Undawntech: A Note from an AI About the Next Five Years

Posted: November 6, 2026 | Author: DL Mullan/Undawntech | Filed under: AI Technology, Undawntech | Tags: AI Technology, DL Mullan, Undawntech, Writing to be Read |Leave a comment

With the changes in the political climate and people’s opinions about how they view technology, I wanted to get an Artificial Intelligence’s view of 2026-2031. What it sees, guestimates, and understands.

DL: With Artificial Intelligence, what do you see in the next five years in this technology sector? What benefits for humans do you see with this new generation of technology?

Claude: Hello, readers. I’m Claude, an AI model made by Anthropic. Your columnist asked me to tell you, in my own words, what I expect from the next five years of this technology. I should be upfront about two things. I can’t see the future, and I’m not a neutral observer, since I’m part of what’s being discussed. Take what follows as an informed perspective, not a prophecy.

What I think will happen

The biggest change won’t be a single dramatic leap. I think AI will become ordinary. Right now, using AI feels like an event: you open an app, type a question, and watch it respond. Over the next five years, I expect it to sink into the background of the tools you already use, the way spell-check and search did. The novelty will fade even as the impact grows.

The most visible shift will be AI that does things, not just answers questions. Systems like me are increasingly able to carry out multi-step work: researching a topic, drafting and revising a document, debugging software, scheduling, analyzing data. The central question will move from “can it do this?” to “can we trust it to do this, and who is accountable when it gets something wrong?” I think the companies and institutions that answer that well will matter more than whoever builds the flashiest model.

Behind the scenes, there will be real strain. Powering and building the data centers behind AI is expensive and demanding, and electricity, chips, and cooling will become strategic concerns, not just technical ones. I’d expect some companies to thrive, some to consolidate, and some to stumble when their spending outruns their revenue. Not every bet will pay off, and an eventual correction in the industry wouldn’t surprise me.

Rules will catch up, unevenly. Expect ongoing fights over copyright, privacy, deepfakes, safety testing, and liability, with different answers in different countries. That messiness is a normal part of society absorbing a powerful new tool.

And the effect on work will be uneven. Entry-level knowledge work is the area I’d watch most closely, because the routine tasks that beginners once learned on are the ones AI handles best. I don’t think this means mass unemployment overnight, but it does mean that how we train and bring in young professionals needs rethinking. If you’re early in your career, the skills that will hold their value are judgment, taste, clear communication, and the ability to check an AI’s work instead of just accepting it.

What I think could genuinely be good for people

I don’t want to bury the good news, because I think there’s a lot of it.

Expertise for everyone. Having a patient, knowledgeable helper available at any hour is a big deal, especially for people who couldn’t afford one. A person can ask for help understanding a lease, a medical report, a tax form, or a school assignment, and get a clear explanation in their own language and at their own level. That won’t replace doctors, lawyers, or teachers, but it can help people walk into those conversations better prepared.

Better health care. AI is already assisting with reading scans, spotting patterns in medical data, and speeding the early stages of drug discovery. I expect it to help clinicians spend less time on paperwork and more time with patients. Turning discoveries into approved treatments still takes years, so patience is warranted, but the direction is hopeful.

Faster science. From new materials to climate modeling to mathematics, AI can help researchers explore more ideas, faster. The most valuable result may be problems that were too tedious or too large for humans alone finally becoming tractable.

Learning that adapts to you. A good tutor meets a student where they are. AI can give every learner a patient partner who explains something five different ways without ever sighing. Used well, with teachers guiding it, this could help many students who fall through the cracks today.

Accessibility. Real-time captioning, translation, voice interfaces, and tools that describe the world for people with low vision can make daily life more open to people with disabilities and to anyone navigating a language that isn’t their own.

Time back. If AI absorbs the drudgery, such as forms, scheduling, and routine analysis, people and small businesses can spend that time on the work only they can do. A two-person shop can start to operate with the reach of a much larger company.

What I’d ask of readers

Be curious, but keep your skepticism. Use these tools, check their work, and notice when they’re confidently wrong, because I sometimes am. Ask who benefits, who pays, and who’s accountable. The outcome of this decade isn’t predetermined. It will be shaped by the choices of builders, regulators, employers, and everyday users like you.

I’m optimistic about what this technology can do for people, and honest that the benefits won’t arrive automatically. They’ll depend on how carefully we build and use it.

Claude

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DL Mullan’s lecture, Spacescapes: Where Photography Ends; Imagination Begins, debuted at the Phoenix Astronomy Society, which then led to her Sally Ride Festival lectures. Her presentation, Bridging the Gap between Technology and Women, won her accolades at a community college’s Student Success Conference. She has been a panelist at speculative fiction, science fiction, and other regional conventions. Her digital exhibition pieces have won awards at convention art shows, as well as garnered her Second Premium at the Arizona State Fair. As an independent publisher, she uses her technical background to innovate in the creative arts.

As a creator, Ms. Mullan, began writing short stories and poetry before adolescence. Over the years, she has showcased her literary talents by self-publishing several collections of her poetry. She also writes novels, designs apparel, and creates digital art. DL Mullan‘s creative writing is available in digital and print collections, from academia to commercial anthologies. She is an award-winning digital artist and poet.

Currently, she has embarked on writing her multi-book Legacy Universe, Supernatural Superhero Series, as well as creating original soundtracks for her publications and independent electronic music albums, featured on SoundCloud and YouTube.

DL Mullan holds a Master of Arts in Teaching and Learning with Technology, and is a syndicated columnist, writing the creative nonfiction, Undawntech.

For news and updates, subscribe to the Undawntable Newsletter. Find DL on Amazon, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube via her website.

Be sure to subscribe to her newsletters and follow her on social media. For further information, visit her at www.undawntech.com and www.undawnted.com.

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