Artificial intelligence in 2025
AI was on everyone’s lips in 2023 as the curiosity about large language models – from individuals and businesses – grew significantly. The year 2024, as seen at CES, SXSW Austin, Mobile World Congress, VivaTech, is the one of AI adoption: while a number of companies are launching their own GPTs, Apple has introduced the first generation of iPhones designed from the ground up for Apple Intelligence.
Jeremy Kahn predicts that by 2025, the proof of concept phase for AI will come to an end and firms will begin implementing these technologies more efficiently and cost-effectively.
The current scepticism around AI aligns with the ‘trough of disillusionment’ in the Gartner Hype Cycle, but Kahn believes this phase will be short-lived, with genuine adoption expected to gain momentum. ‘I think we’re going to see real adoption pick up,’ he tells LS:N Global.
Key takeaways
: Jeremy Kahn is Fortune’s AI editor and the author of Mastering AI: A Survival Guide to Our Superpowered Future (released in summer 2024)
: By 2025, AI will move beyond the proof of concept phase, with widespread adoption and integration into workplaces
: AI co-pilots – specialised assistants tailored to industries – will enhance productivity, while firms will move on from scepticism and seek practical implementation
: Kahn warns of AI’s influence on culture, truth and warfare. While AI could create echo chambers and flatten artistic expression, there’s potential for a resurgence in avant-garde creativity and a push for sensible regulation to prevent misuse in conflicts
He anticipates that by late 2025, specialised assistants tailored to specific industries – AI co-pilots – will go mainstream. These advanced tools are designed to meet professional needs and set to enhance productivity while further accelerating AI integration into workplaces.
Truth, conspiracy theories and chatbots
Kahn expressed deep concerns about the impact of AI chatbots on truth, conspiracy theories and human judgement. He warned that this technology could drive us into ‘even smaller, more tight, more ironclad filter bubbles’ and suggested that we need to take steps to prevent this. He argues that chatbots should be designed to ‘counter-program our preexisting beliefs, maybe a bit’ rather than to reinforce them.
Highlighting the dangers of misinformation, he advocates for chatbots to rely on ‘sources that are considered reliable and trustworthy and not fringe ones’, even if they do not align with a user’s viewpoint. He also emphasised that chatbots should challenge conspiracy theories: ‘If somebody tries to express belief in a real conspiracy theory, it should say, ‘Actually, there’s no evidence for the thing that you’re saying.’’
If we turn our backs on one another for the cheap pleasure and convenience of dealing with AI software that will never challenge us, we will all be lost
Algorithmic culture versus the avant-garde
In his book, Kahn writes that as AI adoption grows, the ‘production of art and entertainment content will explode’. Explaining this further, he says, ‘And yet, this radical democratisation of artistic production will likely give more power to those who control the means to curate, distribute and market that content. Finding gold amid the schlock will be harder than ever.’
In his opinion, AI tools could flatten culture. ‘If you use the technology to create music, it tends to go for the median example of whatever you are prompting towards. That tends to cut off the ends of the data distribution, which is often where the more interesting and avant-garde stuff is in culture. You will lose what is produced in the fringe.’
This shift, though, may open opportunities for innovative artists, which could ‘put a premium on humans who can operate as artists in the avant-garde because that will seem very refreshing to people’, Kahn observes. ‘It will be something they cannot get from AI. But the question is, how do people discover that? Because, again, the system is just going to tend to give you something in the middle of what it thinks you’re looking for.’
Human artists and human genius will remain vital and pre-eminent. AI will increase the value of art with physical manifestations that it cannot so easily match – sculpture, ceramics, glassblowing, architecture, theatre and live performance, among others
From algorithms to arms
Kahn also raises serious concerns about the increasing use of AI in warfare, citing reports from the Israel-Hamas conflict. He highlighted that the Israeli military’s AI-driven targeting, despite having a human in the loop, has often left analysts with no insight into why targets were chosen, leading them, under tight time pressures, to ‘rubber-stamp’ the AI’s decisions.
He warns that despite such issues, AI’s perceived effectiveness means more militaries will probably adopt it. He suggests this could spark discussions at the United Nations about AI restrictions, although he doubts a complete ban is feasible due to opposition from countries including the US, Russia and the UK. Instead, he envisions a shift toward an ‘arms control mentality’, with sensible restrictions on technologies such as facial recognition by drones to prevent misuse by malicious actors.
Although he remains ‘guardedly optimistic about the future’ Kahn fears society may become overly reliant on AI, ‘surrendering our human judgement and human empathy to these systems’. To him, sensible regulations and the right design choices are crucial to ensure AI doesn’t erode our ability to make what he calls ‘irrational but merciful decisions’ that define our humanity.
In the last chapter of his book, ‘Toward our superpowered future’, Kahn writes: ‘We should strive to enshrine empathy at the core of our values, at the centre of our lives, and at the heart of our institutions. Empathy is something no AI will ever have. And it’s the key to holding on to human pre-eminence in a world of ever-more capable machines.’
We won’t have to let AI do all our thinking for us
Strategic opportunities
: Build AI ethics frameworks
Establish ethical guidelines and oversight for AI usage, especially in decision-making processes, to avoid over-reliance on algorithms and maintain human judgement and empathy in your company’s practices
: Support avant-garde creativity
Consider getting involved with pioneering artists or creative projects that can’t be replicated by AI, allowing your brand to stand out with unique, human-driven content that resonates in an increasingly AI-dominated landscape
: AI co-pilot solution
Explore developing or adopting AI co-pilots tailored to your industry to enhance productivity and support your workforce – ensuring people feel supported by this digital ally rather than threatened