When the mobility community gathered in Atlanta for the ITS World Congress 2025, held August 24 through 28, one thing was clear. The future of transportation is not arriving someday in the distance. It is already here.

Artificial intelligence dominated the conversation. Not as a research experiment but as a working solution. Las Vegas is saving twelve minutes in emergency response. West Virginia is preventing bridge failures with continuous monitoring. Europe is using AI to forecast climate risks and manage predictive safety. Each case proved that AI is no longer theoretical. It is being deployed now.

And yet, the real headline was not technology. It was trust.

Trust in data. Trust in transparency. Trust that these systems will serve people and not the other way around. Without that belief, the best technical solutions will never scale. Every panel came back to this point, whether discussing predictive maintenance, multimodal integration, or cybersecurity. Trust has to be built deliberately and reinforced through communication and results that people can see and feel.

Multimodal innovation added energy to the week. Taipei is using predictive AI to synchronize metro, bus, and bikeshare so that trips feel continuous. Las Vegas is weaving transit and rideshare into one flow rather than a series of disconnected choices. Atlanta showed how Georgia is stepping forward, with the Cumberland Hopper shuttle offering lessons on safety, ride quality, and public opinion. The state’s supportive environment and research base make it fertile ground for advancing mobility.

Digital infrastructure was everywhere in the discussion. 5G, V2X, edge computing, digital twins are no longer optional extras. They are becoming the operating layer of mobility. Verizon’s massive spectrum and network investments, European standard setting, and new models from Auckland Transport illustrated what is possible. But without interoperability, shared policy, and regulatory clarity, these technologies will stay confined to pilots. Cybersecurity came through as well. From protecting networks to training operations staff in digital resilience, it was clear that security underpins every other element.

And then there was the human factor.

The success of autonomy will depend on how people interact with it. The Human Machine Interface is the bridge between trust and adoption. Poorly designed systems risk confusion and hesitation. Interfaces that feel natural and empowering will open the door for rapid acceptance. At AutoMobility Advisors we believe this is one of the most important conversations in the industry today, which is why our upcoming white paper focuses on HMI as the key to making autonomous driving viable at scale.