Technological trends of the year in the new review of the “Business Journal”. We present a comprehensive forecast of the main innovations and techno-trends that will be used and implemented this year.
The trend forecast will give us insight into how tech leaders, engineers and innovators in new technologies will shape our lives in the future.
More than 15 key technology trends of 2025 that entrepreneurs should pay attention to:
Content:
Democratizing Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Few innovations have generated as much interest and growth in the last few years as artificial intelligence (AI). AI technology is making inroads into finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and dozens of other industries. By comparison, AI adoption rates today are 2.5 times higher than they were in 2017, with about 50% of organizations implementing AI in at least one business function.
And this technology is no longer just for big companies; today, AI is available to everyone. Thanks to open-source AI solutions and lower cost and complexity of systems, the democratization of AI is in full swing.
- A prime example is OpenAI, an artificial intelligence research company currently valued at over $29 billion. The company expects to reach $1 billion in net revenue in 2024.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT surprised the world when it was released in November 2022. The chatbot’s ability to take natural language prompts and generate conversational text for a variety of outcomes made people rethink what AI was capable of. More than 100 million people used ChatGPT within the first two months of its release.
- ChatGPT is one of the most sensational upcoming trends in the tech industry. It has made a splash in the world of automated chatbots with its seamless GPT3 technology, an autoregressive language model that gives AI “human-like capabilities” to understand and create texts.
Additionally, using deep learning, ChatGPT can generate images from text prompts, solve math equations, and perform a variety of writing tasks, from finding clever video titles to writing poetry.
Following ChatGPT, Google launched its own AI chatbot called Bard. Microsoft also released a Bing chatbot using OpenAI technology. Even Meta is joining the AI race and plans to release its meta-model of a large language for professionals in government, academia, and research.
This type of natural language technology can revolutionize business operations.
For example, customer service representatives can use it to respond to customer inquiries in seconds. Companies can use it to create personalized marketing and educational content without having to hire copywriters. Developers can use it to write complex code, and business leaders can use it to analyze data.
Cyber threats are becoming more advanced
Cybercrime is a constant and growing threat, from attacks on casual consumers to state-sponsored cyberwarfare. A 2022 global survey by Hiscox found that 43% of companies reported a cyberattack in 2021, and 48% reported at least one in 2022.
The most frightening statistic from the report was that 20% of attacked organizations said the cost of damage threatened their solvency.
Deepfake attacks are one of the most sophisticated ways hackers gain access to businesses. In a 2022 survey conducted by VMware, 66% of participating IT leaders said they had experienced a deepfake-related attack in the past 12 months. That’s up 13% from 2021.
Deepfake technology uses AI/deep learning to create convincing videos, images, and audio of fake events and people. This technology has been around for a few years now, and it’s getting better and better for hackers.
Cybercrime has become so widespread that the $155 billion cybersecurity industry is expected to grow to $376 billion by 2029, according to analysts and experts.
A type of machine learning technology called generative adversarial networks makes deepfake models nearly impossible to detect. Additionally, the advent of 5G networks makes it easier to manipulate video in real time.
Deepfakes are particularly useful for cybercriminals who commit BEC (business email compromise) scams. Manipulating face-to-face verification methods with deepfakes is another opportunity for cybercriminals.
Detecting deepfakes and other incoming threats is very much a defensive play for organizations. Security professionals are always one step behind the attackers. However, cybersecurity professionals are using artificial intelligence and other advanced technology solutions as early as possible to detect and stop attacks.
A 2022 IBM report found that organizations that use AI tools along with automation reduce the breach lifecycle by 74 days and save $3 million compared to those that do not use these cybersecurity solutions.
Not only can AI tools recognize attacks before human operators, they can also be configured to stop an attack and alert IT staff before a breach gets out of control.
Ambient computing enables nearly invisible technologies
Ambient computing is an IoT-based concept that promises a future of nearly invisible technology. Here’s why: ambient computing is an AI-driven network of devices and software that runs in the background (around us) with little or no human intervention.
- Ambient computing uses both artificial intelligence and machine learning to interpret data collected from physical devices, such as smart thermometers and smartwatches, and make decisions on their own.
All of these technologies come together to create devices that can interact with both people and other devices.
It’s no surprise that with the potential to change the way we interact with everything from coffee makers to trucks, the ambient intelligence industry is expected to grow at an impressive 32% CAGR through 2028, reaching a total value of $225 billion.
Ambient or “outer computing” is still a young technology, but use cases are already being seen in both consumer-facing and business solutions.
Voice assistants and smartphone-controlled thermostats are great examples of ambient computing, but the technology could become even more invisible.
For example, a person getting off a plane could be automatically alerted that their luggage is ready at a certain carousel. Once their luggage is picked up, they will receive another notification that their rideshare is ready at a certain location. While they are in the car, a coffee is automatically ordered at a nearby Starbucks, they are automatically checked into a hotel.
In another scenario, homeowners may no longer need garage door openers. Instead, the owner’s smartphone will communicate their location to a home device that will open the garage door for them when they approach.
In factories, ambient computing is used to monitor and schedule machine maintenance. When an IoT device detects that a machine needs maintenance, it communicates with the software that schedules the maintenance and enters the machine into the schedule.
In retail, sensors on shelves can automatically order new stock when supplies run low. However, as this technology evolves, privacy and security concerns will be paramount.
Using Low-Code or No-Code AI
In 2024, artificial intelligence (AI) will shed its technical jargon and use simple drag-and-drop interfaces, leading to code-free AI. Today, everyone uses computers without understanding the background programming of operating systems. Likewise, AI operations and decisions will become more functional, and programmers will not have to write a single line of code.
Its growing acceptance among non-experts will allow more industries to fully utilize the capabilities of AI-based intelligence and create smarter products. No-code AI has already penetrated the market with its user-friendly interfaces in various fields such as retail and website development.
By combining visual models with AI-powered tools, software developers using LCNC can skip, or at least speed up, the labor-intensive process of writing thousands of lines of code from scratch.
Because LCNC solutions are designed to be user-friendly, more and more non-developers are also able to create programs. These non-IT workers are called “citizen developers.” Gartner predicts that large enterprises will soon employ four times as many citizen developers as professional developers.
An Infragistics survey found that over 76% of organizations are already using LCNC. Another proof of the rapid growth in popularity is the growth of the low-code market. Thus, in 2023, the market size has grown to $27 billion, which is 20% more than in 2022.
LCNC solutions are based on so-called low-code application platforms (LCAPs).
These platforms are component-based and offer predefined templates.
Marketing in the metaverse never paid off
A 2021 Bloomberg analysis suggests that the metaverse market will reach a staggering $800 billion by 2024. While there is a lot of hype and advertising surrounding the metaverse, it is still clear that investors are continuing to invest in the technology.
As a result, the metaverse turned out to be another inflated “market bubble” in which investors lost huge amounts of money.
The Metaverse is a virtual 3D simulation where people can interact with each other across multiple platforms. In the age of Internet 3.0, advertisers are realizing the endless marketing possibilities of this immersive experience, making it a source of brand awareness and engagement.
Brands like Nikeland are already tracking choices and consumption patterns in their metaverse stores using various forms of artificial intelligence and virtual reality (VR). Others are also looking to enhance the user experience by connecting their physical stores to the metaverse using QR codes.
Augmented Reality Goes Beyond Entertainment
As the lines between mixed reality, augmented reality, and virtual reality blur, the term “extended reality” has become an umbrella term that encompasses all of the above and more.
In the next few years, augmented reality will have potential applications in everything from the metaverse to virtual concerts.
First, there are several B2B use cases where augmented reality can lead to major innovations. One in particular is the medical field. Just one application uses augmented reality to train both new and existing surgeons.
This technology could prove very useful in helping surgeons understand the intricacies of new, innovative surgeries that they may not have learned about in school or previous positions.
A study in Clinical Orthopedics and Related Research found that virtual reality training significantly improved surgical accuracy and completion speed. Another study found that virtual reality training improved surgical performance by 230%.
The automotive and manufacturing industries are two other sectors where augmented reality is expected to have an impact in the coming years. Technicians in these industries are required to perform highly complex processes and machine work.
This allows augmented reality technology to be used to provide a detailed, first-person view of these processes in a safe environment where errors can be easily corrected. When technicians can practice assembly processes before stepping foot on the actual line, human error and injury can be prevented.
Digital immune systems
A list of tech trends for 2024 would be incomplete without the implementation of a digital immune system (DIS). This system refers to the entire architecture of methods borrowed from software engineering, automation, development, operations, and analytics. It aims to reduce business risks by neutralizing defects, threats, and vulnerabilities in the system to improve the overall customer experience.
The importance of DIS lies in the automation of various elements of the software system so that it can successfully counteract all kinds of virtual threats. Gartner analysts predict that by 2025, companies that are already implementing DIS will reduce customer downtime by approximately 80%.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) adoption to continue to grow
As the lines between artificial intelligence and machine learning continue to blur, companies are finding more ways to integrate automation into their processes. And one of the emerging technologies that executives are most excited about is robotic process automation (RPA).
RPA involves training programs to perform or carry out routine, repetitive tasks.
According to analysts’ forecasts, by 2030 the global RPA market will grow to $25 billion with a compound annual growth rate of 36%.
RPA software spending will reach nearly $3 billion in 2022, up 21% from 2021. Surveys show that a fifth of businesses are currently using RPA.
One of the main reasons why businesses are adopting RPA is due to the tight labor market and the need to maximize employee efficiency and productivity. Data shows that the average U.S. company with 500 employees loses more than $1.4 million annually due to time spent on repetitive tasks.
RPA solutions can also save time and money when it comes to low-value, routine tasks performed within a business. For example, when RPA copies and pastes information from a document into a database, the process is faster and the results are more accurate than when humans perform the task.
Estimates show that RPA can increase job capacity by as much as 50%. Not to mention that valuable human talent can be applied to another task.
RPA can also be used to extract data from websites, book appointments, collect information from customers, monitor compliance, and engage employees, to name a few.
Hyperautomation
According to a 2021 PRNewsWite report, the hyperautomation market share will grow to $26.5 billion by 2028, while a Salesforce report predicts that at least 80% of organizations worldwide will adopt hyperautomation to optimize productivity and improve customer satisfaction.
Hyperautomation is a key combination of all the latest innovation tools, such as:
No-code AI;
Business management platforms and automated workflows;
Integration platforms;
Intelligent document processing;
Natural language processing;
Robotic process automation;
Process mapping tools.
Growing innovation and investment in clean, green technologies
In 2021 alone, climate tech startups raised nearly $40 billion to combat the effects of climate change. From large-scale industrial conversions to cleaner alternatives (electricity) to the invention of renewable energy sources like green hydrogen, green technologies will dominate the interconnected worlds of industry and innovation.
Robert Alters, CEO of BBVA Open Innovation, a company dedicated to innovation in the field of blockchain, says: “There are two megatrends, decarbonization and technological disruption, that can transform all industries.” This statement confirms the importance of “green” technologies as one of the main technological trends of 2023.
In 2022, the world invested a staggering $1.1 trillion in the low-carbon energy transition. This global investment set a new record and increased by 31% compared to 2021. It was also the first year that clean energy investment equaled that of fossil fuels. In fact, clean tech has gained such momentum that more than 25% of all venture capital is now directed toward clean tech companies.
Industry experts predict that 2023-24 will see an increase in funding and interest in clean technologies. Many of these companies may be working in the green hydrogen space. Hydrogen is the most abundant element on Earth and does not emit CO2 when burned, giving it great potential as a green energy source.
The green hydrogen market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 61% through 2027 and exceed $7 billion in volume.
The Hydrogen Council estimates that around $700 billion in hydrogen-focused investment will be needed to get the world to net zero emissions by 2050.
Carbon capture technology
But while environmental initiatives such as planting trees and switching to hydrogen-powered cars can reduce carbon emissions over time, many experts believe the impact of these efforts alone will be too little, too late.
According to the Brookings Institution, global greenhouse gas emissions in 2022 reached 58 gigatons, the highest level ever recorded. Carbon emissions are well-documented as one of the largest contributors to modern climate change.
To directly address some of these emissions, clean tech leaders are using so-called carbon capture technology to make immediate progress toward reducing and even reversing emissions.
The process involves working with super-emitters, such as power plants and concrete factories, to capture carbon molecules when they would normally be emitted into the air.
Carbon capture can effectively remove up to 90% of the air emissions from power plants and industrial facilities. From there, carbon capture companies isolate and extract the carbon through a variety of chemical processes before reselling it or burying it deep in the ground where it can be converted back into rock.
The rise of edge and quantum computing
A 2022 ReportLinker article estimates that the edge computing market will grow dramatically by 21.6% between 2021 and 2028. Edge computing is a programming paradigm that collects, stores, and processes data at the source of the data, rather than in a centralized server environment. This decentralized process brings insights closer to the actual point of interaction and allows machines to analyze raw data in real time.
Edge computing is everywhere, from smartwatches to computers monitoring traffic flow at intersections. However, tech trends in 2023 could see its radical adoption in the data analytics industry.
Quantum computing is getting closer to real-world applications
Quantum computing has been a topic of discussion since the 1980s. Fast forward to 2024, and the world is finally getting closer to creating real-world applications for this type of computing.
While traditional computers we know today operate on binary code (either 0 or 1), quantum computers use qubits, which allows a piece of data to exist in two states at once (both 0 and 1).
All this technology boils down to is increasing the speed of calculations. Complex calculations performed by modern computers can take millions of years, but with quantum computing they can be solved in minutes.
Technological and financial challenges have dogged the industry, but it has been gaining momentum in recent months. In fact, $35.5 billion has been invested globally in quantum computing technologies in the public and private sectors in 2022.
So far, IBM is the leader in the quantum computing race. Osprey, IBM’s quantum computer, was unveiled in November 2022 and boasts 433 qubits. The company says it will have a computer with 4,000 qubits by 2025.
However, tech experts say quantum computers need millions of qubits to be fully operational. Many experts expect this to happen by 2027.
Alphabet has been running a quantum computing division for the past six years and announced in March 2022 that it would become a separate company called Sandbox AQ.
They raised nine figures in funding in 2022 and raised another $500 million by February 2023.
While IBM and Alphabet’s projects look promising, other lesser-known companies are creating competition and raising large amounts of funding in the space.
For example, China’s Origin Quantum raised $148.2 million in 2022, the largest amount in the quantum computing industry in a year.
According to McKinsey, up to $700 billion could be invested in quantum computing worldwide by 2035.
In the life sciences industry, quantum computing could be useful for modeling chemical processes, optimizing pharmaceutical drug design, and advancing the development of personalized treatments through genomics.
In the financial sector, quantum computing can significantly reduce market risks, improve fraud detection and speed up customer onboarding.
Quantum computing could also have different implications for consumers. Take electric vehicle charging, for example. Fully charging an electric vehicle at home takes an average of 10 hours. Even the fastest charging speeds still take 20 minutes.
With quantum technology, charging times could potentially be reduced to 3 minutes at home and a few seconds at high-speed charging stations.
Genomics
In addition to better understanding life and modern health analytics, genomics has also strengthened our understanding of neural networks. In the coming years, rapidly advancing technologies such as pathogen analysis, next-generation sequencing (NGS) genomic data analysis platforms, and scarless genome editing will use AI to decipher hidden genetic codes and patterns, making genomic data analysis and metagenomics the leading aggregators in the biotech industry.
Tech trends in 2024 will also see the rise of functional genomics, which uses epigenome editing to uncover the influence of intergenic regions on biological processes.
Digital Twins to Bridging the Gap Between the Digital and Physical Worlds
Hyperautomation has triggered many 2024 technology trends, one of which is the use of digital twins, which refer to virtual representations of real-world objects. The ubiquity of various data points has created a need for data scientists to virtually observe changes in real-world events and processes by feeding machines large amounts of information.
Cloud service providers have already launched significant digital twin infrastructures, such as Microsoft’s digital twin on the platform or Google’s digital supply chain, to optimize logistics and manufacturing.
A 2022 report from Grand View Research predicts a whopping 37.5% compound annual growth rate between 2023 and 2030, highlighting the growing relevance of digital twins in the day-to-day operations of industries.
Datafication of industries
The datafication of industries is the inevitable culmination of the innovations mentioned in the list of 2024 technology trends. The process refers to the act of transforming or modifying human tasks into data-driven technology. It is the first formative step towards a comprehensive data-driven society.
Workforce analytics, product behavior analytics, transportation analytics, health analytics, etc. are different branches of the same customer-centric analytics culture. The vast number of connected Internet of Things (IoT) devices means multiple data points that enable more effective analysis of a company’s strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities. According to Fittech, the data science industry is becoming a lucrative business model as its market is set to exceed $11 billion in 2022.
Other Tech Trends in 2025
What else is hot in this year’s tech trends? Alternatives to cloud computing, augmented reality, chatbots, and 5G are all innovations that are becoming more advanced and noteworthy, both in business and in people’s lives.
Alternatives to Cloud Computing – Edge and Fog Computing
Advanced alternatives to cloud computing are emerging one after another. They simplify and speed up data processing. The most popular today are:
Edge computing – data is processed closer to the request;
fog computing – big data management.
5G Network – Speed and Technology Development
The 5G network provides the fast data transfer required for the latest technologies and the Internet of Things.
Augmented Reality – The Virtual World in Our Lives
Nowadays, augmented reality (AR) is present not only in the entertainment industry. AR is also used by the military, aviation, and medicine.
Chatbots – Customer Support
Chatbots, powered by advanced artificial intelligence, are becoming increasingly popular and relevant these days. They are commonly used to improve communication with customers.
Technological trends of 2024 are, first of all, the great importance of artificial intelligence (AI) and innovative solutions based on it. When planning future business activities today, it is important for companies not to forget about both automation and security.
