Samsung's making its move at CES 2026. The electronics giant announced today it'll host four moderated tech forums January 5-6 at the Wynn Las Vegas, diving deep into AI ecosystems, privacy, streaming, and human-centered design. These panels signal Samsung's push to position itself as more than a hardware maker - the company wants to steer conversations around how AI actually gets woven into people's lives.
Samsung's not just showing up to CES anymore - the company's basically writing the conversation. The announcement of four dedicated tech forums positions Samsung as a thought leader aiming to shape industry dialogue around AI, home technology, entertainment, and design in ways that go beyond typical product pitches.
The forums kick off January 5 with "When Everything Clicks: How Open Ecosystems Deliver Impactful AI," moderated by Yoonho Choi, head of Digital Appliances at Samsung and chair of the Home Connectivity Alliance. This isn't about Samsung going solo - it's a deliberate bet on collaboration. The session will bring together smart home innovators for discussions on cross-industry partnerships and what it actually takes to make smart home technology matter in daily living.
Samsung's clearly betting that trust is the next frontier for AI adoption. The same afternoon, Shin Baik, group head of the AI Platform Center, moderates "In Tech We Trust? Rethinking Security and Privacy in the AI Age." The framing here is interesting - it's not about flashy AI features but about the foundational question of whether people will actually adopt this stuff if they don't trust it. Security and transparency experts will hash out how to build systems people actually feel good about using.
The company's also staking real estate in the streaming conversation. Salek Brodsky, executive vice president of Visual Display Business, leads "FAST Forward: How Streaming's Next Wave is Redefining Television." Free ad-supported streaming television isn't new, but Samsung's positioning it as a major inflection point alongside hybrid models and creator-led channels. This directly addresses where TV's heading and where Samsung's display and services businesses want to compete.
The final forum on January 6 might be the most revealing about Samsung's longer-term thinking. Mauro Porcini, Samsung's president and chief design officer, moderates "The Human Side of Tech: Designing a Future Worth Loving." The title alone signals a critique of tech culture - this isn't minimalism and specs, it's about expressive, human-centered design shaped by new materials, AI, and creativity. It's a subtle jab at the industry's obsession with paring everything down to bare functionality.
What's smart about Samsung's strategy here is the sequence and breadth. Start with AI ecosystems and cross-industry thinking. Then address the trust deficit. Then show how entertainment evolves. Finally, reframe what good design means. It's a narrative arc that positions Samsung as thinking about the complete picture of how people live with technology.
