Many business leaders are thinking about the impact of AI on humans as we head into 2025.

“This is the year of AI utility,” said Sridhar Ramaswamy, CEO of data storage company Snowflake. “It’s a defining moment: Those who integrate AI thoughtfully will drive efficiencies that free up resources for critical tasks, making 2025 an ‘adapt or die’ year for organisations. AI can streamline workflows, unlock previously inaccessible insights, remove intermediaries, and more. Businesses that implement AI strategically will see a measurable impact in the hours of work reduced, millions of dollars saved, and accelerated pace of innovation.

“As a part of this transition to utility, AI has changed the game in that everyone is now a data user. Generative AI has made data and data analysis instantly accessible via conversational language, and that will change professional roles across the board.

“Business intelligence, once a specialised function, is now being democratised. Professionals from all backgrounds are tapping into data-driven insights, and as users gain comfort with AI, data roles will evolve. CEOs must anticipate this evolution, investing in upskilling initiatives and aligning roles with AI’s capabilities, ensuring that every employee is equipped to contribute to a data-centric organisation.”

Research group Gartner also expects the impact on staffing to be significant. It predicts agentic AI will be mainstream within the next two to three years, providing businesses with a digital workforce that doesn’t need vacations or benefits and can do things with or without us. These agents will be goal-driven, can make decisions, and will possess memory as well as the ability to plan and sense, and tools they can use.

Indeed, Deloitte Global expects a quarter of the enterprises using GenAI to deploy AI agents in 2025, growing to 50% by 2027.

“While the ultimate aim is to achieve autonomous and dependable agents, Deloitte expects significant improvements in their capabilities in 2025 as these technologies rapidly advance, with agentic AI moving past pilots and proofs of concepts in some markets and for some applications in 2025.”

This could make Web sites and apps unnecessary: “There are many things we go to Web sites for to get information and make a decision — we could have an agent do that,” said Gene Alvarez, distinguished vice president/analyst at Gartner.

It would also make it easier to upskill or onboard a workforce by creating a digital buddy to new employees or bring new skills to staff by letting an agent work as a co-worker that teaches as well as does. According to Alvarez, the question then becomes: How will we govern this new workforce of ours? 

Advances in GenAI will also mean more leisure time for workers, according to Zoom CEO Eric Yuan.

“Over time, AI digital assistants will become fully customised, evolving into a ‘digital twin,’ equipped with your work history and institutional knowledge. They will fundamentally change how we work, allowing us to prioritise the creative and strategic tasks that truly require a human touch and thoughtful focus time.

“Back in 1926, Henry Ford revolutionised the work week, reducing it from 48 to 40 hours. Now, thanks to AI, a four-day workweek could become the norm — enabling the fifth workday to be used as a mindful retreat from daily tasks to be spent with friends, family, or hobbies.

“In the end, our digital twins will allow us to top Ford — and the implications for productivity, work-life balance, and collaboration will be profound. A four-day work week could truly be within reach.”

Well, there’s a thought as we head into the holidays. Wishing all of you a relaxing break, and looking forward to hearing what you’re working on in 2025!

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