ETC’s George Gerba and Don Levy spent Wednesday perusing the CES 2022 Eureka Park startup zone looking for new companies and unique products that would be of particular interest to the entertainment industry. Among this year’s most compelling concepts were an AI-assisted content creation tool, COVID-compliant tech ideal for workspaces and productions, AI-based audio tech, a response tracking system for dynamic displays, emerging NFT approaches for artists, new tech investing models, light-based networking solutions, paper-based biofuel cells and haptic wearables. Read more

A CES 2022 session on “Decoding Crypto,” moderated by Transform Group founder and chief executive officer Michael Terpin, touched on the growth and evolution of cryptocurrency as well as regulatory issues and recent developments. Terpin enthused over the sector’s dramatic growth, while panelists Blockchain Association founding executive director Kristin Smith, Celsius Network chief growth and product officer Tushar Nadkarni and Filecoin Foundation founding director Clara Tsao had their own yardsticks to analyze crypto’s evolution. Read more

The voice could be described as the original mass media and, as social audio, it is now the latest trend. United Talent Agency executive director of audio Kristin Myers moderated a CES 2022 panel discussion on the topic with Clubhouse head of community and creators Stephanie Simon and Audio Collective co-founder Toni Thai Sterrett, who offered up the definition of social media as “live group audio.” “And the key is the sense of participation and interactivity,” she said. Simon added that, “we’re social media based on audio.” Read more

General Motors chair Mary Barra outlined a future of zero emission EVs and emphasized the Ultifi software platform to keep GM drivers connected during her virtual CES keynote that centered on the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV and ended with futuristic Cadillac concept vehicles including air transport. She predicts 50 percent of GM’s factory production in North America and China will be all-electric by 2030 and that the company will deliver personal autonomous vehicles “as soon as the middle of this decade.” Helping GM’s more immediate plan to lead EV market share are Chevy’s 2023 Equinox and Blazer EV SUV models. Read more

Consumer Technology Association (CTA) president and chief executive officer Gary Shapiro and CTA executive vice president Karen Chupka cut the ribbon to mark the official opening of CES 2022 and then took two photos: one with masks and, quickly, one without. The message was clear: CES is back in person, but safety protocols are still in place. “We made it to Las Vegas at a time when innovation has never been more important,” said Shapiro. “We’ve embraced technology during the pandemic and survived a virtual world in large part due to modern technology.” Read more