As leaders in B2B technology marketing, it’s our responsibility (and passion!) to keep tabs on top digital trends. Unsurprisingly, AI — and specifically GenAI — is a major focal point for Walker Sands that’s transforming the way we help clients achieve their business goals. Across departments, we’ve been keeping a close watch on industry developments to better understand where AI is making a meaningful impact versus what’s overhyped.
Always in search of fresh insights, I recently caught up with HumanX co-founder and CEO Stefan Weitz. Over the course of our chat, we explored the AI trends he’s currently watching and strategies to help everyone navigate the fine line between AI hype and reality.
If you’re an AI enthusiast like me, read on to see if Weitz’s top AI predictions for 2025 match your own.
Sorting Hype from Reality: What’s Next for AI?
Weitz is an 18-year Microsoft veteran and best-selling author who’s led billion-user technologies, including Bing.com. He recently launched HumanX with co-founder Jonathan Weiner, marking the latest venture from the team behind prominent tech events like Money20/20, Shoptalk, and HLTH.
Ahead of the conference this March, I asked Weitz where AI is headed in 2025 and beyond — and what it means for us in the tech sector. Here are the five top trends he shared.
1. A new AI role is emerging
In 2025, a new type of job will emerge: the “AI Whisperer.”
This class of high-paying roles will specialize in fine-tuning and guiding AI systems in real-world applications to achieve maximum impact. AI Whisperers will become as vital as engineers or product managers in AI-heavy industries, with experts blending technical chops, ethical awareness, super communication skills, and a non-linear mindset.
“Especially as AI jumps from vertical silos to cross-company systems, having people who can see across enterprises and align creativity with machine precision will be imperative,” Weitz said.
2. AI is revolutionizing health care… gradually
AI will come to save millions of lives every year by enabling the mass implementation of predictive diagnostics, personalized medicine, and real-time monitoring. “But its full potential won’t be realized overnight,” Weitz said.
He pointed to significant innovations over the past year, including companies like Health Data Analytics Institute, which integrates generative AI and predictive analytics to deliver near-infinite configurability for outcome, utilization, and economic optimization.
By leveraging high-resolution digital twins, real-time data analysis, and simplified chart summaries, healthcare organizations can provide more precise triaging and personalized care — and many providers are beginning to see real results: substantial reductions in emergency visits, fewer hospital readmissions, and even a lower mortality rate.
“These tools are setting the stage for a healthcare system that is smarter, more efficient, and ultimately life-saving,” Weitz said. “It’s just going to take some time for us to see the full impact.”
3. Synthetic humans will blur lines between virtual and reality
Synthetic humans — virtually indistinguishable from actual humans — are starting to come online and they may soon enter the workforce, albeit in limited roles.
“Companies like Aaru are pioneering this new take on a ‘digital twin,’ which enables companies to ask questions of every ‘human’ on the planet in seconds rather than relying on traditional polling or panels,” Weitz said.
These innovations are bridging the gap between our virtual and physical worlds, and adding another laying of complexity to ongoing debates about AI regulation. “We’re going to see more conversations around employment rights,” he said. “Soon we may even see a push for ‘AI citizenship’ to define the societal roles and limitations of synthetic humans.”
4. An energy revolution is stirring
AI has significant potential to solve pressing global challenges, such as improving sustainability efforts, driving new energy development, and combating climate change. In particular, AI technologies are poised to power breakthroughs in fusion energy.
“I know fusion has been ‘just around the corner’ for decades, but AI is bringing us closer than ever to achieving it,” Weitz said, highlighting work at Princeton University, where engineers have leveraged AI to contain the fusion plasma core and drive results that humans and other machines have never achieved to this point.
“I don’t think we’ll get fusion next year, but for the first time, the future is near,” he said. “Once it arrives, the world will never be the same as limitless, clean energy becomes available to all.”
5. Chips will go vertical — and models will go to the edge
The days of using a GPU to build models and applications by brute force may soon be behind us. Companies like Etched are building chips specifically designed to run GPT models, while Graphcore is releasing Intelligence Processing Units (IPUs ) that are tuned specifically for efficiency and scalability.
“Even more interesting to me are companies working on moving AI to mobile, sensors, and automobiles rather than relying on huge data centers and connectivity,” Weitz said.
He said these developments will spur entirely new innovations like always-on and always-listening AI. Moreover, they will help accelerate adoption in developing markets and drive AI out to the edge by reducing the cost of accessing the necessary foundational models and connectivity.
Join the AI Conversation
We’re excited to continue this conversation at HumanX, which is shaping up to be one of the most important AI gatherings of the year.
The inaugural event will bring together some of the brightest minds in AI, including experts from OpenAI, Snowflake, Salesforce, Canva, and other industry-leading companies. With nine dedicated industry tracks and more than 300 speakers, the event will feature actionable insights tailored to verticals such as financial services, healthcare, enterprise software, and entertainment.
Walker Sands will be on the ground tracking the insights, applications, and innovations shaping the future of AI in 2025 and beyond. If you’re also attending, we’d love to connect!
You can register here for HumanX on March 10–13 at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas — and be sure to use our Walker Sands code (HX25p_walkersands) to save $250 on general admission. We hope to see you there!
