Artificial intelligence — computers thinking like humans — is consuming us, and vice versa. From personalized Spotify playlists to Netflix movie recommendations to wearable devices tracking our wellness and alerting us to irregularities, AI shapes our everyday experiences in subtle yet powerful ways.
At work, we find AI woven into our standard-issue tools. AI-powered platforms can create images and layouts (Canva); enhance grammar, tone, and clarity of writing (Grammarly); and summarize and organize meeting notes(Notion and Otter.ai ). These only scratch the surface.
Across the key industries in Greater Palm Springs — tourism, real estate, healthcare, education, agriculture, and energy — AI is transforming the way the desert works, helping companies gain insights, enhance efficiency, and improve customer service.
With spiking interest in the technology, the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce hosted its first AI and Creativity Expo over the summer, drawing hundreds of attendees to the Palm Springs Convention Center to learn how to capitalize on ChatGPT, OpenAI, and similar platforms.
In one panel discussion, Ken Buechele, vice president and chief information officer of Eisenhower Health, explained how AI helps doctors analyze medical records and provide information for patient care decisions. Christine Vendredi, chief curator and acting director of Palm Springs Art Museum, shared how the institution uses AI for transcription services and visitor engagement. And Val Martinez Garcia, president of College of the Desert, announced the school’s new Palm Springs campus would include an AI accelerator hub.
The Expo followed a couple of tech community gatherings organized by Palm Springs city Councilman Jeffrey Bernstein, who was struck by the size of the local tech community. He says that their willingness to teach students presents an opportunity for Greater Palm Springs to build a homegrown AI ecosystem.
Vincent Nestler, Ph.D., director of Cal State San Bernardino’s Cybersecurity Center, agrees, suggesting the region could become an AI incubator focused on tourism and retirement. “AI will be a godsend in providing companionship for elderly residents, monitoring vital signs, and tracking medications,” he predicts. “It can provide cognitive stimulation games and alert doctors or family members to potential health issues. For tourism, AI can serve as a personal guide, overcome language barriers, and provide a customized, engaging experience.”
Palm Springs Life asked leaders across the desert’s most vital industries how AI helps them do their jobs better.
In real estate, AI streamlines the agent workflow and helps platforms like Zillow analyze photographs and data to generate more accurate “Zestimates.”
Real Estate: The Future of Site Selection
In commercial real estate, AI streamlines tasks such as data analysis and contract drafting. “Even in its infancy, it can put a lot of data together quickly to help determine where there’s a deal and where there’s not,” says Adam Gilbert, president of The Firm Commercial in Palm Springs.
Gilbert anticipates AI will eventually handle complex tasks, such as optimizing development designs and ranking sites based on user criteria.
As AI accesses more robust datasets — utilities, transportation, GIS, zoning laws, environmental, legal resources — users will be able to search for sites that meet specific criteria, such as square footage, proximity to transportation, utility infrastructure, and other factors.
Maggie Montez, president of Lee & Associates in Palm Desert, says AI presents opportunities for her clients: “A lot of times, when a retailer or restaurant is looking to enter the market, they want to know how other restaurants are performing in terms of sales. I went to the city of Indio, and they provided me with an AI-generated report showing that the city has a demand for up to $132 million in sit-down restaurant sales, while the current supply is only $32 million. We’re able to demonstrate that there’s a significant gap in unmet demand.”
“My agents are using it to write listing descriptions, edit photos, and find information on properties. But they’re just skimming the surface. I’m trying to make them aware of [AI’s] capabilities.” — Jeff Rayborn
Portrait courtesy jeff rayborn
Montez explains that AI can analyze anonymous cell phone pings to generate detailed reports on customer behavior, such as where visitors come from and how long they spend at a business location. This real-time data enables retailers to evaluate foot traffic patterns and compare multiple sites to identify the area with the most potential for their operations.
On the residential side of the industry, Kevin Rochlitz, associate broker at Bennion Deville Homes in Palm Springs, uses AI to create marketing materials. “There are thousands of templates,” he says, adding that he also uses ChatGPT for copywriting. “We had an open house that was slow, and I said, ‘Let’s change the verbiage in the marketing.’ I was amazed.”
Jeff E. Rayborn, operations manager at Desert Lifestyle Properties, says real estate agents must adapt to avoid being left behind by AI. “My agents are using it to write listing descriptions, edit photos, and find information on properties,” he says. “But they’re just skimming the surface. I’m trying to make them aware of [AI’s] capabilities. Today’s buyers have been sitting in front of a screen their entire life. They don’t need to walk into a property and physically inspect it to make a purchase. It’s just not the way it’s done any longer.”
Peter Loforte, a former Microsoft executive who retired to Palm Springs and now works as a consultant and futurist, says “California-based firms like Compass are heavily investing in AI to streamline the agent workflow, while platforms like Zillow use AI to analyze photos and data for more accurate property ‘Zestimates.’ For a luxury market like ours, this means the potential for AI to virtually stage high-end properties to a buyer’s specific taste or identify investment opportunities with unprecedented speed.”
Educators have a new challenge: teach students to be critical and responsible users.
Photo courtesy college of the desert
Photo courtesy adobe stock
Education: Creating Responsible Users
The Coachella Valley’s three public K–12 school districts primarily use AI for administrative purposes. In classrooms, some teachers use the technology to sharpen the points they make in their daily lessons.
“Teachers have been using [AI] to make something like CliffsNotes — to take a massive book and distill it down into learnable points,” says Will Carr, technology information services director at Palm Springs Unified School District.
Meanwhile, about 70 percent of students report using AI on their personal devices. While school-supplied devices, such as Chromebooks and iPads, block students’ access to AI chatbots, experts agree that ordinary internet searches pose a greater risk of returning inappropriate content.
Experts also say schools present the most logical place to teach students how to use the technology ethically and thoughtfully to improve their daily work.
“This is where we see the most powerful opportunity,” says Loforte, the former Microsoft exec. “Initiatives like the Los Angeles Unified School District’s AI-powered personal assistant for students, ‘Ed,’ show what’s possible, providing personalized resources and support.” (The company behind Ed collapsed, and the district shuttered the operation last year). “We have a responsibility to foster AI literacy from a young age so students can become critical and responsible users.”
Voice-controlled smart rooms at Kimpton Rowan Palm Springs Hotel help personalize the guest experience.
Photo courtesy kimpton rowan palm springs hotel
Tourism: Personalizing Experiences
Scott White, president and CEO of Visit Greater Palm Springs, believes AI will lead to highly automated hotels but emphasizes the importance of in-person interactions.
“AI will create greater demand for personal touchpoints,” he says. “People want authentic experiences. They want to interact with the locally owned coffee shop and talk to people.”
He highlights AI’s effectiveness in improving meeting planning, data organization, and customer service: “Let’s say you’re a meeting planner and you’re thinking about a ballroom or outdoor area and want to design it a certain way. It might take a hotel several days to deliver visuals, while AI will do that within seconds.
“AI will free us to work on things that are truly important to the planet, the world we live in, rather than spending a whole lot of time behind a desk on a computer doing things that are monotonous and just time-consuming.” — Scott White
Photo by ethan kaminsky
“We are seeing a tech migration, not just because remote work is possible, but because Palm Springs offers an antidote to the high-stress, monolithic culture of major tech hubs.” — Peter Loforte
Photo courtesy peter loforte
“AI will free us to work on things that are important to the planet, the world we live in, rather than spending a lot of time behind a desk doing things that are monotonous and time-consuming,” he says. “Maybe we can have healthier lifestyles as a result.”
Loforte already sees AI at work at local hotels and resorts. “The Kimpton Rowan, for instance, leverages voice-controlled smart rooms using Josh.ai to create a more seamless and personalized environment for guests. Statewide, companies are using AI-powered ‘smart concierge’ services to handle requests, freeing staff to provide more high-touch, human-centric service.”
Agriculture: Optimizing Crop Output
In the drought-affected desert, AI has a transformative impact on agriculture. By combining AI with sensors, drone surveillance, satellite imagery, and weather data, farmers can monitor crop health, optimize water usage, and sustain crop production in real time.
“We use drones to know how much water needs to be in different parts of the area,” says business and AI consultant Joe Wallace. “You can use sensors that allow you to know what the moisture content in the ground is. You can get a density count on weeds and what they are, then you can send a drone out there to spray it with weed killer — and it keeps the data.”
Bell peppers are a significant local crop, accounting for about 5,000 acres and an estimated $90 million in value. These delicate fruits are typically harvested by hand, but AI-powered cameras and sensors are being developed to identify ripe bell peppers among leaves and stems. Once identified, robotic grippers use gentle suction to avoid bruising the fruit and blades to cut them from their stems.
Photo courtesy adobe stock
Energy and Utilities: Managing Vital Resources
Nate Otto, president of Hot Purple Energy, says that almost 90 percent of his customers use battery backups for their solar systems, and “AI is beneficial for optimizing [its use]. If you start using more of your battery, it can let you know that you might want to consider turning things off.”
AI-controlled solar systems can also manage smart appliances, such as thermostats and refrigerators. If the AI predicts high solar production and low demand, it may automatically start charging an electric vehicle (EV). “If the system learns you need a full EV charge by 8 a.m., it will manage resources accordingly,” Otto says.
For utilities such as water and electricity, AI models leverage historical usage patterns, weather data, population growth, and economic activity to forecast demand. They also utilize predictive analytics to manage aging infrastructure, such as forecasting pipe and transformer failures, and prioritize maintenance accordingly.
AI chatbots, integrated with customer relationship management systems to personalize responses, can answer routine inquiries 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Coachella Valley Water District has begun a two-year project to implement a modern customer billing system. Lorraine Garcia, communication manager and public information officer, says the system “will enable us to integrate AI, improving efficiency and better serving our customers.”
AI-controlled solar systems learn the user’s needs and adjust charging times to achieve maximum efficiency.
pHOTO COURTESY alamy stock photo
Healthcare: Improving Patient Interactions
Hospitals throughout Greater Palm Springs use AI to automate administrative tasks and tailor treatment plans to patients. The technology even predicts complications before they arise.
“Eisenhower Health is using AI to streamline surgery scheduling and utilization, improving access and reducing wait times for perioperative procedures,” says Buechele. “In our
oncology program, patients can opt into using a remote monitoring system to assist with symptom management.”
He suggests that the region invest in developing an AI innovation hub: “Job creation in the technology sector and support services would help augment an existing need for more technology professionals in the local community. Partnering with local schools and College of the Desert to advance STEM programs would help keep talent in our community.”
Greater Palm Springs already has a robust AI community, observes Wallace, the business and AI consultant. “I guess we’d call them ‘gig people.’ You can probably point to thousands of individuals in that space. They don’t have to live in the Bay Area anymore. So you need to create a culture that is conducive to the people who are in that business. I think we’ve got a good shot at that.”
At Eisenhower Health, admistrators use AI to optimize scheduling, improving access and service to patients.
Photo courtesy Alamy stock photo
Loforte adds, “Our reputation as a health destination can be amplified by local AI adoption. For instance, Eisenhower Health has been a leader in leveraging AI for advanced medical training. They utilize sophisticated patient simulator mannequins that use AI to converse with learners in real time, creating realistic training for high-risk procedures in a low-risk environment.”
Wallace, Loforte, and others agree that AI will fundamentally change the way Greater Palm Springs does business, creating an opportunity to position the region as a thought leader with a progressive incubator that examines the technology’s transformative potential and broader implications.
Loforte predicts Greater Palm Springs will become an attractive location for remote workers and entrepreneurs: “We are seeing a tech migration, not just because remote work is possible, but because Palm Springs offers an antidote to the high-stress, monolithic culture of major tech hubs. Tech professionals are drawn here for the quality of life, the creative energy, and a desire to be part of a more grounded and diverse community. We can build upon this by intentionally creating a supportive ecosystem. Instead of leaving this talent to work in isolation, we are actively creating a focal point for them to connect with each other, with local businesses, and most importantly, with our students.”
