This is a submission for the 2025 New Year Writing challenge: Predicting 2025.
Ideas on the Current and Future Roles of Software: 2025
In 2025, much of the core software we all use daily has already been developed, refined to a satisfactory level and is firmly in place. Web browsers, text editors, media players, file converters, command line utilities - these essential tools form the backbone of our digital experience and are well represented. Creating yet another text editor or custom Linux distro, while educational and fulfilling, may not be the most effective way to stand out in today's competitive software development landscape. The software ecosystem is already saturated with highly mature and well-established solutions to so many of our basic daily needs.
Still, there is room in these areas for improvement, such as interoperability, requiring new tools that can bridge gaps between legacy systems as well as integrate with newer cloud platforms. Documentation is also important and lacking in many areas. Who wants to create documentation? Even with software tools, it's tedious work. But it's important and necessary and an area that's under represented. So even these entrenched applications and tools that we all know and use can benefit from new plugins and improved documentation.
New drivers continue to shape the software development field - still emerging technologies such as AI, machine learning and blockchain systems. These technologies are game-changers and will require specialized solutions and seamless integration into current and legacy infrastructure and the will certainly be interacting with each other as well.
The demand for customizable, personalized software experiences and satisfying user interfaces also remains strong, especially in industries like healthcare and education, where tailored solutions are key to user satisfaction. UX developers will become more valuable as technology becomes more complex.
Cybersecurity: The Paramount Priority for 2025
But, while these areas of development are vital and important, I feel the most urgent need in 2025 will be in the area of security and privacy. As technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, so too do the tactics and methods employed by cybercriminals. Data breaches, ransomware attacks, and other forms of cybercrime are becoming more frequent and more sophisticated. The cost of these attacks, both financial and reputational, can be devastating for individuals and organizations alike.
The rapid advancement of AI technologies have introduced new complexities to software security in 2025. AI empowers cybercriminals and malicious entities with more sophisticated tools, enabling them to automate attacks, analyze vulnerabilities, and craft highly personalized phishing attempts. AI can also bypass security systems, manipulate public opinion, or conduct espionage. Even our own governments, corporations and organizations can pose a threat due to unprecedented access to the best of these advanced new technologies.
Quantum computing, with its immense processing power, poses an even greater threat. Though there are only a few dozen quantum computers currently in use globally, their potential is undeniable. Google's Willow is a good example - it recently crossed significant thresholds in error correction and scalability. It and other quantum computers could soon be able to break current encryption methods, rendering today’s standard security measures obsolete. Governments or organizations with quantum capabilities could decrypt secure communications, disrupting privacy and security on a massive scale.
Cybersecurity professionals and developers will be needed to confront these emerging threats by developing systems that anticipate AI-driven or quantum-powered attacks. Integrating quantum-resistant encryption and AI-driven monitoring systems will be essential for defending against these new threats. AI itself will need to be employed as a tool in conjunction with skilled developers to measure up to the sheer computing power now available to potential attackers.
Cybersecurity skills will continue to be a crucial element in safeguarding systems at every level - from simple home networks to the countless servers that make up the world's computer infrastructure. I feel that even the most skilled software developer could benefit from a deeper understanding of computer networking. It's true that there are safeguards in place in all of our operating systems and in the form of encrypted network devices. Still, an awareness of how data moves across networks enables users to implement preventative measures like encryption, segmentation, and secure routing. Remember, cybercriminals are learning and progressing along with the rest of us.
Going forward, UX developers can be invaluable in providing new and better interfaces that can be easier for users of all levels to monitor and secure their online interactions. After all, many attacks, though not all, come through some weak point in the victim's network.
In 2025, as AI and quantum computing advance to unimaginable levels of capability, software developers will be called upon to prioritize security and privacy, and mitigate the unique risks posed by bad actors. We ALL can and should arm ourselves with a deeper knowledge of networking and security methods.
It can be challenging and to pull away from the text editor and learn a bit of hardware and networking, but it's also a fascinating area and enhances overall understanding. While skills with programming languages and frameworks will continue to result in exciting, new creations, software is not the only element in our world's infrastructure. All software runs on some form of hardware and everything is connected through complex networking. A little exploration into understanding the realms of hardware and networking can round out and complete a developer's skill set. As AI, machine learning, neural networks and blockchain technologies become more and more integrated in our systems, we're likely going to have to look at everything that's already in place in new ways.
Ben Santora – January 2025
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