In 2024, AI was a double-edged sword, contributing to both Nobel Prize-winning chemistry breakthroughs and a surge in cheaply made content flooding the internet. The year also saw a spike in greenhouse-gas emissions, partly due to energy-intensive AI. Looking ahead to 2025, AI companies are focusing on developing agents that can perform tasks, raising privacy concerns. There’s also a push for more energy-efficient AI, spotlighting small language models. However, the environmental cost of AI, particularly from major players like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google, remains largely undisclosed. For instance, asking ChatGPT a simple fact consumes significantly more energy than a traditional search engine. This environmental burden, coupled with the cultural shift from active searching to passive AI-generated responses, will be critical in 2025. Meanwhile, the US Federal Trade Commission has taken steps against data brokers, offering some privacy protections, but comprehensive federal privacy legislation remains elusive.
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