AI is everywhere
Spending 2 days at Associations World Congress this week, it’s impossible to miss the dominant theme.
AI is everywhere. It’s in keynote sessions, breakout discussions, exhibitor conversations and networking events. Everyone is exploring how artificial intelligence might change the way associations operate, engage members and deliver value.
As I listened to the conversations taking place, I found myself thinking back a handful of years to when the dominant topic wasn’t AI; it was virtual and hybrid events.
The pandemic had forced the events industry to reinvent itself almost overnight. Event professionals were learning new platforms, developing new formats and rethinking decades of assumptions about how people connect, learn and collaborate.
The industry was asking big questions. Would virtual replace in-person events? Would hybrid become the default format? Had business travel changed forever?
Today, those debates have largely settled.
Not because virtual and hybrid disappeared, but because they matured.
The industry discovered what works. We learned that technology is not a replacement for human connection. We confirmed that people still value gathering together. We found that digital experiences can extend reach, improve accessibility and increase engagement when used thoughtfully.
Most importantly, we were reminded that technology is at its best when it supports virtual event engagement rather than becoming the objective itself.
That lesson feels particularly relevant as AI becomes the latest topic capturing attention.
The venue for this year’s Associations World Congress offers an interesting reminder of that principle.
The Lagoa Congress Centre, recently transformed from a former fish canning factory, represents reinvention without forgetting its roots. The industrial heritage remains visible throughout the building, from the polished concrete interiors to the expansive water features and reflecting ponds that create a sense of space and calm between sessions.
Outside, a colony of storks has made the venue its own. Enormous nests perch atop nearby lamp posts and a disused chimney, their occupants indifferent to the gathering of association professionals below debating the future impact of artificial intelligence.
Perhaps there is a lesson there for our industry.
The building has adapted to a new purpose while retaining the character that made it distinctive. The storks return year after year, while the conversations taking place beneath them evolve with every generation of technology.
The events sector is much the same. New technologies emerge. New expectations develop. New opportunities appear. Yet the fundamental purpose remains remarkably consistent.
People come to learn.
People come to share ideas.
People come to build relationships.
People come to feel part of a community.
No technology has changed that.
As event professionals, it can be tempting to become distracted by the latest innovation. Whether it was hybrid events in 2021 or AI in 2026, the conversation can sometimes become more focused on the technology than the outcomes it is supposed to deliver.
The most successful organisations tend to take a different approach to virtual event engagement. They embrace innovation, but they remain focused on purpose.
They use technology to remove barriers, improve experiences and increase value. They don’t implement technology simply because it exists.
That is why the virtual and hybrid conversations of five years ago still matter today.
Many events may not offer live remote attendance, but the principles remain. Sessions are recorded and made available on demand. Content reaches audiences beyond those physically present. Knowledge is shared more widely than would have been possible a decade ago.
Technology continues to extend virtual event engagement long after delegates have returned home.
As AI becomes the newest fascination, perhaps the most valuable consideration isn’t what the technology can do; it’s what problem we are trying to solve.
If AI helps associations serve members better, create more valuable content, improve accessibility or make events more engaging, it will earn its place just as hybrid technologies have.
If not, it risks becoming another buzzword that dominates conference agendas before fading into the background.
Spending time in the Algarve sunshine, enjoying the warmth of Portuguese hospitality and the striking surroundings of the Lagoa Congress Centre, I am reminded that while technologies change, the purpose of events does not.
The discussions may be about AI today, just as they were about virtual and hybrid events a few years ago. The subject matter evolves, but people still travel to meet, learn, debate and build relationships.
That is why great events endure.
The tools evolve.
The mission remains the same.
