In today’s information overload, making informed business and personal decisions is increasingly challenging. This is why it’s crucial to plan ahead with a clear understanding of the direction in which the world is moving. This set of articles highlights specific technological breakthroughs in various niches and discusses trends related to consumer behaviour and demands. We also cannot overlook the global development vectors that are essential for humanity’s well-being and prosperity.
Let’s start with AI.
AI in Tech: Explosive Growth and Self-Induction
The development of AI has been accelerating at an unprecedented pace, culminating in a plethora of breakthroughs in 2023 that have set the stage for exponential acceleration. This surge resembles not just a chain reaction but demonstrates all the hallmarks of self-reinforcement: the advancement of AI boosts the development of numerous industries while simultaneously accelerating AI’s own evolution. This intense momentum has even sparked discussions about Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).
Two major processes stand out:
- An “arms race” and competition in model sophistication among companies focussed on business in artificial intelligence (such as OpenAI, which by the end of the year had increased its valuation to over $100 billion, Anthropic, Mistral AI) and tech giants unwilling to lose their share of the pie (Google, Meta, Apple, X, Amazon).
- The rampant, uncontrolled development of AI models, often breaching privacy and leaking sensitive information during training, has led to regulatory attempts and discussions around potentially restricting AI in companies’ operations, particularly highlighted by European legislation.
Key achievements are vividly presented in a timeline infographic of 2023 developments:
Source: AIFirec.co
Almost everyone is now actively working on developing independent AI solutions or add-ons and integration solutions with existing models. A notable indicator is the surge in open-source AI projects on GitHub.
AI in Business: Expectations for 2024-2025
- The ongoing transformation of AI Interaction Systems. Last year marked a particularly significant evolution within GenAI, transitioning from chatbots to agents endowed with autonomy, proactivity, and the capacity for independent action, all within a few short months. These agents are expected to become even stronger and more adaptable.
- Multimodal AI, which integrates multiple input modes such as text, images, and audio, will significantly enhance the quality of information processing and the final outcomes of model work.
| The possible vector for amplifying AI models can be depicted as follows:
Bots – Agents – Multimodality |
- Another development factor is the boost of open-source AI, especially considering the current grievances with existing proprietary models being closed in a ‘black box’ style.
Source: GitHub
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- In 2024-2025, larger and more powerful models such as GPT-5, Google’s DeepMind, Meta’s Emu Video and Emu Edit are expected to be released.
- Significant Acceleration in Model Training:
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- AutoML will play a significant role in deep artificial intelligence enhancement and boosting machine learning through the totally integrated automation of many model training processes.
- Emphasis on Interpretability: Recently, there has been a heightened focus on interpretability, examining how models can explain and analyze themselves. (Refer to Anthropic’s article on this topic for more insights.)
- Surge in Demand for AI Infrastructure: The ongoing growth of AI could face a critical bottleneck due to a shortage of powerful data processing centers.
- Democratization of AI: This envisions increasing the accessibility of AI for smaller, resource-constrained organizations. It includes the ability to deploy local models on affordable accelerators.
- Closer Integration of AI-Native Hardware Devices: From smartphones to next-gen HealthTech gadgets and authentic autonomous assistants like Rabbit R1, hardware devices are increasingly intertwined with AI.
- Expect a continued symbiosis between various platforms and products in the AI space. Examples include Adobe’s integration with AI, Microsoft Copilot, GitHub’s collaboration with AI, etc.
- Generative AI is poised to take a prominent place in the global education system and specialized applied AI learning for specific professionals (various Copilots).
- A new qualitative leap in generative multimedia (video, generative sound, and human voice) will significantly propel businesses forward. However, it may also lead to a surge in disinformation, manipulation, and deepfakes, a phenomenon already emerging.
- In the realm of HR and Talent Acquisition, AI is proving to be a game-changer as well:
- The integration of AI technologies in the workplace is reshaping how businesses approach employee productivity.
- HR professionals are contemplating Bill Gates’ suggestion that AI could pave the way for a three-day work week.
- The race among candidates, leveraging AI to “simulate” experience, and recruiters armed with AI tools, is reshaping the hiring landscape.
- Autonomy and System Mobility Enhancement:
- Integration solutions for new business cases with computer vision and various equipment: The AI in tech trend has notably accelerated the development of robotics and device autonomy. This advancement spans a diverse range of fields, from warehouse robots and manufacturing plants to MilTech, including battlefield trials of drones that do not require manual guidance by an operator.
- MilTech: Coordinated Swarms of Autonomous Systems. Building on the previous trend, it’s important to highlight the growing focus within defence systems on developing operations with swarms of drones (Cost-Effective Swarming for Defence) and military AI systems.
- The advancement of autopilot systems, autonomous driving, and unmanned cargo delivery.
- Looking ahead, global AI trends:
- By 2026, the pace of AI development will slow down; for example, there is already a lack of high-quality data for training large language models (LLMs).
Source: CB Insights
- Despite the escalating concerns about Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), OpenAI‘s projections suggest a higher likelihood of AGI emerging by 2025.
- The good news is that by summer 2027, OpenAI aims to address superalignment – ensuring advanced AI systems deeply align with human values and ethics.
Conclusion
The growth of AI will accelerate over the next couple of years before slowing down. Real-world use cases will continue rising, necessitating a strong focus on AI ethics, overcoming bias, and responsible development. These AI trends, and the infrastructure enabling them, will shape developments across many other areas of tech.
In the following sections, we will discuss tech trends from the perspective of software developers and customers. We will also highlight some specific trends most businesses cannot afford to ignore.