When you get to the ripe young age of 20, you’re bound to collect lots of stories – not only about the past but lessons for the future.
As WiT marks its 20th year in 2025, we turn the spotlight on our community, our tribe pioneers and leaders, to tell their stories and share their views on the evolution of online travel and technology.
We ask them to look back on the past and their early days, reflect on the present and why this moment is pivotal for online travel and get them to imagine the future, the next 20.
This special WiT Studio series, “Conversations On Turning 20”, is the collective story of WiT.
As a Chinese saying goes, 以古为鉴，可以知兴替
“By using history as a mirror, one can understand the rise and fall of things.”
Episode 8: Filip Filipov, Chief Operating Officer, OAG
We’ve lived through the internet boom, surfed the rise of social media, adapted to mobile, and floated into the cloud. Now, according to Filip Filipov, Chief Operating Officer of OAG, we’re standing at the edge of another seismic shift – the era of AI.
“This is an incredible moment that will define the next wave of experiences we have,” said Filipov. “For the first time, technology is not the problem anymore.”
So what is?
In this conversation, we trace the epic journey of technology’s evolution, from the dawn of the Internet to the cusp of AI reshaping our lives, and why the next five to seven years will be transformational.
Key Discussion Points:
- The Five Waves of Change:
Internet. Social. Mobile. Cloud. Now, AI. Each wave started slow, was underestimated — and then exploded. We’re at the beginning of the next major wave. - AI’s “Valley of Disappointment”:
After the initial AI euphoria, reality is setting in. But that’s not a bad sign – it’s exactly what happened before every other major tech explosion. - The Problem Isn’t Technology Anymore:
For the first time, technology isn’t the bottleneck. The challenge? Vision. Creativity. User experience. We must rethink what we truly want to solve. - Building Real Human Experiences:
AI isn’t meant just to sell better ads. It’s about fixing big, meaningful problems – in education, healthcare, and travel – and making human connection richer, simpler, and more beautiful. - The Future of Travel:
Imagine a world where flight delays aren’t a nightmare, your plans adjust automatically, your loved ones are notified — and stress simply disappears. That world is within reach — but only if we design for it across the entire travel ecosystem, not in silos. - A Rallying Call:
It’s no longer up to the tech giants alone. It’s on all of us — innovators, creators, technologists — to dream bigger, to build better, and to demand more from ourselves.
Don’t miss it — this conversation will change how you think about the future of AI, travel, and human-centered innovation.
