This is the final chapter of the journey we have embarked upon to better understand the important connection and indelible relationship between human evolution and the world of events, particularly exhibitions.
We have reached the point where we will attempt to envision the “future” of events and their role.
Whenever we venture to think about the future, there are many dynamics and uncertainties because, of course, it cannot be known. However, on the other hand, leading futurists often repeat the mantra:
“The further back you can look, the further forward you are likely to see.”
I personally believe that history is essential because it is not the study of the “past” but the study of the changes that have occurred in the paths preceding our own and how those changes take place.
We are now entering a historical period with the most rapid changes ever, which is why I am convinced that understanding the mechanism of past change is fundamental to better comprehend the present and what the future holds.
The massive digital transformation underway is one of the great human evolutions, as we have seen happen several times before, where humans and technology have evolved together, thanks in large part to the role of meetings, events, and exhibitions, as we sow in other chapters,
This epochal moment is not far from what brought Homo sapiens from being hunters to becoming farmers or from the industrial revolution that once again changed the world’s socio-economic system.
I undertake this exercise with extreme humility and caution, aware that this content is intended to be a possible source of reflection on the strategic choices that event organizers today may need to consider in order to envision a possible evolution of their role within the course of humanity and, concurrently, events.
To discuss the future, it is also important to have a clear understanding of today.
According to leading contemporary thinkers, we are living in an era marked by the transition from entrenched ideologies, those that scholars call the strong “isms” of the 20th century, to a new reality that prominently places a new factor: data.
This chapter addresses the growing centrality of data and their profound implications for the future of events. To do so, it will delve into the topic in various sections.
From Ideologies to Data: A Paradigm Shift
In recent decades, humanity has experienced a profound shift away from the ideologies of the 20th century. Alongside the introduction of new computational technologies, this shift has paved the way for the emergence of data as a new focal point of power and influence. With the decline of some of the major ideological “isms,” primarily communism and fascism, for different reasons but both dramatically, the dominant global theory has been capitalism, with all its advantages and contradictions. However, we are increasingly observing that even this “ideology” is in a state of decline. The “God” of money is undergoing a profound reevaluation and rethinking at a deep level, and it is becoming increasingly evident that the foundation of capitalism, that money is the driving force behind everything, is undergoing a phase of ideological “devolution.” This leaves room for strong reconsiderations of how this ideology has actually led the world to complex extremes, including the more intricate issue that there is too much money in circulation, yet we are unable to address much deeper and more fundamental problems. In fact, all the benefits extolled by the consumerist ideology underlying capitalism are pushing our system to collapse on various fronts, particularly the ecological one, which implies a serious reflection on the sustainability of perpetual growth in a “closed” system like the Earth. In this post-ideological era, the advent of machines capable of computing data and information to facilitate and expedite basic human functions has led to a new value system where collecting, analyzing, and exploiting data has become the most powerful tool, eclipsing traditional forms of influence and control and giving rise to new forms of “ideological doctrine” upon which “the present” seems to be focused, and upon which the future is likely to increasingly rely.
The New Doctrine: Data
According to various scholars, we are entering a new phase where the central ideology is the primacy of “Data.” While previous “isms” centered around other forces (communism, community, fascism, nation), the culture that has dominated recent decades has placed the “individual” at the center, in constant pursuit of individual happiness. Even this factor is evolving. This emerging new ideology is already referred to by some as ‘Dataism,’ meaning treating data as the most precious asset, more than capital, more than the individual, more than social class equality, and more than the identity of nations. In this vision, access to and control of data translate into unprecedented power capable of solving complex problems and unlocking new possibilities. This belief system elevates data to an almost sacred status, shaping decisions and directions at every level.
The Socioeconomic Impact of Data Dominance
Entities that control vast reserves of data acquire enormous power, reshaping social and economic landscapes. This new dynamic gives rise to ‘data masters’ who wield significant influence in various sectors, from politics to economics to culture. We are aware of this daily through what we call our new human appendages, such as smartphones and the increasingly integrated new devices in our daily lives. All these new technologies are based on the use of data, data exchange, and the optimization of their management in a “predictive” phase. Indeed, the almost mystical element of how these technologies can predict our needs, often know us better than we know ourselves, and satisfy us in many aspects further reinforces the belief that data is becoming more and more of a “religion” (or rather a “deep creed”).
The Role of Technology in the Power of Data
Today, we are experiencing new forms of interaction between humans and machines. Particularly in AI artificial intelligence and machine learning, they are crucial for harnessing the power of data.
The future we glimpse today brings incredible advantages to humanity. We are increasingly capable of solving major issues and making our lives “simpler.” However, this also leads us to envision a future where a few entities could control most of the global data, raising crucial questions about the distribution of power and its impact on society.
The role of “states,” which have been at the center of all reasoning related to communities as elements of belonging and identification, clashes with entities that are now “supra-national” and possess much greater power and influence than any nation. The major technological empires (Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Alibaba, Baidu) are assuming a social role that pushes for new forms of supranational identity, surpassing even the entire history of empires that have dominated humanity over millennia.
Ethical Considerations and Privacy Concerns
The mass collection and use of data raise important ethical and privacy issues. The concept of privacy is becoming increasingly blurred as individuals often surrender personal data, often without full awareness. This situation demands a critical examination of ownership and control of this information.
Given the current system, which is rooted in a concept of “ownership” that is already in decline, it prompts us to question what are the true drivers behind these new “global empires.” Is it the good of individuals, the good of the owners of these large corporations, or the good of the corporations themselves, entities where the very concept of being human is already diluted?
New technologies are emerging more and more to ensure a level of “decentralization” of data ownership (especially Blockchain technology). This technology fits into a complex and evolving context where multiple technologies—AI, Blockchain, Quantum Computing, and Bioengineering—are “coming out of the labs” and becoming elements that co-create. Sooner than we might imagine, they will become part of a single new major technology.
The Influence of Data on Work and Society
The importance of data is also reshaping the labor market and social structure. Professions related to data analysis and AI are becoming central, while others may become obsolete, increasing the risk of inequality.
I don’t believe it is correct to imagine a purely anthropocentric dichotomy that leads us to focus our thinking on a “human vs. machine” dualism because every technology is an integral part of humanity itself. What we might increasingly observe is that a few “humans” will have access to increasingly sophisticated technologies and will increasingly rely on them to “enhance” themselves, leading to a new form of “humanity.” This is particularly true when considering the future, where the world of AI interfaces with promising bioengineering enhancements. This leads us to consider that rather than a future of “confrontation/clash” between humans and machines, there will be more of a profound division, with a tiny proportion of “homo sapiens” who, thanks to power and control, could become “homo sapiens +” with technologies increasingly integrated into their natural biological algorithmic systems, such as the basic functions of life and thought, with new algorithms and technologies seamlessly becoming part of their lives.
Data and the Evolution of Events
As we have seen, events have always been at the core of, and more specifically, the true driver behind the technological (and consequently, social and economic) evolution of humanity. In particular, we have observed that those events, which we simplify under the name “exhibitions,” have always served as collective moments where specialized niches come together to envision and co-create the future. The role of exhibitions has always played a foundational and fundamental function in all specialized niches, naturally becoming the focal point, the highest and most essential place where “human beings” specialized in particular categories of products/services come together to share and engage in physical, human, and profound interactions.
The Vital Role of Exhibitions in This Context
Exhibitions, as events that bring people together in spaces dedicated to innovation and co-creation, acquire an even more crucial role. They represent not only a showcase for the latest innovations but also an arena for authentic human interaction, something that will become increasingly rare in the post-digital era, driven by the integration of AI into all our devices.
Authenticity and the reality of exhibitions, in contrast to the ambiguity of what is digital or virtual, or mediated by technological systems (which will increasingly be hyper-invasive), become a unique competitive advantage for the industry of collective moments, namely EXHIBITIONS.
We have now come to understand very well that we are entering a world where we will no longer be able to distinguish what is true from what is false. And the level of falsification of the experience mediated through a screen will become faster, more significant, and extremely low-cost, putting at great risk the primary value of every social and economic relationship: Trust.
Non-replicable physical experiences emphasize the importance of human contact and face-to-face networking, which will become fundamental elements for co-creation and innovation.
Exhibitions and all physical events cannot be counterfeited or falsified by any AI Artificial Intelligence.
Long-Term Strategies for a New Narrative
In the short term, the exhibition industry must “Strengthen the Narrative” around Authenticity and Real Innovation: Exhibitions must position themselves as the epicenter of authenticity, where innovations are not only showcased but lived and touched—they are REAL.
For this reason, in the future priorities of the exhibition industry, there is a specific need to create a community and a sense of belonging to one’s event (or even better, to one’s Brand, which increasingly symbolizes the intrinsic value of that experience). Using exhibitions as platforms to build industry communities will become the real priority, promoting a sense of long-term belonging and collaboration among participants, who, through the “ritual” of physical interaction (as we have seen, ritual is a central element of events and human history), will place even more importance and interest in this tool—so ancient yet so modern and increasingly fundamental.
A strategic vision centered on authenticity, co-creation, and positive impact can enable exhibitions to thrive even more, becoming even more focal points for responsible innovation and professional growth.
In a world where information can be easily manipulated, physical events offer an authentic stage for the sharing of real ideas and innovations.
Exhibitions as Oracles of Modern Markets
In addition to what we discussed in the previous section, when we extend the trajectory and place it within the context of the future role of data, exhibitions, in my vision, naturally evolve from simple business facilitators to true market oracles.
Thanks to data and their ritualistic nature, they assume a central role, becoming the engines of entire industries. These events offer a unique perspective based on the combination of human interactions and data analysis, enabling them to anticipate and guide market trends.
There is nothing in the world with the unique characteristics of a large collective event. All participants, in fact, benefit from the services and are all “resource integrators” (of data), contributing to the generation of mutual value and services (because services are always exchanged with other services, such as values, goods, and information).
From Feedback to Feed-Forward
A significant shift in the approach to the future events industry is to imagine and understand clearly that the role and the very importance of exhibitions and other “live” events in the context described will primarily be about reducing uncertainty and complexity through data and information management, bridging the gap between the purely digital and the purely human.
If we extend what has been said about the concepts of AI pervasion in the near future and apply it hyper-vertically to individual niches, where the exhibition industry represents the cornerstone of gatherings, it becomes clear that there is no other “environment” capable of bringing together such a complex set of hyper-vertical competencies from both the demand and supply sides under a single brand (that we simplify with the name “exhibitions”).
And the quality of beneficiaries (visitors and exhibitors), along with the amount of data, information, and interactions, is so high and so evident that being able to use this flow of information in a precise and distilled way for the industry completely shifts the future asset of fairs from “business enablers” to true driving forces of the reference market, or as we will call them later, “market oracles.”
Regardless of the development of AI, the central point is that no element has yet been imagined that can have such a broad “experience scope” as to surpass the importance of physical interaction. Thus, in this historical moment, exhibitions have an incredible competitive advantage over any new business model that may emerge.
Like any competitive advantage, however, it must be defended and cultivated (and in some cases, even understood).
A substantial innovation stems from the concept of feed-forward, which is the key difference between the inefficiency of the current archiving concept of events and the enormous computational efficiency of “real-time” data algorithms.
If we focus on a phase that is often considered trivial or a commodity in the exhibition industry, namely the “entry process” or “registration phase” of a event, in the new world that is approaching, it becomes one of the most significant opportunities for profiling and “certifying” the “beneficiaries” (mainly visitors and exhibitors).
Imagining this in evolving contexts, they will be the strength of future exhibitions, just as feedback modules during/after the show are part of the overall interactions between organizers and the industry itself, integrating with other available data, connected to their pre, during, and post-show journeys, and delving deeper into the unique and profound elements of each industry.
The real question that every event organizer must ask to clarify their strategic direction in an evolution where data is the new mantra is:
“Who is capable of bringing together under one roof so many hyper-specialized and coherent entities?”
This incredible element of uniqueness in the exhibition industry serves as the pivot for developing new systems for the use of next-generation Data Intelligence technologies to predict market trends. Algorithms can work in “predictive” mode, moving and anticipating market dynamics rather than merely reacting to them.
Exhibitions will increasingly become data extraction platforms in continuous contact with beneficiaries who have at their disposal, through their granular, pervasive, and continuous behaviors, all the elements underlying the generation of value for an entire market niche.
For this reason, we can think of the evolution of exhibitions from a “service” centered on interactions and the sharing of “business moments” to Oracle Ecosystems that can predict the performance of the entire sector and build relationships between previously unknown counterparts based on available data and continuous interactions.
From “Archive” to “Oracle”
So far, exhibitions have operated in archive mode, attempting to analyze, for example, through Registration data, Lead Generation interactions, event Apps, or Customer Insights and Business Intelligence, the existing or historical behaviors of their audience.
All of this, while minimizing the time required for the event to be processed by information systems, still ultimately serving an “ex-post” need.
Now, exhibitions can start working in “near-time” or “oracle” mode. This means they can optimize information about future events (forward-time), allowing us to shape them in the present, before these future events happen, by engaging and managing relationships with exhibitions beneficiaries (mainly visitors and exhibitors) based on a logic of predictive listening and by integrating and interacting with historical databases that allow us to analyze ongoing scenarios. Instead of information from the past or present, we will deal with hyper-specialized information from the future.
Examples of this abound in many sectors (e.g., predictive maintenance in the mechanical world), but within the exhibition industry, the same providers of “classic” products are beginning to evolve into new formats capable of harnessing computing power with an oracle vision, enabling the exhibitions to become the engine of an entire industry by anticipating trends and updating future scenarios through machine learning and predictive analysis.
Looking ahead, the challenge will be to balance emerging technology with the awareness that the events organizers must continue to be a event organizers and increasingly rely on and support specialized entities/suppliers in more technological and data-oriented aspects, which are not within the scope and mission of the organizer but will become a fundamental tool to partner with.
Only through this balance between organizers and their suppliers will it be possible to maximize the impact and effectiveness of events while maintaining the authenticity and power of face-to-face interactions, with the new centrality of data.
Imagining Events in a Post-Digital World
In a post-digital world, events will continue to be the focal points of human innovation and creativity, further reinforcing their uniqueness as collective gatherings that bring entire niches together in one place at one time. The combination of emerging technologies like AI, Blockchain, Quantum Computing, and Bio-engineering will not replace physical experiences but rather create a new paradigm of importance for these collective moments.
The future of human events in a data-driven era promises an exciting evolution. With trade shows solidifying as unmistakable pillars of authenticity and emerging technologies enriching these experiences, we are on the brink of a new era.
Event organizers, along with technology companies, have the opportunity and responsibility to shape this future, ensuring that event experiences remain meaningful, inclusive, and innovative.
With the growing centrality of data, critically and consciously addressing the challenges of this new reality becomes crucial. The decisions made today will influence the course of our future, offering us the opportunity to shape a world where events continue to be a hub for human connection, learning, and innovation, as they have been since the dawn of our species.
