Is the AI bubble going to burst? (2024 trends and predictions)

The rise and fall: predictions

We anticipate the peak of the AI race and its most exciting innovations to occur within the next five years. Does AI disappear after that? Not at all – what comes next is the complete assimilation within the following decade.

Anticipating AI’s meteoric rise

These truly are unprecedented times. AI is already quite seamlessly integrating into our digital workspaces. Examples such as Google Duet and Microsoft Copilot already demonstrate how AI is being integrated into our everyday tools. 

In order to better understand the trajectory of AI and its potential for normalisation, let’s look at another relatively recent innovation that quickly became part of our everyday lives: the rise of streaming services. 

With the emergence of Netflix, Spotify, and Amazon Prime Video, physical DVDs and CDs quickly lost their prominence. In a few short years, streaming became the go-to method for accessing movies, TV shows, and music. We’re now at a point of oversaturation – Netflix is losing subscribers and every TV and movie studio is attempting to push its own subscription streaming service into an already crowded market.

Just as with streaming, when it reaches normalisation, AI won’t lose significance. Rather, it suggests that AI will become more ingrained in our daily routines and processes, and any one service promising revolutionary AI tools may struggle to make a mark among competitors doing the same.

The pushback and potential fall

While AI holds immense promise, there are several bumps in the road that may hinder its emergence in the months and years ahead: 

Negative implications on the job market and social norms:

An ongoing debate has begun to ignite about when and where AI will be appropriate in everyday life. 

For instance, Google has embraced AI in search engine optimisation (SEO) and doesn’t (presently) penalise the use of AI-generated content. 

But, some industries – journalists and recruiters among them – frown upon its unedited usage in content generation, cover letters and emails.

The burst of the high-paying jobs bubble

As AI becomes more commonplace, the initial buzz surrounding high-paying AI-related jobs will fade, and they will cease to be in such high demand as more and more everyday people become acquainted with the programs. 

In the same way you don’t need someone to help you operate Google (which was also a revolutionary system at some point), you won’t need that much help as the AI skills gap will close. 

High-paying AI development jobs will also only be accessible for those with degrees in the related fields, such as computer science, data science or specifically AI development (these jobs are up for grabs by anyone brave and fast enough to start currently, as we are still in an uncharted space). 

The term “AI expert” will not be taken at face value for long, if your current skillset largely comes down to knowing how to prompt. Just as kids have been learning to code for years, the knowledge of how to work with AI assistance will soon be ingrained, rather than specialist.

The shift from freemium to profit

AI businesses ultimately intend to make money from their services, and that means they will likely move away from their current freemium models before the market becomes too saturated. 

The monthly payment plans will inevitably kick in, tempting personal and business users to join the premium tiers for better AI tool depth.

But, just as households won’t want to pay for a dozen streaming services, businesses won’t keep up payments for multiple AI software tools – especially in a cost-of-living crisis with rising overheads. As AI becomes more ingrained in our daily lives, the cost of implementing and maintaining AI systems may rise, making payment plans less accessible for smaller businesses.

In no time at all, the expectation will be that larger families of software – run by the big names of Microsoft, Google, Salesforce, Adobe and others – will have a solid backbone of AI running through their product lines. Since you’re paying for Google Workspace or Microsoft Office 365 anyway, and these tools will be supercharged by AI, why spend again on a dozen additional niche AI products?

Security and regulatory restrictions

As AI becomes more prevalent, the risk of malicious forces aiming to exploit vulnerabilities in AI systems will increase, potentially leading to significant data breaches or disruptions.

AI systems are not infallible. Technical glitches and system failures can result in crashes, causing inconvenience and potentially eroding trust in AI.

Governments and regulatory bodies will also have to grapple with the ethical and legal implications of AI. Striking the right balance between innovation and responsible use will require careful policymaking and it is yet to be seen what the future will hold in this area (and whether there will be a global regulatory body or more regional regulations).

Plagiarism and privacy concerns

With the widespread use of AI-generated content, the potential for copyright infringement and plagiarism-related legal issues becomes a concern. 

Clear guidelines and regulations will become all the more necessary to address this challenge.

Alongside the rise of AI will come a correlating development of detection methods to identify and combat misinformation and deep fakes.

These hurdles will need to be navigated carefully to ensure AI’s continued growth and success. The programming race will continue, but it will primarily involve higher stakeholders, the biggest name tech companies and Silicon Valley leaders, rather than everyday entrepreneurs or small business owners.