AI, Musk and Trump add up to turbulent 2025 for tech

Washington: Since the selection for Oxford s yearly word is done by public poll, this leads me to my first prediction in this column of observations f...

Washington: Since the selection for Oxford’s yearly word is done by public poll, this leads me to my first prediction in this column of observations for tech in 2025.

The brain rot economy will show signs of weakness as people grow more wary of what is being served up to them by algorithms as they scroll endlessly.

In the past year, the flood of AI slop content has made looking at Facebook even more pointless - and eyeballs will go elsewhere.

Along the same lines, we can expect more anti-social media and anti-smartphone legislation from governments and local authorities around the world following the drastic action taken by Australia to ban users younger than 16 from social media and more and more bans on smartphones in US schools. 

Momentum is growing, and I expect more sweeping directives will follow - along with more spirited debate over whether such bans are justified or effective.