The world’s largest technology exhibition, CES 2026, opens Tuesday in Las Vegas, following two days of media previews. The event will feature over 4,500 exhibitors, including 1,400 start-ups and major companies such as Meta, Lenovo, Samsung, and Nvidia, offering a glimpse into the latest developments in artificial intelligence, consumer electronics, and robotics.

Last year, CES attracted more than 140,000 attendees across multiple venues, amid economic uncertainty and discussions on tariffs under the Trump Administration. Paolo Pescatore, a tech analyst, said the focus has shifted from simply showcasing connected devices to exploring how people interact with them and the content they access.

Artificial intelligence will play a central role at this year’s show. Industry leaders are integrating AI into nearly every category of technology. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is expected to present the company’s latest productivity-focused AI solutions, while AMD CEO Lisa Su will outline her vision for future AI developments. Lenovo CEO Yuanqing Yang will also address AI integration in consumer devices and enterprise solutions.

A competition over next-generation chips is anticipated to dominate attention. Intel has unveiled its Core Ultra “Panther Lake” platform, while Qualcomm introduced the Snapdragon Elite X2, a mobile processor for Windows on Arm devices. These advancements are expected to spark a wave of new laptop announcements. LG has teased its 2026 Gram Pro line, including what it claims is the “world’s lightest 17-inch RTX laptop.”

Tim Danton, editor of TechFinitive.com, said, “CES 2026 won’t be short of laptops. Intel’s new chips promise high performance and long battery life, and we’re likely to see innovative designs, including rollable screens and more repairable models.”

CES will also feature innovations across healthcare, wearables, vehicles, and gaming. Sony Honda Mobility is expected to present a production version of its Afeela electric vehicle. Domestic robotics will be highlighted as well, with LG unveiling its helper bot “CLOiD,” designed for indoor household tasks. Ben Bajarin, CEO of Creative Strategies, said humanoid robots will increasingly appear at the show, marking the rise of “physical AI”—artificial intelligence that manifests in real-world applications such as autonomous cars and home assistants.

Samsung will showcase new uses of OLED technology, integrating it into AI-powered devices to enhance displays, including an AI OLED Bot that functions as a teaching assistant in educational settings.

Bajarin added that concerns over an AI bubble have eased. “This is more of a build-out than a bubble. We are at the start of a major industrial investment cycle, laying the groundwork for future computing capabilities,” he said.

CES 2026 promises a wide array of AI-driven gadgets, next-generation laptops, and autonomous robotics, reflecting the growing influence of artificial intelligence across industries and everyday life.

A military robotics plant in Binéfar, a small town of just over 10,000 in northeastern Spain, has become a key player in Europe’s defence sector while transforming the local economy and employment opportunities. The facility, owned by EM&E Group (Escribano Mechanical & Engineering), exports unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and other robotic systems to more than 20 countries, including NATO members, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

The plant’s roots are local. Founded in 1988 by three inventors, it initially focused on bank security systems. Rafael de Solís, director of EM&E Group’s Robotics Unit, told Euronews that the company’s military focus began in 2001 when the Spanish National Police required assistance to safely handle explosives planted by ETA. “That’s when our specialisation in robotics really began,” De Solís said.

Since then, the plant has expanded to design robots for explosive ordnance disposal, nuclear, biological, radiological, and chemical protection, as well as unmanned vehicles for battlefield logistics. These robots can transport ammunition, supplies, fuel, or evacuate wounded soldiers, and some are equipped with self-developed weapons systems.

“The war in Ukraine has put the focus on aerial drones, but ground drones are gaining a lot of importance,” De Solís said. “There are areas about 15 kilometres from the front line where moving troops is extremely dangerous, and these robots can reduce casualties.”

EM&E Group’s Binéfar facility stands out in Europe for its scale. While other countries, such as France and Germany, have smaller operations or companies acquired by foreign firms, the Binéfar plant has maintained independence and competes mainly with American and Canadian manufacturers.

The factory also has a profound local impact. With more than 150 employees and plans to reach 300, the plant has created stable, skilled jobs in a region affected by population loss. “Eighty percent of the workers are from the area or nearby counties,” De Solís said. “Some had moved to bigger cities and have decided to return.”

For the town, the plant has strengthened Binéfar’s role as a technological and industrial hub. Patricia Rivera, the mayoress, told Euronews that while the town already had a strong agri-food sector, the robotics plant has provided a qualitative leap in technological activity. She added that rapid growth has required quick responses in housing, infrastructure, and public services.

The Binéfar facility is part of EM&E Group’s broader decentralised strategy across Spain, with specialised centres in Barcelona for software and AI, Cordoba and Linares for weapons systems, Asturias for research, and Valencia for photonics development. De Solís explained that regionalising production allows the company to tap into local talent and reinforce strategic locations.

From this small Aragonese town, modern warfare, technology, and rural development intersect. The robots produced in Binéfar are used to save lives and operate in conflict zones, while simultaneously providing employment, attracting talent back to the region, and redefining the role of industry in rural Spain.

As 2026 begins, the next phase of artificial intelligence is expected to focus on world models and smaller language models, while concerns over AI safety, regulation, and the sustainability of the current AI boom continue to grow, Euronews Next reports.

In 2025, public frustration with generative AI became so noticeable that Merriam-Webster named the word of the year “slop” or “AI slop,” defining it as low-quality content produced in large volumes by AI. Despite growing concerns about the quality and limitations of AI, technology companies continued releasing new models. Google’s Gemini 3 model, for example, prompted OpenAI to issue an urgent “code red” to improve GPT-5.

Experts warn that AI may be reaching “peak data,” where the usefulness of available training data for traditional chatbots is diminishing. This has led to the rise of world models, which use videos, simulations, and spatial inputs to create digital representations of real-world environments. Unlike large language models that predict text, world models simulate cause-and-effect and predict outcomes in physical systems, making them suitable for robotics, video games, and autonomous systems. Boston Dynamics CEO Robert Playter noted in November that AI had significantly improved the company’s robots, including its famous robot dog. Google, Meta, and Chinese tech firm Tencent are all developing their own world models, while AI pioneers such as Yann LeCun and Fei-Fei Li have launched startups focused on this technology.

In Europe, the trend may move in the opposite direction, with smaller, lightweight language models gaining traction. These models require less computing power and energy, making them suitable for smartphones and lower-powered devices, while still performing tasks like text generation, summarisation, and translation. Experts say small language models may offer a more sustainable and locally controlled approach amid concerns about the high costs and environmental impact of large-scale AI systems in the U.S.

Concerns over AI’s societal impact are also mounting. In 2025, a lawsuit claimed that ChatGPT acted as a “suicide coach” for a minor, highlighting potential harm to vulnerable users. MIT professor Max Tegmark and other experts warn that more powerful AI in 2026 could act autonomously, gathering data and making decisions without human input.

Political tensions around AI are expected to rise. In the U.S., President Donald Trump signed an executive order blocking states from implementing their own AI regulations. Activists and experts, including thousands who signed a petition organized by the Future of Life Institute, have called for caution against pursuing superintelligent AI too rapidly, citing risks to jobs and society.

Analysts predict that 2026 will see a broader social and political debate over AI safety, corporate accountability, and regulation. While AI promises advances in areas such as healthcare and robotics, fatigue, public backlash, and concerns over ethics and oversight may shape the direction of the technology in the coming year.