Today, the Consumer Technology Association's (CTA) Technology & Standards Fall Forum opened with more than 150 consumer technology experts sharing information, developing industry guidelines and working to bring innovative technologies to consumers. The weeklong Forum kicked off with a discussion on industry initiatives addressing cybersecurity and a series of panels looking at the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on consumer technology.
"Artificial intelligence and cybersecurity are having a deep impact on industries beyond our own," said Brian Markwalter, senior vice president of research and standards, CTA. "As two of the most rapidly developing technologies, it's critical that companies are prepared to face the significant benefits and challenges brought on by each. While innovation is constantly improving device functionality and security, coordinated efforts, such as those at this week's Forum, are key to understanding and applying the latest advancements in AI and cybersecurity."
The day's first session featured Ronald Schmelzer and Kathleen Walch, co-founders of Cognilytica, discussing the impact of AI and how it's transforming industries across the world. Schmelzer and Walch also hosted a panel featuring local startup companies that are innovating in business through their use of AI. Startup speakers include Anant Kale, founder and CEO of AppZen; Anurag Maunder, vice president at Tyco Innovation Garage; and Chris Stauber, head of products and engineering at Kyndi. Later in the week, speakers from IBM Watson and NVIDIA will discuss their work developing tools to help companies incorporate AI in customer products.
"We see AI as being an important, transformational change agent not only to the way business is done, but to the way people live their daily lives," Schmelzer said. "There are thinning ranks for experienced AI professionals. As companies fight each other for turf in the increasingly competitive AI landscape, they are rapidly gobbling up as much skilled talent as they can find. AI is making a real impact for businesses today by improving customer relations, reliability, and efficiency. It's important for industry professionals to be informed."
Forum panels will also discuss ongoing concerns regarding cybersecurity and its far-reaching impact across multiple industries. Russ Gyurek, director of innovation labs at Cisco, will outline steps the tech industry is taking to fight back. The industry initiatives detail practical and actionable proposals to keep products and private company information out of hacker's hands. And Clete Johnson, partner at Wilkinson, Barker, Knauer LLP, will moderate a session focusing on the regulatory landscape and progress to create an effective cybersecurity framework. The session also features Chris Boyer, assistant vice president at AT&T; Dr. Allan Friedman, director of cybersecurity at NTIA; Adam Sedgewick, senior information technology policy advisor at NIST; and Alissa Starzak, public policy at CloudFlare.
According to CTA's recent study,
Current and Future Prospects of AI, worldwide spending on AI totaled $12 billion in 2017 (up 59 percent from 2016). The study details how AI will transform the future of everything - from health care and transportation to entertainment and security. Looking across 12 industrial sectors, research shows companies that adopt AI technologies report higher profit margins than non-adopters.
CTA's Technology & Standards Forum - blending industry strategy sessions, educational opportunities and networking events as part of CTA's continued efforts to help grow emerging segments of the consumer technology industry - runs May 1-3 in Santa Clara, CA. For a more information on this week's events, visit CTA's Technology & Standards Forum
website.
Anyone interested in CTA's standards activities can learn more about participation at
standards.CTA.tech.
