Beyond Social and Environmental Contribution: Report on CES 2023, the World's Largest Technology Show

CES 2023, the technology show hosted by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), was held in Las Vegas, USA, from January 5 to 8, 2023. CES, which has been running since 1967, is the world's largest technology trade show. Although attendance was lower than before the pandemic, over 3,200 companies exhibited this year, showcasing the latest technologies.

We present an overview of this year's event and analysis of tech trends by Kentaro Yoshida, Senior Planning Director at Solution Creation Center and Founder of Future Business Creation Research, who has conducted annual CES observations since 2011.

※This article is edited based on content from Transformation SHOWCASE.

 

This year's theme was "Human Security for All."

──Mr. Yoshida, you've been observing CES since 2011. What are your honest impressions of CES 2023?

Yoshida: I felt the messages from exhibitors in 2022 and 2023 were relatively consistent. While 2021 went online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2022 shifted to a hybrid in-person and online format. That said, both exhibitor and attendee numbers plummeted compared to 2020. Consequently, it was difficult to say exhibitors' messages truly resonated at the 2022 show. Reflecting this, I felt many companies this year were re-promoting messages they had communicated last year.

Additionally, "CES" was originally called the "Consumer Electronics Show." However, in 2015, the organizing body changed its name from the CEA (Consumer Electronics Association) to the CTA (Consumer Technology Association), and the event itself officially became known as "CES" starting in 2016. Consequently, the concept shifted from an appliance show to a technology show, and around 2020, it began strongly emphasizing themes of social and environmental contribution.

──You mentioned that around 2020, the importance of social and environmental contributions became strongly emphasized. Following that trend, would you say the highlight of this year's "CES 2023" was environmental response technology?

Yoshida: Yes, that's correct. However, it's also fair to say that incorporating a social and environmental contribution perspective has become standard. This year, I also felt there were many infrastructure-focused exhibits.

Additionally, "Human Security for All" was a major theme this year. Examples include food security (safe and secure meals) and healthcare. It's projected that the world population will increase by about 2 billion by 2050. To ensure food security for a 10-billion-person era, we need to improve the efficiency of food production, making the development of technologies for this purpose an urgent priority. Another trend is technology that safeguards lives. In developed nations, the aging population is accelerating, leading to a rapid increase in elderly individuals living alone. We saw sensors that respond immediately in emergencies and devices that continuously monitor vital signs.

Agricultural machinery manufacturers took the stage for keynote speeches, advocating for "balancing environmental contribution with business growth."

── Were there any key topics or technologies to watch at "CES 2023"?

Yoshida: At CES, the keynote speech typically serves as a key indicator each year. Naturally, the organizers set themes for the keynote speaker, requesting they address specific trends. Conversely, speakers are chosen based on the idea, "We want this company to speak on this topic." To put it bluntly, just watching the keynote should give you the core message of that year's CES.

This year's opening keynote speaker was John May, CEO of John Deere, the world's largest agricultural equipment manufacturer. Given that recent years featured speakers from companies like Delta Air Lines, General Motors, and Samsung, the selection of an agricultural machinery manufacturer felt quite unexpected.

──What message did he convey in the keynote?

Yoshida: John Deere's message was "balancing environmental contribution with business growth." Many companies have emphasized environmental contribution before, but of course, that comes with costs, and in most cases, it hasn't directly translated into business results.

However, John Deere first emphasized that "using technology reduces farmers' costs and increases yields." By clearly demonstrating that environmental contribution can also boost business results, it becomes a model case for other industries.

For companies moving forward, the key is achieving sustainability by balancing social contribution with business growth. Merely promoting mass production and consumption worsens the global environment and diminishes a company's own value. I found great significance in the technology industry advocating this message – prioritizing social contribution while pursuing sustainable profitability – and personally resonated deeply with it.

Key Areas of Focus: Medical Solutions and Food Tech

──Mr. Yoshida, were there any technologies, products, or services at CES 2023 that caught your attention or struck you as particularly forward-thinking?

Yoshida: I was particularly interested in medical solution devices. Going back to last year's CES 2022, the long-established American health tech company Abbott gave a keynote speech promoting the "democratization of healthcare."

For example, when you get a blood test during a health checkup, you get various numbers. You can tell if the results are within the normal range or abnormal, but most people probably don't understand what those numbers mean. That's why Abbott emphasized the importance of data tracking. The important thing is not the numbers themselves, but knowing when something is "different from usual" when there is an abnormality in your biological data. They argued that this is what "democratizing healthcare" means.

Therefore, their solution devices focus on tracking healthcare data, such as sensors that show changes in blood sugar levels in real time and sensors that measure ketone bodies produced during fat burning to manage exercise performance.

I felt that this kind of health tech, not limited to Abbott, has grown significantly this year. What's more, these aren't just dubious products; many are devices certified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). One particularly interesting product was a headband that stimulates the brain and affects the intestines. Since the brain and intestines influence each other, stimulating the brain activates the intestines. For example, when you have no appetite due to stress, sending electrical signals to the brain can stimulate your appetite. It's amazing that a headband that promotes health and longevity through this mechanism has been certified by the FDA as a therapeutic device.

Yoshida: In the food tech sector, which has been a hot topic lately, we also saw some fascinating technologies. Last year, a Japanese beverage company developed devices like spoons that enhance the saltiness of reduced-salt foods using electrical signals. An evolved version of that product was exhibited here. The spoon that lets you taste umami on your tongue via electrical signals, even with reduced salt or sugar, was incredibly intriguing.

Regarding food, while cultured meat and plant-based soy meat alternatives were once common, the number of exhibitors has decreased in recent years, perhaps because they've reached the practical application stage. This year, solutions for plant-based milk stood out, and among them, the technology to make ice cream and yogurt from plant-based milk was particularly interesting. Plant-based milk lacks casein (the coagulating protein) found in animal milk. Consequently, it was previously impossible to make ice cream or yogurt from plant-based milk. Amidst this, the startup AFT exhibited soft-serve ice cream made from plant-based milk. They succeeded in developing technology that substitutes plant-based protein to function like casein. I have high hopes that such technologies will transform the world.

The first step in creating an exciting future is visualizing the vision

──Mr. Yoshida, having seen this year's CES, do you have any advice for corporate marketers? If you have thoughts on "perspectives we should adopt going forward," please share them.

Yoshida: This ties into why I created the "Future Business Research Institute," a cross-functional organization for the entire Dentsu Group. I want companies to base their business thinking on "what kind of future they want to create." Corporate employees often carry the burden of roles like "must increase sales by X%" or "must sell this much of this product." However, the perspective of "why are we selling this?" or "who will be happy?" can surprisingly be overlooked.

As a science-minded computer enthusiast at heart, I believe in the value technology brings. I also believe that most things currently impossible can eventually be achieved through technology. Of course, some things like time machines remain difficult to realize. But if you want to visit the age of dinosaurs, you can go there with VR. If you approach it creatively, thinking "What I really want to achieve is this," then most things can be made real.

That's precisely why I want people to start by thinking not about the technology itself, but "What kind of people do I want to make happy, and how?" If you can visualize that concretely, you will inevitably find people who say, "Here's how we can make that happen." I want you to envision the future you should be aiming for: "Who do I want to make happy, and how?"

──What kinds of projects does the "Future Business Creation Research Institute," where you currently work, specialize in?

Yoshida: My son, who's in his third year of high school, often says, "I wish I'd been born in the Showa era." Surveys also show that many teenagers express anxiety about the future of Japan, the world, and their own lives. I was an otaku myself, so as a teenager, I couldn't wait to see how computers would evolve. But today's teens are taught only about the problems facing society, the environment, and the economy during their learning phase. That can make it impossible for them to believe the future will get better or to feel hopeful. I feel this is a major problem.

That's why I wanted to create the Future Business Research Institute to visualize the future we should be aiming for. When you visualize the vision of "what we truly want the future to be" through pictures and videos, it becomes easier to think more concretely, like "this part doesn't quite feel right." As we clarify this future image through pictures and videos, we can then share the sentiment, "This is the future we want to create," with many people. This, in turn, fosters allies who empathize, saying, "Yes, that's definitely a good idea," and concrete ideas emerge about how to build that desired future. For example, proposals like, "Using this kind of technology could make that possible."

In short, the role of Future Business Creation Lab is to visualize the vague feelings you all have as a concrete shape of "what we want to achieve," then propose and produce the means to realize it. Setting visions and purposes, as well as branding, are also areas we excel in.

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[Editor's Note] (From the Web Dentsu Inc. Editorial Department)
Since around 2020, CES has significantly pivoted toward becoming an exhibition for technologies that benefit society and the environment. While the mission of achieving the SDGs by 2030 is certainly a factor, you can also sense the strong desire among companies to create a better future through technology. With today's technology, human imagination can expand possibilities in countless ways. Why not take a moment to imagine what kind of future you'd like to see?