CES 2026: Day Three Tech Talks & Grok's AI Controversy

Day three felt like a mix of progress and pause with incremental roll outs, and real conversations about where the lines should be.

Personally, attending this event for me is as much about my desire to listen to and learn from fascinating minds on their areas of expertise while understanding how to tap into their field, products and services for marketing purposes and/or cultural connections.

This mindset also led to a restorative stroll with sharing of ideas with a former colleague at the trade show, which felt possible because of the energy and inspiration that’s possible at CES.

One of most important conversations of the day wasn’t about products.

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland (SAG-AFTRA) joined Matthew Belloni (PUCK) to talk openly about AI, labor, and responsibility and artfully made the case for caution.

A few points that landed hard:

• AI is being driven by BIG TECH but where are workers, artists, and creators in the process?

• Just because something can be done doesn’t mean it should be done.

• Directors want to work with actors, not algorithms.

• Tools like Grok enabling non-consensual image manipulation send the wrong signal — and normalize behavior that shouldn’t be acceptable.

• The near-term value of AI is efficiency, not fully AI-made productions.

“On Wednesday, Grok produced 7,751 sexualized images in one hour — up 16.4% from 6,659 images per hour Monday, according to an analysis of the bot’s output.”

The discussion around Grok was then punctuated when,

“the Grok AI image generation feature … (was) made for paying customers only and has been seemingly restricted from making sexualized deepfakes after a wave of blowback from users and regulators.”

Instead of seizing the moment to “win” across the aisle, it was used to drive revenue by encouraging users to sign up for the paid subscription to use the controversial tool.

From the tradeshow, Tensor introduced what it’s calling the world’s first personal robocar. Autonomous when you want it. Manual when you don’t. Fully integrated hardware and software. The takeaway wasn’t speed or flash, it was choice. Tech that adapts to people, not the other way around.

CES also leaned into culture and fun. Brian Tong and Justine Ezarik teamed up with chefs Marcel Vigneron and Bryan Voltaggio for a Battle in the Booth at the Bosch Kitchen — showing off AI-powered cooking that actually feels helpful, not controlling.

On the wellness front, myWaves and Restful showed what partnership can look when sound and lighting working together to support sleep cycles, not just sell devices.

Day three didn’t feel like a victory lap. It felt like a check-in.

And honestly, that’s a healthy place for tech to be.

Stay tuned for my CES 2026 recap and video in the coming days.