Cortney Harding

Biography

Cortney Harding is an expert on artificial intelligence, spatial computing and virtual reality, helping organisations harness these technologies to transform how people learn, work and connect. She has built AI-powered conversational avatars for companies including Amazon, the US National Institutes of Health, and Verizon, and created virtual reality training scenarios on issues from workplace exclusion and mental health to Black maternal mortality and racial bias for Lowe’s, Walmart, PwC and Target.

A member of the Fast Future Executive faculty, Cortney contributed to the book The Fast Future Blur: Discover Transformative Interconnections Shaping the Future, addressing the impact of virtual and augmented reality. She has taught at CalTech, NYU, Barnard, North Carolina State University and New Mexico State University, and co-wrote and co-taught the Coursera course What is the Metaverse? on behalf of Meta. Her book The Spatial Race: How to Prepare for Our Future in the Meta-Physical World explores the implications of spatial computing.

Cortney has spoken at international gatherings including Davos, SXSW, Mobile World Congress and Augmented World Expo, as well as for clients such as Meta, Microsoft and Coca-Cola. Drawing on her front-line experience creating immersive solutions for some of the world’s biggest brands, she explains what AI and VR really are, how they intersect, and what they mean for individuals, organisations and society.

An Emmy-nominated executive producer for JFK Memento, which won the audience award for best XR at SXSW and Best in the World at the QLD XR Festival, Cortney’s work has also been recognised as Best VR/AR at Mobile World Congress, as a SXSW Innovation Award finalist and as a Top HR Product by HR Executive. She explores how hyper-personalised content, AI-powered decision-making and immersive social environments are becoming everyday norms, and what leaders need to do to design for this new 'spatial age'. From AI copilots and digital twins to immersive onboarding and decentralised teams, Cortney takes a practical and provocative look at how emerging technologies are redefining productivity, decision-making, communication and leadership itself.