Tools & Platforms
Industry Leaders Chart the Future of Mobile Innovation at Galaxy Tech Forum
At Galaxy Unpacked 2025 on July 9, Samsung Electronics unveiled its latest Galaxy Z series devices and wearables — pushing the boundaries of foldable design and connected wellness experiences. These innovations mark the next step in the company’s mission to deliver meaningful, user-centered technology, with Galaxy AI and digital health emerging as key pillars of the journey ahead.
To explore these themes further, Samsung hosted two panels at the Galaxy Tech Forum on July 10 in Brooklyn. Samsung Newsroom joined industry leaders and executives to examine how ambient intelligence and advanced health technologies are shaping the future of mobile innovation.
(Panel One) The Next Vision of AI: Ambient Intelligence
(From left) Moderator Sabrina Ortiz, Jisun Park, Mindy Brooks and Dr. Vinesh Sukumar
The first panel, “The Next Vision of AI: Ambient Intelligence,” explored how multimodal capabilities are enabling the continued evolution of AI in everyday life — blending into user interactions in ways that feel intuitive, proactive and nearly invisible. Panelists discussed the smartphone’s evolving role, the importance of platform integration and the power of cross-industry collaboration to deliver secure, personalized intelligence at scale.
Jisun Park, Corporate Executive Vice President and Head of Language AI Team, Mobile eXperience (MX) Business at Samsung Electronics, opened the conversation by reflecting on Galaxy AI’s rapid adoption. Since the launch of the Galaxy S25 series in January, more than 70% of users have engaged with Galaxy AI features. He then turned the discussion to the next frontier, ambient intelligence — AI that is deeply personal, predictive and ever-present.
Jisun Park from Samsung Electronics
Samsung sees ambient intelligence as AI that is so seamlessly integrated into daily life it becomes second nature. The company is committed to democratizing Galaxy AI to 400 million devices by the end of 2025.
This vision builds on insights from a yearlong collaboration with London-based research firm Symmetry, which revealed that 60% of users want their phones to anticipate needs without prompts — based on daily habits.
“Some see AI as the start of a ‘post-smartphone’ era, but we see it differently,” said Park. “We’re building a future where your devices don’t just respond — they become smarter to anticipate, see and work quietly in the background to make life feel a little more effortless.”
Mindy Brooks, Vice President of Android Consumer Product and Experience at Google, discussed how multimodal AI is moving beyond reactive response to deeper understanding of user intent across inputs like text, vision and voice. Google’s Gemini is designed to be intelligently aware and anticipatory — tuned to individual preferences and routines for assistance that feels natural.
Mindy Brooks from Google
“Through close collaboration with Samsung, Gemini works seamlessly across its devices and connects with first-party apps to provide helpful and personalized responses,” she said.
Dr. Vinesh Sukumar, Vice President of Product Management at Qualcomm Technologies emphasized that as AI becomes more personalized, there is more information than ever that needs to be protected.
“For us, privacy, performance and personalization go hand in hand — they’re not competing priorities but co-equal standards,” he said.
Dr. Vinesh Sukumar from Qualcomm Technologies
Both Brooks and Dr. Sukumar reinforced the importance of tight integration across platforms and hardware.
“Our work with Samsung prioritizes secure, on-device intelligence so that users know where their data is and who controls it,” said Dr. Sukumar.
The AI panel at Galaxy Tech Forum
Moderator Sabrina Ortiz, senior editor at ZDNET, closed the session with a discussion on AI privacy. Panelists agreed that trust, transparency and user control must underpin the entire AI experience.
“When it comes to building more agentic AI, our priority is to ensure we’re fostering smarter, more personalized and more meaningful assistance across our device ecosystem,” said Brooks.
(Panel Two) The Next Chapter of Health: Scaling Prevention and Connected Care
The second panel, “The Next Chapter of Health: Scaling Prevention and Connected Care,” focused on how technology can bridge the gap between wellness and clinical care — making health insights more connected, proactive and usable for individuals, healthcare providers and digital health solution partners. Panelists explored how the convergence of clinical data, at-home monitoring and AI is reshaping the modern healthcare experience.
(From left) Moderator Dr. Hon Pak, Mike McSherry, Dr. Rasu Shrestha and Jim Pursley
Health data is often siloed across systems, resulting in inefficiencies and gaps in care. Combined with rising rates of chronic illness, an aging population and ongoing clinician shortages, the result is a system under pressure to deliver timely, effective care.
Dr. Hon Pak from Samsung Electronics
“Patients and consumers around the world are asking us to hear them, to know them, to truly understand them,” said moderator Dr. Hon Pak, Senior Vice President and Head of Digital Health Team at Samsung Electronics. “And I believe this is the opportunity we have with Samsung, Xealth and partners like Hinge and Advocate. Together, we are creating a connected ecosystem where healthcare can truly make a difference — not just in the life of a patient, but in the life of a person.”
Samsung is addressing this challenge through technological innovation and its recent acquisition of Xealth, a leading digital health platform with a network of more than 500 hospitals and 70 digital health solution providers. Through Xealth, Samsung plans to connect wearable data and insights from Samsung Health into clinical workflows — delivering a more unified and seamless healthcare experience.
Mike McSherry from Xealth
“This , plus your devices — the watch, the ring — are going to replace the standalone blood pressure monitor, the pulse oximeter, a variety of different devices,” said Mike McSherry, founder and CEO of Xealth. “It’s going to be one packaged solution, and that’s going to simplify care.”
This collaboration is designed to empower hospitals with real-time insights and help prevent chronic conditions through early detection and continuous monitoring with wearable devices.
Dr. Rasu Shrestha from Advocate Health
“The reality is that with all of the challenges that exist in healthcare, it is not any one entity that can heroically go in and save healthcare. It really takes an ecosystem,” said Dr. Rasu Shrestha, Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation & Commercialization Officer at Advocate Health. “That’s part of the reason why I’m so excited about Xealth and Samsung — and partners like us — really coming together to solve for this challenge. Because it is about Samsung enabling it. It’s more of an open ecosystem, a curated ecosystem.”
The panel spotlighted the growing shift from hospital-based care to care at home — and the opportunities enabled by Samsung’s expanding ecosystem of connected devices. Data from wearables, including those equipped with Samsung’s BioActive Sensor technology, can provide high-quality input for AI-driven insights.
Paired with Samsung’s SmartThings connectivity and wide portfolio of smart home devices, the company is uniquely positioned to support remote health monitoring and treatment from home.
AI is expected to play a role in reducing clinician workload by streamlining administrative tasks and surfacing the most relevant insights at the right time. Platforms like Xealth offer users a personalized, friendly interface to access necessary information from one place for a more connected healthcare experience.
Tools & Platforms
Scotta taps Nextail AI powered technology to support retailer’s growth across stores and online — Retail Technology Innovation Hub
“We’re committed to growing without compromising our values or customer experience. Partnering with Nextail allows us to proactively address operational bottlenecks and bring more precision and agility to our stock decisions. As we grow, it will be even more important to continue delivering on our brand promise of offering high-quality products at a fair price with an authentic story,” says Carlos Serra, Scotta CEO.
By leveraging Nextail, Scotta aims to boost sell-through and margins, reduce markdowns and stockouts, and improve strategic collaboration across teams through data driven insights and automation.
“Growing brands like Scotta prove that forward thinkers don’t need to wait to operate like larger industry leaders,” says Carlos Miragall, CEO and Co-Founder at Nextail. “By choosing to tackle key inventory challenges early on, they’re setting the foundation for sustainable and efficient growth, and we’re proud to be part of that story.”
RTIH AI in Retail Awards
RTIH, organiser of the industry leading RTIH Innovation Awards, proudly brings you the first edition of the RTIH AI in Retail Awards, which is now open for entries.
As we witness a digital transformation revolution across all channels, AI tools are reshaping the omnichannel game, from personalising customer experiences to optimising inventory, uncovering insights into consumer behaviour, and enhancing the human element of retailers’ businesses.
With 2025 set to be the year when AI and especially gen AI shake off the ‘heavily hyped’ tag and become embedded in retail business processes, our newly launched awards celebrate global technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world and the resulting benefits for retailers, shoppers and employees.
Our 2025 winners will be those companies who not only recognise the potential of AI, but also make it usable in everyday work – resulting in more efficiency and innovation in all areas.
Winners will be announced at an evening event at The Barbican in Central London on Wednesday, 3rd September.
Tools & Platforms
Virginia 911 call center implements AI technology to allow dispatchers to focus on emergency calls – KTVB
Tools & Platforms
In test-obsessed Korea, AI boom arrives in exams, ahead of the technology itself
July 11, 2025
SEOUL – A wave of artificial intelligence certifications has flooded the market in South Korea over the past two years.
But according to government data, most of these tests exist only on paper, and have never been used by a single person.
As of Wednesday, there were 505 privately issued AI-related certifications registered with the Korea Research Institute for Professional Education and Training, a state-funded body under the Prime Minister’s Office.
This is nearly five times the number recorded in 2022, before tools like ChatGPT captured global attention. But more than 90 percent of those certifications had zero test-takers as of late last year, the institute’s own data shows.
Many of the credentials are loosely tied to artificial intelligence in name only. Among recent additions are titles like “AI Brain Fitness Coach,” “AI Art Storybook Author,” and “AI Trainer,” which often have no connection to real AI technology.
KT’s AICE is South Korea’s only nationally accredited AI certification, offering five levels of exams that assess real-world AI understanding and skills, from block coding for elementary students to Python-based modeling for professionals. PHOTO: KT/THE KOREA HERALD
Only one of the 505 AI-related certifications — KT’s AICE exam — has received official recognition from the South Korean government. The rest have been registered by individuals, companies, or private organizations, with no independent oversight or quality control.
In 2024, just 36 of these certifications held any kind of exam. Only two had more than 1,000 people apply. Fourteen had a perfect 100 percent pass rate. And 20 were removed from the registry that same year.
For test organizers, the appeal is often financial. One popular certification that attracted around 500 candidates last year charged up to 150,000 won ($110) per person, including test fees and course materials. The content reportedly consisted of basic instructions on how to use existing tools like ChatGPT or Stable Diffusion. Some issuers even promote these credentials as qualifications to teach AI to students or the general public.
The people signing up tend to be those anxious about keeping up in an AI-driven world. A survey released this week by education firm Eduwill found that among 391 South Koreans in their 20s to 50s, 39.1 percent said they planned to earn an AI certificate to prepare for the digital future. Others (27.6 percent) said they were taking online AI courses or learning how to use automation tools like Notion AI.
Industry insiders warn that most of these certificates hold little value in the job market. A local AI industry official told The Korea Herald that these credentials are often “window dressing” for resumes.
“Most private AI certifications aren’t taken seriously by hiring managers,” he said. “Even for non-technical jobs like communications or marketing, what matters more is whether someone actually understands the AI space. That can’t be faked with a certificate.”
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