How can we talk about 2024 without talking about artificial intelligence?
This is the year that AI burst into the collective consciousness and promised to fundamentally rework just about everything humans do.
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In 2024, Nvidia shares (NVDA) almost tripled (up 183%). AI chip colossus temporarily deposed tech giant Apple (AAPL) as the most valuable company in the world.
So, what does 2025 hold for the future of AI?
Well, if Athos Salomé is to be believed, it will definitely take a dark turn.
Salomé, a Brazilian parapsychologist nicknamed “the living Nostradamus”, is said to have predicted life-changing events such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the death of Queen Elizabeth and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Its predictions for 2025 include the assertion that “a global incident could expose the autonomy” of AI technologies, The star of the day reported. According to him, the systems will be able to make irreversible decisions in sensitive areas such as cybersecurity and transport.
Jensen Huang, co-founder and CEO of Nvidia, saw his company’s shares soar in 2024. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)Bloomberg/Getty Images
If that’s a little too far for you, then we have Stanford Universitywhich calls, among other things, for the rise of AI agents – autonomous intelligent systems performing specific tasks without human intervention.
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“In 2025, we will see a significant shift from using individual AI models to using systems in which multiple AI agents of varying expertise work together,” said James Zou, associate professor of biomedical data science.
“Looking ahead, I predict that many high-impact applications will use such teams of AI agents, which are more reliable and efficient than a single model.
“I am particularly excited about the potential of hybrid collaborative teams in which a human leads a group of diverse AI agents,” he added.
Doug Kass also has strong opinions on the future of AI.
Kass is a longtime hedge fund manager whose career dates back to the 1970s at Putnam and includes a stint as director of research at billionaire Leon Cooperman’s Omega Advisors.
In an article on TheStreet Pro, Kass included observations on AI in its list of 15 big surprises for 2025.
The predictions cover politics, technology and sports, where Kass says the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees will face off again in the World Series and this time the Bronx Bombers will sweep their California competitors.
When it comes to artificial intelligence, Kass says AI-related actions will be compromised by lack of electricity and the absence of a “killer app” or associated revenue stream.
Data center power needs linked to the AI revolution are expected to more than double by 2030, based on current grid capacity, according to Barclays Search.
Barclays estimates that data centers now account for 3.5% of U.S. electricity consumption. The investment firm estimates that this figure could exceed 5.5% in 2027 and 9% by 2030.
“With AI data centers so power hungry and the AI arms race continuing apace, our nation’s electricity supplies are proving insufficient,” Kass said. “Power outages are becoming commonplace and utility bills are skyrocketing.”
The need to build new power plants fueled by natural gas will cause natural gas prices to double, “thus contributing to more inflationary pressures,” Kass says. An outraged public will demand action and AI data centers will be hit with significant taxes to subsidize lower prices for households, he says.
More AI actions:
“As the year progresses, it becomes clear that there is no hardware killer application or associated revenue stream derived from the use of generative AI.” Kass said, “The focus is no longer on consumers, but rather on helping businesses reduce costs.”
This transition benefits technology integrators and consultants to the detriment of hyperscalers, large cloud service providers like Meta Platforms, parent company of Facebook. (META) and that of Amazon (AMZN) AWS.
These tech giants are currently spending billions to develop their AI capabilities. Kass says they will recognize this lack of revenue sources and will reduce their capital expenditures and budgets.
In turn, that leaves Kass predicting a reckoning ahead for Nvidia’s stock price.
“Nvidia’s ‘day in the sun’ ends abruptly and the stock price falls to between $50 and $75 in a matter of days, as it becomes clear that the doubling or tripling of orders has supported the company’s past results” , he declared.
This will in turn lead to contagion within the industry, hurting Microsoft’s stock. (MSFT) and other hyperscalers, Kass said.
He also sees headlines about AI being replaced with headlines about quantum computing, a field of study in which quantum mechanics is used to solve complex problems faster than traditional computers.
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Shares of some quantum computing companies have taken off into the stratosphere in 2024. Rigetti Computing (RGTI) for example, has seen its stock rise by a factor of 15 since the start of the year, while D-Wave Quantum’s share price (QBTS) is 11 times its level at the end of 2023.
Kass also touched on cryptocurrencies, but not in a positive way. He claims that proof-of-work cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, will eventually be hacked. And if that happens, “bitcoin will become almost worthless.”
He claims that if hacked, the world’s largest cryptocurrency would fall to less than $25,000 by the end of summer, a significant drop considering bitcoin was at $95,446.78 at last check .
Most other secondary and tertiary cryptocurrencies would go to zero, Kass said. The collapse in cryptocurrency prices would raise fears of financial contagion and stocks would fall nearly 7% in a month, Kass suggests.
On a more positive note, Kass also predicted that peace would reign throughout the world.
“The war in Ukraine is settled and there is peace in Israel. Israel and Saudi Arabia announce a new (friendly) agreement,” he said.
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Marvin Evans is a finance and fintech professional with 20 years of industry experience, including more than a decade working across the fintech sector. He is the founder of Fintech Bits and Finjobsly, and writes about fintech markets, financial technology, industry trends, innovation and the evolving fintech workforce. His analysis combines hands-on industry experience with data-led research to provide practical insight into the companies, technologies and trends shaping financial services.
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