AI for Better or Worse - Will AI Help or Harm Us by 2035?
- Lindsay Spiller
- Feb 11, 2025
- 5 min read
Updated: Dec 15, 2025
Predicting the future of AI is a lot like predicting the weather. There is science behind predicting the weather. You must have an understanding of the atmosphere and how it works, collect hard data, both current and historical, and analyze that data with supercomputers. Then a meteorologist must analyze the analysis then stick their head out of the window to see if there is any final reason not to tell their audience to leave the house with an umbrella on Tuesday because, on Tuesday, there is a 90% chance of rain. The problem of course is that the atmosphere is a chaotic system, where the butterfly effect is not a quaint figure of speech but a regular phenomenon playing out constantly.
AI is the atmosphere we are currently breathing. It is pervasive, global and constant, and its chaotic behavior is just as subject to butterfly effects as the weather. For better or worse, over the next 10 years, AI will likely evolve across a broad spectrum of areas – technological, economic, social, personal – with both positive and negative impacts on human life. Here's a prediction of this evolution:
2025-2027: Early Stage of Mainstream AI Integration
Better:
Healthcare: AI-powered diagnostics, personalized medicine and predictive analytics will improve healthcare. Diseases will be detected earlier and treatments will be more accurate.
Education: Adaptive learning platforms and virtual tutors will become more widespread. They will provide personalized education and better access to resources around the globe.
Workforce Efficiency: Productivity and efficiency will increase in various sectors as a result of AI tools that automate mundane tasks and assist in decisionmaking.
Worse:
Job Displacement: Jobs will be lost. AI systems will take over routine tasks in manufacturing, customer service and other fields. Unemployment and income inequality for low-skill workers will be the likely result.
Data Privacy Issues: Increased data reliance will lead to more privacy violations, as personal data is used to train AI models.
Bias and Inequality: AI algorithms will perpetuate existing biases in hiring, policing and healthcare.
2027-2029: AI Becomes Highly Specialized and Autonomous
Better:
Environmental Monitoring: AI applications in climate prediction, conservation efforts and sustainable agriculture will benefit the environment, improving resource management and reducing waste.
Transportation: Autonomous vehicles will reduce traffic accidents, optimize transportation systems and decrease energy consumption. Travel will be safer and more efficient.
Worse:
Deepfake and Misinformation: The spread of AI-generated content like deepfakes will increase misinformation, undermine public trust in media and news sources, and potentially destabilize societies.
Surveillance States: Unless regulations are not put in place, governments and corporations will use AI to create overly intrusive surveillance systems, infringing on civil liberties and human rights.
Economic Polarization: A widening divide between industries and countries that embrace AI and those that do not will create global economic disparity.
2029-2031: AI Matures, Achieving General Intelligence in Some Domains
Better:
Global Problems Solved: AI will contribute significantly to solving large-scale global challenges. Pandemics, hunger, and resource scarcity will all be ameliorated by optimizing global supply chains and forecasting crisis events.
Personalized Experiences: AI-enhanced consumer products – from entertainment to mental health – will be deeply personalized, improving user satisfaction and overall well-being.
Worse:
Job Loss in White-Collar Fields: AI systems will surpass human performance in fields like law, finance and medicine, leading to unemployment for highly skilled professionals.
Mental Health Struggles: Over-reliance on AI systems, social media algorithms, and AI-driven interactions will contribute to isolation, anxiety, and a sense of loss of human connection, if public awareness is not a primary social goal.
2031-2033: AI's Role in Creativity and Innovation
Better:
Creative Industries: AI will enhance art, music and design, automating creative processes and augmenting human creativity. This will result in novel forms of expression and entertainment.
Life Extension and Health: AI’s role in extending human life expectancy, enhancing regenerative medicine and combating diseases will significantly increase quality of life for the elderly.
Worse:
AI in Warfare: The use of AI in military applications, particularly autonomous weapons, will increase the risk of conflict, making wars more destructive and harder to control, if limiting factors are not put in place.
Unemployment Crisis: Automation of nearly all aspects of work will lead to vast unemployment, as human labor is replaced by AI systems across many industries.
2033-2035: AI-Supported Societies, Challenges in Governance
Better:
AI-Enhanced Governance: AI will aid in creating more efficient, transparent and just governments, using real-time data and analytics to improve policymaking and resource allocation.
Universal Basic Income: With the rise of AI, some countries will adopt policies like universal basic income to mitigate unemployment effects and ensure the equitable distribution of wealth generated by AI.
Worse:
AI Dictatorships: The use of AI by authoritarian regimes to control populations through surveillance, predictive policing, and manipulation will threaten individual freedoms and human rights.
Loss of Autonomy: With AI systems integrated deeply into decision-making, there will be a loss of human autonomy. Individuals will feel that their lives are increasingly governed by algorithms rather than their own choices.
AI for Better or Worse: Key Takeaways for the Next Decade
Economic and Job Impact: AI will lead to a mix of job displacement, job creation in tech fields, and new industries, but the negative effects on vulnerable workers will be severe.
Social and Ethical Challenges: The growth of AI will raise deep ethical questions around bias, privacy, and surveillance, requiring robust regulations and accountability measures.
Healthcare and Quality of Life: The positive impact of AI in healthcare, transportation, and environment will improve human quality of life significantly, but this will be tempered by potential drawbacks like inequality and mental health issues.
The next 10 years of AI development will be a double-edged sword. AI will lead to enormous strides in human quality of life. But it will also present new challenges that must be carefully managed. Only deliberate, reasonable and thoughtful global limitations on AI will prevent the worst predictions from coming true.
Spiller Law is an advisor to startup businesses, entertainment and media companies, and artists. Feel free to schedule a free consultation.
Spiller Law is a San Francisco business, entertainment, and estate planning law firm. We serve clients in the San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, and California. Feel free to arrange a free consultation using the Schedule Appointment link on our website. For other questions, call our offices at 415-991-7298.
The information provided in this article is for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice or opinion. Readers are advised to consult with their legal counsel for specific advice.
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