Cortney Harding

Founder at Friends With Holograms

Brooklyn, United States

Cortney Harding is an in-demand expert in helping businesses harness the power of artificial intelligence, spatial computing, and virtual reality. She has created AI-powered conversational avatars for companies like Amazon, Delta, and McDonalds, and virtual reality training scenarios around topics like child abuse, workplace exclusion, mental health, Black maternal mortality, and racial bias for companies like Lowe’s, Walmart, PWC, Target, and more. She routinely leads workshops for Fortune 100 companies and universities on how to use AI and VR in education and training.

Her work as been honored on numerous occasions. As an executive producer on JFK Memento, she was nominated for an Emmy and the piece won the audience award for best XR at SXSW and Best in the World at the QLD XR Festival. Her work has also been honored as the Best VR/AR of 2019 at Mobile World Congress, a SXSW Innovation Award Finalist, and a Top HR Product by HR Executive.

She is currently a member of the Fast Future Executive faculty and a co-author the "Fast Future Blur" (Wiley, 2024). She has taught at CalTech, NYU, Barnard, North Carolina State University, and New Mexico State University, as well as co-writing and co-teaching the Coursera course "What is the Metaverse?" on behalf of Meta.I build learning systems that scale—fast, human, and immersive. From Fortune 100s to frontline health workers, I design and deploy XR + AI solutions that solve real problems: skills gaps, safety risks, retention rot. The results? 75% cost reductions, 33% drop in turnover, and learning tools that don’t just impress—they endure. I’ve taught immersive design at CalTech, NYU, and Barnard. I’ve built global training platforms for organizations like the WHO. And I’ve helped workers—not just managers—create their own VR content to teach and protect each other. That’s not innovation theater. That’s impact at scale. As an Emmy-nominated storyteller and Top 100 Global Woman in AI, I bring both creative firepower and systems thinking to everything I build. I bridge the boardroom and the shop floor, the visionary and the executable. Now, I’m writing a book on how spatial computing and AI are reshaping the way we teach, train, and transfer knowledge—spotlighting the builders, not just the buzzwords. Looking to connect with leaders who are tired of pilot purgatory and ready to deploy immersive systems that actually work. More: Cortney Harding is an in-demand expert in helping businesses harness the power of artificial intelligence, spatial computing, and virtual reality. She has created AI-powered conversational avatars for companies like Amazon, Delta, and McDonalds, and virtual reality training scenarios around topics like child abuse, workplace exclusion, mental health, Black maternal mortality, and racial bias for companies like Lowe’s, Walmart, PWC, Target, and more. She routinely leads workshops for Fortune 100 companies and universities on how to use AI and VR in education and training. Her work as been honored on numerous occasions. As an executive producer on JFK Memento, she was nominated for an Emmy and the piece won the audience award for best XR at SXSW and Best in the World at the QLD XR Festival. Her work has also been honored as the Best VR/AR of 2019 at Mobile World Congress, a SXSW Innovation Award Finalist, and a Top HR Product by HR Executive. She is currently a member of the Fast Future Executive faculty and a co-author the "Fast Future Blur" (Wiley, 2024). She has taught at CalTech, NYU, Barnard, North Carolina State University, and New Mexico State University, as well as co-writing and co-teaching the Coursera course "What is the Metaverse?" on behalf of Meta.