In the near future, according to the ideas of artificial intelligence expert Andrew Ng, every industry will be affected by artificial intelligence, and whoever understands and applies it first will be in a position of power, and this is exactly what we are living in in the year 2025, as artificial intelligence is no longer just a passing technology, but rather has become a completely new category of technology that redefines the way businesses are managed and humans interact with machines.
From automating tedious routine tasks to opening up entirely new horizons, AI is propelling the world towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution, where everything is centered on efficiency, scalability, and above all intelligent decision-making.
In this article, we review ten of the most prominent applications of artificial intelligence for the year 2025, and reveal how this technology can change the rules of the game not only in the business world, but in every aspect of our lives.
The ten applications of artificial intelligence in 2025
- Vaccine development
The rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines has seen several key factors. Years of research on messenger RNA (mRNA), enormous political will, and a huge influx of money.
But to reduce the timeline from 15 years to just 12 months, scientists also relied on artificial intelligence tools, which helped with everything from interpreting genomes to cleaning clinical trial data.
“We could have a new vaccine design within a few days,” says Timothy Ende, head of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI) program. This program aims to develop and deploy a new vaccine within 100 days, and Indy adds, “I think we are close to reaching this goal.”
- Relationships between humans and machines
Relationships between humans and machines are becoming commonplace, with millions of people turning to AI-powered chatbots to fill the role of friend, therapist, and romantic partner.
One AI role-playing platform, Character.AI, now has 20 million monthly active users, half of whom are female, and the other half born after 1997.
“For many people, it is enjoyable entertainment that they get a lot of benefit from,” says Kate Devlin, a professor at Kinger College London. She believes that the company of artificial intelligence is beneficial as long as people understand that it is not a conscious being, but she warns against exploiting vulnerable groups, such as children or those with psychological problems.
- Wildlife monitoring
To track wildlife, scientists use a network of motion-activated cameras in remote areas, but the large stream of images captured by these cameras can take several weeks to sort through and search for important scenes.
Here comes the role of the “Wildlife Insights” tool, which emerged from a collaboration between the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Google, as it scans millions of images and identifies animals with up to 99.4% accuracy.
This way, researchers can free up their time and effort to focus on “more important work,” says Abby Heemeyer, WWF’s program leader.
In March, the tool was released as open source, trained on 65 million images, so scientists can conserve the environment wherever it is used.
education
As educational institutions seek to understand and control the use of artificial intelligence, its adoption is becoming widespread within schools and universities.
In July, teachers’ unions in the United States collaborated with OpenAI, Microsoft, and Anthropic as part of an initiative aimed at training 400,000 male and female teachers to use technology over the next five years.
In a parallel move, OpenAI in August announced a partnership with the Indian government to distribute its technology to schools nationwide, reflecting the global expansion of artificial intelligence in education.
In this context, Rose Lukin, a professor at University College London, with deep experience in artificial intelligence and education, explains that students’ widespread use of this technology led to the disruption of systems that were actually struggling to prepare them for the future.
However, Lukin believes that these transformations bring new opportunities, but she stresses the necessity of regulation and understanding the limits of artificial intelligence to protect vulnerable groups.
- Circular recycling
More than 350 million tons of plastic waste are produced annually, but enzymes designed by AI can convert plastic back into the chemical compounds it was made from.
According to Jacob Nathan, founder and CEO of Epoch Biodesign, “This opens up endless recycling possibilities for all the materials that today are sent to landfills or incineration.”
The company has designed enzymes for the three main types of plastic using machine learning, and its first production facility is expected to be able to process 150 tons of waste per year.
- Medical diagnosis
Artificial intelligence tools have become an essential part of the world’s healthcare systems, helping diagnose strokes, cancers, and other medical conditions.
For example, Quere.ai uses artificial intelligence to interpret diagnostic images such as X-rays and ultrasounds, and its system is applied in more than 4,500 locations around the world. Viz.ai algorithms are also used in more than 1,800 hospitals in the United States and Europe.
On a similar note, artificial intelligence systems are also showing great benefit as clinical companions. In a trial conducted by Penda Health and OpenAI, the system helped reduce medical errors in diagnosis by 16%, demonstrating great potential to improve healthcare on a global scale.
- Children’s toys
Artificial intelligence toys are an emerging and fast-growing market, with companies such as Curio offering artificial intelligence stuffed toys that speak to children in age-appropriate language, while Miko 3 is designed as an interactive robot that helps children learn and listen.
In June, OpenAI entered into a partnership with toy company Mattel, and the first joint product is expected to be announced soon.
In this context, Anne-Sophie Seret, Executive Director of the Everyone AI initiative, warns of the impact of games on children’s critical developmental stages if the necessary controls are not available.
She stressed, “Standards, guidelines, and proactive communication with designer companies is crucial. Once the little bear is under the Christmas tree, it becomes very difficult to retrieve it.”
- Earth mapping
In July, Google announced an artificial intelligence system that acts as a “virtual satellite,” collecting optical, thermal, radar, and climate data to characterize dry land and coastal waters with high accuracy.
“The resulting unified dataset provides a consistent understanding of the planet globally for scientists and researchers,” explains Christopher Brown, senior research engineer at Google DeepMind.
Already in use by more than 50 organizations, such as governments, businesses, non-profit organizations and academics, these highly efficient maps enable a wide range of tasks, from mapping ecosystems and supply chains to analyzing environmental changes over time.
Brown expresses optimism that removing barriers to accessing this data could lead to an “explosion in geosciences.”
- Factory automation
While industrial robots have been part of production lines since the 1930s, they are now equipped with intelligent brains that enable them to make decisions and improve their performance on their own.
For example, Xiaomi now runs what is known as a “dark factory” in Beijing, an automated factory that can be operated in low light, and produces a flagship smartphone every six seconds with only a small number of technicians supervising it.
Also, Siemens is at the forefront of developing artificial intelligence-powered industrial assistants, which help engineers guide robots using natural language and automatically detect mechanical problems, increasing efficiency by up to 30%, according to Peter Court, chief technology and strategy officer.
Kurt adds that AI’s future impact depends largely on transforming the industrial world: “After all, it represents the majority of the economy.”
- Self-driving military aircraft
Loss of signal, often as a result of advanced jamming, previously meant a drone would crash. But during “Operation Spider Web” in Ukraine, artificial intelligence took over when some of the 117 planes stopped working, according to the Ukrainian security service.
“This operation, which destroyed 12 Russian bombers, is the most clear example of the capabilities of artificial intelligence on the battlefield,” says Mykhalyo Fedorov, Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine and leader of the Brave1 initiative.
Fedorov adds that current aircraft can track pre-defined targets, while future models will move towards greater autonomy.
With all these promising applications of AI, there remain fundamental challenges to consider, such as protecting privacy, avoiding over-reliance on technology, and reducing potential errors. Understanding and dealing with these risks will be key to making the most of AI in the future.