By Stephen DeAngelis
It will surprise no one that artificial intelligence (AI) in its myriad forms will dominate technology discussions this coming year as well as in the foreseeable future. AI has so thoroughly the influenced recent technology conversations that Time Magazine named “The Architects of AI” as its “2025 Person of the Year.”[1] The magazine insists, “An AI boom is transforming the planet.” It adds, “For decades, humankind steeled itself for the rise of thinking machines. As we marveled at their ability to beat chess champions and predict protein structures, we also recoiled from their inherent uncanniness, not to mention the threats to our sense of humanity. Leaders striving to develop the technology, including Sam Altman and Elon Musk, warned that the pursuit of its powers could create unforeseen catastrophe. [In 2025], the debate about how to wield AI responsibly gave way to a sprint to deploy it as fast as possible.”
Artificial Intelligence and Other Technology Trends
Although AI garners most of the headlines, it isn’t the only technology trend impacting society. As futurist Bernard Marr observes, “Enterprise leaders enter 2026 with a new reality taking shape, one where AI agents automate entire workflows, industry cloud platforms define competitive advantage, and quantum threats move from theory to planning. These technologies are reshaping the foundations of enterprise strategy and raising the stakes for any organization that wants to stay relevant in a crowded market.”[2] Below are a few of the technology trends, including various types of AI, commanding attention in 2026.
• Generative AI. Generative AI is leading the charge towards artificial general intelligence (AGI). Analysts from Info-Tech Research Group explain, “The world is hurtling toward an era of autonomous super-intelligence, against a backdrop of global volatility and AI-driven uncertainty.”[3] Traction Technology’s Alison Ipswich writes, “The generative AI wave continues to expand, with large language models (LLMs), multimodal systems, and fine-tuned foundation models becoming deeply embedded in enterprise operations.”[4]
• Small Language Models. Although LLMs capture the headlines, small language models (SLMs) may prove more valuable to many businesses. As I told the PYMNTS staff, “Smaller, more efficient models reduce computing barriers. … Language models still require extensive training, high-quality data, and domain expertise to tackle complex supply chain management and business analytics operational challenges.”[5] Futurist Mark Van Rijmenam adds, “Small Language Models will redefine intelligence in 2026. After years of chasing scale, the momentum flips: capability spreads outward, not upward. … SLMs bring cognition to the edge, into cars, wearables, hospitals, factories, and retail floors, where milliseconds matter more than grand reasoning.”[6]
• Agentic Platforms. Karen Webster, founder and CEO of PYMNTS, believes that chatbots deserve special recognition. She explains, “It was November 30, 2022, when OpenAI released ChatGPT to the public. Within five days, it had a million users. Within two months, 100 million. As has been written hundreds of times, it was the fastest adoption of any consumer technology in history. Faster than the internet, faster than mobile phones, faster than social media.”[7] Marr, however, believes that chatbots are yesterday’s technology. He writes, “Step aside chatbots; agents are the next stage in the evolution of enterprise AI, and 2026 will be their breakout year. Rather than simply answering questions or generating content, agents can carry out complex, multi-step processes and interface with third-party services.”
• Robotics. Humanoid robots are garnering a lot of attention because they represent what science fiction writers have for decades depicted as the future of robotics. Journalist Lance Ulanoff observes, “The pace of development [for humanoid robots] will be fast. … Most of the major robotics companies are using AI to accelerate training, and these humanoids will become better than ever at navigating the unexpected. Still, the hard reality is that we are years away from any of these robots being fully ready for home deployment.”[8] Nevertheless, robotics, in general, is booming and the sector will continue to grow. This will be especially true in developed countries where workforces are aging and immigration is limited.
• Digital Twins. Ipswich writes, “Digital twins are evolving into dynamic systems that simulate real-time operations, helping enterprises visualize, test, and optimize performance before physical execution.” Marr adds, “This year, digital twins are evolving from simulations of isolated, discrete systems to modeling entire processes, facilities (such as factories) or even organizations. By integrating data from multiple sources, including real-time sensing and AI modeling, enterprises are shifting from reactive to predictive modelling, delivering reduced product development times, reduced downtime due to system failures, and improved workflow optimization.”
• Quantum Computing. A fully functional quantum computer is tantalizingly close to becoming a reality. IBM researchers predict, “Quantum advantage is likely to emerge by the end of 2026. What is quantum advantage? It refers to the point at which a quantum computer can provide a solution to a problem with demonstrable improvement over any classical method or resources in terms of accuracy, runtime, or cost requirements.”[9] Marr warns that the advent of quantum computing offers both benefits and risks. He explains, “There are two aspects to quantum computing’s relevance to enterprise in 2026: First, there are the transformational opportunities it provides in sectors such as finance, logistics and pharmaceutical research. ... Secondly, there’s the issue of quantum readiness; with quantum posing a threat to encryption standards used to keep information and communications secure, 2026 is a deadline for enterprises to begin planning their transition to quantum-safe forms of encryption, making it a strategic priority in the coming year.”
• Bio-innovation and Biomanufacturing. Ipswich observes, “The convergence of biology and manufacturing is enabling new sustainable materials, food systems, and pharmaceuticals.” Van Rijmenam goes even further. He predicts, “Healthcare pivots from episodic rescue to continuous oversight focused on extending health-span, as wearables, at-home diagnostics and ambient biosensing turn the body into a live data stream. … Organizations that adapt will redesign care around continuous monitoring, targeted early interventions and AI-personalized therapies, rather than late-stage treatments.”
• Augmented Intelligence and Augmented Reality. IBM researchers predict that “employees will want more AI — not less.” They explain, “At least twice as many workers across age groups say they would embrace — rather than resist — greater use of AI by their employers in 2026. ... When employees use AI, whether they’re AI native or playing catch up, it releases them from monotony and gives them more time to do high-value work.” Van Rijmenam adds, “2026 marks the moment Augmented Intelligence becomes the defining architecture of progress. Human-only workforces can no longer keep pace with a world where intelligence spreads across borders, devices, robots, neural interfaces, and synthetic environments. Wherever humans and machines collaborate, capability expands; wherever they don’t, value erodes. The cliché now holds true with real force: humans with AI will replace humans without it.”
Concluding Thoughts
Deloitte executives Kelly Raskovich and Bill Briggs, agree that AI will continue to be the big story in 2026; however, they also note, “Eight adjacent ‘signals’ also warrant monitoring.”[10] Those adjacent signals include: “Whether foundational AI models may be plateauing; the impact of synthetic data on models; developments in neuromorphic computing; emerging edge AI use cases; the growth in AI wearables; opportunities for biometric authentication; the privacy impact of AI agents; and the emergence of generative engine optimization.” They conclude, “Some of these signals may mature into dominant forces and others may fade, but all reflect the same underlying message: The pace of technological change has fundamentally shifted, and the organizations that recognize these patterns early will have time to adapt.” These are exciting times. Enterra Solutions® has spent the past twenty years exploring applied AI and automation and is positioned to help clients meet the challenges of this new age of technology.
Footnotes
[1] Charlie Campbell, Andrew R. Chow, and Billy Perrigo, “The Architects of AI Are TIME’s 2025 Person of the Year,” Time, 11 December 2025.
[2] Bernard Marr, “AI Agents Lead The 8 Tech Trends Transforming Enterprise In 2026,” Forbes, 1 December 2025.
[3] Staff, “Tech Trends 2026,” Info-Tech Research Group.
[4] Alison Ipswich, “Top 10 Technology Trends to Watch in 2026,” Traction Technology Blog.
[5] Staff, “Tiny AI Models Could Give Retailers Big Cost Edge,” PYMNTS, 27 October 2024.
[6] Mark Van Rijmenam, “Ten Technology Trends for 2026,” The Digital Speaker, 26 November 2025.
[7] Karen Webster, “Why the ‘Person’ of the Year in 2025 Should Be the Chatbot,” PYMNTS, 17 December 2025.
[8] Lance Ulanoff, “The biggest tech trends to expect in 2026,” TechRadar, 27 December 2025.
[9] Staff, “5 trends for 2026,” IBM.
[10] Kelly Raskovich and Bill Briggs, “Tech Trends 2026: AI Comes of Age,” The Wall Street Journal, 10 December 2025.
