In a unique episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast to welcome 2025, we have gathered three science editors from The Conversation’s global editions to deliberate on what advancements to anticipate in the realm of science and technology in the approaching year.
Host Gemma Ware is joined by Paul Rincon from The Conversation in the UK, Elsa Couderc from The Conversation in France, and Signe Dean from The Conversation in Australia.
AI
With the swift commercialization of AI technologies continuing, a significant area of growth in the upcoming year appears to be what is referred to as agentic AI, where AI begins to operate autonomously across various devices. While these tools will aid in computer-generated tasks, further advancements should also occur in robots that integrate AI elements to execute practical functions as well, such as Tesla’s Optimus robot. Nevertheless, it seems we remain distant from having these in our residences.
Two researchers from Google DeepMind were awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their creation of AlphaFold2, an AI program that can precisely forecast the structure of proteins. In 2025, expect additional progress in applying AI in various scientific fields, from uncovering medications that could combat antibiotic resistance to developing new materials and even aiding in the establishment of early warning systems for tsunamis and earthquakes.
Space missions
A few planned space launches for 2025 have been postponed, including NASA’s Artemis II mission to return astronauts orbiting the Moon and India’s Gaganyaan mission to launch the first Indian crewed mission into space. However, China’s Tianwen-2 asteroid sample return mission is still anticipated to take off in May 2025.
Simultaneously, the initial set of data from the European Space Agency’s Euclid telescope is expected to be released in March, aiming to address significant questions regarding the origins and presence of dark energy and dark matter. On Mars, the Perseverance Rover will embark on a prolonged journey up the slopes of the crater where it landed in 2021 to a new region of the Martian surface known as Witch Hazel Hill, where researchers hope to find rocks exhibiting signs of life.