5 trends from CES 2025 that aim to give us back our time and humanity.
Report from our Technology and Innovation Director, Elijah Kleinsmith
Every year, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas brings a flood of gadgets, interactive demos and futurism. This year was no different, with showcases of AI-everything, wild robotics and immersive displays that blend the physical world with the digital. But as I navigated the endless sea of booths and private demo rooms, something struck me—the aim of technology has begun to shift in a fundamental way.
On day one, I opened the Notes application on my iPhone and began to record things I saw more than a few times: “autonomous robots, public transportation, holographic/transparent displays…” But once I finally got home and had time to reflect, a subtler thread connecting these trends stood out to me. For so long, technology has been something with great promise, if only we became experts enough to leverage it well. But for perhaps the first time, it appeared to me that technology was finally starting to speak human.
I believe we are starting to see a pivot away from “technology for technology’s sake,” toward solutions that serve a deeply human need. That might sound like a small shift in perspective, but it’s huge in terms of impact. It’s a sign that we’re entering an era in which the best innovations succeed not because they’re the coolest or fastest or biggest—but because they integrate so seamlessly into our lives that they free us to be more present, more curious, more, well… human.
1. Autonomous Robots
If you were at CES 2025, particularly strolling the North Hall, you probably noticed fewer robots shaped like cartoonish mannequins and more that looked like innocuous appliances on wheels doing everything from folding laundry to delivering coffee. A cynical observer might even liken this to a WALL-E-esque future, where we all become helplessly stuck while robots feed us milkshakes.
But I would like to posit an alternative perspective: many of the robots showcased this year are less about taking control and more about relinquishing it. That means relinquishing the busywork so humans can reclaim the creative, emotional and personal aspects of life. How often do you find yourself wishing for more time to spend on creative endeavors or passion projects, but find yourself folding laundry and preparing another meal instead?
As I wrote about earlier last year in my article titled, “How AI May Offer Us a Path to Reclaim Our Humanity,” the real promise of advanced automation is liberation. When robots handle the mundane (laundry, food prep, administrative data entry, and so on), humans can shift to activities that machines fundamentally cannot replace—like personal agency, empathy and forging meaningful relationships.
Why This Matters for Brands
Brands that harness autonomous systems with an eye toward elevating the human experience will come out on top. Instead of creating fear or friction (“Robots are taking over!”), they can communicate freedom, relief and the promise of more mental space for what matters. Delta’s CEO took to the stage at the world-famous Sphere to announce their new AI-powered travel journey aimed at accomplishing exactly this. By aligning your product’s messaging with this idea (“We help free you for real human living!”) you’re tapping into a deep emotional vein that resonates with people who feel increasingly overwhelmed by life’s day-to-day grind.
2. Holographic and Transparent Displays
Many exhibitors at CES 2025 unveiled display technologies designed to “disappear” when not needed, across multiple types of technology (vehicles, buildings and appliances). Screens that melt into the background rather than glare front and center demonstrate that display technology is now about blending in as much as it has been about standing out in the past.
Why push for invisibility? Because we’re tired of being bombarded by screens. Our eyes and brains crave rest. Constant notifications and bright, in-your-face LED panels can cause real fatigue. At the same time, we want useful screens when we need them—GPS directions in the car, a Zoom call where and when you need it, real-time workout stats on the treadmill. The sweet spot, it turns out, is technology that steps forward to inform or engage us exactly when we need it, then fades away when we don’t.
LG, for example, used CES 2025 to unveil their new, world-first, transparent and true wireless TV. By blending into the environment, these displays allow us to stay grounded in the physical world. You can glance through the glass to see who’s waiting outside, or read a digital overlay that pops up only when your attention is needed. The best part? They minimize the sense that we’re always tethered to a device.
Why This Matters for Brands
“Look at me” tech might win a short burst of attention, but over time, it breeds fatigue. People want experiences that respect their desire for balance—engaging without demanding. Brands that design experiences in this way can showcase a commitment to user well-being. By providing functionality in a subtle, fluid way, you’re actually building trust and loyalty.
At Signal Theory, we often talk about “The Human Factor”—creating solutions that feel like they fit naturally into people’s lives, rather than hijacking their eyeballs. Holographic and transparent displays embody this principle, suggesting a future where technology helps, but doesn’t overwhelm.
3. Real Life Ecosystems
Over the past few years, we’ve seen an explosion of smart home devices. The problem is, each typically has its own app, setup and notifications. Ever tried purchasing a couple of smart bulbs, a thermostat and a voice assistant only to find out they all require different mobile apps? It’s borderline maddening.
At CES 2025, however, ecosystems were the name of the game. Samsung’s expanded SmartThings platform, among others, is broadening its arms to unify not just your living room and kitchen, but your car, office, and maybe even your favorite café. This shift recognizes that humans don’t compartmentalize their experiences by brand or device—we move seamlessly from one environment to another and we expect our technology to do the same.
What’s fascinating is that these ecosystem investments also highlight a deeper behavioral insight: people want reliability and simplicity more than they want novelty. It’s great that your new device can do a hundred flashy things, but if it can’t talk to your existing setup, it becomes just another burden. A cohesive, inter-compatible ecosystem, by contrast, offers a frictionless experience across your entire day—no endless series of login screens, no repeatedly pairing devices, no toggling back and forth while you try to remember if it’s Siri or Alexa that is able to turn the bathroom lights on.
Why This Matters for Brands
If you’re not designing with the ecosystem in mind, you’ll soon be designing for obsolescence. Consumers are getting used to fluid transitions from phone to car to coffee shop—and they’ll be quick to reject (or worse, resent) products or services that cause friction.
For brands, it’s no longer enough to offer a cool gadget, application or experience in isolation. You have to think about where that gadget fits into a user’s larger ecosystem of tasks, social interactions, entertainment and well-being. Does your brand’s product or service play nice in a multi-device environment? Are you doing everything you can to form strategic alliances with complementary brands so that your mutual customers have a truly seamless experience?
4. Personalization That’s Actually Personal
We’ve all heard about personalization—it’s been a major buzzword for the past decade. But personalization used to mean something like, “Hey, we noticed you bought X, so now we’ll show you more ads for X.” That’s not really personalization, it’s just rebranded targeting. CES 2025 showcased user experiences that adapt to your emotional state, your habits, even your social context.
Imagine an airline app that doesn’t just send you flight updates but also notices you typically get anxious before flying. It might automatically adjust the lighting or audio on your seat’s screen to create a calming atmosphere. This is personalization that feels intuitive, even caring, rather than creepy or pushy. It’s a type of digital empathy, and it resonates with people because it meets them where they’re at, emotionally and contextually.
Why This Matters for Brands
Getting personalization right builds deep customer loyalty. When people feel understood, they’re more willing to trust and engage. On the flip side, brands that do personalization poorly—by oversharing data or pushing misguided recommendations—risk severe backlash. Personalization is about tuning in to the underlying motivations and anxieties of your audience. In other words, personalization is ultimately about behavioral science. When you design experiences that adapt to human nature, you create a sense of ease and belonging that’s incredibly powerful.
5. Transportation Reimagined
Transport is an interesting category of technology that, in recent decades, seems to be moving in the wrong direction. My parents’ generation (baby boomers), for instance, had access to faster transportation than I do today (via the Concorde). This year’s CES seems to have signaled a reignition of interest in transportation innovation. As consumers of transportation technology, we should welcome and encourage this. People rarely talk about it this bluntly, but an inefficient transit system steals from our personal lives.
Attending the show gave me renewed hope—I witnessed public transportation and micro-mobility solutions that seem laser-focused on giving people back valuable time. From AI-powered city buses that dynamically adjust routes based on real-time passenger demand, to air taxis in the sky, the theme was clear: if technology can save us even a few minutes of commute each day or ease stress on the road, that’s a major victory for our own humanity.
Why This Matters for Brands
Time is the one thing we can’t replenish. Companies that offer solutions to the transportation puzzle are, in effect, giving us more hours in the day—hours that can be spent on relationships, hobbies, or simply catching our breath in a busy world. This reframes the way we might talk about products or services. Instead of saying, “Our app is cheaper,” you can say, “Our app saves you 20 minutes every afternoon. That’s enough time to read a chapter of a new book, grab a coffee with a friend, or just breathe.” That’s a powerful message that resonates on a deeply human level, and it’s one you should expect to see more of in coming years.
The Human-Centric Shift
Across these five areas—autonomous robots, disappearing interfaces, ecosystems, genuine personalization, and reimagined mobility—the unifying trend is human connection. Don’t get me wrong, AI is still a big deal, and the machines are still totally mind-blowing. But the real revelation is how each tech innovation serves a distinctly human purpose: giving back our cognitive, emotional and temporal resources so we can focus on the stuff that truly matters.
This is also our focus at Signal Theory. Traditionally, technology demanded that humans learn its language. We had to figure out how to use computers, then apps—how to keep up with every iteration of the iPhone. The shift we’re seeing in 2025 is that technology is finally learning our language, our deeper motivations, our anxieties, our social rhythms and our quest for joy, comfort and meaning in an ever-changing world.
