2024 saw the 35th anniversary of one of the quintessential comedies (that also helped launch Keanu Reeves into the spotlight): Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
The time-travelling adventure sees Reeve’s ‘Ted’ Theodore Logan opposite Alex Winter’s Bill S Preston Esq, as they travel back in time to complete their class history project. To help them complete the project, they bring figures of the past like Joan of Arc, Socrates, and Napoleon to modern-day California.
As 2024—and Bill and Ted’s 35th birthday—comes to an end, we look ahead and wonder which figures Bill and Ted could bring from the past to tell them about the modern technologies that will dominate 2025.
AI and Alan Turing
Alan Turing is often cited as the father of modern computing and AI. During the Second World War, Turing was part of a team that cracked German code on a device of his creation called the Enigma machine. As part of breaking the Enigma, Turing designed the Bombe, which was an electromechanical device that could detect the Enigma’s settings and attempt to crack the daily code switch up from German communications.
In 1947, the mathematician gave a public lecture on computer intelligence where he stated that what “we want is a machine that can learn from experience”. His concept of machine intelligence has shaped modern computing.
In 1950 he went on to publish the Turing Test, or the Imitation Game. This was a series of tests to determine whether a machine was able to match the qualities and intelligence of a human. The purpose of the Imitation Game is to discover whether machines can think, and several AI models have come close to beating it, highlighting the continuing advancement of AI and machine learning.
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By GlobalDataAI is set to continue its societal dominance in 2025. By 2030, GlobalData estimates that the AI market will be worth $1trn. Generative AI capabilities like image creation and decision-making will remain firmly in the public consciousness.
ESG and Mia Mottley
Not having to delve into the past, Mia Mottley, the current president of Barbados, is leading the charge is sustainability and climate regulation. Mottley has set ambitious climate targets for Barbados. She aims to eliminate fossil fuels by 2030 and plans to install solar panels on all homes across the island. Other policies include coral reef restoration and reforestation efforts.
At COP26 in 2021, Mottley gave a speech announcing the Bridgetown Initiative. The initiative advocates for the poorest nations who bear financial, and often the brunt of the climate crisis yet contribute the least emissions. Here she highlighted how Barbados contributes just 0.01% of the world’s emissions, yet like other small island nations is one of the most vulnerable to changing climates. At the following COP27, she echoed her sentiments from the previous year. It is estimated that for developing countries, the cost of climate-related natural disasters—like the hurricanes that threaten Barbados—stands at around $70bn a year.
ESG, sustainability, and environmental regulation will be at the forefront of conversations and policies in 2025. Across Europe, required corporate sustainability reporting is set to come into action and the EU will also bring into force regulations surrounding deforestation.
The future of connectivity and Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr, the star of Hollywood’s Golden Age, was not only a Tinseltown idol. She also invented an early form of wi-fi.
In 1941, Lamarr filed a patent for a frequency-hopping technology. Alongside George Antheil, Lamarr invented a device that allowed transmitters and receivers to hop between radio signals together. This invention would allow pilots in the war to move between communications and prevent enemy interception of radio signals. The patent was granted in 1942 but was never implemented by the army.
Hedy Lamarr was never recognised as an inventor throughout her film career, with this aspect of her life remaining unpublicised. In 1997, the Electronic Frontier Foundation awarded her and Antheil with a Pioneer Award for the invention.
In 2014, after her death, she was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for the radio-hopping technology, which is often cited as the beginning of wireless communications like GPS and Bluetooth.
In 2025, there are still developments set to be made in the world of connectivity. The world is preparing for 6G with expansions of 5G expected to come in the year. AI will help with managing global connectivity networks and low-orbiting satellites will continue to expand wireless communications to remote parts of the World.
