Next month’s CES in Las Vegas is the world’s biggest showcase for technology each year, and experts from UL Standards & Engagement will be there to reinforce a core message: innovation moves faster and more sustainably when safety, standards, and trust are built in from the start.
ULSE will have a robust presence at CES, with our experts — all leaders in their fields — participating in sessions on issues from battery systems to connected health to the energy transition. And, of course, artificial intelligence and how it ties into nearly everything today.
Here are some of their predictions, expectations, and insights going into the event.
Hear From Our Experts
Dr. Denice Durrant: Innovation Accelerates When Standards Lead
At CES, my focus is on how standards, risk mapping, and data-driven design enable emerging technologies to scale responsibly. I’m looking for teams that incorporate standards and safety considerations into their products from day one — because that engineering discipline is what turns technological leaps in AI-enabled devices and connected systems into lasting innovation.
Our work in e-mobility offers a clear example of how this approach plays out in practice. I’ll be participating in a CES panel on how e-bikes and e-scooters are transforming last-mile urban travel, where engineering is essential not only for safety, but also for accessibility. Designing vehicles, charging systems, and shared-use environments that work reliably across different abilities, conditions, and use cases is critical to ensuring these technologies can scale equitably and safely.
Safety, transparency, and interoperability don’t slow innovation — they allow it to scale with confidence.
Lesley Rohrbaugh: Championing Responsible Innovation in Emerging Tech
CES is a global showcase for breakthrough technologies, but behind every standout innovation is the responsibility to ensure that the technology is safe, meaningful, and worthy of consumer trust. I will be highlighting insights from ULSE’s new digital health report, which reveals how strongly consumer trust influences adoption of emerging technologies — especially in categories that handle sensitive personal data. I also have the honor of serving as a CES Innovation Awards judge recognizing transformative new technologies.
Rather than putting a single technology under the microscope, I focus on the broader signals that determine whether consumer trust is earned or eroded. Integrity in how technology is conceived and built, transparency in the protection and sharing of data, and strong approaches to security, interoperability and risk management are all make-or-break factors.
Trust doesn’t happen by chance. It’s the result of technologies designed responsibly from the start.
Glauci Fernandes: The Rise of AI and Consumer Trends to Watch
As AI continues to move rapidly from concept into the real world and becomes embedded in consumer technology, there is a rising need for responsible deployment and transparency. At CES, I will be looking to see whether those expectations are keeping pace. With its robotics and automation going mainstream in consumer categories, like smart home technology, the need for clearer safety frameworks is becoming more urgent, particularly around human-machine interaction.
Beyond consumer products, AI is driving rapid innovations in digital health. I expect to see wearables that integrate game-changing diagnostic and wellness technologies, and it’s critical that these devices place an emphasis on privacy and security. As AI innovation increases, gaps in safety, compliance, and security are becoming more visible — and more troubling — making it essential to understand how companies are approaching these challenges
Where gaps in trust and safety emerge is where stronger frameworks, guidance, and updated standards are needed next.
Turning CES Insights Into Real-World Safety and Trust
From robotics and automation to digital health and AI-enabled consumer technologies, CES offers an early signal of where innovation is headed — and where new risks may emerge. ULSE’s experts will be watching closely, not just to identify breakthroughs, but to understand how these technologies are being designed, deployed, and prepared for real-world use.
What ULSE learns on the CES show floor directly informs our research, standards development, advocacy, and industry engagement—leading to safer, scalable . Insights from CES help identify where clearer guidance, stronger frameworks, and technologies people can trust.
