Year in Review: AI’s Cultural Surprises – and Spectacular Failures

In a world where AI was suddenly everywhere, what will be remembered about 2025? How can we tell future generations what it looked like when miraculous surprises mixed with day-to-day disappointments in a never-ending cycle of worry and hope …

In an annual tradition, it’s time for our “final closing ceremony” for the year gone by, our carefully-curated collection of small moments with big implications.

And in 2025 we started seeing AI’s impact on society — for better or worse.

Hungry, Hungry AI Bots

2025 was the year that the Free…