Samsung Electronics wrapped up its CES 2026 Tech Forum series with a session that was full of ideas and entitled “The Human Side of Tech: Designing a Future Worth Living.” The forum, which was the last one of the series, took place in Samsung’s The First Look area at The Wynn Las Vegas and focused on the user-centered design and the emotional technology role in everyday life.
Debbie Millman, who is the host of the highly-rated podcast Design Matters, led the discussion. It included Mauro Porcini, Chief Design Officer, and President of Samsung Electronics, as well as great designer Karim Rashid and Fabio Novembre. The three of them discussed how tech could shift from a cold and impersonal approach to a warmer, more expressive, and user-friendly manner in the time of AI.
Moving Beyond Minimalism
For nearly two decades, minimalism has dominated the tech industry’s design language. During the forum, panelists raised doubts about the continuing utility of such a standard treatment in a fast-changing digital environment. The talk illuminated the ways through which the emotionally impactful design can facilitate more profound human-technology relationships even in the case of daily used gadgets.
Samsung pointed out that its design vision is not limited to mere appearance and features, but rather looks at the way technology fits into human life, habits and values. Since the old barriers like tools, size and access are vanishing, the designers are granted a bigger degree of liberty to create such experiences that are meaningful, inclusive and connected with the public.
Design with Humanity at the Core
The session underlined the idea that technology should make care, intention and humanity visible. The design objective of Samsung was brought to the fore by Mauro Porcini, who stated that the objective is to enrich human lives with technology that is delivered through meaningful ways. He went on to say that Samsung is committed to helping people live longer, better, louder, and more through the support of their health, creativity, and self-actualization via innovation.
Similarly, Karim Rashid, a designer, remarked that design creates emotional connections not only with people but also with the objects around them. He has it that nice design can make even the most mundane products into significant partnerships with the user that show the user’s personality and morals.
AI Guided by Human Values
A major point of the debate was the influence of AI in design. The panelists were unanimous in their opinion that instead of taking over human ingenuity AI depends on EI and HI to unleash its maximum power.
Porcini described this balance as “AI × (EI + HI)”, explaining that AI should amplify human emotion and imagination—both in the design process and in how people ultimately experience products. He urged audiences not to fear technology, but to humanize and guide it responsibly.
Expressive Design for Meaningful Experiences
The forum also brought up the issue of moving from designing objects to designing experiences. The panelists asserted that expressive design is the most important factor in encouraging emotion, connection and imagination—be it through low-key elegance or high-key creativity.
Fabio Novembre had the last word by saying that the ultimate aim of design is to make people happy. With technology being more and more part of our daily lives, design must again take on the role of a mediator between functionality and emotional satisfaction in shaping the future.
About Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics at the global level keeps on motivating with its novel and tech ideas . Samsung through its inventions and open collaborations is making brilliant and smooth experiences in the really short run from smartphones, TVs, home appliances, AI, robotics, medical imaging, and SmartThings connected ecosystems.
