn
and
its
potential
impact
on
legal.
Hang
on,
the
party’s
just
beginning.
It’s
going
to
be
a
whole
wide
world
at
CES.
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.