As we step into 2025, the pace of technological advancement shows no signs of slowing. As consultants, we have front-row seats to the incredible transformations shaping industries across aerospace, defense, and advanced technologies. Here are some of the most compelling innovation tech trends I foresee defining the year ahead.
Generative AI is not dead
Despite the many articles about the hype and being a fad, Generative AI is not going anywhere. One specific category of Generative AI will continue to grow exponentially: wherever the AI feedback is easy to be validated. This includes use cases such as software development, where the chatbot-created code can be executed, and in the creation of images and video, which can be corrected on the fly.
Still a lot of Generative AI zombies will be walking dead
This year will continue to see generative AI bolted on where it doesn’t really belong. Do I really need an “AI Assistant” in my PDF Reader? (No! No is the answer.) A supplier portal where - in 2025 no less - invoices still must be manually entered into a webform every month does not need a gratuitous “Generative AI” button.
The Python renaissance continues
When the back-office Finance team, none with any technical background, are automating tasks with Python and ChatGPT, you know Python adoption will continue to increase. Python never died, but it was facing competition from Golang and other relative newcomers. With Generative AI, Python is seeing a resurgence as the language of least resistance.
Will this year be the death of the “business intelligence” dashboard?
I would have guessed in 2024, BI dashboards would be killed off as folks turned to uploading their spreadsheets and other data into a quality chatbot and then simply asking questions: When will project X run out of money? What was last month’s revenue? Who has a work anniversary next month? But this efficiency did not take hold. Perhaps in 2025 the custom dashboard and associated user interface cruft will be replaced with a simple AI question prompt.
Continuous Cybersecurity Improvement
For decades, continuous improvement in cybersecurity received lip service. In practice, a checklist was filled out and then put on the shelf. Only in the last year or so have we seen regulations coming into effect that enforce continuous improvement. FAA regulators, for example, have replaced a checklist approach to airplane cyber-security with a comprehensive assessment of the airline and their airplane cybersecurity program. The Department of Defense should actually begin to enforce “cybersecurity maturity” in defense suppliers in 2025.
Virtual Reality will continue swimming in the by-waters
Virtual Reality, while not a fad, has not lived up to the hype of mass adoption. Nothing upcoming in 2025 would seem to break Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality out of niches such as VR gaming and VR training. XR is not going to replace BI dashboards, nor replace PDF readers, with or without AI bots included.
Looking Ahead
We are always looking for ways to help companies who want to pioneer solutions in an ever evolving landscape. We welcome our fellow innovators to collaborate with us in surfing the trendy waves of technology.
Written by: Andrew Hosch