Every industry publication devotes January to new technology. Why? Because technology is a moving target. What was incredibly revolutionary yesterday is taken for granted tomorrow. Time marches on, and so does technology. Let’s take a look at where we’ve been, what’s due to be “old hat” soon, and what we can anticipate in the years ahead.

Technology is not new

Some people assume “technology” started in about 1960 (unless you are a Millennial, in which case, it never really got started until 2000.) They couldn’t be more wrong. Here are a dozen inventions that changed the world.

• The wheel
• Electricity (battery)
• Automobiles
• Light bulbs
• Alternating current
• Transistors

• Refrigerators
• Televisions
• Birth control
• Computers
• The Internet
• Telephones and mobile phones — three-quarters of the people on Earth now have a mobile phone, and most have access to the internet.

It’s hard to image what our world would be like today without these inventions. Each one had an impact on industries across the spectrum, and many had social implications, as well. Tomorrow’s inventions will be no less impactful.

Technology comes and goes

Just because something is a game-changer doesn’t mean it changes the game forever. Plowing with oxen and wooden plows was revolutionary in its day, but John Deere found a better way. So, too, with many other technological wonders of past centuries and decades.

Just as there are predictions online about what will be ground-breaking in 2025 and beyond, there are also predictions of what is about to become obsolete. Here are some that might surprise you. (Others have already “left the building,” with Elvis.)

• LCD TVs
• LED light bulbs — these have already given way to newer tech.
• Physical storage media (memory sticks, SD cards, hard drives)
• Gaming consoles — enter virtual reality!
• Remote controls — increasingly giving way to voice activation.
• Wired chargers for electronics

• Automotive mirrors — Gentex has touted increasing adoption of its full-display mirror product (using multiple cameras, etc.)
• Physical credit cards
• Passwords — Oh, say it’s TRUE! These will give way to fingerprint identification and even eye scanning.
• Media streaming devices — Like a FireStick, or other similar devices. Future TV’s and other electronics will have core functionality built into them that just requires a subscription and activation (NOT using your plastic credit card, no doubt!)
• Upright vacuums — We’ll be overrun with those pesky robotic vacuums that wait until you’ve left for work to take care of the dirty jobs around the house (and entertain the cat or dog, as well.)

2025 Tech Advances

The scope of upcoming technology is breathtaking. Everything from industrial equipment, to medical treatment, to customer service will be impacted by technology we used to think of as exclusive to the Jetson’s cartoon. Here are some to watch.

• The Internet of Things (IoT) — Everything in a location (plant, home) is connected and talks to everything else. This is being called the 4th industrial revolution
• AI in everything because of its ability to create highly sophisticated and human-like content, from text and images to audio and complex simulations.
• Quantum Computing — This will redefine the limits of data processing to make things currently impossible for computers, possible.
• Autonomous vehicles — Let’s hope they iron out the bugs first.
• Genetic editing — Fixing critical things in human beings or other living things before or after birth.
• Bioprinting — Just like 3D printing, bioprinting is the printing of actual tissues for medical and experimental use.

• Augmented reality and virtual reality — These immersive experiences will reshape entertainment and education.
• Cyber security — Watch for a proliferation of ideas to secure everything from your smart watch to the power grid.
• Robotics — For repetitive tasks in production, healthcare, logistics, etc.
• Drones for goods delivery (and surveillance)
• Cloud-based solutions
• Personally-responsive digital marketing — You won’t be exposed to mass marketing any longer, but the use of AI will bombard you with opportunities to buy services and products according to what you, personally, have done, are interested in, or need.

Is some of that a bit intimidating? Even creepy? Yes, it is, if you’re honest. But people thought the whole world might catch on fire when light bulbs were mass produced. And what the cave people next door thought of the guy who kept chipping on those rocks to make them round, and then mounted them on an axle and began pushing stuff around… well, you can just imagine.

Technology is neither good nor bad. It is neutral. The use to which we put it is what makes it interesting. And with this line-up of on-tap technology, 2025 will be very interesting indeed.

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