Globally, 2025 winds of change will still blow

We are entering 2026 not knowing which photos or videos are AI-generated, and more unsure than ever as to who the good guys of the world are.

It has been a year when we know how much we don’t know, locally and internationally; when we realise that the “boiling frog” syndrome (or being conditioned to accept bad things slowly and unknowingly, up to the point of celebrating our eventual demise) is anything but an outdated cautionary saying; and when many taboos stopped being taboos.

Doubts and rethinking about America, China and the Muslim world have peaked in 2025, and new opinions have defied conventional assumptions. This is the year when the social media, while still plagued with potentially disruptive shortcomings, expose people, organisations and countries at an unprecedented speed and on an unprecedented scale.

2025 has been a year when America’s Donald Trump wreaked havoc, economically, socially and politically, and China increasingly was perceived in new lights overseas. Europe has been significantly affected, in parts by changing realities and in parts by changing global perceptions of itself, of America, of Russia and of China.

Conspiracy theories have gained more attention, and those “debunking” them have had to work harder than before. Much have had to do with the social media that allows big names like America’s Tucker Carlson to get involved, and “promotions” of China that would not have been possible under the conventional mainstream media controlled by the West.

We are questioning things we had never questioned. Atheism is still frowned upon, but not as much as before. As for “conspiracy theorists”, they are no longer loners living in the basement. Non-believers in, say, official narratives about moon landing, 9/11 or JFK assassination are coming out from everywhere.

This is a year when, within seconds of the bombings of Venezuelan ships, curious people asked AI and got its immediate answers on what resources Venezuela has that a superpower might have possibly wanted. The same goes for Nigeria, Greenland and etc. There is no need to wait one week before the mainstream media start digging.

The Epstein scandal has resurfaced in 2025 and may drop big bombshells against both American parties next year. It’s happening primarily in America, and England has kicked out a royal family member as well, but the pattern of politicians or powerful people hiding unthinkable secrets being exposed all over the world is a big theme of the year.

2025 has been a year of great contradictions. World citizens have seen the United States bomb foreign ships, send combat aircraft into foreign airspaces without declaring war, try to broker peace in Gaza and Ukraine, refuse to condemn Israel, and accuse China of being a military threat to peaceful parts of the world.

Last but not least, Beijing has been seen as attempting to steal the US show over the Thai-Cambodian tension.

The United Nations is, once again, seriously challenged. World impressions on Israel, and Washington’s support for it, have changed drastically. Even in America, the changes in opinions have been resounding. And this phenomenon will largely influence what happens next year, not least in the Middle East.

Ambivalence concerning AI has turned into real fears in 2025. Of course, the majority of the world is still having fun with video, audio or pictorial content that is looking and sounding increasingly realistic, but apprehension has progressively mixed with the enjoyment.

This has been a year when humans realise how insanely possible that AI can do the impossible. In Thailand, a lazy student asked AI to predict exam questions and emerged top of the class. In China, a big experiment was conducted in which a major construction project was carried out from start (blueprint drawing) to finish (structure completely built) with zero human involvement.

Robots are moving so humanly realistically that a company had to come out to refute rumours that it hid real persons inside. And how fast their agility and intelligence are developing? Experts say that by the end of 2026, what are currently on show can become children’s toys.

Scientists say that with the existing gadgets like smartphones and computer tablets, our great-grandparents would see everyone of us as wizards, but we will definitely see our great-grandchildren as Gods. This prediction had existed before 2025, but this year it has never sounded truer.

• A concept is being pioneered where AI agents autonomously manage most of business processes, from task-based automation to complex decision-making. When the political realm embraces this kind of AI involvement, there would be nothing left for humans to do.

That’s man-made vulnerability. 2025 also has nature say who the real boss is. For years and years, Thais boasted about how immune they were from earthquakes. This year, many had to run for their lives. Unprecedented natural disasters hit other parts of the world, too.

Mainstream media’s declining influence is obvious in 2025. Dying faster are movie theatres. Changing human habits are primarily responsible for it. For the first time ever, people see and hear what they want to see and hear, without others force-feeding them, and whenever or wherever they feel like it.

All the profound changes in information consumption habits have been systematic over the years, but 2025 juxtaposed all the key elements to present us the most glaring picture of the future ever.

Scientifically, opinions are divided on “biggest achievements”. Pro-East hails the marvelous progress in the renewable energy sector where eastern countries have taken the lead in harnessing safe and clean energy that is seriously challenging coal- or fossil-based energy. This is a development that can change human life drastically for the better and upend global politics that has been based on locations of conventional energy resources.

Pro-West will point at revolutionary gene therapies that can potentially cure menacing or haunting diseases. Again, the progress has the potential to kick-start a euphoric and ideal world healthcare.

What are the chances that the West and East will cooperate on the two major progresses and speed things up for the good of mankind? Possibly the chances will be lower than another World War happening, many people think.

2025 puts everyone at a crossroads. It has opened more eyes than many years combined, but those who don’t want them opened can be more aggressive, belligerent and cunning in 2026. Having said that, more opened eyes alone can lead to chaos, too.

By all indications, 2025 looks like a prelude to something hugely historic.

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