Liberty’s own Megan Keesee and Leah Monteleone attended the World’s Fair Nano Conference in San Francisco – a festival featuring virtual reality, drones, motorized skateboards, wearable tech, robotics, IoT, 3D printing, and more. This event provided a sneak peak into the future of tech with an all-star speaker lineup of founders and CEOs to share their experiences and insight. Read on for a recap.
To set the scene, this conference looked like Coachella met SXSW in 2050. The day was spent listening to speakers discuss the future of journalism, feminism, AI, robotics, medicine, automation and human connection.
Standout Sessions
With a variety of great talks from neuroscientists to NGOs, the conference truly had everything. Some of the most memorable talks were The Future of IoT and The Future of the Brain. In the Future of IoT session, If This Then That (IFTTT) CEO, Linden Tibbets, pegged the big compatibility problem with the accelerated development of IoT and all our smart appliances. IFTTT’s vision for common, secure API standards looks very bright.
David Eagleman, PhD and Neuroscientist at Stanford University, blew us away with his research on the brain’s perception of senses. He has developed a vibrating vest that can help the deaf hear, the blind see, and the rest of us develop brand new senses and perceive things like infrared light, radio waves, even the pulse of other human beings.
Another memorable talk was given by Dave Pell, writer and publisher of NextDraft – an email newsletter of the day’s top ten most fascinating news items. He spoke on the future of journalism and how PR will continue to evolve in a society where fake news and alternative facts have become commonplace. He also discussed the relevance of biased news sources and stressed the importance of educating ourselves on both sides of every news story. As PR professionals, we cannot just expose ourselves to news consistent with our thoughts and beliefs.
Tech on Display
In addition to the presentations, the conference had row upon row of cutting edge tech on display. We saw consumer and enterprise drones, virtual reality headsets, artificial reality demo booths, smart baby monitors, new and improved wearables and more.
Looking Forward
Our main takeaway? The tech world is continuously evolving. In order to remain relevant as tech PR professionals, we must make sure we remain nimble and change with the times. It is essential we continue to challenge ourselves as an agency and our clients in this ever-changing digital world to ensure we stay at the forefront of the tech industry.
