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Most immersive experiences today may feel stale in retrospect. Brands have invested heavily in creating spaces meant to captivate, yet these experiences all replicate the same visual and audio cues, making it increasingly difficult for brands to differentiate. The underlying issue is a technological design constraint: You can either create something highly personalized or something that scales to hundreds of people simultaneously, but rarely both. A seismic change is afoot that will dwarf the previous chasm, like the shift from black and white film to color cinema. Multimodal AI is poised to eliminate the joint scaling and personalization limitation, enabling truly multidimensional, adaptive experiences where each person experiences something completely unique, all generated in real time. Multimodal AImachine learning models that can process and integrate information from multiple modalities, like text, images, audio, and videowill fundamentally reshape not just the types of experiences designers create, but how they work. Designers who can orchestrate these AI systems will create the future of multidimensional experiences, realizing true personalization at scale. HOW MULTIMODAL AI WILL REVOLUTIONIZE DESIGN Close your eyes and imagine two people walking through the same physical spacean immersive entertainment activationand they are each having a unique, hyper-personalized visit across every dimension. Through interfaces like smartphones, wearable devices, and embedded sensors throughout the space, the environment adapts in real time to each individual. That includes the visuals, sounds, narrative, and digital interactions. Multimodal AI can simultaneously “see” your facial expressions, “hear” your voice tone, “read” your text inputs, and “observe” your movement patterns. It weaves all this information together to make intelligent decisions about how to personalize your experience in real time. Las Vegas Sphere demonstrates early-stage capabilities with its 170,000-speaker Holoplot audio system that creates distinct sonic zones with surgical precision. Visitors standing just feet apart can experience completely different sounds, tones, intensities, or narrative perspectives of the same content. Multimodal AI will take this capability a step further by enabling even more distinct, individualized sonic experiences based on person, as opposed to a zone. The level of personalization sophistication will ultimately depend on the available interface capabilities. Achieve basic personalization through smartphone apps and existing displays, much like current museum audio guides that offer different language options. More immersive personalization may require wearable tech like alternative reality glasses or advanced earbuds that can overlay completely different visual and audio experiences for each user. The future promises even more seamless interfaces, with the rumored Jony Ive-Sam Altman device potentially enabling contextually aware, screenless interactions that respond to gesture, voice, and environmental cues with minimal technology barriers. THE RISE OF THE “UBER DESIGNER” Creating these AI-powered ultra-personalized immersive experiences requires designers to fundamentally change how they work. This evolution creates what I call the “uber designer, creative professionals who direct AI systems across multiple modalities to craft unified, adaptive experiences. The uber designer becomes the conductor enabling experiences that account for every element while AI, alongside specialized design teams, handles the execution of countless personalized versions. This technological shift will represent an elevation into higher-order creative leadership. AI manages routine execution and personalization at scale, while humans focus on strategic vision, storytelling, creative judgment, and orchestrating the overall experience architecture. STAYING AHEAD: A DESIGNER’S SURVIVAL GUIDE This isn’t some distant future. Designers need to adapt now. The designers who position themselves now as AI orchestrators for immersive experiences will define the next generation of physical spaces, from retail environments that adapt to each shopper to museums where exhibits personalize to visitor interests. Some industry leaders have begun integrating AI within elements of their brand concepts. Beauty brands like LOreal and Sephora have released versions of an AI assistant allowing customers to try on beauty products before they make a final purchase or to analyze their skin. Bloomberg Connects has leveraged AI to enhance museum accessibility for visually impaired visitors within an immersive audio guide accessible through a digital app. The Sphere Experience enables guests to converse at length with an AI humanoid robot. Leveraging multimodal AI, designers will be able to expand these experiences even further into multiple dimensions, impacting sound, sight, touch, and smell all at once. So how do you become an uber designer? Designers can strengthen their toolkit in various ways, but heres my advice: Start integrating AI into workflows now. Begin incorporating AI tools into daily practice. There are various administrative tasks that AI can handle with minimal oversight. Learn how to effectively prompt, direct, and refine AI-generated content. Develop fluency in multiple AI platforms to understand their strengths and limitations. Develop cross-disciplinary thinking. The most valuable designers will orchestrate experiences across every single dimension and not just specialize in one. Move from a “maker” mindset to that of an “experience conductor.” Emphasize the modernization of existing spaces. The biggest opportunities lie in reimagining stagnant industries like retail stores, museums, and entertainment venues, with AI-powered personalization that creates the ultimate multidimensional experiences. Multimodal AI will enable designers to envision even more impactful spaces and experiences that move, inspire, and connect with people. Those who start experimenting now and make an emphasis to revitalize stagnant industries will find themselves at the forefront of a creative renaissance. Humans will be directing machines to create immersive experiences we never thought possible. Andrew Zimmerman is CEO and cofounder of Journey.
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E-Commerce
House fires burn hotter and spread faster than ever before, leaving families with as little as two minutes to safely escape their homes. Despite that short window to reach safety, families are startlingly unprepared: Only 26% of American families have developed and practiced a home fire escape plan. The disconnect between the urgency of fire safety and actual household preparation points to a fundamental challenge in home safety education. Traditional approaches (pamphlets, static demonstrations, and classroom presentations) often fail to create the lasting behavioral change needed when seconds matter most. At Kidde, our ultimate goal is to help keep everyone safe at home, so we are exploring forward-looking safety education solutions that can address the lack of behavioral change. Immersive technologies, like augmented reality (AR), are beginning to reshape how we approach home safety education, offering new possibilities for engaging families in ways that build muscle memory and decision-making skills IMMERSIVE LEARNING INCREASES RETENTION Educational research consistently demonstrates that active, experiential learning creates stronger retention and better decision-making under pressure. A recent study found that children using AR interventions had significantly higher post-test scores compared to those using traditional educational materials, indicating greater understanding and retention of critical information. The data on digital engagement is equally compelling: Educators report 78% higher student motivation when AR technology is incorporated into learning, while parents noted 59% increased engagement, according to McGraw Hill research. In the context of home and fire safety, increased motivation and engagement is extremely important. When families practice fire safety in an immersive environment, they go from simply memorizing steps to developing the memory required to react appropriately during high-stress situations. The difference between knowing what to do and being able to do it instinctively can be measured in precious seconds. AR allows families to visualize an emergency This evolution of safety education reflects broader changes in how we process information and learn new skills. Younger generations expect interactive, personalized experiences that adapt to their specific circumstances. Generic safety advice often falls short because every home layout, family composition, and risk profile is different. Consider the complexity of modern fire safety planning. Families must account for multiple escape routes, various family members’ capabilities, pets, mobility challenges, and changing household dynamics. Traditional fire safety education provides general guidance, but families are often left to figure out how these principles apply to their unique situations. AR technology addresses this gap by allowing families to visualize emergencies in their actual living spaces, creating a personalized experience. Instead of imagining how quickly smoke might fill a hallway, they can see a realistic simulation. Rather than abstractly planning escape routes, they can safely practice navigating their specific home layout under simulated emergency conditions. Through AR simulation, families often discover escape route obstacles they hadn’t noticed, identify communication challenges, and realize the importance of having multiple contingency plans. To help guide families through personalized fire safety planning, Kidde developed a free AR fire drill simulator, Prepare. Plan. Practice. The shared responsibility for safety As AR becomes more universal it has the potential to help expand access to high-quality safety education. Previously, comprehensive emergency preparedness training required specialized instructors, dedicated facilities, or expensive equipment. Now, families can access sophisticated safety training using devices they already own, in their own homes, at times that work for their schedules. AR also has the potential to help prepare people for all types of emergencies, not just fires. From earthquake drills to medical emergencies, the same principles of personalized, experiential learning can help families prepare more effectively for various scenarios. Advancing safety education requires collaboration between technology developers, safety professionals, educators, and families themselves. The most effective solutions emerge when technical innovation aligns with human behavior and learning dynamics. For business leaders and innovators, this represents both an opportunity and a responsibility. The tools exist to create more engaging, effective safety education experiences. The question becomes: How do we ensure these innovations reach the families who need them most? The success of any safety innovation ultimately depends on reach, adoption, and consistent use. Technology can provide more engaging and effective educational experiences, but it must be paired with ongoing advocacy for stronger safety standards, broader access to resources, and cultural shifts that prioritize preparedness. As we continue developing these technologies, the goal remains unchanged: ensuring families have the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to protect themselves when every second counts. The methods may be evolving, but the collective mission of making every home a safer home drives innovation forward. Isis Wu is president of global residential fire & safety at Kidde.
Category:
E-Commerce
As a child and adolescent psychiatrist, Ive seen how Americas education system leaves neurodivergent children behind. Despite growing awareness of ADHD, autism, and learning differences, schools remain stuck in outdated models. Without rethinking how classrooms are structured, well keep failing students whose brains work differently. Last year, I worked with a boy who dreaded school so much he would sometimes vomit on the drive there. His anxiety wasnt about tests or teachers in the usual sense. It was about the environment itselfthe noise, the lights, the pressure to sit still in a classroom not built for how his brain works. His parents tried everything from walking him into school to rearranging schedules but nothing helped. Then he transferred schools. His new teacher took a different approach: connecting with him, adjusting the classroom, and making small changes that reduced the overwhelm. Suddenly, he wanted to ride the bus. He wanted to stay in class. For the first time, school felt like a place he belonged. One in five kids learns differently This child is neurodivergent, part of the one in five U.S. children who learn, process, and engage differently. Instead of helping these students to adapt, schools have tended to push kids like my client into rigid structures or special programs. The problem isnt these kids. Its that schools were built for neurotypical learners and havent kept pace with what we know about development, learning, and mental health. October is ADHD awareness month, one of the many awareness months that highlights how common these challenges are. But unless schools change what happens in classrooms, awareness wont be enough. ADHD remains one of the most common childhood diagnoses, affecting 11.4% of school-aged children. The CDC now estimates that 1 in 31 children is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, up from 1 in 44 in 2018. These children are not outliers. They are classmates, friends, and our own children. Yet too many schools are treating neurodivergence as an exception to manage, rather than a reality to design for. Good intentions, bad outcomes Well-intentioned reforms have fallen short. We moved from segregated special education classrooms to mainstreaming, with aides and breakout sessions. But that support often comes at the cost of stigma. Kids are pulled out of class, singled out, or shadowed by aides whose presence, while helpful, also marks them to their schoolmates as different. Ive met children with anxiety and depression who say the worst part of school isnt the work. Rather its being pinpointed as different because of being singled out. Delays in diagnosis make things worse. Families wait months, sometimes years, for neuropsychological testing. In that lost time, kids fall behind academically, their confidence erodes, and their risk of dropping out increases. By the time support is offered, the damage has already been done. Meanwhile, teachers are asked to fill gaps theyre not trained for. General education teachers arent taught how to create sensory-friendly classrooms or manage the needs of a child with autism or ADHD. Funding is scarce. Insurance companies deny therapies during school hours, arguing they replace academics. And kids are left in the middle, unsupported. Awareness isnt the same as change Awareness months and anti-bullying lessons are important, but they are not enough. In Illinois, for example, lawmakers recently passed a bipartisan resolution recommending K8 education on neurodivergence to reduce bullying and foster acceptance. Thats progress, but it still falls short. Teaching students what autism or ADHD is wont change outcomes unless schools themselves adapt how they teach and support neurodiverse learners. Real inclusion means more than keeping kids in the same room. It means rethinking how we structure classrooms. For some neurodivergent kids, mainstreaming works with minor adjustments like dimmed lights, quiet corners, and social skills groups. For others, hybrid models that combine online learning, which can reduce sensory overload, with in-person opportunities for social and emotional growth may be better. There is no one-size-fits-all answer, and thats the point: Neurodiverse kids need individualized environments that optimize learning rather than force conformity. Technology can help, if used thoughtfully. Tools like AI or virtual reality can personalize lessons or support social learning. But technology is not a cure-all. Without trained educators and mental health professionals guiding their use, these tools risk becoming add-ons instead of meaningful supports. The cost of staying the same The risks of doing nothing are clear. Children with gifts to offer will graduate unprepared, their strengths overlooked, and their potential stunted. Theyll leave schools designed to make them average instead of environments that help them excel. Heres what can be done to fix this. Policymakers need to move beyond symbolic resolutions and fund classrooms that can adapt, including early and equitable access to neuropsychological testing. Educators must be trained in neurodiversity and given the tools to create flexible curricula that make space for sensory, emotional, and social development alongside academics. Parents can push schools to fully implement Individualized Education Plans and 504 plans and insist on environments that allow their children not just to get by, but to thrive. Every child deserves a school that feels safe, supportive, and built for how they learn best. And right now, too many schools are missing that mark. We canand mustbuild systems where neurodiverse kids arent forced to fit in but instead are given the chance to truly shine. Monika Roots, MD, is cofounder, president and chief medical officer of Bend Health.
Category:
E-Commerce
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