What can we expect for the construction industry in the year ahead? Next week a new president will take office here in the United States. Will much stay the same? Will much change? If we are being honest, it is hard to predict what will come in 2025, although back in 2021 Pew Research took a stab at it.
Let’s look back at its predictions from four years ago and see what has already come to fruition—and what has not helped identify where we are going.
A Look Back
In 2021, Pew Research penned an article that said the new normal—remember that phrase?—will be far more tech-driven. Six big predictions it made were:
- Worsening economic inequality as those who are highly connected will pull further ahead.
- Enhance the power of big tech firms as they exploit their market advance and mechanism of AI (artificial intelligence).
- Multiply the spread of misinformation.
- Inaugurate new reforms aimed at racial justice and social equity.
- Enhance quality of life for many families and work with more flexible-workplace arrangements.
- Product technology enhancements in the virtual and augmented world that allows people to live smarter, safter, and more productive lives.
Some of these predictions have already come true and were frankly already underway at the time the article was published. A few of the more granular ones didn’t really play out as expected, such as 3D social media systems (anyone out there doing holographic social, yet?) Not really. Other trends did come to fruition, and were not mentioned in that article: chiefly, gen AI and ChatGPT specifically.
But it was the responses from a survey of 915 innovators, developers, business leaders, researchers, and activists that paint an interesting picture.
At the time, roughly 47% of respondents said life will be mostly worse for people in 2025 than it was before the pandemic, while 39% said it will be mostly better in 2025 than pre-pandemic. Another 14% said most people’s lives in 2025 will not be much different.
What are your thoughts? Is life worse, better, or mostly the same as pre-pandemic conditions. Interestingly, politics aside, the United States will have the same president in 2025 as it did in 2019.
A Look Ahead
With all this in mind, what then comes next for the construction industry in 2025 and beyond? We have a few thoughts.
One thing we can bet on is cyber-attacks will continue to rise. Criminals are targeting all systems, as attacks rise. The Global Cyber Alliance predicts we will see the first $25 billion cyber incident, where a single breach will cause unprecedented damage. As such, construction professionals will need to continue to do their due diligence with cybersecurity.
Another thing we can safely bet on is we will continue to see the rise of gen AI in all industries. In construction, we see Precedence Research predicts the global generative AI in construction market will grow 35.12% between 2024 and 2034.
Along with this, we can expect the workforce and processes to change in the years ahead in the construction industry. What would you add? What do you expect in 2025 for the construction industry?
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