Over the past year, artificial intelligence (AI) has pushed the boundaries of possibility, with industries racing to harness its power to enhance productivity and automate complex tasks.
In 2024, AI progress accelerated faster than previous technological advancements, setting the stage for even more profound disruptions ahead. However, this rapid development comes with a warning: without proper human oversight, AI’s failures could be as significant as its successes.
Generative and agentic AI are already transforming how users access sophisticated content across various media, while AI-driven healthcare tools are revolutionizing diagnostics, even outpacing human doctors in certain areas. These innovations signal a significant shift in healthcare delivery, with AI poised to play an even more significant role in business and industry.
AI’s capabilities will also give rise to humanoid agents, according to Anders Indset, author and deep-tech investor specializing in technologies like AI, quantum tech, health tech, and cybersecurity. As we move into 2025, the tech landscape is rapidly evolving, with a strong focus on humanoid robots.
“This year began with excitement around large language models (LLMs), but it will end with groundbreaking advances in autonomous humanoid robots,” Indset told TechNewsWorld.
In 2024, the development of robots gained momentum, bringing innovations that once seemed distant into view. The much-anticipated arrival of fully autonomous humanoids, once limited to industrial settings, is nearing, he noted.
Looking ahead to 2025, there is high anticipation for the widespread adoption of AI in robotics, enhanced human-robot interactions, and the rise of robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) models. These developments will make advanced robotic solutions accessible to a wider range of industries, marking a transformative period for robotics, as described by Indset.
“Humanoid agents will redefine how we interact with technology and unlock new possibilities for AI applications across various fields,” he predicted.
AI’s Growing Role in Cybersecurity and Biosecurity
AI is set to play an increasingly crucial role in cyberwarfare, warned Alejandro Rivas-Vasquez, global head of digital forensics and incident response at NCC Group. He noted that AI and machine learning (ML) will make cyberwarfare more deadly, with the potential for collateral damage extending beyond conflict zones due to hyper-connectivity.
Cybersecurity defenses, already effective in digital warfare, will expand beyond protecting systems to safeguarding individuals directly through implantable technology. Neural interfaces, bio-augmentation, authentication chips, and advanced medical implants are set to revolutionize human interaction with technology.
However, according to Bobbie Walker, managing consultant at NCC Group, these breakthroughs will also introduce significant risks.
“Hackers could exploit neural interfaces to control actions or manipulate perceptions, leading to cognitive manipulation and violations of personal autonomy. The constant monitoring of health and behavioral data through implants raises significant privacy concerns, especially with the potential for misuse by malicious actors or invasive government surveillance,” Walker told TechNewsWorld.
To address these concerns, new frameworks that bridge technology, healthcare, and privacy regulations will be crucial. Walker emphasized that establishing standards for “digital bioethics” and ISO standards for bio-cybersecurity will help define safe practices for integrating technology into the human body while tackling ethical issues.
“The emerging field of cyber-biosecurity will push us to rethink the boundaries of cybersecurity, ensuring that technology integrated into our bodies is secure, ethical, and protective of individuals,” she added.
Walker noted that early research on brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) shows how adversarial inputs can deceive these devices, underscoring the potential for misuse. As implants continue to evolve, the risks associated with state-sponsored cyberwarfare and privacy violations will grow, highlighting the need for robust security and ethical guidelines.
AI-Driven Data Backup Raises Security Concerns
Sebastian Straub, principal solution architect at N2WS, explained that AI advancements are equipping organizations to recover from natural disasters, power outages, and cyberattacks more effectively. AI automation will improve operational efficiency by addressing human limitations.
AI-powered backup systems will drastically reduce the need for human intervention, Straub explained. By learning intricate patterns of data usage, compliance needs, and organizational requirements, AI will autonomously determine what data needs to be backed up and when, ensuring compliance with standards like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS.
However, Straub cautioned that as AI takes a dominant role in disaster recovery, errors are likely during the learning process. In 2025, it will become clear that AI is not a cure-all. Relying on machines to automate disaster recovery could lead to mistakes.
“There will be unfortunate breaches of trust and compliance violations as companies realize the hard way that humans must remain part of the disaster recovery decision-making process,” Straub told TechNewsWorld.
AI’s Impact on Creativity and Education
Many AI users are already utilizing tools to enhance communication skills. ChatGPT and other AI writing tools are shifting focus toward emphasizing the value of human writing, rather than serving as a shortcut for personal language tasks.
Students and communicators will move from relying on AI tools to produce work on their behalf to taking ownership of the content creation process from start to finish. They will use AI to edit, enhance, or expand on their original ideas, according to Eric Wang, VP of AI at plagiarism detection firm Turnitin.
Looking ahead, Wang told TechNewsWorld that writing will be increasingly recognized as a vital skill, not only in fields directly related to writing but also across learning, work, and daily life. This shift will be part of a broader trend toward the humanization of technology-driven fields, roles, and companies.
He anticipates that the role of generative AI will evolve, with early-stage usage focused on organizing and expanding ideas, while later stages will be dedicated to refining and enhancing the writing process. For educators, AI can identify knowledge gaps early on and later provide transparency, making it easier to engage students.
Hidden Risks of AI-Powered Models
Michael Lieberman, CTO and co-founder of Kusari, a software development security platform, warns that AI will become more widespread and harder to detect. His concern centers on free models hosted on platforms.
“We’ve already seen cases where models on these platforms were found to be malware. I expect these attacks to increase, though they’ll likely be more covert. These malicious models could have hidden backdoors or be intentionally trained to behave harmfully in specific scenarios,” Lieberman told TechNewsWorld.
He predicts an uptick in data poisoning attacks designed to manipulate large language models (LLMs) and notes that most organizations don’t train their own models.
“Instead, they rely on pre-trained models, often available for free. The lack of transparency regarding the origins of these models makes it easy for malicious actors to inject harmful ones,” he added, pointing to the Hugging Face malware incident as a relevant example.
Future data poisoning attacks are likely to target major players like OpenAI, Meta, and Google, whose extensive datasets make such attacks harder to detect.
“In 2025, attackers are likely to outpace defenders. Attackers are financially motivated, while defenders often struggle to secure adequate budgets, since security is not typically seen as a revenue driver. It may take a significant AI supply chain breach — similar to the SolarWinds Sunburst incident — for the industry to take these threats seriously,” Wang of Turnitin concluded.
