2025 starts a new generation, literally.
Generation Beta, which began on Jan. 1, goes through 2039. Many Gen Betas will live to see the 22nd
century before they’ve even retired — and experience a new world of technology that hasn’t been
invented yet.
They follow the aging and hard-working Boomers, middle-age Generation X that prides itself on
resiliency and grew up riding bicycles till dark, Generation Y (more commonly known as
Millennials), Generation Z, which is the first generation never to know the world without the internet,
and Generation Alpha, the first generation to be born entirely in the 21st century, where many are still
schoolchildren.
Here’s what the experts say are the predictions for this newest generation when it comes to health,
friendships and technology and more.
Artificial Intelligence
The evolution of artificial intelligence can change every aspect of life, said Arie Greenleaf, an NSU professor in the College of Psychology. “It could be a different world. We’ve only scratched the surface of AI integration into our lives. No one has a sense of where the new normal is. Where is the bottom, what does efficiency look like now?”
He said the children of Gen Beta will have jobs that don’t exist today.
“We will see AI take over the classroom,” he predicts. “It will be the meat and potatoes of education. And it will be radically personalized.”
And while he assures that the next generation won’t necessarily have fewer friends, he does think it
could be different.
“We don’t know if the same depth of connection can be reached,” Greenleaf said. “We may be going
through a transition in human history” where friendships can be a mix of online and real life.
“AI will be most people’s companion,” from friends to counselors to therapists, he said.
The next therapist could be a 3D hologram, or even a face, he said.
It could be as effective as a human, he said, and could eliminate mistakes that humans make — although he warned it could make its own mistakes.
“It will know you better than you know yourself,” he said, and it will have access to all therapy
techniques.
“The Beta Generation will prefer AI. That will be normal to them,” Greenleaf said.
The IQ of AI will soon outpace any human; risks include people losing their creativity, and challenges will
be “unprecedented.”
“It’s mind boggling to forecast,” he said. “That’s the big risk to this generation: What does it mean to be human, what does it mean to have an identity?”
Albert Williams, an economic professor with the College of Business and Entrepreneurship at NSU, is now teaching the students of Generation Alpha who are “extremely computer savvy and social media savvy.” That means that their children in a decade, who will be Generation Beta, will be “even more technologically savvy and they will also be more reliant on artificial intelligence to help them survive and to live.”
He theorizes Gen Beta will use artificial intelligence in ways not yet invented.
“That’s a great thing,” he assures. “AI, if used properly, is a great asset. Whenever they need
information they will not use standard Google, everyone will have AI co-pilots on their phone or avatar equivalent.”
He said at the ready, Generation Beta will have “information on finance, health, on education. As AI
becomes more intelligent, it will become more useful to the Beta generation.”
Socializing
Emi Guerra is co-founder of Miami-based Breakwater Hospitality Group, which owns food and cocktail businesses in South Florida, including The Wharf in Fort Lauderdale. It’s his business to stay on top of trends and keep customers coming in the doors.
“When we used to go out in the ’90s, the reason you went out back then is very different from the
reason you go out” now, he said. Thirty years ago it was to “be social, seek fashion, meet a guy or girl, meet people, you had to go out to a club, bar, a restaurant to hear music.
“Now, all that stuff you get from your phone,” he said. “Swipe right (if) you want to meet somebody, get
on your phone. Catch up on fashion, grab your phone.”
He anticipates Gen Beta to be more of the same, and it will be up to the hospitality industry how to reel them in and “stay at the forefront of trying new things” since “25 years from now, the reason they go out is going to be a lot different from the reason people go out today.”
Guerra thinks it will come down to “more curated experiences.”
He points to the seasonal Sublimotion in Ibiza, Spain, which has been described as the most expensive restaurant in the world. It has opened for seasons at the Mandarin Oriental Jumeira in Dubai at $2,000 per person and uses AI to transport guests into themed settings ranging from space to medieval times. Although the food served over many courses is reputably sublime, it’s the “whole experience” that draws the attention.
“Things like that will be more common,” Guerra said.
“I believe AI will become a massive part of what going out is,” he said. “I believe we can all have our
profiles uploaded someplace, staff members can read it. In the very near future, people (will be) walking into a restaurant and the bartender will know what you drink and your name. The tech will be that far.
You can be catered to almost without having to be asked a question.”
Today “you want to eat something, you press a few buttons and food gets delivered. It’s going to take
food to a next level too.
“The experiences are going to be unimaginable. The reasons people go out will change,” he predicts.
“Today a lot of hospitality experiences are contactless; you can sit down at a table with a QR (code), not talk to anybody. It’s almost uninterrupted,” he said. “I believe that’s only going to continue to evolve.”
Where to live
Matthew Schnur, the research and innovation manager of the Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority, anticipates more young people of Gen Beta choosing downtown for their first homes over
suburbia.
He said already there is an “unprecedented demand for human connection and human experiences” and that will only increase as the next generation becomes more digital and “glued to their devices.”
And, he said, those experiences they are seeking are often found in downtowns and urban centers
because it will be a place for people to both live and work. It is a “human connection outside digital and
tech world.”
The cities are keeping up with the demand: By 2029, downtown Fort Lauderdale is projected to have
more residents per square mile than other cities on the rise like Nashville and Denver, he said.
Schnur said living in a downtown will become more attractive to the next generation who crave
connection. “You’re going to see developers build off of that model: How does that next generation
choose to live — shared work spaces, living spaces, shared amenities.”
And governments may choose to invest in mass transit because “if the generation is striving for
connectivity and shared experiences (it) will be mass transit, but only if its reliable and on demand and a seamless experience.”
Russell Galbut is the Managing Principal at Crescent Heights, a real estate development company,
chairman of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, and chairman of GFO Investments, a private wealth
management firm.
“The world really belongs to the youth,” he said. “The one thing I’m absolutely sure of is it will be more
change coming. And that should be embraced.”
Travelers today are more sophisticated than ever, he said, and “they are traveling while they’re working. Those people are looking for flexible spaces, flexible hotels that have conference centers. They want to work but they want to travel and see the world.”
And they are more attuned to social justice issues such as the environment and will prefer hotels that pledge to reduce carbon emissions through sustainability. They also expect modern services: One of his properties, Ten Thousand, a residential tower in Los Angeles, has a robot named Charley that can deliver
packages including meals.
His company is also building 14 ROC, a 31-story project of new homes, in Miami’s Arts and
Entertainment District. A robot there too will make deliveries to your apartment. A state-of-the-art
podcast studio is being advertised as a key amenity “as a way to cater to Gen-Z and Millennial content
creators and young professionals.”
“That’s here to stay,” Galbut said of the new technology. “The days of front desk check-in (at hotels),
those are going to be gone. For sure the next generation, everybody is going to be checking in with their phone.”
Health
Dr. Azra Bihorac is the director of the Intelligent Clinical Care Center (IC3) at the University of Florida,
which develops “transformative medical AI research, education, and clinical applications to advance
patients’ health in critical and acute care medicine.”
She believes Gen Beta won’t be bothered by privacy concerns from the sensors on watches and phones that track facial recognition and voices.
“This generation is much more comfortable with that,” she said.
The next crop of babies could be wearing health sensors more often to detect blood levels and images.
“They are now being developed: You can carry them, others in your glasses for retina (studies), now
more and more sensors will be ingestible,” Bihorac said. “As we move on, things are going to get smaller and more precise.
“You’ll be able to probe to the molecular level, a real time representation of your health. That can happen one day.”
She anticipates that as the next step of preventive medicine, and the AI can become a round-the-clock parent, or coach, or doctor.
“AI will move to more coaching for health that can use your data and what you are doing in the given
moment,” she said, such as monitoring what you are eating with some helpful suggestions.
The progress in medical innovation could replace nurses and physician assistants with virtual physicians
who could “replicate ourselves” with virtual clinics for minor issues and “simple visits” such as reading
lab results.
“A lot of low-level care will be outsourced,” she predicts.
And she says Generation Beta will “by necessity, will become the most adaptable generation.” She said
they will have to figure out: “What it means to be a human” and develop those “unique human skills
that IA cannot replace. The human skills will be the highest commodities.”
What will that entail? It could be “friendships, compassion, idea creation.”
Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on X, formerly Twitter, @LisaHuriash
Defining the generations
- The Greatest Generation: 1901- 1927
- The Silent Generation: 1928 – 1945
- Baby Boomer Generation: 1946 – 1964
- Generation X: 1965 – 1980
- Generation Y Millennials: 1981 – 1996
- Generation Z: 1997 – 2012
- Generation Alpha: 2013 – 2024
- Generation Beta: Jan. 1, 2025 – 2039
A generation of fast facts
- The Boomer generation, named for the spike in births after WWII, “values and mindsets suggest
a generation that prioritizes efficiency and efficacy in the workplace but has little regard for a
work-life balance, with work tending to be the center of their lives,” according to Johns Hopkins
University. - Generation X grew up as the computer revolution was taking hold. It is known for being raised
with minimal adult supervision, according to Johns Hopkins University. - Most Millennials (Generation Y) came of age and entered the workforce facing the height of an
economic recession. Millennials also came of age during the internet explosion. According to the
Pew Research Center, Millennials are the most racially and ethnically diverse adult generation in
the nation’s history. It was the first to integrate moral values into the workplace, according to
Johns Hopkins University. - The iPhone launched in 2007, when the oldest Gen Zers were 10. Some experts also refer to this
generation as the iGen. Gen Z has also been named “the first global generation,” with access to
everything at just a click of a button, according to Johns Hopkins University.