Crying at CES: AI, Transformation, and The Wild Robot
I began my first CES experience in tears.
I watched The Wild Robot on my flight to Las Vegas, finishing just as we landed. I thought the film would serve as light entertainment. Instead, it left me emotionally broken by its narrative purity, sweeping score, and the universal bond between parent and child that can overcome all obstacles—even our own programming.
But I’d argue this heartwarming movie about a shipwrecked robot connecting with the animal kingdom also cuts to the core of what CES 2025 was all about: using technology to better realize our own true nature. From a marketing perspective, we must view AI not as an existential threat transforming brands, but rather as an enhanced opportunity to reveal and express brand identity.
AI In Action
AI was the overarching theme of CES 2025, particularly in its movement from generative solution to agentic--an AI that can problem solve from a deep base of knowledge with high specialization to serve as a sidekick, tutor, or remote nurse. For example, Nvidia introduced Blueprints, a customizable model that allows companies to build agents of given specialty, illustrating how Agentic AI can quickly scale through an enterprise organization. Likewise, products like Polaris Office AI, LearnCoach, and even a Samsung Refrigerator with AI Vision Inside suggest the myriad ways AI agents can already be embedded in our daily lives through how we work, learn, and eat. Brian Cooley of CNET envisioned a future where apps yield to agents, where AI Agents within our phones automatically generate a user interface based on query and context, referencing specific apps only in the background. Marketers should prepare for a future where AI Agents serve as the ultimate influencers.
Seeking Digital Coexistence
Digital transformation has been a common tech trend for over a decade. In fact, it’s been a trend for so long that many firms have already digitally transformed by establishing cloud solutions, cybersecurity protocols, and data infrastructure. CES 2025 signaled a post-transformation era where companies are now reaping the benefits of the foundations they built through hybrid work models, and pivoting between manual and digital methods. CES 2025 signaled a post-transformation era where companies are now reaping the benefits of the foundations they built through hybrid work models, pivoting between manual and digital methods. Workers pair with drones to label inventory in warehouses while video editors use multimodal AI solutions like Twelve Labs to search video content faster in order to find the right clip, reducing hours of labor to mere minutes.
Clearly this hyper-productivity is compelling to marketers; the ability to produce more content faster is an evergreen ambition. Yet it will also, inevitably, make it easier to produce the unwanted outcomes through inconsistent or inaccurate variations. As Meta’s Kim Mains, Content Strategy Director at Meta Reality Labs, stated during a CES panel on AI, “it’s critical to keep the human at the center” when thinking of content development, both in terms of end recipient and guardrail for quality control. As marketers pursue more AI-fueled production, “human in the loop” should be a central tenet to balance production potential against depth of experience.
All technology can be scary at first. Certainly, the animals in The Wild Robot were fearful of Roz, assuming she was a threat to their way of life. Her imitations and attempts to connect only made the animals more fearful of her. Yet with time, “the monster” became a part of the island and added to the diversity of their ecosystem. The coexistence between robot and nature made the forest a smarter, safer place.
We’ll soon see AI do the same for brands, seamlessly alternating between natural and artificial means. What was once a threat, terrifying in its immense capabilities, will feel like a natural part of our environment and enable all brands—even those with smaller wings—to find their way home.
