Why 2025 may be a ‘gap year’ in gen AI, tech, media, and telecom

Industry will need to find the right balance between emerging opportunities and challenges. To help businesses and industries thrive, gaps in seven key areas will need to be closed.

Businesses must close gaps in key areas during AI adoption

Deloitte predicts this year will be marked by seven important gaps that need to be bridged to realise today’s potential for generative AI and the technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT) sector.

The TMT sector is on the verge of a significant leap forward, largely powered by rapid AI adoption. But to get there, the industry will need to find the right balance between emerging opportunities and challenges, according to the Australian edition of TMT Predictions 2025.

Specifically, to help businesses and industries thrive, gaps in seven key areas will need to be closed:

The generative AI data centre electricity and sustainability gap. Generative AI data centres require unprecedented amounts of power, preferably low carbon, which is creating a gap between their needs and the capacities of electrical grids, and companies’ sustainability targets. Data centres in Australia are predicted to consume more than 8 per cent of national electricity by 2030, up from 5 per cent in 2024. This is forcing operators to consider more sustainable, innovative and reliable energy solutions. In 2025, 90 per cent of data centres currently in development will seek to attain NABER’s 5-star environmental performance rating while reducing their Scope 2 emissions by up to 10 per cent through the use of liquid cooling solutions.

The generative AI gender gap. The gender gap in AI adoption persists with lower trust, education and employment participation driving the shortfall. Half of all women in the Australian workplace use and trust generative AI compared to almost three quarters (70 per cent) of men. In 2025, Australian women will account for 40 per cent of AI-related educational enrolments and 20 per cent of AI employment participation, driven by educational institutions and businesses continuing to promote initiatives specifically designed to increase female participation.

Peter Corbett is Deloitte Australia Lead Partner of Telecommunications, Media and Technology

The generative AI deepfake trust gap. The proliferation of deepfake generative AI content is making it harder for consumers to trust their own eyes and ears. That gap needs to be bridged by the generative AI ecosystem via measures such as comprehensively and immutably labelling generative AI content as well as reliably and accurately detecting fake images in real time. Deepfake attacks are expected to double in 2025, impacting over 40 per cent of Australian businesses, with increased use of social engineering tactics to bypass human controls. The number of consumers targeted by deepfake scams is expected to rise from around a third (36 per cent) in 2024 to half of all consumers in 2025. Women are being disproportionately impacted by deepfake harassment with nine of every 10 incidents targeting females. The marginal cost of creating convincing deepfakes is falling; the cost of detection needs to decline at an equivalent pace to help close the gap.

The device gap. When it comes to on-device generative AI, it’s estimated more than half of Australian smartphones will be AI-enabled by the end of 2025. This is driven by the dominance of premium brands like Apple, with its market share of 55 per cent locally compared to 25 per cent globally. The growing adoption of AI-enabled smartphones will push out device upgrade cycles. The average premium smartphone will be replaced every four years, an increase of six months from 2023.

The streaming video gap. Many media and entertainment companies assumed consumers would “buy and hold” multiple subscriptions but bundling will need to help fill the growth gap as customers look to cut costs. Seventy-five per cent of Australians say they are concerned over rising SVOD costs. Demand for SVOD services will remain stable but bundling and ad-tiers will play an important role with three-quarters of Australians concerned about rising costs. Fifteen per cent of non-bundling consumers will bundle their subscriptions in response to cost pressures and subscription fatigue. Growth in ad-supported streaming is expected rise from 11 per cent in 2024 to 18 per cent in 2025. When it comes to content creation, generative AI will help drive efficiencies and unlock value for studios, but IP concerns will limit content use cases. and dropping others.

The autonomous generative AI agent gap. Autonomous generative AI agents are impacting the TMT sector but Australian businesses will take a cautious “wait-and-see” approach to AI agent deployment, reflecting the country’s broader trend of slow Gen AI adoption. Uptake is expected to enhance efficiency, particularly in the manufacturing, retail, professional service, and health care industries. But despite the hype for AI agents, investment in local start-ups is expected to remain subdued, with total funding estimated to remain below $50 million until 2027.

The studio generative AI usage gap. Many expect large TV and film studios to be using generative AI for content production, and some are, but there is a gap between those expectations and reality. Many are cautious about challenges with intellectual property inherent to generative content, but they are keen to gain enterprise capabilities that can reduce time, lower costs, and expand their reach. Less than 5 per cent of studio production budgets will be allocated to AI tools due to tightening regulations on AI in content creation, such as intellectual property and screen practitioners’ rights.

We are at a pivotal moment in the history of human invention. Future generations will almost certainly look back on the choices we make today. By navigating the path forward with trust, inclusivity, and sustainability at the forefront, industry advancements can benefit not only the current generation but those that follow.

Further insights into these gaps can be found in the Australian TMT Predictions 2025 report. The full Global TMT Predictions 2025 report is also available.

Peter Corbett is Deloitte Australia Lead Partner of Telecommunications, Media and Technology.

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