Best of 2024 by AIM Media House

2024 wasn’t just another lap around the Sun for AI—it was the year—a pivotal one that set the stage for further advancements and bigger breakthroughs in 2025.

Let’s dive in.?

Sriram Krishnan’s appointment as senior policy advisor for AI at the White House sparked debates about immigration and innovation, and Nobel laureates like John Hopfield, Geoffrey Hinton, Demis Hassabis, and John Jumper showcased AI’s transformative impact. The year has been nothing short of revolutionary. AlphaFold, the youngest innovation to win a Nobel, has reshaped protein research. At the same time, reasoning models like OpenAI’s o3 and Meta’s FAIR self-taught Evaluator, alongside Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking, have taken AI closer to independent “thinking”.?

The rise of any-to-any models, in the backdrop of OpenAI’s advanced voice mode with vision capabilities, alongside Amazon’s Nova, marked a leap in multimodal capabilities, seamlessly bridging text, image, audio, and video.?

In India, localised infrastructure by Reliance, Tata Communications, and Yotta, powered by NVIDIA, has reduced AI costs while boosting efficiency and privacy.?

Focus on AI Regulation: The year also highlighted ethical dilemmas, such as Scarlett Johansson’s deepfake lawsuit, emphasising the need for balanced regulation. Legislative efforts like California’s SB 1047 underscored the urgency of establishing frameworks to align innovation with safety.?

Meanwhile, Indian news agency ANI sued OpenAI, accusing the AI firm of unauthorised use of its content to train ChatGPT. This raised questions about the boundaries of fair use and the permanence of copyrighted material in AI systems.

Following this, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw called for a balanced approach to AI governance, highlighting India’s leadership in global AI policies and indigenous solutions under the ‘Safe & Trusted AI’ initiative. The Indian government also plans to establish a National AI Safety Institute, focusing on proactive regulation and addressing safety risks in advanced AI systems.

2024 AI Highlights?

Biggest AI Mergers & Acquisitions of 2024: From AMD’s $665 million Silo AI deal to IBM’s $6.4 billion HashiCorp acquisition, 2024 saw 326 AI mergers redefining innovation and scaling industry impact. Discover the full list here>>

Top 10 Videos of 2024: Explore the transformative industry insights and quirky AI experiments with these must-watch videos that capture the year’s most impactful AI moments. Watch the full list here>>

Before we dive into other highlights of 2024, let’s revisit a recent discussion on The Hot Seat by AIM with Arsh Goyal, a senior software engineer at Samsung India.?

During Hacktoberfest, a global open-source competition, an Indian content creator positioned the event as a way to win a “free T-shirt”. This led to a wave of students submitting low-quality, copy-pasted contributions. The incident starkly reflects a broader issue in the developer ecosystem: the emphasis on superficial achievements over genuine skill-building.?

Check out the full video below:?

2024’s Most Controversial AI Figures: Jürgen Schmidhuber’s Nobel critique and Elon Musk’s legal battle with OpenAI are just a few flashpoints that rocked the AI world this year. Read the full story here>>

Viral Moments of 2024: AIM’s viral posts showcased tech stories and sparked global conversations. This includes Salesforce India’s $1B milestone, Meesho’s ML platform launch, and others. Check out the full roundup here>>

AIM Editor’s Top Picks of 2024: Meta’s Llama empowering small developers, AMD challenging NVIDIA’s dominance, and Nokia’s AI-powered revival are just a few highlights that shaped technology and innovation this year. Explore the full list here>>?

What to Expect in 2025??

The new year is expected to usher in transformative changes, including the democratisation of AI through wider adoption, the integration of AI in healthcare with advancements like GLP-1 drugs, and the introduction of more advanced, AGI-adjacent systems with enhanced reasoning.?

As 2025 unfolds, the focus will remain on ensuring that AI’s race to the top is not just a sprint for innovation but a thoughtful journey toward a safer, inclusive, and transformative future. Checkout AIM predictions 2025 here>>

According to Sindhu Gangadharan, 2025 is all about agentic AI, smarter tech, clean energy, and secure systems shaping our future.?

Meanwhile, former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi’s vision for 2025 centres on growth, gratitude, and making a difference. What commitments will you embrace in the year ahead? Do share with us below!

For more bold tech predictions, click here.?

Indian IT in 2025? Indian IT is diving deeper into generative AI, with TCS, Infosys, and Wipro championing custom industry solutions while upskilling their workforce to stay ahead. AI-driven projects are scaling fast, but the shift toward automation is reshaping hiring trends—the demand for AI-savvy talent is climbing while traditional roles face a crunch. As the sector pivots from maintaining projects to driving real innovation, the challenge is clear: Can Indian IT lead the next global AI revolution? Unpack the full story here.

6 Must-Attend AIM Conferences in 2025: From Cypher’s industry-leading AI discussions to Happy Llama’s startup celebrations, AIM’s 2025 conferences offer unparalleled opportunities to learn, connect, and shape the future of technology. Explore the full lineup here>>

As we wrap up the final newsletter of 2024, we want to thank you for your unwavering love and support. See you in 2025!

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