Forecasting really is a waste of time. Fears of a big hit to confidence and the economy after Donald Trump unveiled his tariff plan in April proved misplaced, even if the longer-term impact of what happens in Washington is going to be vital.

So what fundamentals did change this year? The most obvious has been the gradual but steady invasion of artificial intelligence (AI) into all our lives. I remember early this year being struck by someone who organised an international conference telling me how hours of work that would normally have gone into providing an information pack on the sector were slashed by the use of AI – and a bit of tidying-up.

This was the year AI moved from something “out there” to an urgent business consideration across many sectors. It was also the key factor inflating a stock-market bubble that just seems to keep going. But everyone is still trying to work their way through what it will all mean.

As scientist Dr Ciarán Seoighe – a former senior executive at Research Ireland and now head of Forensics Ireland – said when he appeared before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on AI: “There is no scientific consensus in the community on what exactly AI is: there are those who believe AI is the best thing ever, and there are those who believe it is the end of mankind.”

[ Could we be on........

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