2025: The Year AI Hype Met Reality and GPS Jamming Fights Back
▼ Summary
– The Trump administration has launched a “US Tech Force” program to recruit engineers from Big Tech to modernize government IT systems.
– Lawmakers are investigating the impact of AI data centers on electricity costs and whether these costs are being passed on to consumers.
– Ford has canceled plans for a large all-electric truck, opting instead to focus on a plug-in hybrid version of its F-150 Lightning pickup.
– PayPal is seeking to become a bank in the US, benefiting from a regulatory environment friendly to non-traditional financial firms.
– A major tech trade deal between the US and UK has been paused due to American dissatisfaction with Britain’s lack of progress.
The year 2025 is shaping up to be a pivotal moment where the boundless optimism surrounding artificial intelligence collides with tangible, real-world constraints. Lawmakers are now launching investigations into how the massive energy demands of AI data centers are impacting electricity costs for everyday consumers. This scrutiny extends beyond power grids, as experts also grapple with the significant and often hidden water usage required to cool these vast server farms. The conversation is shifting from pure potential to practical impact, questioning whether the benefits of these technologies ultimately outweigh their substantial environmental and economic footprints.
In a parallel development, the Trump administration has introduced the US Tech Force program, an initiative designed to attract engineering talent away from prominent Silicon Valley firms and redirect their skills toward modernizing federal government systems. This move has drawn comparisons to previous efforts and raises questions about the continuity and strategy of federal IT modernization.
The automotive sector is witnessing a significant strategic pivot. Ford has officially abandoned plans for a new large all-electric truck, a decision directly influenced by shifting political support and market demand for electric vehicles in the United States. Instead, the company will focus on revamping its popular F-150 Lightning as a plug-in hybrid, signaling a broader industry trend toward more flexible vehicle electrification strategies. This shift underscores the ongoing challenge of delivering an affordable, practical electric truck to the American market.
Financial technology is also undergoing transformation, with PayPal actively seeking to become a licensed bank within the United States. This ambition is buoyed by a regulatory environment increasingly favorable to non-traditional financial entities, a trend that has also benefited the cryptocurrency industry’s access to banking services over the past year.
International tech relations have hit a snag, as a major technology trade deal between the United States and the United Kingdom has been suspended. The delay stems from American dissatisfaction with the pace of Britain’s progress on key issues, marking a notable setback in the economic and technological partnership between the two allies.
Beyond the tech world, a critical public health dilemma emerges. Researchers have developed a promising new antiviral pill that can prevent dengue infection, yet its development has been inexplicably abandoned, highlighting the complex economic and logistical challenges in bringing vital medicines to market.
Environmental concerns continue to mount, with sobering projections indicating that the majority of the world’s glaciers could vanish by the end of this century, disappearing at an alarming rate of thousands per year. This has spurred new scientific missions aimed at understanding and potentially saving crucial ice formations like the so-called “doomsday glacier.”
The cultural impact of AI is creating clear divisions, particularly in Hollywood. While some directors and producers enthusiastically embrace AI tools for filmmaking, many actors express deep concern and horror over the technology’s implications for their careers and the nature of creative work.
In the corporate sphere, a new hiring trend has taken hold: an obsession with “storytellers.” This role, often a contemporary rebranding of traditional media relations, is seen as essential for navigating the AI age, crafting compelling narratives for brands, products, and data.
Finally, a historical perspective reminds us that the core concept of hacking, creative problem-solving and system manipulation, predates the digital era. Stories of ingenious teenage geeks from decades past demonstrate that the hacker ethos has long been a part of technological curiosity and innovation.
A pointed question captures the sentiment of many observing these developments: “So the federal government deleted 18F, which was doing great work modernizing the government, and then replaced it with a clone? What is the point of all this?”
(Source: Technology Review)
