Provided By Aalia Lanius, Editor-in-Chief, UNSUGARCOATED Media

There is a peculiar dissonance in attending an industry conference like Shoptalk—a gathering ostensibly about the future—while the present feels so precarious. Last week, the Mandalay Bay convention center hummed with the energy of commerce: vendors peddling AI solutions, logistics experts mapping supply chain contingencies, entrepreneurs chasing the next big thing. The scale was larger than last year, the crowd more fervent. And yet, beneath the glossy veneer of innovation, there was an unspoken anxiety, a collective understanding that the ground is shifting in ways we do not yet fully comprehend.

I started my first business as a solopreneur at 22 years old and my first company at 25. I have spent my career watching industries rise and fall—media, retail, technology—each convinced of its own permanence until it wasn’t. Now, at 50, I feel the weight of time more acutely. The past 25 years have passed in a blur of disruption, and the next 25 promise even greater upheaval. Shoptalk, in many ways, is a microcosm of this tension: a place where optimism and denial coexist, where businesses scramble to adapt while hoping, against mounting evidence, that the old rules might still apply. 

The Myth of Human-Centric AI

One of the most pervasive refrains at Shoptalk was that AI will augment, not replace, human labor. Executives from customer service platforms, marketing firms, and logistics companies all insisted that their tools were designed to empower workers, not eliminate them. And yet, the reality is more complicated.

Yes, some businesses will use AI responsibly—freeing employees from mundane tasks to focus on creative, strategic, or deeply interpersonal work. But many others will not. The economic incentives are too strong. If a company can reduce headcount by 30% while maintaining 80% of productivity, shareholders will demand it. We are already seeing this in customer service (chatbots replacing live agents), journalism (AI-generated articles), and even legal research (automated brief drafting). The idea that businesses will resist this pressure out of some moral obligation is naïve.

The uncomfortable truth is that AI will displace millions of workers, and no amount of corporate reassurance will change that. The question is not whether it will happen, but how we prepare for it.

The Fragility of Global Trade

Then there is the matter of geopolitical instability. The specter of 60% tariffs on Chinese imports—a very real possibility under a second Trump administration—hung over conversations like a storm cloud. Some businesses were proactive, discussing nearshoring to Mexico or Vietnam. Others seemed to be in denial, clinging to the hope that trade wars would blow over.

But this is not 2018. The world is more fractured. The U.S. and Canada, once steadfast allies, are now locked in disputes over energy and protectionist policies. Supply chains, already strained by pandemic aftershocks, face new pressures from climate disasters and regional conflicts. The idea that global commerce will simply “return to normal” is a fantasy. 

Climate Change: The Elephant in the Expo Hall

Perhaps the most unsettling disconnect was the lack of urgency around climate disruption. In 2020, a report warned that 1.2 billion people could be displaced by 2050 due to environmental collapse. And yet, at Shoptalk, sustainability was often framed as a marketing opportunity rather than an existential threat. Brands boasted about carbon-neutral shipping, but few were discussing how rising temperatures, failing crops, and mass migration will reshape consumer behavior and economic stability.

This is not a distant problem. We are already seeing its effects—shipping lanes disrupted by extreme weather, agricultural yields declining, insurance companies pulling out of high-risk regions. Businesses that treat this as a PR challenge rather than a systemic risk are in for a rude awakening.

The Paradox of Preparation

All of this raises a deeper question: Why do we gather at events like Shoptalk?

Is it to prepare, or to reassure ourselves that preparation is possible?

There is value in the connections made, the deals struck, the technologies discovered. But there is also danger in the illusion of control. The future is not a puzzle to be solved, but a storm to be weathered.

The businesses that survive—and thrive—will be those that acknowledge uncertainty rather than ignore it. They will diversify not just suppliers, but entire business models. They will invest in human capital even as they automate. They will plan for scarcity, instability, and disruption because these are no longer hypotheticals—they are the conditions of our time.

A Call for Clear-Eyed Commerce

As I left Shoptalk, I thought about the entrepreneurs hustling for their next big break, the executives betting on AI to save costs, the optimists who believe adaptation is enough. I hope they’re right. But history suggests otherwise.

The next decade will separate those who adapt from those who delude themselves. The choice is stark: Plan for the worst, or be overwhelmed by it.

The future is coming, ready or not. The only question is—who will be left standing when it arrives?

About the Author

Aalia Lanius is a Certified Human Rights Advocate, International Business Owner, and Multiple Award-winning Novelist. As the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of UNSUGARCOATED Media, Aalia is dedicated to exposing the social impact of world events and advocates indiscriminately for education, objectivity, and humanity through storytelling and journalism