- Increase in autonomous taxis and availability
The writing is already on the wall for this one. Waymo, Uber, and Lyft are all exploring cities to add robotaxis, with Uber and Lyft hoping to add robotaxis in London next year. Waymo is also hoping to begin offering services in D.C. in 2026.
I asked Councilmember Charles Allen about the topic recently. Here’s what he had to say:
“Autonomous vehicles will likely operate in the District of Columbia in the near future. But I don’t think D.C. residents want to see them rushed onto our streets until we have the right laws in place and know — not hope — that the technology will deliver the safety and opportunity we are hoping for,” said Allen.
Also, Tesla has been perfecting their Full Self Driving (supervised) feature. Meantime, Ford has BlueCruise, which is becoming more popular.
“BlueCruise, formerly known as Active Drive Assist, is an automated driving technology that allows for completely hands-free driving on prequalified sections of highways, as opposed to other automated driving technologies that require you to keep your hands on the wheel,” according to Ford’s website.
- Artificial Intelligence/chatbots will be incorporated into jobs/daily routines
We’re already seeing this in the federal government, with the addition of GenAi.mil this month.
Today, we are unleashing https://t.co/NzcgVsCcI2
This platform puts the worlds most powerful frontier AI models directly into the hands of every American warrior.
We will continue to aggressively field the world’s best technology to make our fighting force more lethal than ever… pic.twitter.com/jqAhN32zjQ
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) December 9, 2025
- Return of long-form content
Sites like Substack are already becoming more popular, with people looking for more ways to connect with storytellers.
It’s also evidenced by the number of viewers flocking to YouTube. “Viewers watched over 400 million hours of podcasts per month on YouTube’s TV app alone. On Spotify, more than 250 million users streamed video podcasts in just the first five months of the year,” according to Disrupt Marketing.
We’re also seeing this in the local DC metro market, with more local news companies pushing out long-form content via apps and more.
- Content creator economy will continue to grow
“Once viewed as a playground for influencers, today’s creator economy is at the center of serious business strategies — and it’s only getting bigger. Goldman Sachs predicts it could nearly double to $480 billion by 2027, according to their 2023 Creator Economy report.” – Forbes
What trends are you watching?