Technology

The first few months of the new year have already proven transformative for the AI sector, with rapid advancements reshaping the industry landscape. As we close out the first quarter of the year, let’s look ahead at how emerging trends are likely to evolve throughout 2025.

From reasoning models with enhanced critical thinking capabilities to agentic systems operating with greater autonomy, we are entering a new era where AI implementation moves from experimental to essential.

From tailored model training to groundbreaking advances in IT infrastructure, the focus has shifted towards solving real-world problems at scale. However, addressing the substantial costs of acquiring, operating, and maintaining GPU compute remains a critical challenge for long-term sustainability. Organizations that can implement more energy-efficient solutions will not only optimize computational resources but also significantly reduce utility expenses.

2025 will also push the AI industry to redefine innovation and accessibility. With heightened attention to sustainability, regulatory oversight, and hardware specialization, the stage is set for a new wave of breakthroughs with AI tools that will impact industries across the board.

AI gets personal for enterprises

The era of one-size-fits-all AI is coming to an end. In 2025, enterprises will accelerate their efforts to fine-tune AI models using proprietary data, creating hyper-targeted tools that transform industry-specific workflows. Large-scale AI adoption will move beyond proof-of-concept to fully integrated systems designed for efficiency and measurable impact.

From an infrastructure perspective, as AI models grow more complex, demand for advanced GPUs and high-performance computing (HPC) clusters will continue to rise. Meeting this demand will require not only innovation in hardware but also significant improvements in data center power efficiency, cooling, and network capabilities.

The compute divide persists and innovators step in

Access to high-powered computing resources remains uneven, with large enterprises and well-funded AI labs enjoying privileged access to superclusters, while startups, independent researchers, and universities struggle to secure the latest chips at reasonable costs.

This imbalance presents an opportunity for specialized providers to step in and level the playing field. Some companies are addressing this challenge by offering flexible, affordable access ranging from on-demand GPU rentals to dedicated, high-performance clusters. By making AI infrastructure more accessible, it ensures that innovation is available to a broader ecosystem of builders and researchers.

Green is the new gold

As AI adoption skyrockets, so too will its energy demands. The computational requirements of training and running increasingly sophisticated models are straining already overburdened power grids and challenging sustainability commitments.

This growing energy footprint is prompting organizations to pursue innovative cooling techniques, renewable energy partnerships, and more efficient model architectures that deliver comparable performance with reduced computational resources. As industry leaders recognize that addressing AI’s energy consumption is not only an environmental imperative but also a significant cost factor, sustainability will drive innovation in more efficient chips, data center design, and AI model optimization.

AI systems will evolve and become autonomous

AI is evolving beyond simple tools into self-directed agents capable of handling complex, multi-step tasks with minimal human intervention. The shift will move beyond model fine-tuning and prompt engineering towards fully integrated AI solutions that can automate entire workflows, creative processes, and business operations.

We'll see more focus on developing specialized chips designed specifically for AI tasks. These chips will make AI systems faster, more efficient, and more affordable to deploy across various industries. Having hardware for specific AI functions will enable businesses to run generative AI solutions at scale without the high costs or performance issues that come with general-purpose hardware. This will enable a wider range of applications, from healthcare to entertainment, and could make advanced AI more accessible to companies of all sizes, and for their final customers.

Regulation homes in on dataset copyright

With AI permeating every sector, legal and ethical scrutiny will intensify. Expect stricter regulations around data ownership, licensing, and privacy, with an emphasis on transparency and accountability. These changes will likely mean more clear guidelines on who can access and use data, and how it should be handled by different parties.

Open-source video models will reshape content creation

The availability of open-source tools for video generation will make advanced video creation more accessible to everyone, fueling a new wave of creativity and innovation. In the coming years we will see major advancements in real-time, interactive, and personalized video generation, enabling new forms of media, entertainment, and marketing experiences. In terms of creativity the possibilities will be endless. Things we haven’t seen or even thought about will be possible through video and image generation tools accessible to everyone.

Future-forward AI

As we progress through 2025, AI is continuing to evolve at a rapid pace, shaped by enterprise-driven innovation, sustainability imperatives, and increasing regulatory oversight. While compute access disparities persist, new players are stepping up to bridge the gap. AI systems are becoming more autonomous, open source video generation is unlocking new creative frontiers, and specialized hardware is making large-scale AI adoption more efficient.

The organizations that adapt to these shifts, investing in tailored AI solutions, sustainable infrastructure, and regulatory compliance will be the ones leading the next wave of technological transformation. Meanwhile, AI builders of all sizes will benefit from increased access to high-performance infrastructure, unlocking new levels of creativity and innovation. With these forces converging, 2025 is not just a turning point, it is a proving ground for the future of AI.

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The MDLondon Curl is a curling wand with a difference. For one, it looks more like something you'd find in a tool box than on a dressing table. That right-angled wand is designed to be more comfortable to hold, for a styling experience with more control and less arm-ache. Unfortunately, the only demo video I can find shows someone having their hair done, and I'm struggling to envisage how you might use it on yourself.

The main body of the curler is shaped very similarly to most of today's best hair dryers. It's not a hair dryer, though – there's no air blowing out. The ceramic barrels simply heat up to set the hair into place, like a traditional curling tong.

Another cool upgrade is that the curl barrel is swappable. The Curl comes with four different barrel styles, and you can simply switch them out for different looks. There's a fairly standard 25mm barrel, a chunkier 31mm one for bigger curls, an ultra-thin 10mm one for super-tight corkscrews and an intriguing reverse conical one (pictured below) that the brand says will give you a relaxed, beachy look.

(Image credit: MDLondon)

While I'm still a little unsure about the right-angled design, I am fully sold on the idea of swappable barrels. In a market flooded with multi-stylers, it's starting to feel old-fashioned to have a tool that just does one thing, and this is a clever way to add versatility. Tiny curling wands (to create tight curls) are having a bit of a moment right now, but for most people that'll just be an occasional look rather than something for every day. Adding it as an option alongside more relaxed curl barrel options saves you from having to buy a whole separate gadget that you just might not need that often.

We've tested MDLondon hair gadgets before and been consistently impressed – the MDLondon Strait features in our best hair straightener roundup, and we found the MDLondon Blow hair dryer "lightweight yet luxurious, compact yet powerful". Both have some slightly out-of -the-ordinary design tweaks, although neither are quite as head-turning as the Curl. I'm interested to see how it holds up in practice, and if other haircare brands start to follow suit.

Heat vs air

It's a little unusual to see a traditional heated tong (albeit within a non-traditional design) being launched these days. The current focus seems to be all about Dyson Airwrap-style tools that use directed air to create curls using the Coanda effect. The idea is that it's better for your long-term hair health because there's less extreme heat.

While I do like that approach – I've just reviewed the Dyson Airwrap i.d. and was very impressed, and today's best Airwrap dupes are increasingly capable too – I will concede that it does have its drawbacks. Curls created using air still tend to drop more quickly than those created using heat, the styling process takes longer (and especially if you're diligent about using a cold shot to help set each curl) and it can be fiddly, too – hair is attracted to the barrel and wraps around automatically, but you have to be precise or you'll end up with strands from other curls getting pulled into the curl you're currently working on. It might be that a revamped traditional tong is just what we need.

The MDLondon Curl curling wand is only currently available in the UK, and it costs £129 (but that would make it around $168 or AU$270, as a rough estimate).

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The Trump administration has spared iPhones, laptops and other electronics from its reciprocal tariffs, but it's unclear if that'll last.

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• Certain electronics gadgets are now exempt from certain tariffs
• Phones, laptops, and processors all get a reprieve – which includes China
• It's still not clear what will happen next with electronics pricing

There's a new twist in the US tariff trade war: Phones, computers, semiconductors and various other electronics are now exempt from punishing import tariffs, which have shot up to 145% for China and are typically now 10% as a baseline for other countries.

The news was reported by the Associated Press and others, and while it's still early to say what the full impact will be, it does ease the pressure on companies who mostly manufacture their gadgets outside of the US – including Apple, Dell, Nvidia, and Samsung.

US President Donald Trump introduced a raft of tariffs for goods imported to the US at the start of the month, and markets have been in chaos ever since. Earlier this week, a lot of those tariff hikes above the 10% baseline were paused – but not for China, which raised its own tariffs in turn.

This new exclusion policy does cover China, and mentions smartphones, laptops, hard drives, computer processors, memory chips, and machines used to make semiconductors. Most companies that deal in electronics will be breathing a sigh of relief, though some device categories apparently aren't covered, including video games consoles.

What happens next?

The move might not be enough to open up Switch 2 pre-orders in the US (Image credit: Future/Nintendo)

It's been difficult to predict the moves the US government has made in respect to tariffs in recent days, and that hasn't changed. This latest move should mean gadget pricing settles down for consumers, but it's impossible to be certain.

Bloomberg reports that the new exclusion policy could be a precursor to a whole separate tariff focused specifically on electronics. For now, the world is waiting to see how the 90-day pause on many of Trump's tariffs plays out.

As a US company which assembles almost all of its goods overseas, including in China, Apple has been in the spotlight during all of this tariff uncertainty: there have even been suggestions of Apple factories in the US and reports of iPhone panic-buying ahead of potential price rises.

Apple is one of the companies that it seems will benefit the most, though the move may not be enough to open up Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders in the US, which have been delayed. Consoles like the Switch 2 aren't mentioned in the new exemptions, though the previous 90-day pause should mean more stock can be moved to the United States.

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