Day 1 & 2 at Cannes: Building for the 99% with Inclusive AI

Landing in Cannes this year didn’t just bring excitement, it brought a spark of purpose. This wasn’t just another year at a festival. For me, and for many of us, it felt like a moment of urgency. We’re no longer just attendees; we’re builders. 

With inclusive AI, we’re making sure the future works for everyone, including people with no screens, no internet, and no voice in the mainstream narrative.

Day 1: Cannes as a co-creation lab

There’s something very different in the air this year. Cannes feels like a live beta lab. It’s less “watch-and-wonder” and more “build-and-break.” Everyone’s hands-on — pushing boundaries of immersive tech, AI, and spatial design. The energy is co-creative, not curated.

Conversations that build

Cannes is about conversations just as much as content. I connected with leaders from Snap, Meta, Google, WhatsApp, and INC — and the conversations were deeply strategic. We talked about scaling creativity for impact: from inclusive design to real-world utility. The big unlock was exploring how these global platforms can enable solutions like Perfetti Van Melle's Telephony AI and Britannia AEye for people in low-bandwidth, rural, and differently-abled communities.

Even off-stage, magic happens. An espresso with the Google Cloud and Gemini team turned into a mini whiteboarding session on how Perfetti Van Melle used voice-first AI to spread joy in rural India. Another candid chat with a Meta & Snap product lead sparked ideas for bringing purpose-driven AR to emerging markets. It’s these unplanned jams that fuel the real breakthroughs.

If I had to sum up Day 1 in one sentence:

Cannes isn’t just a festival this year — it’s a playground for inclusive, global, AI-powered creativity that’s being built live, together.

Day 2: Strategy over breakfast

Day 2 kicked off early. And by early, I mean before the caffeine hit. But that didn’t stop a 9 AM breakfast table from turning into a strategy huddle. WPP teams from Brazil, South Africa, UK, and India brainstorming how we can embed voice and AI into retail environments. What sparked it? Britannia AEye, and how it’s enabling visually impaired people to shop independently. 

Vision on the beach

The WPP Beach Vision Pro showcase led by Paddy from AKQA was unreal. These weren’t demos — they were experiences. From immersive brand worlds to spatial commerce and AI-powered enterprise training, the message was clear: this isn’t future-tech, it’s now-tech. And it’s ready to scale.

When it came to the work on display, what struck me wasn’t just the craft — it was the cultural lens. It was inspiring to see how similar problems are being tackled with different cultural lenses. We’re all part of a quiet creative revolution — and that’s a beautiful thing.

Purpose baked in

A notable shift this year? Purpose. It’s no longer a CSR add-on — it’s baked into the brief. The best work I’ve seen this year entertains, yes, but it also solves. Perfetti Center Fruit didn’t just spread joy — it delivered it to the most remote parts of India using AI and empathy.

My own lens at Cannes has evolved. Earlier, I came to absorb inspiration. Now, I come to ship solutions. We’re hosting hackathons with global partners, running Vision Pro showcases, and co-creating voice tech prototypes on-ground. For me, Cannes is a place to build, not just browse.

As for tomorrow, I’m most excited about scaling ideas with our global fam: from Google to Meta to Snap. Pushing forward inclusive innovation that isn’t designed for just the 1%, but for the 99% — rural users, differently abled people, those without screens or connectivity. 

Tomorrow’s about proving that India-to-the-world creative tech isn’t a moment — it’s a movement.

This article is penned by Niraj Ruparel, Creative Tech Lead, WPP & WPP Media India

Disclaimer: The article features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the stance of the publication.