An Analog Brain In A Digital Age | With Marco Ciappelli

ITSPmagazine Podcasts
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[ Formerly Redefining Society & Technology ] An Analog Brain In A Digital Age Podcast is your backstage pass to my mind — where analog meets digital, and the occasional pig flies. In an age racing toward algorithms and automation, the best ideas still come from curiosity, experience, emotion, and the unexpected connection. What you'll find are conversations on technology & society, storytelling in all its forms, branding & marketing, creativity, and the odd surprise.

  1. 2D AGO

    Chat Control: The EU Law That Could End Privacy and Why Breaking Encryption Won't Stop Criminals | A Conversation with Cybersecurity Expert John Salomon | Redefining Society and Technology Podcast with Marco Ciappelli

    None of Your Goddamn BusinessJohn Morgan Salomon said something during our conversation that I haven't stopped thinking about. We were discussing encryption, privacy laws, the usual terrain — and he cut through all of it with five words: "It's none of your goddamn business." Not elegant. Not diplomatic. But exactly right. John has spent 30 years in information security. He's Swiss, lives in Spain, advises governments and startups, and uses his real name on social media despite spending his career thinking about privacy. When someone like that tells you he's worried, you should probably pay attention. The immediate concern is something called "Chat Control" — a proposed EU law that would mandate access to encrypted communications on your phone. It's failed twice. It's now in its third iteration. The Danish Information Commissioner is pushing it. Germany and Poland are resisting. The European Parliament is next. The justification is familiar: child abuse materials, terrorism, drug trafficking. These are the straw man arguments that appear every time someone wants to break encryption. And John walked me through the pattern: tragedy strikes, laws pass in the emotional fervor, and those laws never go away. The Patriot Act. RIPA in the UK. The Clipper Chip the FBI tried to push in the 1990s. Same playbook, different decade. Here's the rhetorical trap: "Do you support terrorism? Do you support child abuse?" There's only one acceptable answer. And once you give it, you've already conceded the frame. You're now arguing about implementation rather than principle. But the principle matters. John calls it the panopticon — the Victorian-era prison design where all cells face inward toward a central guard tower. No walls. Total visibility. The transparent citizen. If you can see what everyone is doing, you can spot evil early. That's the theory. The reality is different. Once you build the infrastructure to monitor everyone, the question becomes: who decides what "evil" looks like? Child pornographers, sure. Terrorists, obviously. But what about LGBTQ individuals in countries where their existence is criminalized? John told me about visiting Chile in 2006, where his gay neighbor could only hold his partner's hand inside a hidden bar. That was a democracy. It was also a place where being yourself was punishable by prison. The targets expand. They always do. Catholics in 1960s America. Migrants today. Anyone who thinks differently from whoever holds power at any given moment. These laws don't just catch criminals — they set precedents. And precedents outlive the people who set them. John made another point that landed hard: the privacy we've already lost probably isn't coming back. Supermarket loyalty cards. Surveillance cameras. Social media profiles. Cookie consent dialogs we click through without reading. That version of privacy is dead. But there's another kind — the kind that prevents all that ambient data from being weaponized against you as an individual. The kind that stops your encrypted messages from becoming evidence of thought crimes. That privacy still exists. For now. Technology won't save us. John was clear about that. Neither will it destroy us. Technology is just an element in a much larger equation that includes human nature, greed, apathy, and the willingness of citizens to actually engage. He sent emails to 40 Spanish members of European Parliament about Chat Control. One responded. That's the real problem. Not the law. Not the technology. The apathy. Republic comes from "res publica" — the thing of the people. Benjamin Franklin supposedly said it best: "A republic, if you can keep it." Keeping it requires attention. Requires understanding what's at stake. Requires saying, when necessary: this is none of your goddamn business. Stay curious. Stay Human.  Subscribe to the podcast. And if you have thoughts, drop them in the comments — I actually read them. Marco Ciappelli Subscribe to the Redefining Society and Technology podcast. Stay curious. Stay human. > https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7079849705156870144/ Marco Ciappelli: https://www.marcociappelli.com/ John Salomon  Experienced, international information security leader. vCISO, board & startup advisor, strategist. https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnsalomon/   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    37 min

  2. 5D AGO

    Paoletti Custom Guitars at NAMM 2026: Handcrafted in Florence Italy from Wine Barrel Wood | A Brand Highlight Conversation with Filippo Martini, Managing Director at Paoletti Guitars | NAMM 2026 Coverage

    Wine Barrels, Duomo Marble, and Florence: Paoletti Custom Guitars at NAMM 2026 I've been away from Florence for 25 years. I didn't know there was a guitar company like this back home. At NAMM 2026, I found Filippo Martini from Paoletti Custom Guitars—a boutique manufacturer based in the heart of Tuscany, building instruments that are equal parts guitar and artwork. Paoletti does something no one else does: they build guitars from chestnut wood sourced from Italian wine barrels. The material offers a wide harmonic spectrum, but it's difficult to work with. You need to know how to handle it. Founder Fabrizio Paoletti figured it out, and now every guitar they produce shows the natural grain—no opaque finishes, no hiding the wood. The craftsmanship runs deep. Bridges, pickguards, pickups—all made in-house. Necks carved from Canadian maple, roasted on-site. 99% of the process happens in Tuscany. As Filippo put it, "Kilometer zero." Zero miles. Everything local except the screws. Their model is 100% custom. You don't buy a Paoletti off the rack. You tell them your style, your sound, the genre you play. They build around your vision while keeping the Italian essence intact—chestnut wood, Italian-made components, tailored to your idea. But what stopped me cold was the Duomo collection. Eight individual guitars, each hand-engraved by Fabrizio Paoletti himself. Three years of work. The subject: Florence's cathedral—the Duomo di Santa Maria del Fiore. This isn't just decoration. Paoletti secured an official partnership with the Opera del Duomo, the authority that oversees the cathedral. The back of each guitar reproduces the marble floor pattern from inside the Duomo. And when the collection is complete this October, every guitar will contain an actual piece of marble from the cathedral. I got shivers standing there. This is what happens when guitar making meets Italian heritage. It's not about specs or market positioning. It's about place, history, and craft passed down through generations. Filippo invited me to visit the workshop in Florence when I return in April. I'm going. I want to see where this happens—where wine barrel wood becomes an instrument, where cathedral marble gets embedded into a guitar body, where a team of artisans builds one-of-one pieces for players around the world. Florence is known for many things. Leather. Art. Architecture. The Renaissance itself. Now I know it's also home to some of the most distinctive guitars being made anywhere. Paoletti proves that boutique doesn't mean small ambitions. They're partnering with galleries in Dubai, working with the Duomo authorities, and bringing Florence to NAMM. Not bad for a company I didn't even know existed until I walked the show floor and heard an Italian accent. Sometimes you find home in unexpected places. Marco Ciappelli interviews Filippo Martini from Paoletti Custom Guitars at NAMM 2026 for ITSPmagazine. Part of ITSPmagazine's On Location Coverage at NAMM 2026. 🌐 https://www.itspmagazine.com/the-namm-show-2026-namm-music-conference-music-technology-event-coverage-anaheim-california __________________________ This is a Brand Highlight. A Brand Highlight is an introductory conversation designed to put a spotlight on the guest and their company. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/creation#highlight GUEST Filippo Martini  Managing DIrector at Paoletti Guitars | Florence | Tuscany | Italy RESOURCES Learn more about Paoletti Guitars: https://www.paolettiguitars.com Are you interested in telling your story? ▶︎ Full Length Brand Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#full ▶︎ Brand Spotlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#spotlight ▶︎ Brand Highlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#highlight Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    6 min
  3. Yamaha at NAMM 2026: Introducing Chris Buck Custom Revstar Guitar, Pacifica SC, and a deep dive into the BB735 Bass | A Brand Highlight Conversation with Andy Winston, Product Training Specialist at Yamaha | NAMM 2026

    FEB 5

    Yamaha at NAMM 2026: Introducing Chris Buck Custom Revstar Guitar, Pacifica SC, and a deep dive into the BB735 Bass | A Brand Highlight Conversation with Andy Winston, Product Training Specialist at Yamaha | NAMM 2026

    60 Years Forward: Yamaha at NAMM 2026 Yamaha at NAMM 2026: Chris Buck Revstar, Pacifica SC & 60 Years of Guitar Innovation Some brands chase nostalgia. Yamaha builds forward. At NAMM 2026, I spoke with Andy Winston to talk about 60 years of Yamaha guitar design—and why this company keeps delivering instruments that punch way above their price point. The conversation started with the Chris Buck Signature Revstar. Buck is the guitarist for Cardinal Black, and he's earned his own model. The specs tell the story: overwound P90 pickups for a hotter sound, wraparound tailpiece with adjustable saddles, stainless steel frets, lightweight tuners, and those old-school inlays from the first-generation Revstar. No boost circuit. Buck wanted it stripped to essentials. Then Andy dropped a tease: Matteo Mancuso is getting his own Revstar this summer. The Italian virtuoso. That's a statement. We moved to the new Pacifica SC—Yamaha's answer for T-style players. Humbucker in the neck, single coil in the bridge, and pickups designed in partnership with Rupert Neve's team. The boost circuit under the bridge pickup gives you five sounds from two pickups. Made in Indonesia at $999 or Made in Japan with compound radius fretboard and IRA wood treatment at $2,199. I bought my nephew a Pacifica. Entry level, around $200. It works. That's Yamaha's philosophy—you can start at $200 and work your way up to a Mike Stern signature model without ever leaving the family. But here's what stuck with me. Andy said something that defines Yamaha's approach: "We don't do reissues. You're never gonna see us reissue a 1972." Sixty years of guitar history, and they're not looking backward. The Revstar draws inspiration from the 1970s Super Flight, sure—but it's chambered mahogany, tuned to eliminate harsh mid-range frequencies. Yamaha builds pianos, violins, marimbas. They know how to tune wood. They apply that knowledge to electric guitars in ways other companies don't. The BB Bass series came next. String-through body with 45-degree break angle. Extra bolts pulling the neck tight into the pocket. A maple stripe running through the center of the body for note response. Active/passive switching. Five-ply neck. Professional features at prices that don't require a car payment. "We give people more instrument than what a price tag says," Andy told me. That's not marketing. That's mission. Before we wrapped, Andy shared a personal story. In 1977, hair down to his shoulders, bell bottoms on, his mom decided he was serious about guitar. She bought him a Yamaha FG-75. His first real acoustic. He doesn't have that one anymore, but he found a replacement. Had to. That's brand loyalty earned over decades. Not through heritage mythology—through instruments that work, that last, that give players what they need without emptying their wallets. Sixty years of guitar design. No reissues. Just forward. Yamaha keeps proving that innovation and accessibility aren't mutually exclusive. Marco Ciappelli interviews Andy Winston from Yamaha at NAMM 2026 for ITSPmagazine. Part of ITSPmagazine's On Location Coverage at NAMM 2026. 🌐 https://www.itspmagazine.com/the-namm-show-2026-namm-music-conference-music-technology-event-coverage-anaheim-california __________________________ This is a Brand Highlight. A Brand Highlight is an introductory conversation designed to put a spotlight on the guest and their company. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/creation#highlight GUEST Andy Winston Product Training Specialist at Yamaha RESOURCES Learn more about Yamaha Guitars: https://www.yamaha.com/ Are you interested in telling your story? ▶︎ Full Length Brand Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#full ▶︎ Brand Spotlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#spotlight ▶︎ Brand Highlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#highlight Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    11 min
  4. The Gift of Music: Guitar Center Foundation at NAMM 2026 | A Conversation with Michelle Wolff, Guitar Center Foundation | The NAMM Show 2026 Event Coverage | On Location with Sean Martin and Marco Ciappelli

    FEB 4

    The Gift of Music: Guitar Center Foundation at NAMM 2026 | A Conversation with Michelle Wolff, Guitar Center Foundation | The NAMM Show 2026 Event Coverage | On Location with Sean Martin and Marco Ciappelli

    At the Guitar Center Foundation, music is treated as a shared resource rather than a luxury. During this conversation at the NAMM Show 2026, Michelle Wolff, representing the Foundation, explains how access to real instruments can change the trajectory of a student, a patient, or a veteran simply by making music possible in the first place. The Foundation’s work centers on donating thousands of instruments to schools, hospitals, and veteran centers, with a focus on communities where funding for music programs is often the first thing cut. Through a structured grant process, organizations apply for instruments quarterly, with roughly 150 requests reviewed each cycle. About 30 of those requests are fulfilled, helping sustain programs that might otherwise disappear. Beyond instrument donations, the Foundation is expanding how it shows up in communities. Plans include live donation events that bring instruments directly into schools and hospitals, often paired with artist participation to create meaningful, memorable moments. New donor and ambassador programs are also taking shape, designed to broaden awareness and bring more voices into the mission. Partnerships play a major role in that effort. The conversation highlights recent collaboration tied to the 100 Billion Meals initiative, where music, visual art, and social impact intersect to amplify multiple causes at once. These partnerships extend the Foundation’s reach while reinforcing the idea that music can support broader humanitarian goals. Wolff also shares a personal connection to the mission. As a former vocal performance major at the University of Texas Butler School of Music, she understands how deeply musicians identify with their craft. After experiencing vocal injury herself, she speaks to the importance of supporting musicians through change and helping them build identities that extend beyond a single instrument, without losing music as a core part of who they are. That perspective brings the Foundation’s work full circle. Access to instruments is not only about creating future professionals. It is about expression, resilience, and giving people the chance to discover what music can mean in their own lives. Part of ITSPmagazine's On Location Coverage at NAMM 2026. 🌐 https://www.itspmagazine.com/the-namm-show-2026-namm-music-conference-music-technology-event-coverage-anaheim-california __________________________ Guitar Center Foundation: https://www.guitarcenterfoundation.org 100 Billion Meals initiative: https://100billionmeals.org The NAMM Show 2026: https://www.namm.org/thenammshow/attend Music Evolves: Sonic Frontiers Newsletter | https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7290890771828719616/ More from Marco Ciappelli on Redefining Society and Technology Podcast: https://redefiningsocietyandtechnologypodcast.com/ Want to share an Event Briefing as part of our event coverage? Learn More 👉 https://www.studioc60.com/performance#briefing Want Sean and Marco to be part of your event or conference? Let Us Know 👉 https://www.studioc60.com/performance#ideas KEYWORDS: music charity, instrument donations, namm show 2026, music education access, supporting musicians, music nonprofit, guitar center foundation, music programs schools, music and community, philanthropy in music, guitar center, michelle wolff, marco ciappelli Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    9 min

  5. FEB 2

    AI Art vs Human Creativity — The Real Difference and why AI Cannot Be An Artist | A Conversation with AI Expert Andrea Isoni, PhD, Chief AI Officer, AI speaker | Redefining Society and Technology with Marco Ciappelli

    The Last Touch: Why AI Will Never Be an ArtistI had one of those conversations... the kind where you're nodding along, then suddenly stop because someone just articulated something you've been feeling but couldn't quite name. Andrea Isoni is a Chief AI Officer. He builds and delivers AI solutions for a living. And yet, sitting across from him (virtually, but still), I heard something I rarely hear from people deep in the AI industry: a clear, unromantic take on what this technology actually is — and what it isn't. His argument is elegant in its simplicity. Think about Michelangelo. We picture him alone with a chisel, carving David from marble. But that's not how it worked. Michelangelo ran a workshop. He had apprentices — skilled craftspeople who did the bulk of the work. The master would look at a semi-finished piece, decide what needed refinement, and add the final touch. That final touch is everything. Andrea draws the same line with chefs. A Michelin-starred kitchen isn't one person cooking. It's a team executing the chef's vision. But the chef decides what's on the menu. The chef check the dish before it leaves. The chef adds that last adjustment that transforms good into memorable. AI, in this framework, is the newest apprentice. It can do the bulk work. It can generate drafts, produce code, create images. But it cannot — and here's the key — provide that final touch. Because that touch comes from somewhere AI doesn't have access to: lived experience, suffering, joy, the accumulated weight of being human in a particular time and place. This matters beyond art. Andrea calls it the "hacker economy" — a future where AI handles the volume, but humans handle the value. Think about code generation. Yes, AI can write software. But code with a bug doesn't work. Period. Someone has to fix that last bug. And in a world where AI produces most of the code, the value of fixing that one critical bug increases exponentially. The work becomes rarer but more valuable. Less frequent, but essential. We went somewhere unexpected in our conversation — to electricity. What does AI "need"? Not food. Not warmth. Electricity. So if AI ever developed something like feelings, they wouldn't be tied to hunger or cold or human vulnerability. They'd be tied to power supply. The most important being to an AI wouldn't be a human — it would be whoever controls the electricity grid. That's not a being we can relate to. And that's the point. Andrea brought up Guernica. Picasso's masterpiece isn't just innovative in style — it captures something society was feeling in 1937, the horror of the Spanish Civil War. Great art does two things: it innovates, and it expresses something the collective needs expressed. AI might be able to generate the first. It cannot do the second. It doesn't know what we feel. It doesn't know what moment we're living through. It doesn't have that weight of context. The research community calls this "world models" — the attempt to give AI some built-in understanding of reality. A dog doesn't need to be taught to swim; it's born knowing. Humans have similar innate knowledge, layered with everything we learn from family, culture, experience. AI starts from zero. Every time. Andrea put it simply: AI contextualization today is close to zero. I left the conversation thinking about what we protect when we acknowledge AI's limits. Not anti-technology. Not fear. Just clarity. The "last touch" isn't a romantic notion — it's what makes something resonate. And that resonance comes from us. Stay curious. Subscribe to the podcast. And if you have thoughts, drop them in the comments — I actually read them. Marco Ciappelli Subscribe to the Redefining Society and Technology podcast. Stay curious. Stay human. > https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7079849705156870144/ Marco Ciappelli: https://www.marcociappelli.com/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    30 min
  6. Gibson Guitars at NAMM 2026: 131 Years of Craftsmanship, Innovation & Functional Art | A Brand Highlight Conversation with Jeff Stempka, Global Brand & Marketing at Gibson | NAAM 2026

    JAN 30

    Gibson Guitars at NAMM 2026: 131 Years of Craftsmanship, Innovation & Functional Art | A Brand Highlight Conversation with Jeff Stempka, Global Brand & Marketing at Gibson | NAAM 2026

    131 years. Still handcrafted in Nashville. Still changing music. At NAMM 2026, Sean Martin and Marco Ciappelli sat down with Jeff Stempka, Global Brand & Marketing at Gibson & Gibson Custom, to talk about what makes this brand untouchable—the craftsmanship, the artist connection, and why people will stretch their budget just to hold one. From the Les Paul Studio Double Trouble to the ES-335 Fifties and Sixties refresh, Gibson is honoring its legacy while pushing forward. Jeff said it best: "These are tools that enable incredible musicians to take the instruments and do something we never intended." 🎸 Les Paul Studio Double Trouble – Modern collection, coil splits, pure bypass 🎸 ES-335 Fifties & Sixties – Neck profiles for every player 🎸 100 Years of Flat Tops – From Orville Gibson to today This isn't just gear. It's functional art. It's history. It's emotion. Part of ITSPmagazine's On Location Coverage at NAMM 2026. 🌐 https://www.itspmagazine.com/the-namm-show-2026-namm-music-conference-music-technology-event-coverage-anaheim-california __________________________ This is a Brand Highlight. A Brand Highlight is an introductory conversation designed to put a spotlight on the guest and their company. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/creation#highlight GUEST Jeff Stempka Global Brand & Marketing at Gibson RESOURCES Learn more about Gibson Guitars: https://www.gibson.com/ Are you interested in telling your story? ▶︎ Full Length Brand Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#full ▶︎ Brand Spotlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#spotlight ▶︎ Brand Highlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#highlight Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    10 min
  7. PRS Guitars at NAMM 2026: John Mayer Wild Blue Silver Sky & Ed Sheeran Baritone Revealed | A Brand Highlight Conversation with Alex Chadwhick from PRS Guitars | NAAM 2026

    JAN 26

    PRS Guitars at NAMM 2026: John Mayer Wild Blue Silver Sky & Ed Sheeran Baritone Revealed | A Brand Highlight Conversation with Alex Chadwhick from PRS Guitars | NAAM 2026

    Vintage Dreams, Modern Hands: A Conversation with PRS Guitars at NAMM 2026 They were literally closing down the show floor when I grabbed Alex Chadwick from PRS Guitars for a conversation I wasn't willing to miss. We'd been talking off-mic about something that kept nagging at me—this tension between technology and creativity that runs through everything in the music world right now. So I hit record, security guards circling, and asked him straight: Is technology helping musicians become better artists, or do you still need to learn the hard way? His answer was refreshingly honest. Technology isn't inherently good or bad. It's a tool. When it helps people be more expressive, more creative—that's the win. When it gets in the way of that expression? That's when we have a problem. It's the kind of nuance that gets lost in the usual gear coverage. PRS brought some beautiful new instruments to NAMM this year. The John Mayer Wild Blue Silver Sky stopped people in their tracks—a sharp turquoise finish with the first matching headstock ever produced from their Maryland factory on a Silver Sky. Limited to a thousand pieces worldwide. For Mayer fans and Silver Sky devotees alike, this one feels special. Then there's the Ed Sheeran Semi-Hollow Piezo Baritone. A 27.7-inch scale instrument tuned a fifth below standard, with discrete outputs for both magnetic and piezo elements. But here's what got me: each guitar ships with a signed print of Sheeran's original artwork that appears on the body. He's a visual artist too. The instrument becomes a canvas for multiple creative expressions at once. But the conversation that really stuck with me was about vintage guitars and why we romanticize them so much. Those 1950s and 60s instruments—the ones on posters, in documentaries, making the music that shaped entire generations—they've become holy relics. And the ones that actually sound magical? They cost as much as a house now. So how does anyone access that? Chadwick explained something about PRS's philosophy that I found genuinely compelling. They don't go back to the fifties. They go back to 1985. That gives them freedom—they can draw inspiration from those holy grail instruments without being trapped by their quirks, their inconsistent tolerances, their aged components. They can take what made those guitars legendary and build it into something repeatable, accessible, and comfortable. The goal, he said, is to create instruments that get out of the way. Guitars that let the person be more expressive instead of fighting against limitations. That phrase has been echoing in my head since I left Anaheim. Instruments that get out of the way. Because that's really what this is about, isn't it? All the gear, all the technology, all the innovation—it only matters if it helps someone find their voice. Make their own music. Tell their own story. PRS seems to understand that. In a world obsessed with vintage nostalgia and spec-sheet comparisons, they're building for expression. And that's worth a conversation, even when security is showing you the door. Marco Ciappelli reports from NAMM 2026 for ITSPmagazine, exploring the intersection of technology, creativity, and the humans who make music possible. __________________________ This is a Brand Highlight. A Brand Highlight is an introductory conversation designed to put a spotlight on the guest and their company. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/creation#highlight GUEST Alexander Chadwick PRS Guitars RESOURCES Learn more about PRS GUITARS: https://prsguitars.com Are you interested in telling your story? ▶︎ Full Length Brand Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#full ▶︎ Brand Spotlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#spotlight ▶︎ Brand Highlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#highlight KEYWORDS NAMM 2026, PRS Guitars, John Mayer Silver Sky, Ed Sheeran guitar, PRS Wild Blue, baritone guitar, guitar gear, new guitars 2026, PRS limited edition, guitar innovation, NAMM Show, musician interviews Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    5 min

  8. JAN 17

    CES 2026 Recap | AI, Robotics, Quantum, And Renewable Energy: The Future Is More Practical Than You Think | A Conversation with CTA Senior Director and Futurist Brian Comiskey | Redefining Society and Technology with Marco Ciappelli

    CES 2026 Just Showed Us the Future. It's More Practical Than You Think. CES has always been part crystal ball, part carnival. But something shifted this year. I caught up with Brian Comiskey—Senior Director of Innovation and Trends at CTA and a futurist by trade—days after 148,000 people walked the Las Vegas floor. What he described wasn't the usual parade of flashy prototypes destined for tech graveyards. This was different. This was technology getting serious about actually being useful. Three mega trends defined the show: intelligent transformation, longevity, and engineering tomorrow. Fancy terms, but they translate to something concrete: AI that works, health tech that extends lives, and innovations that move us, power us, and feed us. Not technology for its own sake. Technology with a job to do. The AI conversation has matured. A year ago, generative AI was the headline—impressive demos, uncertain applications. Now the use cases are landing. Industrial AI is optimizing factory operations through digital twins. Agentic AI is handling enterprise workflows autonomously. And physical AI—robotics—is getting genuinely capable. Brian pointed to robotic vacuums that now have arms, wash floors, and mop. Not revolutionary in isolation, but symbolic of something larger: AI escaping the screen and entering the physical world. Humanoid robots took a visible leap. Companies like Sharpa and Real Hand showcased machines folding laundry, picking up papers, playing ping pong. The movement is becoming fluid, dexterous, human-like. LG even introduced a consumer-facing humanoid. We're past the novelty phase. The question now is integration—how these machines will collaborate, cowork, and coexist with humans. Then there's energy—the quiet enabler hiding behind the AI headlines. Korea Hydro Nuclear Power demonstrated small modular reactors. Next-generation nuclear that could cleanly power cities with minimal waste. A company called Flint Paper Battery showcased recyclable batteries using zinc instead of lithium and cobalt. These aren't sexy announcements. They're foundational. Brian framed it well: AI demands energy. Quantum computing demands energy. The future demands energy. Without solving that equation, everything else stalls. The good news? AI itself is being deployed for grid modernization, load balancing, and optimizing renewable cycles. The technologies aren't competing—they're converging. Quantum made the leap from theory to presence. CES launched a new area called Foundry this year, featuring innovations from D-Wave and Quantum Computing Inc. Brian still sees quantum as a 2030s defining technology, but we're in the back half of the 2020s now. The runway is shorter than we thought. His predictions for 2026: quantum goes more mainstream, humanoid robotics moves beyond enterprise into consumer markets, and space technologies start playing a bigger role in connectivity and research. The threads are weaving together. Technology conversations often drift toward dystopia—job displacement, surveillance, environmental cost. Brian sees it differently. The convergence of AI, quantum, and clean energy could push things toward something better. The pieces exist. The question is whether we assemble them wisely. CES is a snapshot. One moment in the relentless march. But this year's snapshot suggests technology is entering a phase where substance wins over spectacle. That's a future worth watching. This episode is part of the Redefining Society and Technology podcast's CES 2026 coverage. Subscribe to stay informed as technology and humanity continue to intersect. Subscribe to the Redefining Society and Technology podcast. Stay curious. Stay human. > https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7079849705156870144/ Marco Ciappelli: https://www.marcociappelli.com/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    24 min
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[ Formerly Redefining Society & Technology ] An Analog Brain In A Digital Age Podcast is your backstage pass to my mind — where analog meets digital, and the occasional pig flies. In an age racing toward algorithms and automation, the best ideas still come from curiosity, experience, emotion, and the unexpected connection. What you'll find are conversations on technology & society, storytelling in all its forms, branding & marketing, creativity, and the odd surprise.

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