The highly anticipated ‘Future Festival’ commenced at DEC, Expo City Dubai today, kick starting with keynote and sessions on the groundbreaking trends and potentials of artificial intelligence (AI) across various industries. The two-day event which is organised by DXB LIVE in partnership with Trend Hunter, a leading trend platform and innovation accelerator, sets the stage for industry leaders, tech enthusiasts, and innovators from around the globe to discuss the future of AI and its transformative impact.

As a platform to learn about upcoming trends from the world's leading trend firm, Future Festival Dubai 2024 provided valuable guidance on how to navigate evolving AI advancements, as well as identify untapped opportunities necessary to remain competitive. Through strategic dialogues and exchange of ideas, the event brought together enthusiasts and innovators to encourage genuine utilisation of artificial intelligence.

The opening day began with the Morning Show by Jonathon Brown, CSO of Trend Hunter, and Sean Scharf, CCO of Trend Hunter, which was an energising session that prepared attendees for a series of impactful keynote and sessions that followed. This was followed by a keynote session by Jeremy Gutsche, CEO and Innovation Expert at Trend Hunter, titled ‘The Accelerated Pace of Change’ which presented actionable strategies to empower teams to drive innovation and proactively handle change within the organisation. Next was the session titled ‘Women in AI’ by Yasmin Al Enazi, co-founder and truly an UAE Women Ambassador to Women in AI Global Community, along with another talk by Jeremy Gutsche, titled ‘A.I. and The Inflection Point’ which included a compilation of Jeremy's key takeaways from his 10 years of leveraging AI to advance Trend Hunter and over 15 years of giving keynote speeches.

The second half of the day included a talk on ’18 Megatrends’ session led by Courtney Scharf, Chief Client Officer at Trend Hunter, followed by a panel discussion along with some of the notable speakers included Charbel Makhoul, Director, Canon Medical, and Mariam Hashem, Head of Solutions and Partnerships, GE Healthcare ‘Innovation in Healthcare’ and a focused talk on ‘Healthcare Technology’ led by Sean Watson, VP, Trend Hunter, discussing how innovations in healthcare, such as more accessible AI, lead to a more holistic approach to health and wellness. These discussions provided insights into the changing relationship between technology and healthcare, as well as methods for utilising these advancements to enhance patient outcomes and care. 

The sessions concluded with the debriefing exercise and closing remarks by Jeremy Gutsche, which further made the opening day a remarkable success among attendees and influencers.

The opening day of Future Festival 2024 paved the way toward insightful conversations and collaborations, demonstrating Dubai’s standing as a pioneer in the field of AI. As the festival progresses, attendees hope to gain valuable knowledge and form strategic connections that will steer the growth of AI and its applications.