The oxygen of publicity this year has mostly been consumed by our two-lettered friend, AI. There’s no reason to think this will change in 2026.
However, through the magic of journalism, here’s a world where that’s not true, a world where other things are happening that will shape the future. We like to call it the real world, and here’s what’s happening there and why it matters.
* Structural battery composites
* Next-generation nuclear power
* Accessibility – not just a good idea, it’s the law
* Cyber Security Mesh meets Zero Trust
Scope_Dog on
All interesting points that aren’t discussed enough. I would add lab grown meat to the list.
TF-Fanfic-Resident on
The only one that really strikes me as “cool” and noticeable is the structural battery composites, which sound straight out of science fiction to me. The nuclear revival is basically dusting off old plans that in some cases have been around since the 1950s but were shelved due to a couple of spectacular mismanagement cases. The website accessibility and cybersecurity changes are mostly invisible to the general public. (Aside from the likely increase in multi-factor authorization, which is a real pain in the butt. I hope that humans either learn to be decent to people outside their family or make way for a species that is.)
CautiousRice on
The real question for 2026 is not about AI, it’s how many people will be affected by the ongoing structural crisis. The current hype is about removing people from their job, trough costs savings or AI. This is a potent force to cause a dramatic negative impact in the societies around the globe.
Otherwise, what good can AI bring in 2026? More chatbots? Better chatbots? Better coding agents? More deepfakes? Scams? You won’t notice any difference, unless your boss decides to take the cost cutting route.
4 Comments
The oxygen of publicity this year has mostly been consumed by our two-lettered friend, AI. There’s no reason to think this will change in 2026.
However, through the magic of journalism, here’s a world where that’s not true, a world where other things are happening that will shape the future. We like to call it the real world, and here’s what’s happening there and why it matters.
* Structural battery composites
* Next-generation nuclear power
* Accessibility – not just a good idea, it’s the law
* Cyber Security Mesh meets Zero Trust
All interesting points that aren’t discussed enough. I would add lab grown meat to the list.
The only one that really strikes me as “cool” and noticeable is the structural battery composites, which sound straight out of science fiction to me. The nuclear revival is basically dusting off old plans that in some cases have been around since the 1950s but were shelved due to a couple of spectacular mismanagement cases. The website accessibility and cybersecurity changes are mostly invisible to the general public. (Aside from the likely increase in multi-factor authorization, which is a real pain in the butt. I hope that humans either learn to be decent to people outside their family or make way for a species that is.)
The real question for 2026 is not about AI, it’s how many people will be affected by the ongoing structural crisis. The current hype is about removing people from their job, trough costs savings or AI. This is a potent force to cause a dramatic negative impact in the societies around the globe.
Otherwise, what good can AI bring in 2026? More chatbots? Better chatbots? Better coding agents? More deepfakes? Scams? You won’t notice any difference, unless your boss decides to take the cost cutting route.