Generative artificial intelligence likely won’t bring major changes to daily life in 2025—at least, not beyond its current impact, according to Google CEO, Sundar Pichai.
Speaking at the New York Times DealBook Summit last week in New York City, Pichai shared his perspective alongside other prominent figures, including OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, and former U.S. President, Bill Clinton.
When OpenAI launched ChatGPT two years ago, generative AI captivated users worldwide. However, with the industry’s competitive landscape now more defined—featuring models from major tech companies like Google—further revolutionary advancements may take time. According to Sundar Pichai, another breakthrough significant enough to accelerate AI development at hyper-speed is not imminent.
Pichai said that another breakthrough significant enough to accelerate AI development at hyper-speed is not imminent
“I think the progress is going to get harder. When I look at [2025], the low-hanging fruit is gone,” said Pichai, adding: “The hill is steeper … You’re definitely going to need deeper breakthroughs as we get to the next stage.”
Current language models — like ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini or Meta’s Llama — will keep getting incrementally better, particularly “at reasoning, completing a sequence of actions more reliably,” Pichai said.
These advancements could bring AI closer to delivering profits for corporate users—a milestone yet to be achieved despite significant investments. According to a recent Goldman Sachs report, spending on AI technology is projected to exceed $1 trillion “in the coming years.”
Some tech leaders, including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, share Pichai’s perspective. “Seventy years of the Industrial Revolution saw limited growth, and then it took off… it’s never going to be linear,” Nadella remarked at the Fast Company Innovation Festival in October 2024.
