2025 Year in Review: AI Becomes Infrastructure

ai_metrics_2025:
  adoption:
    developers_using_ai: "85%+"
    enterprises_with_ai_production: "70%+"
    ai_engineer_job_postings: "3x vs 2024"

  technology:
    cost_reduction: "60% average vs 2024"
    context_windows: "1M+ tokens available"
    latency_improvement: "2x faster"

  market:
    ai_infrastructure_spend: "$50B+"
    ai_startup_funding: "Concentrated in winners"

model_developments_2025:
  reasoning:
    - Reasoning models became practical
    - Multiple providers offering
    - New application categories

  multimodal:
    - Video understanding matured
    - Audio became native
    - Cross-modal reasoning improved

  efficiency:
    - Small models got much better
    - Inference costs dropped
    - Edge deployment practical

practice_evolution_2025:
  development:
    - Evaluation-driven standard
    - Multi-model architectures normal
    - Prompt engineering matured
    - Testing frameworks established

  operations:
    - AI observability required
    - Cost management essential
    - Security practices defined
    - Incident management adapted

  organization:
    - AI engineering established role
    - Governance operational
    - Center of Excellence model
    - ROI measurement expected

key_events_2025:
  q1:
    - Reasoning models went mainstream
    - MCP adoption accelerated
    - Enterprise AI platforms consolidated

  q2:
    - Video AI became practical
    - AI governance regulations enforced
    - Agent capabilities improved

  q3:
    - Small model quality leap
    - AI costs dropped significantly
    - Enterprise scaling accelerated

  q4:
    - AI became standard infrastructure
    - Consolidation in tooling market
    - Preparation for 2026 regulation

validated_2025:
  augmentation_over_automation:
    "AI works best as assistant, not replacement"

  evaluation_is_essential:
    "Can't ship quality without measurement"

  multi_model_wins:
    "Right model for each task"

  humans_in_loop:
    "Oversight remains necessary"

  governance_enables:
    "Good governance speeds adoption"

surprises_2025:
  positive:
    - Small models better than expected
    - Enterprise adoption faster
    - Developer productivity gains real

  challenges:
    - Agent reliability still limited
    - Regulation complexity
    - Talent market competitive

predictions_2026:
  technology:
    - Agents become more reliable
    - New modalities emerge
    - Costs continue dropping
    - Open models advance

  adoption:
    - AI ubiquitous in enterprise
    - Industry-specific solutions mature
    - Global adoption accelerates

  challenges:
    - Regulation complexity increases
    - Security threats evolve
    - Sustainability questions emerge

prepare_2026:
  technical:
    - Agent development skills
    - Advanced evaluation
    - Multi-modal handling
    - Privacy-preserving AI

  organizational:
    - AI strategy maturity
    - Governance refinement
    - Talent investment
    - Sustainability planning