At the CES in Vegas, I glimpsed the future

I recently returned from the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, a four-million-square-foot glimpse into our immediate future. There were 150,000 select individuals from around the world who saw what up close what tomorrow will be.

It was a world of “physical AI,” where machines don’t just think; they move and mimic and for many will become their “gods.”

I saw the LG CLOiD robot folding laundry, Razer’s “Kira” hologram acting as a personal assistant, and AI-powered fingernails that change styles via an app. There were driverless tractors from John Deere and stair-climbing vacuums that navigated homes with eerie precision.

It was endless:
— Robots for your laundry room that wash and fold clothes
—AI coffee and drink mixers, more efficient than bartenders
—AI teachers, consultants, artists, newscasters, musicians.
—AI sex toys, dolls and equipment.
—AI photos for your wall, watch buttons, and car that change from an app.
–Flying cars, mobile medical packs, and robots to restitch the brain so the blind could see and the lame walk.

It was fascinating, yet I couldn’t shake a sense of dread, because all of this “artificial” intelligence comes with a price.

Around the world, we will see massive AI plants similar to the one outside Ray that will consume millions of gallons of water daily and put unprecedented strain on our utility grids, and a few years after the promised new jobs disappear, we’ll pay for it all with high utility bills, bad water, and an ecosystem that is ruined.

My peek into the future prompted me to ask will the “faster, cheaper” future of AI be paid for by loss of other things more precious.

Beyond the environmental cost is a spiritual one. At CES, I saw the value of human connection diminishing. When AI “soulmates” and “teachers” replace people, we trade our humanity for efficiency. We are replacing old faith with “new gods” of silicon and code.

I came back convinced that the more the world changes, the more we must anchor our youth in the “ancient” things: honesty, loyalty, integrity, and the fear of God.

These values are the only things a machine cannot replicate.

We must welcome progress, but we cannot afford to trade our character—or our local resources—for the sake of a shiny new toy.