Tech and Science on the Horizon 2025: A Grim Reality

emerging technologiesbiotechnologyartificial intelligencerenewable energy

The Harsh Truth About 2025: Tech and Science Edition

Let’s be clear. The year 2025 is unlikely to deliver any technological or scientific miracles. Expect a continuation of current trends, amplified by incremental advancements but overshadowed by persistent systemic issues. Here’s a dispassionate assessment of what’s to come.

AI: Bias Perpetuation and Ethical Gridlock

Artificial intelligence will continue its expansion, but the promise of unbiased enlightenment remains a distant fantasy. AI systems, trained on flawed data, will perpetuate discriminatory practices in hiring, lending, and law enforcement 1. The distribution of harmful content, copyright disputes, and breaches of sensitive data will persist, with ethical implications largely unaddressed.

Biotech: Gene Editing Limitations and Cancer’s Stubborn Resistance

Biotech advancements will be tempered by significant limitations. Gene-editing technologies, while promising, face challenges related to off-target effects 2. CRISPR’s potential is curtailed by the risk of unintended genomic alterations, raising safety concerns. The fight against aggressive cancers continues, with scientists exploring AI, DNA sequencing and precision oncology 3. Experimental treatments offer limited respite, as glioblastoma and other lethal cancers maintain their grim persistence 4.

Renewable Energy: Storage Deficiencies and Unfulfilled Potential

Renewable energy’s potential is hobbled by fundamental storage problems. Lithium-ion batteries, while prevalent, are not a comprehensive solution 5. The pursuit of long-duration energy storage yields incremental progress, but widespread implementation remains distant. While pumped-storage hydroelectricity plays a role, its overall impact on emissions is limited 6. CAES also faces challenges .

Final Assessment

2025 presents a landscape of limited progress and persistent challenges. AI’s biases will remain unchecked, biotech will grapple with safety concerns, and renewable energy will struggle with fundamental limitations. Expect no revolutions, only the ongoing grind of incremental change.

References

Footnotes

  1. AI Ethics: Navigating Development, Bias, and Responsible Use - Extanto. Extanto, 27 Feb. 2025, https://extanto.com/articles/ai-ethics-navigating-development-bias-and-responsible-use.

  2. Tracking-seq reveals the heterogeneity of off-target effects in CRISPR–Cas9-mediated genome editing. Nature Biotechnology, 2 Jul. 2024, https://nature.com/articles/s41587-024-02307-y.

  3. 12 new breakthroughs in the fight against cancer. World Economic Forum, 28 Feb. 2025, https://weforum.org/stories/2025/02/cancer-treatment-and-diagnosis-breakthroughs.

  4. World-first experimental cancer treatment paves way for clinical trial. WEHI, 27 Feb. 2025, https://wehi.edu.au/news/world-first-experimental-cancer-treatment-paves-way-for-clinical-trial.

  5. The search for long-duration energy storage. Chemical & Engineering News, https://cen.acs.org/energy/energy-storage-/search-long-duration-energy-storage/103/i5.

  6. Energy Storage Insights: Battery Storage and the Clean Energy Transition. Columbia Business School, https://business.columbia.edu/insights/climate/energy-storage-insights-battery-clean-energy-transition. : CAES efficiency problems. Energy Storage Association, https://energystorage.org.

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