At the close of 2023, we made ten predictions for 2024 across key areas of technology including AI, content-rich technologies, digital infrastructure, and blockchain-based assets. As we review the past year, many of those predictions proved prescient, with significant developments in regulation, litigation and adoption.

1. First AI legislation to hit the statute books: The EU AI Act passed as expected, setting a significant global benchmark. Meanwhile, the change of government in the UK has slowed the progression of the UK’s principles-based approach, such that there is a clear blue water emerging between the UK and the EU in terms of approach and timing of implementation.
2. Technological cat and mouse in AI: The rapid development of AI models such as Gemini, Claude, and ChatGPT, demonstrated escalating competition. Tools like Nightshade emerged, validating concerns about data poisoning and AI security vulnerabilities.
3. All rise: AI and IP litigation: High-profile cases (e.g. OpenAI v. NYT) pushed courts to grapple with IP ownership and training data rights, though conclusive doctrines remain elusive.
4. Sophisticated cyber threats: AI-enhanced cyberattacks surged, with regulators intensifying mandatory reporting timelines globally.
5. Deep fakes and the electoral cycle: Deep fakes were alarmingly prevalent in the “biggest election year,” impacting political discourse and raising urgent calls for regulation.
6. Mixed reality adoption: The Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3 demonstrated technical promise, but mixed reality remains niche due to cost and user hesitance.
7. Remote gaming expansion: Nintendo’s successor and cloud gaming services like Xbox Cloud, confirmed the shift toward on-the-move, tethered gaming.
8. Cryptoasset-specific regulatory developments: The UK maintained its ambition as a global crypto hub, advancing stablecoin and financial promotions regimes amid global fragmentation.
9. Blockchain-related law reforms: The Court of Appeal made pivotal decisions on blockchain developer liability, solidifying DLT’s status within English common law.
10. Evolving digital infrastructure regulation: NGSO constellations proliferated, spectrum licensing reforms advanced, and net neutrality debates intensified globally.

The trends over 2024 set the stage for an even more dynamic 2025, where regulation, infrastructure, and adoption will continue to evolve rapidly. Here are our 10 predictions for 2025 on the trends shaping technology and their implications for businesses, policymakers, and the wider economy.

2024 saw the approval of the EU AI Act, while the UK’s White Paper advanced its principles-based approach. In 2025, the focus will move from policy creation to implementation and regulatory enforcement. AI legislation will begin to feel “real” for businesses in 2025, and fines for non-compliance may mirror GDPR enforcement trends.

• EU regulators will begin testing enforcement mechanisms. High-risk AI applications (e.g. medical diagnosis, autonomous driving, hiring tools) will face audits and compliance checks. Businesses developing AI tools for Europe must adapt quickly to classification requirements and transparency obligations.
• The UK’s approach remains more flexible but risks creating regulatory divergence from the EU. Companies operating in both markets will need to balance compliance without stifling innovation. We can expect to see divergence being talked of as a means of creating competitive advantage.
• Expect cross-border legal challenges as businesses contest how AI models are classified and enforced. Regulators will be tested on their ability to monitor compliance effectively.

2025 will mark a major shift in AI development. While general-purpose models like GPT will remain prominent in terms of content creation, we anticipate an explosion of vertical-specific AI tools and edge AI adoption coming to the fore in terms of the underlying technology. Businesses will shift from large-scale AI experimentation to practical, industry-specific AI deployments in 2025.

• Industries like healthcare, legal, finance, and manufacturing will adopt tailored AI models designed for specific tasks. Smaller, more efficient models will dominate, capable of outperforming their larger counterparts for domain-specific challenges. In the legal sector, we are already seeing the proliferation of AI tools promising to automate e-discovery, contract analysis, and risk prediction with unprecedented precision.
• AI processing on devices (e.g., smartphones, IoT sensors) will increase, enabling offline capabilities and privacy preservation. This has massive implications for industries requiring real-time decision-making.
• Smaller, faster models will democratise access to AI, particularly for SMEs, which have so far been unable to afford the infrastructure needed for general-purpose models.

Deep fakes dominated global elections in 2024, exposing vulnerabilities in misinformation control although fortunately it appears not to have undermined democracy as some were fearing. In 2025, the focus will turn to technology-driven solutions and content authenticity frameworks.

• Standards like C2PA (Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity) will gain traction, embedding metadata to verify the origin and edits of digital content. Tech giants, governments, and media organisations will drive adoption.
• Jurisdictions will introduce laws mandating the identification of AI-generated content to curb misuse. For example, platforms may be required to label synthetic media or face liability risks.
• AI tools that detect deep fakes will improve, but these systems must keep pace with increasingly sophisticated fake content generation.
• Businesses in media, content, and technology will face pressure to adopt provenance standards and ensure compliance with emerging deep fake regulations.

Tensions will escalate over the use of personal data to train AI models, particularly in GDPR-centric jurisdictions like the EU and UK. 2025 will test how far AI developers can push the boundaries of training data, while regulators grapple with balancing protecting privacy and encouraging innovation.

• Expect landmark court decisions around AI models trained on publicly available but personal data. Setting precedents on ownership of scraped data and the rights of individuals whose personal information trains generative AI models.
• Developers will face increased scrutiny over whether scraping practices comply with data protection laws. Regulators may issue fines and enforcement action testing whether “legitimate interest” or public access alone can justify data processing. While UK/EU courts enforce strict privacy laws, the US may take a more innovation-friendly approach.
• Companies will accelerate the use of synthetic data (artificially generated data) and privacy-enhancing technologies like differential privacy to mitigate legal risks.
• Businesses adopting AI tools must ensure compliance with GDPR and similar laws, particularly around “lawful basis” for processing training data.

2025 will see significant progress in the adoption of stablecoins, CBDCs, and tokenised assets. Tokenised assets and programmable money will become an increasing feature of and may well redefine finance, but regulatory clarity remains critical for broader adoption.

• The UK will formalise its regulation of fiat-backed stablecoins within its financial services perimeter. Other jurisdictions, such as EU member states under MiCA, will impose stricter governance, including reserve requirements and capital backing, to ensure market stability.
• Jurisdictions like the UK, EU member states, and China will advance CBDC pilot projects, testing programmability features (e.g., conditional payments) for government payments, payroll systems, or subsidies.
• Tokenising traditional assets like bonds, real estate, and commodities will scale. Legal frameworks around digital property rights will evolve, which will need to clarify ownership rights, transfer rules and liability frameworks for tokenholders.

AI’s growing demand for data processing and bandwidth will pressure telecoms operators and cloud providers to innovate. Expect increasing competition between cloud giants, telecoms operators, and device manufacturers in delivering AI-capable infrastructure.

• AI training and inference process workloads require massive compute power and network capacity, pushing telecoms operators to upgrade infrastructure and revisit pricing strategies to support high-speed low latency connectivity. Cloud providers will invest more in AI-optimised data centres to meet rising demand.
• Regulators may revisit net neutrality rules reignited by operators seeking compensation for AI-related network demand, such as charging AI and content platforms for bandwidth use.
• As mentioned above, telecoms providers will explore wider edge computing to meet AI’s real-time processing requirements for latency-sensitive use cases.

Non-geostationary satellite constellations (e.g., Starlink, OneWeb) will unlock direct-to-device (D2D) connectivity, transforming global communications. NGSO constellations will disrupt mobile connectivity, forcing regulatory innovation and market adaptation.

• Remote areas will gain reliable internet access from mobile devices connecting directly to satellites, particularly benefiting developing economies and industries operating in unconnected environments.
• National and international licensing frameworks will need to evolve to manage spectrum use balancing the interests of mobile and satellite spectrum users, increased orbital congestion, and managing space debris.
• D2D services will challenge traditional telecoms, pushing operators to collaborate or compete with satellite providers.

While generative AI will continue to disrupt the creative industries, 2025 may mark a turning point where generative AI will increasingly support, rather than replace, creative professionals. Generative AI will continue to transform creative workflows but will require careful licensing solutions to balance innovation with rights protection.

• AI-generated content will drive demand for licensing frameworks that protect creators’ rights in work used in AI training datasets while enabling innovation.
• Industries like film, music, and gaming will increasingly use AI as a tool to accelerate content production while allowing creators to focus on high-value, strategic aspects of content production.
• Creative industries will face the challenge of maintaining authenticity and trust. While AI can augment content production, human creative oversight and original storytelling will remain critical for audience engagement.

Cyber resilience will dominate global agendas in 2025, with threat actors and defenders both leveraging AI-driven tools. Organisations must prioritise AI-powered security tools and comply with evolving cyber-resilience frameworks.

• Threat actors will use AI to automate cyberattacks, including creating malware and phishing campaigns at scale, using AI to bypass traditional defences by mimicking legitimate behaviours.
• Businesses will adopt AI-driven security tools capable of real-time threat detection, automated incident responses, and proactive monitoring.
• Governments will mandate more stringent cyber resilience frameworks, requiring organisations to adopt robust security tools and incident reporting processes that in effect may increasingly rely on AI.

While consumer adoption remains slow, enterprise adoption of mixed reality will expand in 2025. Mixed reality will solidify its niche in enterprise settings, paving the way for broader adoption.

• Manufacturing, healthcare, and logistics will use mixed reality for training simulations, design collaboration, and remote maintenance. Businesses will adopt mixed reality for virtual design, prototyping, and real-time problem-solving particularly in remote teams. These use cases will promise to reduce costs while improving outcomes.
• Mixed reality tools will integrate AI for more immersive and context-aware environments, enhancing frontline operations such as assembly-line guidance, inventory management, and on-site diagnostics.

Wiggin remains committed to helping clients navigate these emerging trends and regulatory challenges in 2025. Whether you’re adopting new technologies, mitigating risks, or seeking regulatory clarity, we’re here to help you stay ahead of the curve.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch to discuss your technology-related projects.