The future of AI isn’t about bigger models; it’s about smarter apps that solve real problems. The winners will understand business pain points better than anyone, AND stay ahead of AI’s rapid shifts. Here are 5 trends I think builders should think about to make something that lasts.
Local models and hybrid compute.
The future isn’t entirely in the cloud. Distilled LLMs, like those emerging from Meta and DeepSeek, are making local computation viable. Picture a lightweight model summarizing local documents on your phone while syncing with a cloud model to generate an investor deck.
Automation as a co-pilot.
AI is moving from standalone apps to embedded operators across workflows. Take Excel: instead of Googling how to write a VLOOKUP, imagine an assistant instantly recognizing your intent and creating the formula for you. It’s Clippy, but actually useful. Open-source tools like Goose hint at what’s next.
Privacy-first AI.
Privacy is shifting from a feature to a foundation. Apple’s on-device processing keeps your data local, ensuring security while delivering AI insights. In healthcare, sensitive patient data could be handled by local models, while appointment scheduling is offloaded to the cloud. Privacy is now a critical differentiator.
Decentralized compute.
As open-source models proliferate, centralized infrastructure becomes a bottleneck. Enter decentralized systems like AO computer, designed to host large models independently. For truly autonomous agents to thrive, they’ll need infrastructure that doesn’t rely on centralized cloud providers. This ensures resilience for the next wave of AI.
UX innovation.
The interface layer is the next frontier. Imagine a collaborative workspace like Miro where AI dynamically suggests workflows or an email client that crafts the perfect response in your tone. Multimodal, real-time collaboration will make AI feel less like a tool and more like a teammate.
The tools are here, the costs are nosediving, and the only thing standing between you and the next great AI-powered app is your imagination!
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If you have any questions or thoughts, don't hesitate to reach out. You can find me as @viksit on Twitter.