Here are some of the the major AI trends shaping 2026 — based on current expert forecasts, industry reports, and recent developments in technology. The material is analyzed using AI tools and final version hand-edited to this blog text:
1. Generative AI Continues to Mature
Generative AI (text, image, video, code) will become more advanced and mainstream, with notable growth in:
* Generative video creation
* Gaming and entertainment content generation
* Advanced synthetic data for simulations and analytics
This trend will bring new creative possibilities — and intensify debates around authenticity and copyright.
2. AI Agents Move From Tools to Autonomous Workers
Rather than just answering questions or generating content, AI systems will increasingly act autonomously, performing complex, multi-step workflows and interacting with apps and processes on behalf of users — a shift sometimes called agentic AI. These agents will become part of enterprise operations, not just assistant features.
3. Smaller, Efficient & Domain-Specific Models
Instead of “bigger is always better,” specialized AI models tailored to specific industries (healthcare, finance, legal, telecom, manufacturing) will start to dominate in many enterprise applications. These models are more accurate, legally compliant, and cost-efficient than general models.
4. AI Embedded Everywhere
AI won’t be an add-on feature — it will be built into everyday software and devices:
* Office apps with intelligent drafting, summarization, and task insights
* Operating systems with native AI
* Edge devices processing AI tasks locally
This makes AI pervasive in both work and consumer contexts.
5. AI Infrastructure Evolves: Inference & Efficiency Focus
More investment is going into inference infrastructure — the real-time decision-making step where models run in production — thereby optimizing costs, latency, and scalability. Enterprises are also consolidating AI stacks for better governance and compliance.
6. AI in Healthcare, Research, and Sustainability
AI is spreading beyond diagnostics into treatment planning, global health access, environmental modeling, and scientific discovery. These applications could help address personnel shortages and speed up research breakthroughs.
7. Security, Ethics & Governance Become Critical
With AI handling more sensitive tasks, organizations will prioritize:
* Ethical use frameworks
* Governance policies
* AI risk management
This trend reflects broader concerns about trust, compliance, and responsible deployment.
8. Multimodal AI Goes Mainstream
AI systems that understand and generate across text, images, audio, and video will grow rapidly, enabling richer interactions and more powerful applications in search, creative work, and interfaces.
9. On-Device and Edge AI Growth
10. New Roles: AI Manager & Human-Agent Collaboration
Instead of replacing humans, AI will shift job roles:
* People will manage, supervise, and orchestrate AI agents
* Human expertise will focus on strategy, oversight, and creative judgment
This human-in-the-loop model becomes the norm.
Sources:
[1]: https://www.brilworks.com/blog/ai-trends-2026/?utm_source=chatgpt.com “7 AI Trends to Look for in 2026″
[2]: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2025/10/13/10-generative-ai-trends-in-2026-that-will-transform-work-and-life/?utm_source=chatgpt.com “10 Generative AI Trends In 2026 That Will Transform Work And Life”
[3]: https://millipixels.com/blog/ai-trends-2026?utm_source=chatgpt.com “AI Trends 2026: The Key Enterprise Shifts You Must Know | Millipixels”
[4]: https://www.digitalregenesys.com/blog/top-10-ai-trends-for-2026?utm_source=chatgpt.com “Digital Regenesys | Top 10 AI Trends for 2026″
[5]: https://www.n-ix.com/ai-trends/?utm_source=chatgpt.com “7 AI trends to watch in 2026 – N-iX”
[6]: https://news.microsoft.com/source/asia/2025/12/11/microsoft-unveils-7-ai-trends-for-2026/?utm_source=chatgpt.com “Microsoft unveils 7 AI trends for 2026 – Source Asia”
[7]: https://www.risingtrends.co/blog/generative-ai-trends-2026?utm_source=chatgpt.com “7 Generative AI Trends to Watch In 2026″
[8]: https://www.fool.com/investing/2025/12/24/artificial-intelligence-ai-trends-to-watch-in-2026/?utm_source=chatgpt.com “3 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Trends to Watch in 2026 and How to Invest in Them | The Motley Fool”
[9]: https://www.reddit.com//r/AI_Agents/comments/1q3ka8o/i_read_google_clouds_ai_agent_trends_2026_report/?utm_source=chatgpt.com “I read Google Cloud’s “AI Agent Trends 2026” report, here are 10 takeaways that actually matter”
706 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ctrl-Altman-Delete
Sam Altman Fumes That It Takes Longer to Train a Human Than an AI, Plus They Eat All That Wasteful Food
“It also takes a lot of energy to train a human.”
https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/sam-altman-fumes-longer-train-human-ai?fbclid=IwVERDUAQK8jJleHRuA2FlbQIxMABzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR6A_qprebBXKXwV0Yf4vxF72thxSFMkxnHfqmeRpkQuic7vw1RHQEWGHM9iaA_aem_dNHYXG76Kg0c9ogscTAzfg
Tomi Engdahl says:
The 5 biggest obstacles to AI data centers in space
https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/5-biggest-obstacles-ai-data-centers-space/?fbclid=IwdGRjcAQK9O1jbGNrBAr01WV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHkNn6f-QKoBqn-lRoKFKD31UBCelsVvvy3OlqKpzc2TyNjPpPoNU38gWNtjQ_aem_ET1BDv_-5vhmRPxPPd8FSA
There are plenty of engineering obstacles, and those can be overcome. But you cannot change the laws of physics, and those matter too.
However you feel about artificial intelligence (AI) — and, in particular, about the large language models and chatbots that are powered by it — the reality is that humanity is currently building and expanding infrastructure to support it. This includes large networks of power-demanding and water-requiring data centers that are being constructed, often conflicting with the electricity and water needs of the humans who live in those locations. It’s because of these concerns that some have floated the idea of AI data centers in space, with one company, SpaceX, recently announcing plans to build a literal megaconstellation of one million satellites to further that ambition.
Is this an example of an emerging technology that could provide an off-world solution to the problem of competing demands for limited resources? Or is it, like the hyperloop, an example of grift: where the concept itself isn’t exactly physically impossible, but is rendered so impractical due to the actual physical constraints of the endeavor, that it absolutely cannot materialize as advertised? It turns out that there are several challenges to building a functional network of AI data centers in space. Those challenges come on several fronts: economically, from an engineering perspective, and constrained by the laws of physics themselves.
Of the five big obstacles, three might yet be solved by technological developments. The last two, however, are set by the physics of the Universe itself, and are likely to be dealbreakers for the entire endeavor.
5.) The prohibitive launch costs of satellites.
4.) The inability to repair or upgrade satellites in space.
3.) Providing power to these satellites.
2.) Cosmic ray errors.
1.) The problem of cooling.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Heterodoxus
Goldman Sachs Researchers Make Startling Claim About AI’s Effects on the US Economy
“We don’t actually view AI investment as strongly growth-positive.”
https://futurism.com/future-society/researchers-economy-ai-narratives?fbclid=IwdGRjcAQK-2FjbGNrBAr7R2V4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHvVOe6YsQeTbefluEisLsk9PSTYWwjaLwDtwxAw-vNGtS5j5s12jTjoHjw8M_aem_RNSRartGgvMO-iSDcoZpVA
If there’s one thing AI excels at, it’s defying every attempt to build a coherent narrative around it.
Is AI destroying jobs, or just masking the same old garbage labor market? Are data centers unlocking prosperity for generations to come, or hemorrhaging value faster than a new car driven off the lot?
Whatever can be said of AI’s consequences for the future, one of the more widely agreed-upon views among economists seemed to be that tech spending is propping up an otherwise dismal economy.
Tomi Engdahl says:
QuitGPT
Campaign Urges Users to Quit ChatGPT Over OpenAI’s Support for Trump and ICE
“Don’t support the fascist regime.”
https://futurism.com/future-society/boycott-chatpgpt-trump?fbclid=IwdGRjcAQK_HpjbGNrBAr8Z2V4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHjnr9iGBrrVGCv4d5G5SnZGY3QLVsd-tVhz-So-TjrSN81kh4wehO1KsO-wG_aem_hqnSCaN88jT5qrOQN0T7Ew
It isn’t exactly big news that big tech is in deep with the US government. Days after Trump’s inauguration last year, execs including OpenAI’s Sam Altman flocked to the Oval Office to announce a $500 billion AI infrastructure project — and they’ve remained deeply sycophantic ever since.
Now that obsequiousness could be coming back to haunt them. As reported by MIT Technology Review, activists critical of the Trump administration and the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement have started a campaign called QuitGPT, urging regular users to ditch OpenAI’s chatbot for good.
So far, the campaign boasts over 700,000 supporters of the boycott. The QuitGPT website lists a few different ways to participate: quitting ChatGPT outright, cancelling paid subscriptions, and spreading the word about the boycott with others on social media.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Artificial Indulgence
Pope Implores Priests to Stop Writing Sermons Using ChatGPT
AI “will never be able to share faith.”
https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/pope-priests-ai?fbclid=IwdGRjcAQLFRNjbGNrBAsUuGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHtBPaddPcwhs1_tCOrhJ1BzT7QuoG39TjO2xJ6CmPbZxPdBJQ9Pu4UOj0Ctc_aem_XOrbLEsD7TOkPkpRMpodAg
In a closed-door meeting with clergy from the Diocese of Rome late last week, Pope Leo XIV clobbered his priests with a distinctly 21st-century request: to resist the “temptation to prepare homilies with artificial intelligence,” according to Vatican News.
“Like all the muscles in the body, if we do not use them, if we do not move them, they die,” the Pope reportedly said. “The brain needs to be used, so our intelligence must also be exercised a little so as not to lose this capacity.”
The holy father drew a fascinating line in the sand, declaring that despite AI’s capabilities now or in the future, a chatbot could never stand-in for a flesh-and-blood priest. “To give a homily is to share faith,” he said, and AI “will never be able to share faith.”
Aside from AI, the Pope warned his clergymen against conflating social media to real life, per Vatican News. If one lives a “life authentically rooted in the Lord,” they’re offering something special to the world, the Pope said, adding that a common “illusion on the internet, on TikTok” is to treat followers and likes as authentic spiritual connection.
Whether you follow the teachings of the church or not, the advice is a unique snapshot of the issues facing the Vatican in 2026. It also sits awkwardly with the Vatican’s own AI translation system, an upcoming program that will translate liturgical texts in up to 60 languages in real time.
That tool was announced the same day as the Pope’s meeting with clergy
Tomi Engdahl says:
Two Against One
AI Delusions Are Leading to Domestic Abuse, Harassment, and Stalking
“I couldn’t leave my house for months… people were messaging me all over my social media, like, ‘Are you safe? Are your kids safe?’”
https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-abuse-harassment-stalking?fbclid=IwVERDUAQLFadleHRuA2FlbQIxMABzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR4DHLFju8EDxAKxO0aFje66zZFbfbI1YpmlVg6dRw_iSP1IVhxL3AS2EyXSnw_aem_YKg7sSI2g6eSvmoZl9Juog