From the development of artificial intelligence (AI) to the advancement of autonomous vehicles, this year has left a bright trail of innovation. Although some smart solutions are still finding their place in the market, others have already become a part of everyday life for many. Lukas Keraitis, "Tele2Innovation expert reviews the year's most important events and trends that shaped the world of technology.
Breakthrough year for DI
"During these years, AI tools have become ingrained in many people's blood and are no longer exotic. Some people may be tired of hearing about AI because sometimes its name is meant to attract attention. However, the real progress of AI not only does not stop, but is increasingly gaining momentum and changing our everyday life for the better", says L. Keraitis.
Launched just two years ago, ChatGPT already has around 350 million monthly users worldwide. Nvidia, which makes video cards for AI training, has become the third most valuable company in the world. For the first time in 30 years, Windows PC keyboards have a new button to activate Copilot, the AI assistant.
As a trend, the Tele2 innovation expert names the multimodality of AI - the ability to work not only with text, but also with image, video or audio formats. According to him, the various AI models have been developing rapidly. "ChatGPT" surfs the Internet better, uses more advanced models, writes and understands the Lithuanian language much better. So-called "GPT apps" have also become popular - user-created specialized tools that perform a specific function well.
"For example, I use the article translator and summarizer I created practically every day. I didn't have to program anything, just work on describing what I wanted the result to be. At the beginning of the year, it was an innovation only available in the paid version, now anyone can use it", L. Keraitis notes.
Space flights are cheap with reusable rockets
In the field of space, the year 2024 is marked by an impressive achievement of SpaceX - the first successful launch of a rocket in the air. After the Starship test flight, the Super Heavy rocket carrier separated from the spacecraft, returned to the launch site in Texas and was arrested by a special system of chopsticks on the launch tower.
"Even watching a video like this takes my breath away. A few years ago, SpaceX demonstrated that it can land a rocket launcher vertically, and the reuse of a part of the rocket makes space travel significantly cheaper. It means that in the future such trips will become more and more a daily phenomenon", says the expert.
Autonomous taxis are on the streets of US cities every day
Waymo JAV began providing autonomous taxi services five years ago. To date, the company has completed more than 5 million trips with self-driving taxis, of which as many as 4 million took place in 2024.
"Autonomous or self-driving taxis have already covered thousands of kilometers in US cities. Previously, this service was available only to the testers of the program, but now it can be used more and more by ordinary people. A person who has called such a taxi can choose what music to listen to, adjust the temperature of the car and monitor the journey on the phone", - the innovation expert of Tele2 shares his insights.
According to L. Keraitis, similar initiatives are already being developed in Europe, but their implementation is slower here. Partly due to the more complex road network and more winding European roads. The company announced that it plans to expand globally next year. Waymo will not only move its services to more cities in the United States, but also plans to test robot taxis in Japan.
What will 2025 bring?
According to Tele2's innovation expert, one of the hottest topics next year will be AI agents. These are AI systems that not only answer questions, but immediately perform actions on a computer or phone. Although universal and widely used AI agents do not yet exist, major technology companies are in intense competition to develop them.
"We're already seeing more and more prototypes where apps are allowed to monitor what's happening on the screen and take control of it." For example, an AI agent can order a book upon request. The tool starts typing in the browser's search box, compares prices online, finds the best deals and adds the book to the shopping cart. For now, these apps are running as closed tests, but we can expect big changes next year as personal task automation becomes more widely available. It won't be boring next year," concludes the Tele2 representative.
