LAS VEGAS (AP) — The world’s largest tech showcase does not come without theatrics. Innovations and gadgets like a lollipop that sings to you as you consume it, a laundry-folding robot and a “smart” LEGO brick have stolen the spotlight so far at CES 2026. But underscoring this year’s programming is a strong focus on an industry that relies on a similar theatrical flair: entertainment.
More than 25 different panels and events related to the entertainment industry are on the schedule in Las Vegas, focusing on both the traditional studio side of the industry and the digital side driven by content creators. The programming has posed questions about the cinematic capabilities of AI, how advertising has been impacted by AI and the role the burgeoning creator economy plays in the larger entertainment landscape.
Artificial intelligence has long been a sticking point in Hollywood, and many creatives in the entertainment world have been reluctant to embrace the rapidly evolving technology and AI-powered tools. Outrage ensued when Tilly Norwood, an entirely AI-made character, debuted as the first “AI actor” in the fall. Questions about copyrighted characters, images and materials still loom large in conversations about AI. But many speakers in CES programming were optimistic about how the technology can be beneficial, and how AI could be used to help artists harness their creativity rather than stifle it or replace it.
“The tools that we create have unlocked something in us. It’s kind of flattened that bar in terms of what storytelling can be because anyone now can be a storyteller,” said Dwayne Koh, the head of creative at Leonardo.ai, during a Monday session on AI and creativity. “It levels the playing field, but it also makes it easier for people to tell stories that they always want(ed) to tell that they never could have the opportunity to tell.”
Others were quick to point out that Hollywood’s panic over emerging technology is not new.
“When we launched Photoshop in the ’90s, we were also getting pretty angry phone calls from creatives saying that we were destroying craft,” said Hannah Elsakr, Adobe’s vice president of generative AI new business ventures, at a Monday session focused on advertising.
“We’re in early days with AI. I’m not advocating for more cats jumping off diving boards in your feeds. I think it’s about high creativity and so the director, the artist, the actor is going to drive the high quality,” Elsakr continued. “Think of AI as another tool in the toolkit to make you drive that forward.”
Many conversations also centered on influencers and the growing legitimacy of internet-native creators and content in the traditional entertainment industry. The efficiency with which these creators work, sometimes because they are using AI-enabled tools, was a prime focus among many speakers.
Brad Haugen, the executive vice president of digital strategy and growth at Lionsgate and 3 Arts, said traditional media companies should welcome opportunities to work with creators and embrace their importance. “We have, potentially, the next great filmmaker, the next great TV showrunner, the next great digital entrepreneur,” he said. “Creators are not just there to market products. They’re not just there to do internet stuff. They’re actually the next Spike Jonze and the next Sofia Coppola.”
More entertainment-related programming is scheduled for Wednesday, with many sessions coming out of Variety’s Entertainment Summit at the showcase, including panels with leaders from Netflix, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery and actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
In addition to formal programming, a host of entertainment-related products and services are on display at CES. An array of impressive televisions with advanced features, AI-powered smart headphones, a “stringless smart guitar” and even a “sound chair” that has built-in audio were among the innovations aimed at bringing AI and advanced tech to entertainment consumers.
Amazon also announced the rollout of Alexa.com this week, bringing its AI assistant to the web with a host of new features, including personalized movie and TV recommendations. It’s one of many features designed to enhance at-home viewing, including the previously announced feature that enables Alexa to jump to a specific scene you’re searching for with just a simple description.
Angela Gozenput of home appliances and solution marketing and Aaron Westbrook of media entertainment and solution marketing, talk during an LG Electronics news conference ahead of the CES tech show Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
People walk past screens at the LG Electronics booth during the CES tech show Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Protesters confronted federal officers Thursday in Minneapolis the day after a woman was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.
The demonstrations came amid heightened tensions after President Donald Trump's administration dispatched 2,000 officers and agents to Minnesota for its latest immigration crackdown.
The killing of 37-year-old Renee Good on Wednesday set off a clash between federal and state officials over whether the shooting appeared justified and whether a Minnesota law enforcement agency had jurisdiction to investigate.
Here's what is known about the shooting:
The woman was shot in her SUV in a residential neighborhood south of downtown Minneapolis, about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from where police killed George Floyd in 2020. Videos taken by bystanders and posted online show an officer approaching a vehicle stopped in the middle of the road, demanding the driver open the door and grabbing the handle.
The Honda Pilot begins to pull forward and a different ICE officer standing in front of the vehicle draws his gun and immediately fires at least two shots at close range, jumping back as the vehicle moves toward him.
It is not clear from the videos if the officer gets struck by the SUV, which speeds into two cars parked on a curb before stopping.
It’s also not clear what happened in the lead-up to the shooting.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the SUV was part of a group of protesters that had been harassing agents and “impeding operations” that morning. She said agents had freed one of their vehicles that was stuck in snow and were leaving the area when the confrontation and shooting occurred.
No video has emerged to corroborate Noem’s account. Bystander video from the shooting scene shows a sobbing woman who says the person shot was her wife. That woman hasn’t spoken publicly to give her version of events.
Good died of gunshot wounds to the head.
A U.S. citizen born in Colorado, Good described herself on social media as a “poet and writer and wife and mom." Her ex-husband said Good had just dropped off her 6-year-old son at school Wednesday and was driving home when she encountered ICE agents on a residential street.
He said Good and her current partner moved to Minneapolis last year from Kansas City, Missouri.
Good's killing is at least the fifth death to result from the aggressive U.S. immigration crackdown the Trump administration launched last year.
Noem said Thursday that there would be a federal investigation into the shooting, though she again called the woman’s actions “domestic terrorism.”
“This vehicle was used to hit this officer,” Noem said. “It was used as a weapon, and the officer feels as though his life was in jeopardy."
Vice President JD Vance said the shooting was justified and referred to Good's death as "a tragedy of her own making.”
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara gave no indication that the driver was trying to harm anyone when he described the shooting to reporters Wednesday. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said he had watched videos of the shooting that show it was avoidable.
Noem has not publicly identified the officer who shot Good. But she spoke of an incident last June in which the same officer was injured when he was dragged by another driver’s fleeing vehicle. A Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed Noem was referring to an incident in Bloomington, Minnesota.
Court records from that case identify the officer who was dragged and injured as Jonathan Ross.
Court documents say Ross got his arm stuck in a vehicle’s window as a driver fled arrest in Bloomington, Minnesota. The officer was dragged 100 yards (91 meters) and cuts to his arm required 50 stitches.
Drew Evans, head of Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said Thursday that federal authorities have denied the state agency access to evidence in the case, barring the state from investigating the shooting alongside the FBI.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz demanded that state investigators be given a role, telling reporters that residents would otherwise have a difficulty accepting the findings of federal law enforcement.
“And I say that only because people in positions of power have already passed judgment from the president to the vice president to Kristi Noem," Walz said.
Noem denied that Minnesota authorities were being shut out, saying: “They don’t have any jurisdiction in this investigation."
Dozens of protesters Thursday morning outside a Minneapolis federal building being used a base for the immigration crackdown. Border Patrol officers fired tear gas and doused demonstrators with pepper spray to push them back from the gate.
Area schools were closed as a safety precaution.
Protests were also planned across the U.S. in cities including New York, New Orleans and Seattle.
Protesters confront federal agents outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minn. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)
People gather for a vigil after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a motorist earlier in the day, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)
People participate in a protest and vigil after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis, on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)
