Out with the Old, In with the New: Outman’s 2024 Reflections, and What’s in Store for 2025

Happy New Year from Outman! As we move into 2025, we’re taking a moment to pause and reflect on the disruptive developments and transformative technologies that shaped last year, and think about what this might mean for the year ahead. Looking back, we think 2024 can be defined by a key theme: the growing collaboration between humans and technology, with rapid advancements seen across industries that reshaped how we work, live, and interact with the world. While some innovations amazed us with their potential, others felt more gimmicky than groundbreaking. As we look to 2025, the key takeaway from 2024 is clear - technology works best when it enhances our human potential, enabling us to focus on what makes us, well, us.

Artificial Intelligence: Expanding Capabilities

Artificial Intelligence (AI) kept up its rapid growth in 2024 and we expect to see this ramp up even more so in 2025, solidifying its position as one of the most transformative forces we’ve seen in modern technology. Generative AI models have become increasingly prevalent, allowing users to create text, images, and videos with the click of a button. In 2024 OpenAI cemented its leadership in this space with updates to ChatGPT and the introduction of SearchGPT, which is emerging as a potential competitor to traditional search engines like Google. As of December 2024, ChatGPT boasted over 300 million weekly active users worldwide, a significant increase from 200 million in August 2024. Elon Musk remains a key disruptor in AI, pushing the boundaries with his AI research company, xAI. In December, xAI launched Aurora, a text-to-image model integrated with Grok, which competes with tools like DALL·E and MidJourney.

Looking to 2025, AI will continue to be a driving force across industries. Generative AI is moving beyond novelty and becoming a core tool in areas like content creation and data analysis. According to PwC 2024 Pulse Survey, 49% of technology leaders report that AI is now fully integrated into their companies’ core business strategy, with a third saying AI is fully integrated into products and services. By 2025, AI agents - tools designed to automate tasks like scheduling and customer service - are expected to be commonplace, boosting operational efficiencies across the board.

The Rise of Immersive Realities

In 2024, Apple introduced the Vision Pro, a mixed-reality headset that seamlessly combined augmented and virtual reality into a single device. However, despite its high-resolution visuals and intuitive navigation, the Vision Pro faced challenges in attracting a broad user base. By November 2024, Apple scaled back production due to poor sales and customer complaints about discomfort and high pricing. Similarly, Meta's Quest 3S, launched in September 2024, aimed to offer an affordable VR experience. However, early sales figures fell short of expectations, and the total number of VR headsets in active use dropped by 8% in 2024, reaching 21.9 million units.

The global VR headset market experienced an overall decline in 2024, with shipments falling 4% year-on-year in Q3, marking the third consecutive quarter of declines. This downturn is attributed to factors such as hardware limitations and slow cost reductions. In its place, the AR+AI smart glasses segment is set to grow this year, largely driven by Generative AI advancements, and new entries from major companies.

Wearable AI: Technology On the Go

Wearable AI devices became a little more mainstream in 2024, transforming how we interact with technology daily. Devices like the Humane AI Pin and Rabbit R1 introduced portable AI assistants that provide real-time information, voice control, and interaction without the need for screens. These wearables also contributed to health monitoring, providing insights into fitness, mental well-being, and medical diagnostics. However, both faced significant criticism and underwhelming market performance. The Humane AI Pin, created by ex-Apple employees, reportedly suffered from overheating, slow performance, and high return rates, with users deeming it impractical. Similarly, the Rabbit R1, a pocket-sized AI companion, was criticised for limited functionality, low user retention, and security issues. Both devices were largely seen as unnecessary given the already robust AI capabilities of smartphones, and the redundancy of carrying two devices around at once. Despite these setbacks, the wearable AI market is growing rapidly. According to market estimates, the global wearable AI market is expected to reach a lofty $120.7 billion by 2028. This growth highlights the demand for AI-enabled wearables, even as companies navigate early design and performance challenges to better align with consumer expectations.

What does it mean for the way we work?

So we saw some ups and some downs in 2024, but how can we expect these recent advancements to impact the workplace, and our everyday working experiences, as we head into 2025? It seems it depends who you ask - but by and large, AI is emerging as an invaluable asset rather than a threat. AI will enhance human roles, enabling workers to focus more on strategy, creativity, and management instead. Many leaders in the field have advocated for viewing AI as a partner that amplifies human productivity, rather than diminishes it.

For example, the adoption of AI agents - specialised tools designed to carry out specific tasks such as scheduling, customer support, or data analysis - can streamline workflows, improve productivity, and open new opportunities for human workers. It seems to be a positive story so far, at least for large companies - according to EY’s 2024 AI Pulse Survey, 97% of senior business leaders investing in AI report positive ROI, with increased returns in operational efficiencies (noted by 84% of business leaders), employee productivity (83%), and product innovation (78%). However, the survey also notes that 83% of leaders identified weak data infrastructure as a bottleneck to faster AI adoption, signalling a critical area for improvement. KPMG’s generative AI survey showed that 78% of senior leaders from billion-dollar companies expect to see a return on their generative AI investments within one to three years, with significant use cases emerging in inventory management (64%), healthcare document assessment (57%), and workflow automation (43%).

What are some leaders in the industry saying? Sarah Choudhary of Ice Innovations, notes: “AI is not a threat but a tool that, when used ethically and strategically, can unlock new potential and drive unprecedented growth [...] I envision a future where AI and human intelligence work together to create a more efficient, innovative and inclusive workplace.” Similarly, Content Guru deputy CEO and co-founder Martin Taylor states, “Although the rise of AI does pose profound challenges to the future of the job market, it also offers unprecedented opportunities for growth and innovation [...] AI has the potential to transform whole industries, create new roles and enhance productivity, ensuring that the workforce of tomorrow is not only employed but also empowered by technology’s advancements.”

AI Agents: Our Future Coworkers?

Outman paid a visit to Valencia Digital Summit in October last year, a leading international tech event, where these themes took center stage. Industry leaders shared insights on the evolving relationship between technology and the workplace, and what we can expect in the coming years. Among them, Armand Ruiz of IBM affirmed the future is agentic, going so far as to say these agents will be our “future coworkers”. These coworkers will be a kind of “Super AI”, a central orchestrator overseeing specialised smaller AI agents tasked with specific functions. He stressed that for such systems to succeed, they must be useful, reliable, safe, and scalable, and with this in place, they have the potential to drive significant productivity gains. His optimistic perspective on AI’s integration into the workplace was encapsulated in his message: “AI is not a replacement, it’s an AND.” These developments underscore a future where AI and human intelligence collaborate seamlessly, fostering innovation, efficiency, and inclusivity in the workplace.

Looking ahead

For us, 2024 marked a year of remarkable progress, where we witnessed rapidly growing technology development redefining possibilities across industries. Humans and technology are becoming inextricably linked, working together to amplify creativity, tackle complex challenges, and shape a more connected future. As we look ahead, these emerging technologies promise to unlock new levels of efficiency, creativity, and collaboration, setting the stage for an even more innovative 2025. We’re excited to see what it brings!