What’s next for AI in 2025

The MIT Technology Review’s "What’s Next" series highlights future industry trends, focusing on AI. Accurate past predictions include customized chatbots, generative video, and versatile robots, while AI-generated election disinformation was less significant.

Key trends for 2025 include:

• Generative Virtual Playgrounds: AI-generated virtual worlds, like those from Google DeepMind and World Labs, could revolutionize video games and robotics training by creating interactive environments on demand.

• Large Language Models with Reasoning: New models from OpenAI and Google DeepMind enhance AI’s logical reasoning abilities, improving performance in tasks like math and coding, and advancing AI agents.

• AI in Science: AI is accelerating scientific discovery, especially in natural and materials sciences. Tools like AlphaFold have already made major impacts, with more advancements expected.

• AI and National Security: The defense sector is increasingly using AI for tasks like border surveillance. Companies like OpenAI and Anduril are securing lucrative military contracts, reflecting AI's growing role in defense.

• Competition for Nvidia: Nvidia faces challenges from AMD and startups like Groq in AI chip development. Geopolitical factors, including the US CHIPS Act and tensions with China, will shape the chip industry in 2025.

ZNest’s Take

Key Takeaways

• Cost Reductions Everywhere: 

  • AI chip competition is reducing data center setup costs making AI more affordable.

  • AI-powered VR could lower development costs, enhancing senior care applications.

  • AI adoption in science will lead to quicker and more cost-effective medical advancements, including Alzheimer’s.

• AI Agents: Autonomous software that performs tasks with minimal human intervention is coming. 

• AI Adoption Strategy: Leaders must identify areas where AI agents can enhance efficiency and reposition staff for high-value tasks where human expertise is crucial. AI should complement, not replace, human teams.

We believe it is crucial for all business leaders to stay informed about technological trends, especially in the realm of AI, as it has the potential to impact every aspect of our lives.

While not every point in MIT’s highlighted trends are directly applicable to the Senior Care industry, several are worth deeper discussion.  One significant trend is the potential reduction in costs across various areas.  For instance, MIT's discussion on increased competition in AI chips points to a reduction in data center set-up costs. As the “picks and shovels” fall in price, it will transfer to more affordable access to high-powered computing for health monitoring systems, predictive analytics, and complicated workflow automation.  

Another is the development of generative virtual playgrounds, which could drastically lower VR development costs. This is particularly promising for senior care, as VR has been shown in research studies to be successful in geriatric rehabilitation, cognitive maintenance, well-being improvement, and combating loneliness. Making these technologies more accessible can be game changing for the lives of many seniors.

AI adoption in science will lead to faster and more cost effective breakthroughs in medicine. Researchers around the world are already pursuing AI applications in Alzheimer's diagnostics, drug combinations, and preventions. While they have yet to make a major breakthrough, we are seeing major achievements in other areas of medicine. A recent example is the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, awarded to scientists who developed AI-designed custom proteins that saved mice from lethal snake venom. This innovation has significant implications for South Asia, Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. Snake venom kills roughly 100,000 people a year worldwide, concentrated in those three areas, and traditional antivenom is notoriously expensive to produce.

Lastly, in regard to model’s with reasoning, 2025 is being heralded as the "Year of AI Agents." AI Agents are autonomous software programs designed to perform specific tasks with minimal human intervention. They can learn, adapt, and make decisions to achieve predefined goals. The tech industry is racing to create AI agents capable of zero human intervention. For instance, you could task an AI agent with planning a two-week vacation to Italy, focusing on Roman historical sites and Michelin-starred restaurants, and it would handle all the details seamlessly. Such developments will change the operations of every industry.

AI Agents will have a seismic impact on businesses and they are no longer a question of will it happen but when.  We believe that it is important for leaders in senior living to not ignore the oncoming wave but rather smartly think through its adoption.  Here are some of our core beliefs:

• Reduction in administrative hours: Time spent on mundane administrative tasks will go to zero over time.

• Greater Quality + Happiness: Things will be done faster, with fewer mistakes leading to happier customers and workers.

• Responsible leadership required: Detailed, nuanced, empathic analysis and caregiving is currently impossible to replicate with AI but there will be practices that get left behind.  Workers will need to be transitioned to doing things that computers cannot but that may be a difficult move for some.

With that in mind, leaders need to identify specific areas agents can automate or enhance within the organization. However, it is equally important to think through the high value tasks that employees can now be repositioned to deliver on behalf of the organization.

No matter what AI tools an organization adopts, we suggest that you don’t think of AI as a replacement for humans but rather a key that unlocks the full potential of your team to focus on areas where human expertise is irreplaceable.

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