LAS VEGAS — Walking the sprawling halls of CES 2026, Apollonia Smith noticed something familiar.
“I noticed that, of course, as soon as I got here,” Smith said of the lack of Black attendees at the annual consumer electronics show.
Smith, a teacher and lecturer, traveled to Las Vegas from Miami after receiving an invitation from a colleague. She wanted to see firsthand how technology will shape the coming year.
“I wanted to see how tech is going to be integrated in a lot of things that are coming up with 2026,” she told AURN News. “See the demonstrations, things like that.”
Black Americans make up about 13 percent of the U.S. population but remain underrepresented in the technology sector, according to data from the NAACP.
Smith said many in the Black community remain skeptical of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.
“I think that a lot of people of color are still really intrigued but also disillusioned when it comes to AI, things like that,” she said. “I’ve had some of those same feelings myself since hence why I’m here.”
Still, she expressed cautious optimism.
“I really think that come 2026, when a lot of people see all of the advantages that AI can, you know, take us forward as far as leaps of startups, new ideas and initiatives and different projects, I think it’ll get better or I’m hoping at least,” Smith said.
After attending morning sessions at the conference, Smith said she saw opportunity in marketing roles within the tech industry.
“I would love to see some people of color embark upon that path, take over the marketing so that we’re not just consumers only with the data and the things that they’re turning over about us collectively,” she said.
Smith pointed to data centers being built in Black communities as a starting point for involvement.
“We need to start there thinking about that,” she said. “If these data centers have to be there, then it needs to be some benefactor to the community. Strict regulations, how long is it going to be here? If it’s going to be here for three years, what can it do for the community in that short time?”
She urged more Black Americans to attend industry events like CES.
“Just even more coming to stuff like this collectively, having our ears and our eyes here to know what’s happening so that we can see where we all can fit in to assist, make it better before it gets really crappy,” Smith said.
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