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The smartphone is dead. Not today, not tomorrow, but it’s on borrowed time. We obsessed over information bricks — but what did they cost us? Hunched backs. Broken focus. A less connected human experience despite being more “connected” than ever. Innovation in the smartphone has reached its evolutionary endpoint. What comes next isn’t just another screen — it’s no screen at all. AI isn’t just coming — it’s already here. We’re building humanoids that will think, reason, and yes, finally clean the house. Agents will write, research, and plan for us. “It wasn’t me. It was my Agentic AI” will become the new excuse. The way we live and interact with the world is bound to evolve.

I was 13 when I wrote my first cover story. The process: endless Google searches, countless articles, and a documentary—all to honor Nelson Mandela. My “groundbreaking” tool? A Nexus 4 with Google Voice assistant and an iPad powered by Siri for jokes and calculations.

Today, tools like Claude AI and ChatGPT have cut that effort in half. Deep research, fragmented thoughts, and messy notes transform into quality articles within seconds. This piece is living proof.

Our grandparents saw computers replacing manual calculations. Our parents witnessed information democratized through the internet. We were blessed with smartphones and tablets. Now, as we close this decade, we stand at the threshold of something far more profound: technology that doesn’t just assist us, but understands, anticipates, and eventually becomes us. In fact, we are seeing another generational shift with the AI boom. 

As we inch closer to the end of the decade, we are amidst another technological revolution—one that will disrupt every industry and forever evolve our way of living.

The Death of Smartphones

Let’s be clear: the smartphone has a stupid form factor. We’re hunched, squinting creatures going blind and deaf thanks to these bricks with screens. It’s not a matter of if they’ll disappear—it’s when.

We mocked Meta Glasses and the “ridiculous” Vision Pro. We ridiculed the Humane AI Pin, leading to its demise. What we miss is that these aren’t failures—they’re prototypes of what comes next. These seemingly awkward stepping stones will evolve into seamless computing experiences that free our hands, straighten our posture, and restore our connection to the physical world.

Within 10 years, 20 at most, smartphones will join PDAs in the museum of obsolete technology. Computing will disappear into our clothing, jewelry, eyewear, and eventually, our bodies themselves. The brain-computer interface market will exceed $1.6 billion by 2045, and early adapters are already heading there with Neuralink trials.

AI’s Next Chapter? Agentic.

Nvidia’s Agentic AI reasoning model presented at GTC 2025. (Nvidia)

Today’s AI—impressive as it seems—is still in infancy. Nvidia’s GTC 2025 showed us a glimpse of what’s coming: systems that understand context and meaning, not just patterns and predictions.

As Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang put it, we’re witnessing the evolution from “computer vision” to “agentic AI”—systems with true agency that “can perceive and understand the context… can reason about how to solve a problem, and can plan an action.”

This isn’t incremental change. It’s a “$1 trillion computing inflection point” with computational demands 100 times greater than just a year ago. 

GTC 2025 fortifies Nvidia’s path towards world domination. Leading in Quantum computing and supercomputers, Nvidia has laid the foundation to power the next generation of AI. After all, Putin predicted that the leader of AI will “become the ruler of the world.” 

Robots: Our New Companions

AI without a body can only do so much. The true revolution arrives when AI gains physical form through robotics. Unlike today’s single-purpose factory machines, these will be general-purpose assistants capable of learning and adapting to specific needs.

Nvidia’s vision of humanoid robots taking on daily tasks. (Nvidia)

Nvidia’s Isaac GR00T N1—”the world’s first open, fully customizable foundation model for generalized humanoid reasoning”—isn’t science fiction. It’s the early prototype of what will become a “$10 trillion industry” addressing a global shortage of “50 million workers.”

The Disruption

Let’s stop speculating and face facts: traditional employment will transform dramatically. Many current human jobs will be performed by AI and robots. But this isn’t dystopia—it’s liberation.

Think about it: What if we weren’t destined for data entry and mundane programming? What if we were meant for creativity, connection, and solving humanity’s greatest challenges? What if technology finally frees us to be more human, not less?

We won’t need to hunch over screens. We won’t need to perform repetitive tasks. We can focus our collective intelligence on eradicating disease, exploring the cosmos, and addressing climate change—with AI as our partner, not our replacement.

Yes, “Back to the Future” promised flying cars by 2015. Not every prediction materializes on schedule. But make no mistake — the invisible machine age is coming.

Wearables will replace smartphones. Ambient computing will replace screens. AI agents will handle life’s administrative burdens. And humans will simply think what they want, and watch it manifest.

It’s an inflection point more significant than any in human history—not because of the technology itself, but because of how it will transform what it means to be human.

The more I think about where we are headed as a species, the more I am reminded of Pixar’s 2008 movie “Wall-E.” In fact, Jensen Huang’s robotic companion closing GTC 2025, Blue, looked like Wall-E’s twin. Clearly, the 2008 movie had answers to what the future holds for us. 

Ready or not, the future is here.

 

Featured image from Shutterstock.