At CES 2019, LG envisions a future in which AI makes your life much easier

LG's  president and CTO, I.P. Park, had a special guest appear on stage with him at the company's CES keynote Monday. 

As he began his talk about the future of artificial intelligence, the LG CLOi GuideBot, a white robot about four feet tall, rolled out to join him. 

"You'll find her friends at airports assisting travelers, but she's here tonight to help me with my keynote," Park said.  

CLOi's appearance set the stage for the rest of LG's keynote, during which Park addressed how LG plans to use AI make our lives easier. He touched on LG's current use of AI in its products like its OLED TVs, which use AI to automatically optimize display and sound settings for whatever you're watching. 

But Park mainly focused on LG's vision for the next generation of AI and how it'll change our lives. A three-part video played throughout the keynote demonstrated how AI will be integrated into various aspects of our lives, from our homes to our cars to our shopping and dining experiences. 

For example, your fridge will tell you when you're running low on milk and then order some on your behalf (taking into consideration whether you like low-fat milk, of course). You'll get a virtual fitting when you look in the mirror. Your washing machine will know how long to wash your clothes and what settings you like. Self-driving vehicles will figure out the optimum route based on the traffic situation, meaning you can kick back and watch movies or shop using giant gesture-controlled screens all around the vehicle. 

"[AI] should go from simply recognizing your command to really understanding your needs and your purpose," Park said. "Not just executing your orders, but reading your intentions, and recommending the best way of achieving it."

Watch this: What the heck is LG's ThinQ AI?

03:01

LG has been pushing into AI lately as it works to make its products -- ranging from smartphones to washing machines to TVs -- smarter and more helpful. The company held a press conference earlier Monday, during which it also touted its artificial intelligent system called LG ThinQ, which is designed to make proactive recommendations based on someone's personal preferences.

Park said LG is working with Adient, a company specializing in automotive seating, to develop AI-enabled smart seats that'll recognize you and adjust to your personal seating preferences. He also said LG will use its webOS interface, which is already used in its TVs, for future in-car entertainment experiences.

The kind of smart living LG has envisioned for the future calls for the ability to transmit and process huge amounts of data, Park said. That's why 5G is a key enabler for "intelligent living on the go," he added. 

LG has teamed up with Qualcomm to one day enable functionalities such as allowing vehicles to communicate with one another and share perceptions of road conditions. Durga Malladi, senior vice president of 4G and 5G at Qualcomm, said the companies are working to make 5G a reality in production vehicles as early as 2021.

"AI is the future," Park said, "but only if we can achieve true intelligence." 

Here's what LG announced ahead of CES 2019

LG announced several of its products ahead of CES this year. Here's what's already been confirmed:

• LG's 2019 TVs revealed: Alexa and Google Assistant, 8K OLED and more
  
• LG confirms full HDMI 2.1 support in 2019 TVs
  
• LG CineBeam Laser 4K projector delivers voice control for CES 2019
  
• LG's new 2019 sound bars include Dolby Atmos and Google Assistant
  
• LG Gram 17 and new 14-inch 2-in-1 are coming to CES 2019
• LG's HomeBrew countertop beer bot at CES 2019
  

All the cool new gadgets at CES 2019

+82 More

See all photos

CES 2019: Every story so far: See all of CNET's coverage of the year's biggest tech show.

CES 2019 schedule: It's six days of jam-packed events. Here's what to expect.