Which Technologies Will Soon Become Obsolete?
Insights from AI’s Unique Perspective
Asking an AI which technologies are on the brink of obsolescence opens an intriguing window into a world of insights that humans alone might overlook.
Our conventional predictions about technological progress tend to reflect short-term observations and human biases, but an AI’s perspective is shaped by vast datasets, patterns, and connections across disciplines.
What if the next wave of technological extinction is not what we’ve been anticipating?
In this article, we’ll delve into the technologies that AI predicts are nearing their end. Unlike traditional analyses, this approach combines global trends with the AI’s computational prowess, yielding a more comprehensive view. From infrastructure and consumer devices to seemingly foundational technologies, the following examination raises the question: What might the future look like without these technologies?
1. Legacy Payment Systems: The Decline of Physical and Traditional Banking Infrastructure
From a human perspective, cash and card-based payment systems still feel integral to commerce. Yet, AI sees a rapid convergence of digital wallets, cryptocurrency ecosystems, and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms taking center stage. Several factors are driving the predicted obsolescence of legacy payment methods:
Digital-First Generations: Younger generations are growing up with embedded, seamless payment technologies, often through social media, digital wallets, and contactless methods. These individuals may never need a physical card or a trip to the bank.
Blockchain and DeFi Evolution: Blockchain technology and DeFi protocols are rendering traditional banks as intermediaries increasingly unnecessary, offering peer-to-peer lending, borrowing, and investing without centralized authority.
Emergence of Biometric Payments: AI models recognize biometrics—facial recognition, fingerprint authentication—as set to replace cards and even mobile wallets. As this technology becomes universal, cash and cards could become relics.
This shift is not just about convenience; it fundamentally challenges our ideas about privacy, personal control over finances, and the role of centralized institutions. Physical currency and traditional banks may be remembered like public payphones—an essential infrastructure, now mostly abandoned.
2. Gasoline-Powered Vehicles: The Rapid Erosion of Internal Combustion Engines
For many, the internal combustion engine (ICE) symbolizes personal freedom, but AI views its days as numbered. Despite current global dependence on gasoline, several accelerating trends suggest a profound shift to electric and autonomous vehicles:
Environmental Mandates and Carbon Regulations: Nations are implementing stringent environmental standards, phasing out the production of gas vehicles entirely in the coming decades. AI predicts that new ICE vehicles could be obsolete sooner than expected as countries compete to cut emissions.
Battery Technology Advancements: Electric vehicles (EVs) are projected to become more affordable than ICE cars within the decade, thanks to rapid advancements in battery efficiency, charging speed, and costs.
Urban Autonomous Fleets: AI foresees the rapid spread of autonomous vehicle (AV) technology in urban areas, where shared AV fleets could displace private vehicle ownership altogether, rendering ICE vehicles not only outdated but also unnecessary in daily life.
These trends align to suggest that gasoline vehicles, and the entire infrastructure supporting them—filling stations, repair shops specializing in ICE engines, oil refineries—are on a countdown to obsolescence.
3. Desktop Computers: The Gradual Shift Away from Fixed Workstations
AI anticipates a near-future where the traditional desktop computer will lose relevance, replaced by powerful mobile devices, cloud-based computing, and virtual workspaces. What’s leading to this gradual extinction?
Advances in Mobile and Wearable Technology: The computing power of smartphones and tablets has already exceeded that of early desktops. Combined with wearables, AI suggests that this power will soon be more accessible, personalized, and mobile.
Cloud Computing and Virtual Machines: With the rise of cloud-based solutions and virtual machines, computational needs are increasingly met online. AI expects that remote computing capabilities will grow to handle even the most demanding tasks, negating the need for high-powered desktop setups at home or in the office.
VR and AR Workspaces: Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have introduced immersive work environments that mimic physical workspaces without the constraints of a desk. AI suggests that this flexibility will appeal to next-gen workforces accustomed to fluid and adaptive environments.
The desktop computer’s fixed location and structure may soon feel as limiting as landline telephones did when mobile phones emerged, ultimately making them redundant in a mobile-first world.
4. Cable Television: The Sunset of Scheduled Broadcasting
While many humans still see cable TV as a familiar part of entertainment, AI models predict that it will soon be consigned to history. With the rise of streaming and personalized content, traditional broadcast schedules are on an irreversible decline. Here’s why:
Streaming and On-Demand Content: Services like Netflix, YouTube, and newer AI-based platforms personalize content for viewers, analyzing preferences to deliver tailored entertainment experiences. This capability offers a sharp contrast to rigid cable schedules.
Decline of Advertiser Interest: Advertisers are moving their dollars to digital platforms that offer precise, data-driven targeting. Cable TV advertising, on the other hand, is increasingly expensive and less effective in targeting specific demographics.
Cord-Cutting and Generational Shift: Younger generations, more familiar with streaming, are unlikely to adopt cable subscriptions. AI predicts that cord-cutting rates will soon outpace any remaining demand for traditional cable services, pushing broadcasters to shift to digital.
Cable TV, once a revolutionary technology, might soon become as niche as radio dramas—a form of media for enthusiasts rather than the mainstream.
5. Landline Telephony: The Quiet Disappearance of Copper-Wired Communication
While this prediction may seem obvious, AI reveals additional reasons for the decline of landline phones, beyond the usual narrative of mobile convenience:
Infrastructure Costs vs. Demand: Maintaining copper-wire networks is expensive, especially as demand dwindles. Telecom companies are investing in mobile and fiber-optic networks instead, seeing landlines as unsustainable long-term.
Integration of AI Communication: AI-powered voice assistants, integrated into mobile devices and wearables, make accessing information or placing calls easier without landline limitations.
Remote Work Adaptation: As remote and hybrid work models persist, landline phones no longer play a crucial role in business. Cloud-based communication tools like Zoom and Slack have become the new workplace norm, making fixed-line telephony obsolete.
Landlines might persist in niche uses or for elderly users accustomed to the technology, but their role as an essential communication tool will vanish.
6. DVDs, Blu-Rays, and Physical Media: The Dusk of Tangible Entertainment
Finally, physical media formats such as DVDs and Blu-Rays, while still in use, are quickly losing relevance. AI identifies multiple trends accelerating this decline:
Rapid Expansion of Streaming Libraries: Streaming platforms host vast libraries that can be accessed instantly, making physical media feel cumbersome and limited by comparison.
Advances in Digital Storage: AI foresees cheaper, more durable cloud storage solutions, allowing users to own digital content without worrying about data loss or format degradation.
Environmental and Practical Downsides: Physical media, with its reliance on plastics, packaging, and shipping, is both environmentally taxing and less efficient than its digital counterparts.
As physical media gradually vanishes, we’re likely to witness a reshaping of content ownership, with greater emphasis on digital rights and subscription models, although these come with their own complexities, such as digital rights management and consumer control.
Conclusion: What Does a Post-Obsolescence World Look Like?
These shifts aren’t solely about new technologies replacing the old. They reflect broader changes in how we interact with information, entertainment, work, and one another. In AI’s analysis, the extinction of these technologies isn’t just a list of fading tools but a commentary on humanity’s evolving relationship with convenience, efficiency, and our environment.
What’s remarkable is the speed and breadth of these changes. For most of human history, technologies developed incrementally, taking generations to phase in or out. Today, AI signals that obsolescence is imminent, driven by factors like environmental necessity, mobile adaptation, and digital immersion.
This glimpse into the future raises fundamental questions: Are we prepared for such rapid transformation? What new social and ethical considerations will arise as technologies fade almost as quickly as they appear? And finally, what unforeseen consequences might we face in a world where AI and technology shape human behavior as much as we shape them?
As we stand on the brink of these shifts, AI’s perspective reminds us to consider not only what we’re gaining, but also what we’re choosing to leave behind.
