From Chinese brain chips to a new collider: seven scientific breakthroughs awaiting humanity in 2025.

The year 2025 is set to bring new breakthroughs in technology that will transform people's lives across various sectors, from artificial intelligence (AI) to space exploration and transportation.

Consistent with recent years, AI will remain a central theme. In 2025, its capabilities will significantly expand as new AI agents will not only process user requests but also autonomously tackle complex tasks, plan trips, and even make critical decisions.

Equally promising prospects lie in space exploration. The latest observatories, equipped with powerful telescopes and cameras, are preparing to study dark matter and mysterious dark energy, creating detailed maps of the universe. New space missions will not only broaden our knowledge of the cosmos but may also provide answers to fundamental questions about the origin and evolution of galaxies.

Another key area of development will be autonomous transportation. Self-driving cars are no longer a science fiction concept but a reality that is reshaping urban mobility. Companies worldwide are actively working on implementing robotaxis, which are expected to become a reality in many cities by 2025.

This year may also change our perception of YouTube: the language of video will no longer be a barrier.

The EP has selected seven technologies and events that are worth paying attention to in 2025.

The Dominance of AI Agents

In 2025, a new breakthrough in the development of artificial intelligence is anticipated with the emergence of so-called AI agents—autonomous digital assistants capable of completing complex tasks without user involvement.

Unlike conventional chatbots, these agents can make decisions and initiate actions. An AI agent will be able to plan a vacation considering the person's preferences, from finding tickets to booking hotels. AI agents could redefine what has been previously integrated into assistants like Apple’s Siri.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman refers to AI agents as the next breakthrough in the AI field. The company is working on its own project, codenamed Operator.

At the same time, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Google are actively integrating AI agents into their products and services. Microsoft plans to add them to office programs to automate routine tasks and enhance user productivity.

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Currently, AI agents are already being employed in customer service. Salesforce, the developer of the eponymous cloud CRM platform, has signed over 200 agreements with companies to implement agents for automating customer interactions. The insurance company Nsure has launched its own AI agent, which handles 60% of customer requests and continually improves through training on new data.

Despite some skepticism regarding this trend, AI agents have the potential to radically change the approach to work. They can not only perform repetitive tasks but also assist in research, planning, and project management. This could make them indispensable "virtual colleagues" in business.

It is expected that the implementation of AI agents will be one of the trends of 2025, facilitating the automation of business processes and opening new opportunities for companies and users. They may change the way people interact with technology, significantly increasing efficiency across various sectors.

A Telescope That Will Change Our View of Space

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile is preparing to become one of the most advanced laboratories for studying the universe. In 2025, it will launch a large-scale project called the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), aimed at creating a detailed map of the cosmos and investigating mysterious phenomena: dark matter and dark energy.

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The observatory is equipped with the world's largest digital camera, boasting a resolution of 3,200 megapixels. Along with its 8.4-meter (diameter of the main mirror) telescope, it will scan the sky of the Southern Hemisphere, capturing millions of images and generating vast amounts of data. Over ten years, the observatory will collect 15 petabytes of information that scientists will use to analyze billions of cosmic objects.

One of the key goals is to unveil the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy. According to scientists, these account for 95% of the universe's mass, yet they remain nearly invisible. The project will also provide insights into how the cosmos changes over time, creating a sort of "video record" of its evolution.

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The project is led by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), with funding from U.S. government agencies and international partners.

The observatory is located on the summit of Cerro Pachón in the Atacama Desert—the driest place on Earth. The clear and dry sky will provide ideal conditions for astronomical observations. The scientific community worldwide anticipates discoveries that will significantly expand humanity's understanding of the cosmos.

YouTube Video Content Becomes Universal

At the end of 2024, YouTube announced that the automatic dubbing feature for videos based on AI became available for hundreds of thousands of channels. This new technology allows for the automatic creation of translated audio tracks for videos, enhancing their accessibility for non-native audiences.

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The launch of the automatic dubbing function was first announced in 2023, but at that time it operated in a testing phase for a limited group of content creators. Now, it can be utilized by video authors focusing on educational and informational content, such as cooking or crafting tutorials.

The technology is based on Google Gemini, which ensures natural reproduction of human speech. However, developers acknowledge that the feature still has certain drawbacks.

To use automatic dubbing, a creator only needs to upload a video to the platform. YouTube will automatically detect the language and create dubbed versions in other languages. Currently, it supports English, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish.

In 2025, YouTube plans to expand this feature to other types of content. The company is also working on the next update of Expressive Speech, which will allow for more accurate conveyance of the tone, emotions, and atmosphere of the original speaker.

Physicists Paving the Way for Advanced Research

In 2025, the European Spallation Source (ESS) will be launched in Lund, Sweden—a cutting-edge platform for materials research and fundamental science. The ESS project promises to become the most powerful center for generating neutron pulses in the world. It has been under construction for over a decade, involving 13 European countries, with Sweden and Denmark as host nations.

Spallation, the basis of the ESS operation, involves accelerating protons to nearly the speed of light and directing them at a target made of heavy metal. As a result, the target's nucleus is destroyed, releasing a large number of neutrons and other subatomic particles. This technology will open new avenues for creating innovative materials, studying physical processes, and developing future technologies.

ESS will be an essential tool for developing innovative materials: efficient solar cells, ultra-strong constructions, new medicines, and even for understanding how cells function at the molecular level.

Meanwhile, at CERN, the leading physics laboratory near Geneva, a similarly ambitious project is underway. This involves a super collider—a massive 91 km long particle accelerator, estimated to cost $17 billion. It is set to succeed the Large Hadron Collider.

In 2025, a detailed feasibility study for the project is expected to be completed, assessing the cost, technical implementation, and environmental impact. This report will be crucial for making a decision about the construction of the facility in 2028.

Scientists hope that these projects will enhance our understanding of the world at the level of elementary particles and pave the way for new discoveries.

Robotaxis Become a Reality

Robotaxis are rapidly developing.

In the U.S., Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet (Google's parent company), launched its self-driving taxi services in 2020. It currently provides 150,000 rides