Trends like multimodality, AI agents, and work towards artificial general intelligence are poised to redefine industries and societal structures in coming years
From algorithms powering search engines to sophisticated tools diagnosing medical conditions, artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping industries, redefining work, and challenging our understanding of intelligence itself.
AI, no longer a futuristic fantasy, is rapidly becoming an integral part of life. But with breakneck innovation, the near future likely holds even more transformative change shaped by the key trends driving this revolution.
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, has said surprise advancements could be in store next year.
“I expect that in 2025 we will have systems that people look at, even people who are skeptical of current progress, and say: ‘Wow, I did not expect that',” Altman said, speaking at the New York Times' DealBook Summit.
When asked about the future of AI, Pascale Fung, director of the Center for AI Research (CAiRE) at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, told Anadolu: “I don't think anybody knows the truth. I'm sure there will be another explosion at some point where there's a fundamental change in the architecture of the models. Don't know when and don't know where.”
- Multimodality: Beyond text-based systems
AI systems capable of processing multiple data types simultaneously, such as text, images, audio, and video, have become a driving force in the industry towards what has been called multimodality.
Fung, who is also a senior director of AI research at Meta-FAIR, a research initiative by Facebook parent company Meta, highlighted the significance of such a shift. “That's not just text. It's not just a chatbot, but it can also see what you see and hear what you hear.”
Multimodal systems, like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini, are already integrating vision and auditory perception with text-based capabilities.
These technologies analyze visual or auditory data in real-time, enabling applications like assisting visually impaired individuals by describing their surroundings or reading text aloud.
One key application could benefit individuals with hearing impairments, as AI could transcribe or interpret audio input, transforming accessibility solutions across sectors.
- AI agents: Future of complex assistance
A step forward from chatbots, AI agents are redefining assistance by managing complex, multi-step tasks.
Unlike chatbots that simply answer questions, AI agents can perform complex tasks, like booking a family vacation or managing executive schedules, Fung explained. These agents function as “smart humans,” using tools to solve problems and create value.
In a recent report, Charles Lamanna, corporate vice president of business and industry at Microsoft Copilot, described agents as “the apps of the AI era.”
“Agents will begin to transform every business process, revolutionizing the way we work and manage our organizations,” he added.
The possibilities are vast. As virtual travel planners, AI agents could optimize itineraries. As executive assistants, they can schedule meetings and manage workflows with nuanced judgment, able to juggle a multitude of factors playing into the decisions these would involve.
- Artificial superintelligence: A new frontier
Despite significant advancements, current AI systems still fall short of matching human intelligence in most areas — something that could only be achieved by what has been called artificial general intelligence (AGI).
Often referred to as the “holy grail” of artificial intelligence, the development of an AGI system would represent a major leap toward artificial superintelligence (ASI), systems capable of surpassing human cognitive abilities across multiple domains.
While AGI is defined by its ability to achieve human-level intellectual performance, ASI goes further, outperforming humans in reasoning, problem-solving, and creative tasks.
Sam Altman has predicted that superintelligence could emerge within a “few thousand days,” marking a profound paradigm shift. In the nearer term, AGI systems are expected by 2025 to solve increasingly complex problems with advanced reasoning skills.
Advanced AI models such as OpenAI o1, already exhibit capabilities that mimic human reasoning, enabling tasks such as contract analysis, scientific discoveries, and multistep project execution. Such capabilities are expected to develop in the coming years.
- Google's Willow: A leap in computational power
Behind AI's rapid advancements lies unprecedented progress in computational power.
Google's recently revealed its landmark quantum chip Willow, able to complete a benchmark computation in under five minutes, a task that would take today's fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years, the company claimed.
This breakthrough highlights the potential to overcome current computational limits, enabling advanced AI models to tackle previously insurmountable challenges.
However, the energy demands of such systems raise environmental concerns. Industry leaders like Google, Microsoft, and Nvidia are expected to prioritize sustainable, energy-efficient technologies to mitigate these impacts.
- Broader applications and impact
Fung underlined AI's potential in agriculture to revolutionize productivity, disease detection, and water regulation.
“It can help eradicate hunger by ensuring more equitable food production and distribution,” Fung explained. Improvements in logistics could also reduce food waste, addressing global challenges of hunger and inefficiency, she said.
The integration of AI into daily life has also sparked concerns about job displacement. “Every major technological achievement has resulted in significant job shifts,” Altman acknowledged.
However, Fung emphasized that while AI will replace some roles, it will also create new opportunities. “A lot of jobs we have today didn't exist 100 years ago,” she said, urging that what is important is to be prepared for change.
She suggested that education systems must adapt to prepare individuals and teach them “what makes us human.”
She said schools should teach people the “collective wisdom of humanity” such as philosophy, the arts, literature, science, and mathematics and advised people to become more critical, creative, and knowledgeable to deter the effects of AI.
The AI landscape is evolving at an extraordinary pace. Just two years after the public release of ChatGPT, the technology is already ubiquitous in many different parts of life with developers regularly churning out new features.
It is clear even today that the future holds more breakthroughs and redefined possibilities. In the words of Altman, "there is no wall" to its meteoric ascent.
