Today's workforce is struggling to keep up with the pace of innovation. Now is the time to start planning and skilling the workforce for tomorrow's technology.

President Donald Trump, joined by SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son announce the groundbreaking $500 ... [+] billion Stargate AI Project, an initiative set to revolutionize America's artificial intelligence infrastructure and solidify its global leadership.Getty ImagesThe tech world is abuzz with the announcement of the Stargate AI Project, an ambitious $500 billion initiative unveiled by President Donald Trump on January 21, 2025just one day after his regal inauguration ceremony, which saw the attendance of many of the worlds top tech leaders. This visionary effort aims to transform Americas artificial intelligence infrastructure, positioning the nation as a global leader in AI innovation. However, the projects successor its failurerests squarely in the details. From addressing power supply challenges to developing a skilled workforce and ensuring strong governance, the path forward is certainly complex but full of untapped opportunities.What Is StargateAnd What Isnt It?Lets clear up any confusion: Stargate is not about intergalactic wormholes or the CIAs psychic experiments of the 1980s that shared the same name. It has nothing to do with science fiction or Cold War parapsychology. Think less aliens, more algorithms.At its core, the Stargate AI Project is a groundbreaking partnership between OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank, aiming to build a network of state-of-the-art data centers that will shape the future of AI development. The initiative begins with a $100 billion investment in its first phase, scaling to $500 billion over four years. The goal? To power cutting-edge AI innovations while creating over 100,000 new jobs, establishing the U.S. as the global leader in AI infrastructure and development.The Power Problem: Where Will The Energy Come From?AI infrastructure doesnt run on hopes and dreamsit runs on electricity, and staggering amounts of it. Each proposed Stargate data center is expected to consume at least 50 megawatts of power. With 10 data centers already in development, starting in Texas, the sheer energy demands pose a significant challenge.Grid And Infrastructure Strain: Scaling power delivery to the remote or underserved areas where data centers may be built will require extensive infrastructure upgrades. While Texas remains the premier hub for data center infrastructure talent and boasts a business-friendly climate with a thriving tech ecosystem, its grid operator, ERCOT, is already under significant strain. Stargates energy needs could push the grid to its breaking point, highlighting the need for robust investment and planning. The project also raises a critical question: will local and state governments adjust regulations to facilitate streamlined energy expansion? Proactive policies will be essential to ensure the grid can support the additional load without delays or bottlenecks.Energy Gaps: The U.S. energy grid is stretched thin in many regions, and the constant, massive power demands of AI systems present a formidable challenge. While renewables like solar and wind remain part of the discussion, their intermittent nature makes them less viable as primary energy sources for facilities requiring round-the-clock power. The key question is whether regulatory and financial incentives will be enacted to accelerate grid enhancements and support consistent power delivery. Without such measures, delays in energy availability could derail the projects aggressive timelines.The Nuclear Question: Nuclear power stands out as a stable, high-capacity solution to Stargates energy needs, offering unparalleled reliability compared to other sources. However, the involvement of SoftBanka Japanese company shaped by the legacy of the Fukushima nuclear disastercomplicates the equation. Cultural and corporate hesitations around nuclear energy must be addressed strategically. Balancing SoftBanks reservations with the undeniable advantages of nuclear power will require careful negotiation, but it remains a solution too significant to ignore in the long-term energy strategy for Stargate.Stargates energy demands will push the boundaries of current infrastructure, requiring careful coordination between private companies, local authorities, and regulators. Whether the system can scale to meet this needor whether red tape and resistance will slow progressremains one of the projects most critical questions.MORE FOR YOUTo succeed, Stargate must tackle these energy challenges head-on with bold solutions, proactive planning, and innovative partnerships. The stakes are high, and the ability to power this AI revolution will define whether Stargates vision becomes a reality.Workforce Challenges: Who Will Fill 100,000 Jobs?The promise of creating 100,000 new jobs is ambitious but raises significant questions in an already tight AI and data center labor market. Many of these roles require specialized skills in AI, engineering, and data center operationsskills that arent readily available at scale.To meet this challenge, Stargate must:Partner with Universities and Trade Schools: Collaborate with academic institutions to create targeted training programs for future employees.Upskill and Retrain Workers: Transition workers from other industries into tech roles with accelerated training programs.Tap New Markets: Build data centers in regions with untapped talent pools while addressing infrastructure needs in those areas.This isnt just about jobsits about a cultural shift. Stargates roles will demand hands-on teamwork, rapid execution, and a mission-first mindset, leaving little room for a lackadaisical work from home approach. For Stargate to succeed, its essential to retool the workforce, emphasize skills that align with on-site collaboration, and cultivate a culture of dedication and purpose. Now is the time to lean in and embrace the challenge.Governance And Execution: Whos Holding The Reins?A $500 billion initiative requires more than bold visionit demands strong leadership, flawless execution, and robust governance. Without swift and deliberate action, this could become one of Stargates most significant vulnerabilities.Leadership And Oversight: Masayoshi Son of SoftBank is slated to chair the project, bringing his renowned business acumen and experience with large-scale initiatives. However, he runs a vast conglomerate with numerous projects under his purview, and Stargate cannot be his sole full-time focus. To succeed, Stargate requires a dedicated executive team with the bandwidth to steer daily operations, make critical decisions, and adapt to challenges in real time. Furthermore, the project must establish an independent board of directors with the authority to manage competing priorities, enforce accountability, and provide impartial oversight. Leadership at this level isnt just about visionits about execution and governance at a scale that aligns with the stakes.OpenAIs Governance Questions: OpenAIs technical expertise is invaluable to Stargates mission, but the organization has faced criticism in the past for prioritizing speed over control. The stakes are too high for a move fast and break things approach. Stargate needs clear checks and balances to ensure governance lapses dont derail the project. This includes structured decision-making processes, well-defined roles, and strong collaboration among all stakeholders.Transparency And Trust: Managing a mix of public funds, private investments, and sensitive national infrastructure demands absolute transparency. Stargate must implement robust mechanisms for tracking progress, communicating milestones, and reporting outcomes. Equally important is maintaining public trust, which will be tested as challenges inevitably arise. Clear, consistent communication with all stakeholdersincluding the publicwill be critical to avoiding skepticism and ensuring continued support.Stargates success hinges on building a governance structure that is as bold as its ambitions. Strong leadership, independent oversight, and unwavering transparency will transform its potential into reality. Without them, this moonshot risks becoming another cautionary tale of overreach.Why Stargate Matters: The Bigger PictureAt its heart, Stargate is about ensuring the U.S. remains the epicenter of the AI revolution. Much like Sematech, headquartered in Austin, Texas, revitalized the U.S. semiconductor industry in the 1980s, or DARPA spearheaded transformative technologies like the internet, Stargate aims to lay the foundation for Americas long-term leadership in AI. These landmark initiatives demonstrated how bold, coordinated efforts could secure technological and economic dominanceand Stargate seeks to do the same for artificial intelligence. However, its impact extends far beyond technology:Economic Revitalization: Stargate promises to inject billions into local economies, creating over 100,000 jobs and driving significant infrastructure development across the country. By establishing cutting-edge data centers and fostering regional growth, it could transform areas previously overlooked by the tech industry into thriving economic hubs.Global Competition: As China aggressively invests in AI, Stargate represents Americas bold response to maintaining its technological edge. This isnt just about innovation; its about securing national security and economic strength. Winning the AI race is as much about geopolitical influence as it is about advancing technological capabilities, and Stargate positions the U.S. to lead the way.Transformational Applications: From healthcare breakthroughs, like personalized cancer vaccines, to advancements in national defense and cybersecurity, Stargates AI capabilities have the potential to redefine entire industries. These innovations could not only improve lives globally but also fortify critical infrastructure against evolving threats, ensuring the safety and prosperity of future generations.Stargate isnt just a projectits a mission. By anchoring Americas future in AI, it ensures the nation remains a leader in the technologies that will shape the 21st century and beyond. With the stakes this high, success is not just an optionits a necessity.The 4 Challenges AheadStargates vision is undeniably inspiring and deserves unwavering support, but its success depends on overcoming significantyet still surmountablehurdles. If left unaddressed, however, these challenges could become insurmountable, putting the entire project at risk.Energy Solutions: Meeting Stargates immense energy demands will require a careful balance of renewable sources, nuclear power, and substantial grid upgrades. Ensuring a stable and sustainable power supply is both complex and urgent, particularly in key regions like Texas, where the grid is already under strain. Proactive planning and streamlined regulations will be critical to avoid bottlenecks in energy delivery and to ensure the project can scale effectively.Workforce Development: Creating and training a workforce of 100,000 skilled professionals will demand unprecedented collaboration among industry leaders, academia, trade schools, and government agencies. Upskilling existing workers, transitioning talent from other sectors, and aligning educational programs with Stargates specific needs are essential to prevent labor shortages. This isnt just about finding workersits about equipping them with the skills required for hands-on, collaborative roles that will define this next chapter of AI innovation. Long-term commitment and innovative solutions will be key.Governance: Effective governance is non-negotiable. Leadership must be cohesive, transparent, and fully accountable, especially with multiple stakeholders like OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank involved. Balancing competing priorities, avoiding mismanagement, and maintaining public trust will be critical to keeping Stargate on track. A dedicated leadership team and independent oversight board are essential to ensure the project adheres to its goals and timelines while maintaining high standards of accountability.Competition: China isnt standing still. The nation has already surpassed the U.S. in AI patent filings and continues to make aggressive investments in research and infrastructure. Stargate must not only meet its ambitious objectives but also outpace global competitors who are equally determined to lead the AI revolution. This is a race with immense economic and geopolitical stakes, and complacency is not an option.Stargates success hinges on addressing these challenges head-on. The stakes are incredibly high, and the world is watching to see if this bold vision can navigate the complexities of execution. With strong leadership, a clear strategy, and decisive action, Stargate has the potential to secure Americas place at the forefront of the AI revolution.But time is of the essencethe longer these hurdles remain unresolved, the harder they will be to overcome. Stargates future depends on how quickly and effectively these challenges are tackled.A $500 Billion Bet on the FutureThe Stargate AI Project is a bold gamble to secure Americas place at the forefront of the AI revolution. If successful, it will transform the nations economy, technology, and global standing. But success hinges on solving massive challenges in energy, workforce, and governance.Will Stargate deliver on its promises or become a cautionary tale of overreach? That remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: in the race to define the future, the U.S. just went all in.The stakes couldnt be higher, and the world is watching.

In a nutshell: A new global survey commissioned by storage giant Seagate reveals that businesses anticipate their data storage needs will double within the next three years, driven largely by the adoption of AI and machine learning. The survey, which included over 1,000 businesses across various industries, found that a whopping 72% have already jumped on the AI train, with another 28% planning to deploy it within the next three years. The data deluge is mainly being handled by the cloud. The survey indicates that 65% of all AI-related data is already being stored in the cloud as of 2024, and that percentage is projected to climb to 69% by 2028 as more workloads shift off-premises.Among companies using over 100 petabytes of storage, 87% are storing their AI model training checkpoints in the cloud or a hybrid cloud/on-premises setup. These checkpoints, which allow models to pick up where they left off, are being generated at a blistering pace: 28% of companies said they create new checkpoints every single day, while 43% do it on a weekly basis. It's no wonder nearly half of the companies surveyed (46%) believe their existing storage methods won't be enough to quench AI's thirst for data in the coming years.Keeping all those checkpoints around is also becoming a priority. A full 90% of respondents said they believe retaining lots of historical training data leads to better AI outcomes over time. 32% of companies creating daily checkpoints are holding on to that data for over a year, while 29% keep it for 6-12 months.To try to get ahead of any data bottlenecks, businesses are embracing a variety of strategies: 61% are expanding their usage of scalable cloud storage solutions; 56% have implemented enhanced data management software; 55% have upgraded their on-prem infrastructure; and 49% are turning to data compression to squeeze more into their existing storage.With AI proving to be an exponential data multiplier, businesses have no choice but to make scaling storage capacity a top priority over the coming years. Of course, cloud will likely continue gobbling up more of the storage load, but it seems on-premises optimization and hybrid setups will remain essential too. // Related Stories

Something to look forward to: Microsoft introduced a proper search feature in its PC operating systems with Windows Vista. Despite undergoing several iterations over the years, Windows search functionality still lacks the basic ability to provide consistent, reliable results when searching for files, applications, or settings. Is this finally going to change? Windows Search has long been one of the least enticing features of modern Windows systems, and this has remained true for a very long time. Microsoft recently vowed to improve local search through the power of AI, claiming that AI will revolutionize search engines, web browsers, and nearly everything else in the coming years.The company has started to showcase how AI will enhance search, and unpaid Windows beta testers can now get a sneak peek at these improvements by installing the latest Insider Preview Build of Windows 11.Microsoft recently released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.2992 (KB5050083) to the Dev Channel. One of the most notable changes introduced in this build is the improved Windows Search experience, which requires the 40+ TOPS NPU inside a Copilot+ PC system to perform its AI magic.According to Microsoft, finding documents, photos, or even system settings in Windows 11 will become significantly easier. The new OS build adds a "semantic indexing" layer on top of the traditional indexing feature, enabling users to perform search tasks in a conversational, prompt-like manner.Instead of searching for specific file names or exact keywords, users can now describe what they're looking for in their own words such as "bridge at sunset" for photos or even instruct the Settings app to perform tasks like changing the GUI theme. // Related StoriesCurrently, the AI-enhanced search is limited to local search, though Microsoft has plans to extend the feature to cloud storage and OneDrive. The feature will be gradually rolled out to Copilot+ PCs based on Snapdragon SoCs, with support for AMD and Intel-based systems planned for a later date.The new search supports a limited selection of widely used languages, including Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish. Similarly, the number of supported file formats is currently restricted to popular document and image types, such as: .txt, .pdf, .docx, .doc, .rtf, .pptx, .ppt, .xls, .xlsx, .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif, and .bmp.Users can customize Windows Search indexing settings through the Privacy & Security page in the Windows Settings app. There's even an "Enhanced" option to index the entire PC, though I've always advised against enabling system-wide indexing throughout my career in PC support.If you are looking for a powerful, fast, and reliable search solution and don't want to use AI, third-party tools like Everything effectively solved the "search problem" on Windows many years ago for me.

If youre looking for a TV subscription service, price and cost very well might be your biggest troubles. Sometimes offering hundreds of channels, the services can become quite expensive quickly. But, what if there was a different way? Sling provides a curated selection of channels that youre most likely to use, with base packages designed for customer profiles that watch either sports or news and other entertainment to get a better experience. In other words, you get what you want and dont pay for extra. The result is that Sling pricing is very competitive. Here, well compare it to some of the most popular alternatives YouTube TV, Hulu+Live TV, and Fubo to see how each service matches up. Go ahead and tap the button below to check Slings current price yourself, or keep reading to get the comparison pricing.Heres how each of the popular services compare:Sling is currently just $23 for your first month of either Sling Blue or Sling Orange, going up to $46 per month after that first month. Be sure to check if there is an ongoing Sling free trial as Sling deals and offers rotate.YouTube TV is $73 per month for your first 6 months, then goes up to $83 per month. Formerly, its base price was $73 per month, meaning the service has rising costs. It currently has a 10 day free trial.Hulu+Live TV is currently $83 per month in a package that includes ads.Fubo is currently $80 per month after a short free trial.Whats the secret for the much lower Sling cost? Both Sling Blue and Sling Orange share 24 channels (like the History channel, TNT, Cartoon Network, and CNN) that most people are likely to use, without the fluff. Then, the Orange and Blue plans differentiate user types. If you like news and entertainment you can get Sling Blue with MSNBC, FX, Discovery and 12 other such channels to suit your needs, whereas if you like sports you can get Sling Orange which comes with the ESPN channels and more sports goodies. In either case, youll only be paying $23 for the first month, so go ahead and tap the button below to begin using Sling.

If youre a Plex user who owns an Apple TV with tvOS 14 or later, you can now take the companys new user experience for a spin. Previously only available to testers on mobile Android and iOS devices, the beta Plex app can now be appreciated on a TV arguably the most important screen for the popular media streaming and organization software.The expanded use of artwork throughout the app is the most noticeable change, but Plex says the entire flow has been re-imagined to make things like content discovery more intuitive. Thankfully, the beta app is just that a separate app from the most current stable Plex release which means that if you sign up to be a tester and hate what you see, you can jump back to the classic Plex experience anytime.1 of 6Plex Plex Plex Plex Plex Plex The folks at Plex are eager to remind testers that the beta app is very much a work in progress. The official announcement notes, please keep in mind this is nowhere close to perfect, but we want to get feedback from the community as early as we can, with the team promising that the app will get better over time.Recommended VideosOther changes are also coming to the classic Plex experience. When the company launched its user reviews in 2024, they were initially only visible to your Plex friends. At the time, the company said it would eventually give folks the ability to make their reviews public to any Plex user that day has arrived.PlexIf youve published reviews previously, your privacy settings for those posts remain intact, but now you have several new visibility options including, Private, Friends Only, Friends of Friends, Anyone signed into Plex, and Anyone. These options are also now available for other profile privacy settings like Watchlist, Watch History, and your Friends list. As part of the update, you can now add comments to reviews written by your fellow Plex users.PlexYou can also choose to make your Plex profile publicly accessible viawatch.plex.tv. By default all Plex users are findable by other Plex users in the app via search (unless youve already changed this setting). By making your profile publicly accessible on watch.plex.tv you can easily share a link to your profile with others so that they can see what youve been watching, whats on your Watchlist, and more.Please enable Javascript to view this contentFinally, Plex has something for its Plex Pass subscribers: HEVC hardware encoding.This is the kind of update that only a true video nerd could love, but it may have background benefits for any Plex Pass user. In short, Plex Media Servers can now use hardware encoding to transcode your videos into HEVC format before streaming to your Plex client. Plex says this not only reduces bandwidth while preserving detail, but it also maintains any HDR metadata that might be present, even if the transcoding process has to drop your resolution down e.g. from 4K to 1080p.For those who primarily stream from a Plex server to a client within the same home network, this isnt likely to be a game changer (hopefully your network can already handle 4K streams), but if you ever access your server remotely, HEVC could make a big difference as you cant always count on a fast connection when away from home.Editors Recommendations

The money is flowing Google increases investment in Anthropic by another $1 billion AI group is closing in on a $60 billion valuation. George Hammond, Madhumita Murgia, and Arash Massoudi, Financial Times Jan 22, 2025 9:19 am | 1 The Anthropic Claude logo. Credit: Anthropic The Anthropic Claude logo. Credit: Anthropic Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreGoogle is making a fresh investment of more than $1 billion into OpenAI rival Anthropic, boosting its position in the start-up as Silicon Valley titans rush to develop cutting-edge artificial intelligence systems.The Alphabet-owned search behemoth had already committed about $2 billion to Anthropic and was now increasing its stake in the group, according to four people with knowledge of the situation.Anthropic, best known for its Claude family of AI models, is one of the leading start-ups in the new wave of generative AI companies building tools to generate text, images, and code in response to user prompts.Google invented the technology on which models such as Claude and OpenAIs GPT4 are built, but it has lagged behind in the race to commercialize the powerful technology. The Anthropic investment is part of the Silicon Valley companys efforts to diversify its AI business and take on deep-pocketed competitors, including Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon.Anthropic was also on the cusp of securing a further $2 billion from Silicon Valley venture capital investors, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, in a separate deal expected to triple the start-ups valuation to about $60 billion, according to several people with direct knowledge of the deal.The start-up is in a fierce competition with rivals OpenAI and Elon Musks xAI, both of which raised more than $10 billion last year, as well as Facebook parent Meta and Microsoft.The new tranche of money from Google into Anthropic adds to a total investment of $8 billion from Amazon, the ecommerce groups largest-ever venture investment, announced over the past 18 months. Amazon is also working to embed the Claude models into the next-generation version of its Alexa speaker.The close relationships between AI start-ups and their Big Tech backers were probed by the Federal Trade Commission during Joe Bidens administration.Under outgoing commissioner Lina Khan, the FTC had targeted investments from Google and Amazon into Anthropic and Microsofts partnership with OpenAI, reviewing the impact of the deals on competition in the nascent sector. But with Khan stepping down in the coming weeks, dealmakers are growing more confident in their ability to forge tie-ups.Anthropics revenue hit an annualized $1 billion in December, up roughly 10 times on a year earlier, according to a person with knowledge of the companys finances.Nonetheless, investors are not anticipating that Anthropic or its rivals will be profitable in the near future, given the steep costs of developing leading AI models. With new breakthroughs, they believe the technology could ultimately create trillions of dollars in value.Right now Im more confident than I have been at any previous time that we are very close to powerful capabilities...AI systems that are better than almost all humans at almost all tasks, Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei said in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday.Anthropic, founded in 2021 by a group of former OpenAI employees, has sought to differentiate itself from its rivals by focusing on AI safety. It has poached multiple staff from OpenAI in recent months, including a co-founder of the company.The group was also first to release certain features, such as the ability for its AI to control computers, and is focused this year, alongside rivals, on creating AI agentssoftware that can complete tasks and navigate the web on behalf of human users. 2025 The Financial Times Ltd. All rights reserved. Not to be redistributed, copied, or modified in any way.George Hammond, Madhumita Murgia, and Arash Massoudi, Financial TimesGeorge Hammond, Madhumita Murgia, and Arash Massoudi, Financial Times 1 Comments

Lisa Morgan, Freelance WriterJanuary 22, 20259 Min ReadSiarhei Yurchanka via Alamy StockIT operating models continue to evolve as new tech and business trends emerge. Its a constant state of change that needs to be well thought out and managed, with an eye toward fueling innovation.In 2025, the IT operating model will inevitably undergo a profound transformation, especially in automation, intelligence and flexibility, says Alex Li, founder of StudyX at AI education company StudyX.AI in an email interview. With the continuous advancement of technology, emerging technologies such as cloud computing, AI, and machine learning will be the key driving forces for upgrading the IT operating model.However, the core factors driving this transformation are not just the technology itself, he says. As consumer demands for personalization and high-quality services continue to rise, the IT operation model must be adaptable and responsive.Trevor Fry, founder & tech consultant at TreverFry.tech, says IT leaders are facing two big trends this year.First, AI is maturing. Its growing beyond the wild west phase and is becoming a useful, everyday tool. Thats exciting, but means we need to be more mindful about data security and ethical usage. We are also just barely starting to discover the ecological impacts of utilizing these tools, says Fry in an email interview. Second, theres a workplace revolution happening.Related:Specifically, employees are burned out and disillusioned about the cultures and flexible schedules they were promised only to discover that company policies have changed. Alternatively, they may be too scared to exercise the rights their employers give them -- such as flexible work hours -- for fear of being first on the cut list, Fry says. As organizations become leaner, employees are job-hoarding, doing anything they can to keep their position while managers are stretched thin. Since that model doesnt scale well, its forcing IT to rethink how their operating models should work.Alex Li, StudyX.AIEfrain Ruh, field CTO continental Europe at SaaS-based autonomous enterprise software provider for IT and business operations Digitate, foresees enterprises making heavy investments to reduce IT operating environmental complexity. Some companies will focus on moving to SaaS and PaaS platforms, but they will need to maintain certain critical workloads running on legacy systems until they figure out the best way to migrate.In 2025, enterprises are looking to achieve autonomous and self-healing IT environments, which is currently referred to as AIOps. However, the use of AI will become so common in IT operations that we wont need to call it [that] explicitly, says Ruh in an email interview. Instead, the term, AIOps will become obsolete over the next two years as enterprises move towards the first wave of AI agents, where early adopters will start deploying intelligent components in their landscape able to reason and take care of tasks with an elevated level of autonomy.Related:All that will lead to a ticketless IT operating enterprise known as ZeroOps, he says. It wont happen overnight, and to achieve it applications must be resilient by design. Attempting to apply ZeroOps to a complex existing environment requires an enormous amount of effort that may not be justifiable.I see similarities between the auto industry struggl[ing] to provide a full-autonomous driving experience, and IT ops trying to deploy a fully autonomous solution for operations, says Ruh. It is not that the technology is not available, it has [more] to do more with liability: Who do we blame when an AI agent makes a mistake with catastrophic results?"Kent Langley, founder at strategic technology advisory firm Factual, says organizations must embrace agility, using AI as a connective tissue to enable transparency, autonomy, and alignment across teams, but decentralization without structure risks redundancy and chaos.Related:The IT operating model of 2025 must adapt to a landscape shaped by rapid decentralization, flatter structures, and AI-driven innovation, says Langley in an email interview. These shifts are driven by the need for agility in responding to changing business needs and the transformative impact of AI on decision-making, coordination and communication. Technology is no longer just a tool but a connective tissue that enables transparency and autonomy across teams while aligning them with broader organizational goals.Challenges With TransformationFry says IT leaders are facing the challenge of creating the right culture, since IT operating model evolution isnt just a tech issue.Trevor FryIT leaders need to get better at listening to the people doing the work. Theyre the ones who see the cracks and inefficiencies that leadership might miss, says Fry. But -- and this is critical -- aligning that feedback with a strategic vision is key. We cant just hand over the reins [to the business], but we also cant succeed without their insights. We are seeing many legacy companies start to cycle out of the old ways and dip their toes into modern technologies as they are falling behind their competitors and no longer able to work around legacy tools and processes.Therefore, the IT operating model of 2025 needs to prioritize adaptability and focus.Its about giving teams the tools and clarity they need to do great work while protecting them from unnecessary burdens, says Fry. Technology, like AI and automation, can help streamline operations, but we cant lose sight of the human element. Success will come from leaders who actively support their teams, not just direct them.Factuals Langley believes decentralization will be challenging. Without clear structures, organizations risk redundant work, fragmented knowledge and reduced cohesion.IT leaders must transition from traditional hierarchical roles to facilitators who harness AI to enable autonomy while maintaining strategic alignment. This means creating systems for collaboration and clarity, ensuring the organization thrives in a decentralized environment, says Langley. In 2025, we anticipate leveraging AI-driven tools to evolve our IT model toward more autonomy, coordination and resilience. By emphasizing these principles today, were preparing to thrive in an agile, AI-empowered future.Raviraj Hegde, SVP of growth at non-profit online fundraising platform Donorbox, believes the two major challenges continue to be keeping data secure and controlling costs.The biggest challenge will be a balancing act between innovation and stability. IT teams will have to adopt new tools but also make sure systems stay reliable. Collaboration with other departments will be very important in understanding what the business really needs, says Hegde in an email interview. [T]he IT model at DonorBox will be more integrated with AI and automation to serve nonprofits even better. Most [likely], we will be working on smart usage of data and enhancement of our systems to scale efficiently.Dan Merzlyak, senior vice president, global head of data, analytics and AI at Postgres data and AI company EnterpriseDB, says the need for faster innovation, operational efficiency and seamless customer experiences are pushing IT to the forefront.The rapid advancements in AI, like GenAI and predictive analytics, further amplify ITs role in enabling smarter decisions and faster outcomes. In 2025, IT wont just facilitate better, faster outcomes; it will shape them, serving as the backbone for competitive, technology-driven business strategies, says Merzlyak in an email interview. Corporate, personnel, and data security will remain top challenges. As new technologies -- whether traditional, cloud-based, or AI-drivenbecome easier to adopt, the risk of exposing sensitive business assets grows. IT must lead the charge in modernizing operational strategies while maintaining a relentless focus on safeguarding the companys most critical data and systems. Balancing innovation with robust security will be the key to long-term success.In 2025, EnterpriseDB will continue exploring ways to enhance traditional IT practices through automation and AI so IT leaders can focus on high-value, high-impact initiatives that drive exponential growth. By leveraging automation and AI, IT will be in a better position to support the companys expansion while maintaining security and operational excellence.In the Industrial Sector, Composability Will Be KeyKevin Price, global head of enterprise asset management at enterprise cloud and Industrial AI software provider IFS, says in the industrial sector, asset lifecycle management is problematic because its complicated and IT structures have a lot of problems.Its [convoluted] because people in those application roles tend to focus on what that function does, and they try to extend it. [Or] they think about of how specific that individual function should be, says Price. [W]hat we lose when we do that is a focus on what matters, and what matters in the industry matters in the business.He sees composability being a major trend in 2025, so instead of running everything with general industrial applications, individual functions can be combined as necessary for the specific industry and use case.[M]id-stream oil and gas [is] pretty asset intensive and risk critical. When it fails, it's a big disaster. People [and] the environment get hurt. There's just loads of concerns from a technology security perspective, says Price. I should have models or agents, so I [can] have a system that composes for that need of mid-stream oil and gas, but I should have agents that I can selectively deploy.That way, organizations can avoid using a system designed for a mining operation in a manufacturing or oil and gas environment, for example, and instead use components that were designed with the specific use case in mind.Bottom LineAs tech and business requirements change, so must the IT operating model. Because agility and speed remain top priorities, tech choices and IT operations need to align to make that happen.About the AuthorLisa MorganFreelance WriterLisa Morgan is a freelance writer who covers business and IT strategy and emergingtechnology for InformationWeek. She has contributed articles, reports, and other types of content to many technology, business, and mainstream publications and sites including tech pubs, The Washington Post and The Economist Intelligence Unit. Frequent areas of coverage include AI, analytics, cloud, cybersecurity, mobility, software development, and emerging cultural issues affecting the C-suite.See more from Lisa MorganNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also LikeWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore Reports

Many organizations have experimented with AI, but they havent always gotten the full value from their investments. A host of issues standing in the way center on the accuracy, fairness, and securityof AI systems. In response, organizations are actively exploring the principles of responsible AI: the idea that AI systems must be fair, transparent, and beneficial to society for it to be widely adopted. When responsible AI is done right, it unlocks trust and therefore customer adoption of enterprise AI. According to the US National Institute of Standards and Technology the essential building blocks Validity and reliability Safety Security and resiliency Accountability and transparency Explainability and interpretability Privacy Fairness with mitigation of harmful bias DOWNLOAD THE REPORT To investigate the current landscape of responsible AI across the enterprise, MIT Technology Review Insights surveyed 250 business leaders about how theyre implementing principles that ensure AI trustworthiness. The poll found that responsible AI is important to executives, with 87% of respondents rating it a high or medium priority for their organization. A majority of respondents (76%) also say that responsible AI is a high or medium priority specifically for creating a competitive advantage. But relatively few have figured out how to turn these ideas into reality. We found that only 15% of those surveyed felt highly prepared to adopt effective responsible AI practices, despite the importance they placed on them. Putting responsible AI into practice in the age of generative AI requires a series of best practices that leading companies are adopting. These practices can include cataloging AI models and data and implementing governance controls. Companies may benefit from conducting rigorous assessments, testing, and audits for risk, security, and regulatory compliance. At the same time, they should also empower employees with training at scale and ultimately make responsible AI a leadership priority to ensure their change efforts stick. We all know AI is the most influential change in technology that weve seen, but theres a huge disconnect, says Steven Hall, chief AI officer and president of EMEA at ISG, a global technology research and IT advisory firm. Everybody understands how transformative AI is going to be and wants strong governance, but the operating model and the funding allocated to responsible AI are well below where they need to be given its criticality to the organization. Download the full report. This content was produced by Insights, the custom content arm of MIT Technology Review. It was not written by MIT Technology Reviews editorial staff.

This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. OpenAI has upped its lobbying efforts nearly sevenfold OpenAI spent $1.76 million on government lobbying in 2024 and $510,000 in the last three months of the year alone, according to a new disclosure filed on Tuesdaya significant jump from 2023, when the company spent just $260,000 on Capitol Hill. The disclosure is a clear signal of the companys arrival as a political player, as its first year of serious lobbying ends and Republican control of Washington begins. While OpenAIs lobbying spending is still dwarfed by bigger tech players, the uptick comes as it and other AI companies are helping redraw the shape of AI policy. Read the full story.James ODonnell A new company plans to use Earth as a chemical reactor Forget massive steel tankssome scientists want to make chemicals with the help of rocks deep beneath Earths surface. New research shows that ammonia, a chemical crucial for fertilizer, can be produced from rocks at temperatures and pressures that are common in the subsurface. The research was published yesterday in Joule, and MIT Technology Review can exclusively report that a new company, called Addis Energy, has been founded to commercialize the process. Ammonia is used in most fertilizers and is a vital part of our modern food system. Its also being considered for use as a green fuel in industries like transoceanic shipping. The problem is that current processes used to make ammonia require a lot of energy and produce huge amounts of the greenhouse gases that cause climate change. Read the full story.Casey Crownhart There can be no winners in a US-China AI arms race Alvin Wang Graylin and Paul Triolo The United States and China are entangled in what many have dubbed an AI arms race. In the early days of this standoff, US policymakers drove an agenda centered on winning the race, mostly from an economic perspective. In recent months, leading AI labs such as OpenAI and Anthropic got involved in pushing the narrative of beating China in what appeared to be an attempt to align themselves with the incoming Trump administration. The belief that the US can win in such a race was based mostly on the early advantage it had over China in advanced GPU compute resources and the effectiveness of AIs scaling laws. But now it appears that access to large quantities of advanced compute resources is no longer the defining or sustainable advantage many had thought it would be. Read the full story.Meet the divers trying to figure out how deep humans can go Figuring out how the human body can withstand underwater pressure has been a problem for over a century, but a ragtag band of divers is experimenting with hydrogen to find out. This is our latest story to be turned into a MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, whichwere publishing each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as its released. The must-reads Ive combed the internet to find you todays most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Donald Trump has pardoned the creator of Silk Road Ross Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of conspiracy to commit drug trafficking, money laundering, and hacking. (BBC)+ The 40-year old has been in prison since 2015. (NYT $)+ Its a clear attempt to curry favor with the crypto community. (Bloomberg $)2 The US is embarking on a major AI data center pushOpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle will create $100 billion in computing infrastructure. (NYT $) + Sam Altman says the project will facilitate the birth of AGI in America. (Insider $)3 What Trumps executive orders mean for you From a national energy emergency to pausing wind projects. (Fast Company $)+ The new President also officially established DOGE. (Ars Technica)4 YouTuber Mr Beast is considering buying TikTok His lawyer insists hes deadly serious. (CNN)+ What is the true value of TikTok, exactly? (The Information $)+ Trump is open to Elon Musk bidding for ownership too. (The Guardian)5 Microsoft will foot the bill to restore part of the Amazon rainforest In exchange for hundreds of millions of dollars worth of carbon credits. (FT $)+ Google, Amazon and the problem with Big Techs climate claims. (MIT Technology Review) 6 Google sold AI tools to Israels military in the wake of the Hamas attackIn stark contrast to its public stance distancing itself from Israels security apparatus. (WP $) 7 Inside the fight raging over NASAs first deep space stationSome experts argue we should start building living quarters directly on the moon instead. (Undark) + Heres what an exploding rocket looks like. (New Scientist $)+ Whats next for NASAs giant moon rocket? (MIT Technology Review) 8 How the Parcae satellite program helped to win the Cold WarAnd ushered in a new age of eavesdropping in the process. (IEEE Spectrum) 9 Startup founders are hustling for deals at inauguration parties Networking is so back, baby. (TechCrunch)+ How a Greenwich Village bar became a MAGA mecca. (NY Mag $)10 How AI could revamp treatment for snake bites Courtesy of a recent Nobel chemistry prize winner. (Economist $)Quote of the day Its not at all like being an employee. Theres nobody you can talk to. Everything is automated. A gig economy driver tells the Guardian about his frustration in navigating the platforms apps. The big story How tactile graphics can help end image poverty June 2023 Chancey Fleet In 2020, in the midst of the pandemic lockdown, my husband and I bought a house in Brooklyn and decided to rebuild the interior. He taught me a few key architectural symbols and before long I was drawing my own concepts, working toward a shared vision of the home we eventually designed. Its a commonplace story, except for one key factor: Im blind, and Ive made it my mission to ensure that blind New Yorkers can create and explore images. As a blind tech educator, its my joband my passionto introduce blind and low-vision patrons to tools that help them move through daily life with autonomy and ease. Read the full story. We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet 'em at me.) + To prevent sore shoulders and bad backs, it helps to know the muscles that cause them.+ Its time to join the crispy gnocchi club.+ If youre lucky enough to win an Academy Award, dont even think about trying to sell it.+ Space-age bachelor pad music looks like a pretty great genre to me.