By Anton Christodoulou, allpointsAI
Stepping into the world of events and immersive experiences today, it feels as though we’re at the very edge of a profound shift. For decades I’ve worked at the forefront of technology and creativity, always asking “What’s possible using the tools available to us, not just for efficiency, but for real, meaningful human connection?” The emergence of truly intelligent AI, and its capacity for “memory” and identity, is at once exhilarating and daunting, and a paradox worth exploring.
Rewiring the Future: Platforms and People
From my earliest days working with nascent immersive technologies such as VR and AR in the ‘90s, to leading experience design for global brands, building platforms has always always been at the core. Not for the sake of shiny tech, but to push what’s possible, at scale, for global audiences. Even during the prototype phases, the focus is always on clearly understanding the objective and intended outcome, to create something that truly connects us. By rewiring technology in innovative and creative ways to achieve these goals, it has never been solely about “How can we use this specific technology?”
Today, the lines between AI as a creative tool, and as a collaborator, are blurring. We’re already seeing impressive leaps with local large language models – AI that can live on-site or in a private cloud, operate totally securely, and augment even the most confidential, high-value ideas and projects. Suddenly, privacy and personalisation can coexist. That’s a game-changer.
AI Memory: The Double-Edged Sword
So, what exactly is “AI memory”? Think of it as the evolving, persistent context that a digital assistant accumulates about a person. Not just “likes Thai food” or “prefers city breaks”, but connections and inferences spanning lifestyle, work, budget, even mood. This context can supercharge personalisation. Ask for a restaurant, holiday, a piece of advice, or much more complex or deep questions, and AI can offer truly relevant and specific answers, sometimes better than we can consciously describe ourselves.
But here’s the kicker. Your data, your memories, sit with the AI provider, not the individual. All the lessons of two decades of social media pale in comparison to the next era, where our “AI identity” is richer, deeper, and potentially locked to just one platform. What happens if permission, privacy, or even national policy changes? The platform provided, and managed, privacy controls are not fit for purpose. Frameworks exist to enable us to benefit from the advantages of the AI-powered Internet, while protecting us from these risks. They just need to be implemented correctly. An excellent example is Inrupt, co-founded by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, which is underpinned by true decentralised ownership of your personal data via encrypted, portable, and personal data pods.
Freedom of Experience: Equalisers and Architecture
The danger is creating purely deterministic, algorithm-led worlds that strangle serendipity. Not everyone craves hyper-curated, predictively pleasant experiences. Sometimes, the magic lies in the unplanned, the unexpected, and the uncomfortable. That’s why I love the idea of an “experience equaliser”, an interface that lets each person dial up, or down, the level of AI inference and nudge they want, moment by moment. All privacy preserved, thanks to secure architectures, such as Inrupt’s Agentic Wallets.
Building for this reality means giving every attendee, not just event organisers, agency and consent. Event tech shouldn’t be a walled garden, but a series of open standards where any personal AI “plugs into” a trusted, interoperable platform. Organisers become hosts for shared knowledge, not extractors of personal data. This is a great outcome for all parties, as those that do opt-in, can do so, trusting the processes that are in place, with complete transparency. And those that opt-out, can continue to enjoy the experience their way, without fear of being sucked into an invisible marketing machine. Through trust and transparency, event organisers can tailor the perfect experience for every attendee, while preserving their privacy through AI-powered, agentic capabilities.
Rapid Prototyping: An AI-Powered Mindset Shift
Are we ready for this future? Only if we learn to pressure-test ideas fast. That’s why I’m passionate about AI-powered sprints. Instead of sprawling 24 hour hackathons (which are a lot of fun, though serve a different purpose), these are tight, 2.5-hour sessions. Senior teams, with or without any technical experience, can frame, explore, and prototype real solutions, with AI as a creative collaborator, and accelerator. In just an afternoon, we are surfacing immediate and long-term solutions to key challenges, validating them, and deciding what’s worth pursuing – without being sucked into wasted weeks or months, and sunk costs. It’s a mindset shift as much as a method. Traditional business workflows are being ripped up, and reformed, enabling rapid innovation across every industry
Where Next?
AI will soon be the invisible enabler of every major event and experience journey, removing friction, surfacing timely information, saving us from the niggles that too often define an experience in hindsight. It will also be the enabler for the next-generation of mind-blowing immersive experiences, that will redefine our reality in real time.
Yet, the best metric of success will also be when attendees barely notice the tech, and are simply present, connected, and delighted.
Control, privacy, and creative potential must move hand in hand. The key is to build systems that respect the human at the centre, and give everyone the ability to define what “personalised” really means to them.
If I had to crystallise all of this into a single idea: The best technology disappears, leaving room for stories, serendipity, and a radically human experience.