At CES 2026, technology is no longer arriving in discrete product categories. It is arriving as systems—interconnected, adaptive, and increasingly autonomous. That, according to Brian Comiskey, Senior Director of Innovation and Trends at CTA, is the defining shift shaping this year’s show.
“Innovation doesn’t occur in silos,” Comiskey said during CTA’s Tech Trends presentation. “Breakthroughs in one technology influence the advances of another, because like the humans they benefit, they’re never just one thing.”
From that premise flows CES 2026’s organizing framework: three mega-trends that together describe how technology is reshaping economies, institutions, and daily life—Intelligent Transformation, Longevity, and Engineering Tomorrow.
Intelligent Transformation: From Digital to Cognitive Infrastructure
For two decades, digital transformation was defined by cloud adoption, mobile connectivity, and e-commerce. Comiskey argues that era is now decisively over.
“In the 2020s, we find ourselves in a new era—intelligent transformation,” he said. “This is a wave of innovation brought about by the rise of artificial intelligence and its increasing capabilities, which is changing the operations of enterprises, the functions of workers, and the lives of consumers.”
Unlike earlier digitization efforts, intelligent transformation is not merely about moving data—it is about converting data into action. According to Comiskey, this leap rests on three pillars: cybersecurity, scalable cloud infrastructure, and simulation.
“Cybersecurity enables trust,” he explained. “Cloud computing creates the scalability that makes innovation elastic and global. And simulation is how we transform data into intelligent action, enabling faster and smarter decision-making.”
That foundation is already reshaping work. CTA research presented at CES 2026 shows AI has moved rapidly from experimentation to necessity. “More than 40 percent of people in every country we surveyed have used AI at work,” Comiskey noted. “In the U.S., nearly 63 percent of workers report using AI, saving an average of 8.7 hours per week.”
At CES, that evolution is visible in what Comiskey describes as the next frontiers of AI: agentic AI that takes initiative, vertical AI tailored to specific industries, and industrial AI embedded directly into infrastructure, logistics, and manufacturing.
Physical AI and the Rise of Autonomous Systems
If intelligent transformation is the cognitive layer, physical AI is where intelligence takes form.
“We’ll see the next generation of humanoids, advanced consumer healthcare robots, and industrial robots that understand their environments and complete more complex tasks,” Comiskey said.
Autonomous vehicles are a central expression of this trend. AI-driven simulation allows vehicles to learn rapidly and safely, accelerating real-world deployment. “This isn’t theoretical anymore,” Comiskey emphasized. “It’s on the road.”
At CES 2026, autonomy is no longer framed as a moonshot—it is presented as an engineering problem being systematically solved through sensors, simulation, and scalable compute.
Longevity: Technology as a Quality-of-Life Multiplier
CES 2026 also marks a reframing of healthcare and wellness—not as episodic interventions, but as continuous systems.
“One of the most profound measures of progress is quality of life,” Comiskey said. “Technology is redefining how we pursue longer, healthier, better lives.”
He highlighted three converging forces: GLP-1–driven health ecosystems, precision medicine enabled by AI and genomics, and remote care anchored by wearables and connected diagnostics. Together, these technologies shift healthcare from reactive treatment to proactive management.
“Health data is no longer locked in silos,” Comiskey explained. “Patients are becoming executives of their own health, tracking everything from heart rhythm to sleep quality in real time.”
Longevity at CES extends beyond medicine. Accessibility technologies, mental-health platforms, adaptive homes, and inclusive design all signal a broader definition of progress—one measured not just in years added, but in independence preserved and participation expanded.
Engineering Tomorrow: Systems Thinking at Scale
The third mega-trend, Engineering Tomorrow, brings CES back to its industrial roots—mobility, energy, agriculture, and infrastructure—but through a distinctly modern lens.
“Cars are no longer just machines,” Comiskey said. “They’re becoming software-defined ecosystems—like smartphones on wheels.”
That same systems thinking applies across construction, farming, logistics, and public safety, where AI, autonomy, and electrification converge to improve safety, efficiency, and resilience.
Energy, in particular, emerges as a unifying theme. From grid modernization and distributed storage to experimental power sources such as hydrogen, advanced nuclear, and even fusion, CES 2026 frames energy not as a constraint—but as a design challenge actively being solved.
CES as the Barometer of What’s Next
As the presentation concluded, Comiskey distilled CES 2026 into a succinct thesis.
“We’ll see innovation that drives the intelligent transformation of the economy, enables longevity for longer and healthier lives, and engineers solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges,” he said. “Simply put, CES is the window to tomorrow.”
At CES 2026, that window is wide open—and the view reveals a future defined less by individual gadgets than by the intelligent systems now quietly reshaping how the world works.