Coming soon: How will technology shape the world in 2025?

Coming soon: How will technology shape the world in 2025?

Author: Financial Times January 7, 2025 Duration: 0:44

In a new season of Tech Tonic, the FT’s technology editor Murad Ahmed asks some of the big questions likely to shape the tech world in 2025, with the help of big names from the tech industry and the FT’s expert reporters and columnists. We’ll hear about the AI industry’s plans for the next generation of tools powered by generative AI, and how Donald Trump’s presidency - and Elon Musk - might influence Silicon Valley. Plus, stories of Big Tech regulation in Brussels and China’s rise as a tech power. 


This season of Tech Tonic is presented by Murad Ahmed, and produced by Persis Love. Edwin Lane is the senior producer and Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Sound design by Breen Turner, Samantha Giovinco and Joseph Enrick Salcedo, with original music from Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.


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From the Financial Times, FT Tech Tonic steps beyond the breathless headlines and gadget launches to explore how technology is fundamentally reshaping our lives, economies, and social structures. This isn't just a series about the latest app; it's a deep, considered examination of the forces driving the digital age and their often unintended consequences. Each episode grapples with the complex interplay between innovation and its real-world impact, drawing on the FT's global reporting expertise to provide clarity and context. You'll hear conversations that dissect the power dynamics in Silicon Valley, investigate the ethical dilemmas of artificial intelligence, and explore how entrepreneurship is being redefined across different cultures. The podcast digs into the substance behind the hype, asking whether emerging technologies truly deliver on their promise to improve society or if they introduce new perils we are only beginning to understand. By weaving together threads from technology, business, and culture, the discussions offer a nuanced perspective that challenges simplistic narratives. Tune in for thoughtful analysis that connects the dots between boardroom strategies, algorithmic biases, and the everyday experiences that define our increasingly connected world.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

FT Tech Tonic
Podcast Episodes
Trump’s tech bros: The enigma of Peter Thiel [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:00
Peter Thiel is unlike any other Trump tech bro. As well as a wildly successful investor, he’s seen as a thinker - the philosopher king of Silicon Valley. Thiel’s acolytes in the tech world and Washington include vice-pre…
Trump’s Tech Bros: Is ‘Maga Mark’ the real Mark Zuckerberg? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:14
Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has undergone a transformation, both physical and political. The skinny teenager who founded Facebook in his dorm room is now a muscular jiu-jitsu enthusiast who’s called US President…
Trump’s Tech Bros: Has Jeff Bezos sold out? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:42
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was once a vocal critic of Donald Trump. But that changed during last year’s election campaign. Now, he has instructed the newspaper he owns, The Washington Post, to shift its editorial line to…
Trump's Tech Bros: The tragedy of Elon Musk [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:00
When Donald Trump re-entered the White House, Elon Musk came with him as his ‘tech bro-in-chief’, tasked with rebooting the government machine. But five months on, Musk’s ambitious plan to cut $2tn from the annual govern…
Trump’s Tech Bros: Can Tim Cook save Apple from the trade war? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:44
During the US president’s first term in office, Tim Cook appeared to be the ultimate Trump whisperer, winning tariff exemptions despite Apple’s heavy reliance on Chinese manufacturing. Now, the iPhone-maker-in-chief has…
Coming soon: The rise and fall of Trump’s tech bros [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01
Can Tim Cook save Apple from the trade war? Has Mark Zuckerberg really been a fan of Donald Trump all along? And is the bromance between Elon Musk and the president really over? In a new season of Tech Tonic, Murad Ahmed…
Future weapons: Tomorrow’s technology [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:22
How is defence tech reshaping geopolitics? And what does the battlefield of the future look like? In the final episode of our series on the technological weapons of war, the FT’s innovation editor John Thornhill sits dow…
Future weapons: Rearming Europe [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:11
For European leaders, the war in Ukraine has strained relations with the US and prompted major questions about how the continent will defend itself in the future. Governments are boosting defence spending and defence tec…
Future weapons: Battlefield AI [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:53
Israel has long been a leader in hi-tech warfare. In this episode, the Financial Times innovation editor John Thornhill explores the Israel Defense Forces’ use of artificial intelligence targeting aids as part of its ars…
Future weapons: The defence tech bros [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:56
Defence tech is booming in the US. Start-ups building drones, missiles and AI systems are competing with established companies for a piece of the US defence budget. Are these new participants the future of the defence in…