George Toh, Vice President & GM – Visual Business, Lenovo Intelligent Devices Group.
While much of the AI conversation is feature-centric, I’m impressed with the progress we’ve seen in AI enabling more human-centered experiences for everyday technology. With 61% of organizations already integrating AI directly into everyday workflows, displays are becoming the central interface where those insights are experienced, interpreted and harnessed in real time.
AI Appreciation Day, officially declared for July 16 each year, gives us the opportunity to reflect on how this emerging technology has evolved and to understand its shift from experimentation to embedded impact. Its real value is increasingly dependent on how people experience and interact with AI in real time, and how it enhances their daily experiences. As organizations evaluate their investments, it’s critical to focus on the human-AI partnership to enable long-term success.
In this piece, I’ll share my reflections on how human-centered AI experiences in displays will be critical to helping organizations fully realize the value of AI in the workplace.
Displays Are Becoming The Human Interface For AI
The pace at which AI innovation is evolving continues to speed up. In turn, boards and the C-suite are eager to keep pace with these technologies to enhance workflows and maximize productivity.
The next wave of AI adoption I’m seeing is largely focused on agentic models. IDC found that 70% of respondents expect agentic AI to impact end-user workflows within two years, including 31% within 12 months. We can expect to see increased investment and adoption in the workplace as the technology becomes more accessible.
As agentic AI workflows are increasingly embedded into daily work, displays will become central platforms where AI-generated insights are experienced, interpreted and acted upon in real time. Agentic AI is beginning to improve the quality of interactions with computers by making workflows more intuitive, responsive and personalized. Notably, research shows that displays are evolving into AI-driven “multimodal hubs.” The market is shifting from voice-only devices to AI-powered visual and voice interfaces to enable richer, more contextual interactions across personal and workplace environments.
As the rate of AI innovation continues to pick up, and investments along with it, the future of intelligent displays will be defined not just by performance, but by how flawlessly technology adapts to users and their environments.
AI’s Most Valuable Role: Reducing Friction For Humans
As users’ expectations for speedy and frictionless workflows demand more of their technology stack, embedded AI features are key to succeeding in this area. AI is especially effective at eliminating repetitive and low-value tasks, such as gathering, sorting, summarizing and organizing information. As AI reduces administrative friction, people can spend more time focusing on creativity, strategic thinking and decision making. Therefore, rather than replacing human capability, the true value of AI is to elevate how people interact with technology and workflows.
The role of visual technology is evolving to enable adaptive, user-centric experiences designed to support how people naturally work. Visual technologies are increasingly integrating intelligent features and enhanced collaboration tools such as cameras and microphones, along with contextual awareness capabilities and sensors that create a more seamless user experience and help boost workplace productivity.
As AI becomes more embedded in everyday workflows, monitors are emerging as a critical interface for delivering these capabilities, enabling users to interact with technology more naturally and efficiently.
Real-Time AI Experiences Will Redefine Visual Technology
It’s clear that AI has already made its way into many of our lives—personally and professionally. I myself have been experimenting with agentic AI recently and am very amazed by what it can do. I’ve also reflected on current and future use cases for AI to continue to drive innovation in displays as people spend more time on screens and expect more from their devices.
AI is already improving visual and collaborative experiences. For work, AI-enhanced picture quality, camera optimization and audio improvements for video conferencing all provide real-time benefits to our day-to-day workloads.
Outside of work, for example in gaming environments, AI-enabled displays are enhancing immersion through clearer visuals, higher resolutions and optimized settings tailored to different game types. Across the various uses for displays, advanced features are increasingly shifting toward more comfortable work periods and improving ergonomics for the end user.
Next-generation intelligent displays are moving beyond static settings to continuously monitor factors like ambient light, viewing time and user fatigue. AI-powered personalization can dynamically adjust brightness, color temperature and blue light exposure moment to moment while proactively reducing strain through features like auto-dimming and break prompts. Over time, these systems learn individual behaviors to create a highly tailored viewing experience that actively supports eye health and comfort.
In Conclusion
AI’s long-term success depends on trust, usability and human outcomes. As the pace of innovation continues to accelerate, intelligent displays will become increasingly important as interfaces for AI-driven workflows and enabling users to experience the benefits of its technology.
Looking ahead, organizations that prioritize human-centered experiences will unlock greater productivity, creativity and engagement. The next era of AI innovation will be defined not only by intelligence, but by how naturally technology supports people and their evolving needs.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
