
2025: Will AI take over your life? From self-driving buses to fake news
The year 2025 is not just about technology advancing – it’s about how we, as people, choose to use it. Will we let it deepen inequalities or close gaps? Will we protect the truth or let fake realities thrive? Will we adapt to change or resist it?

Alexiei Dingli is a professor of artificial intelligence and was asked by MaltaToday to envision the impact of AI on humanity in the new year.
As we wake up in 2025, artificial intelligence (AI) will already be at work, quietly shaping the day ahead. From the moment we open our eyes, get ready for work, manage our health, or unwind in the evening, AI is finding its way into every corner of our lives.
The technologies once imagined in science fiction are now becoming routine, seamlessly blending into our days. But while they promise convenience, efficiency, and even life-saving breakthroughs, they also raise questions about privacy, ethics, and what it means to trust what we see and hear. Let's walk through a day in 2025 and see how AI might shape our world.
The morning starts with your AI-powered wearable device gently waking you up. It hasn't just acted as an alarm clock – it spent the night monitoring your sleep patterns, heart rate, and stress levels. Based on this data, it suggests a slower start to the day because it noticed your body needs a little extra rest. It might even prompt you to schedule a quick video consultation with your doctor if it senses any irregularities, like an abnormal heartbeat. By 2025, these AI-driven health insights will become essential to preventative care, saving lives through early detection of issues like heart disease or diabetes. Tools like these make healthcare proactive instead of reactive.
Real and fake news
Over breakfast, you scan through the news, but here's where AI's influence gets trickier. Generative AI has made content creation effortless. News articles, social media posts, and even videos are being produced faster than ever, often with AI tools like ChatGPT, DALL-E or SORA. On the one hand, this means personalised, high-quality content tailored to your interests. On the other hand, it's harder than ever to trust what you see. A compromising video of a public figure could be entirely fake. AI-generated videos, images, or audio will become so realistic that distinguishing the truth from fiction will become a daily challenge. How can you be sure the news you're reading is real? To tackle this, regulations like the European Union's AI Act require companies to disclose when content is AI-generated. It's definitely a step in the right direction, but ultimately, the responsibility to verify your sources and stay vigilant rests with you.
By mid-morning, you're off to work, perhaps using one of the first self-driving buses we'll see roaming on Maltese roads in 2025. These AI-powered vehicles will help reduce traffic congestion and accidents caused by human error. If you're lucky, a few autonomous taxis may start to appear, offering affordable and reliable transport options. Behind the scenes, AI is also optimising delivery systems – imagine drones buzzing overhead, delivering parcels to homes faster and more efficiently than ever before. These technologies will change not just the way we move but also how goods arrive at our doorsteps.
The office assistant
At the office, you find yourself working alongside AI agents, intelligent tools that can handle repetitive tasks like managing emails, sorting through data, or even predicting future trends for your company. Think of them as your digital assistants, capable of learning and adapting to your needs. This means increased business efficiency, freeing employees to focus on more creative, high-value work. While this sounds like a dream, it also means that specific jobs will disappear. Some tasks humans handle today will become automated, forcing workers to adapt and learn new skills. The upside? AI is creating entirely new roles – AI ethicists, compliance auditors, and AI content creators –
that didn't exist a decade ago. The workplace will change, but with the proper training, so will the opportunities.
For parents, the afternoon might involve helping kids with homework, where AI is also making its mark. AI-powered learning systems tailor lessons to each child's strengths and weaknesses, offering a customised learning experience. A struggling student gets more focused support, while others can advance at their own pace. For teachers, AI helps with administrative tasks like grading and planning, giving them more time to actually teach.
As evening rolls in, AI is back to making life easier. Perhaps you're exploring recipes suggested by your augmented reality (AR) glasses, which overlay digital prompts in your field of view. These glasses – set to go mainstream in 2025 – might replace the smartphone entirely. Instead of staring at a screen, your world becomes your interface. Directions to a friend's house appear directly in front of you. Video calls happen without pulling out a device. Shopping? You could try on clothes virtually while standing in your living room. AR glasses mark the beginning of a new technological era where the boundaries between the physical and digital worlds blur.
Hidden cost
As you wind down for the night, you might reflect on how much AI has already done for you – helping you stay healthier, making work easier, and saving time on everyday tasks. Yet, this convenience comes with trade-offs. There's the hidden cost of AI's energy use. Training large AI systems requires enormous amounts of electricity, raising concerns about sustainability. While AI can help fight climate change – optimising energy grids, predicting weather patterns, or monitoring deforestation – it contributes to the problem. Finding balance will be one of the most significant challenges of 2025.
There's also the issue of security. AI enhances cybersecurity by automating threat detection and analysing extensive data to identify patterns, enabling rapid response to potential threats. However, AI also equips cybercriminals with advanced tools to create more sophisticated attacks. In fact, AI has already been used to create realistic video avatars that impersonate loved ones, tricking individuals into sending money or sensitive information. This dual-edged nature of AI in cybersecurity means that while it strengthens defences, it also presents new challenges for law enforcement and security professionals who must continuously innovate to keep up.
We, the people
So, as you drift off to sleep, you might wonder: where is all this heading? AI will save lives, create opportunities, and make life more convenient, but it will also force us to question what we trust, how we work, and how we care for our planet. The year 2025 is not just about technology advancing – it's about how we, as people, choose to use it. Will we let it deepen inequalities or close gaps? Will we protect the truth or let fake realities thrive? Will we adapt to change or resist it? AI isn't just a tool; it's a reflection of us – our values, choices, and priorities. The year ahead gives us the chance to shape this future together. Are we ready? The answer lies not in the machines, but in the decisions we make every single day.