The word of the year for 2025, according to Merriam-Webster, was "slop,¡± referring to the deluge of low-quality content churned out by artificial intelligence.
It¡¯s a fitting reflection of the awkward phase we¡¯ve entered three years after ChatGPT kicked off the global AI boom. We were promised tools to cure disease and solve climate change. What we mostly got in 2025 was machine-generated pornography, fake bunnies jumping on trampolines and an internet that feels a little more spammy every day.
AI now fuels heated debates from the boardroom to the classroom. Yet for all the hype and all the money, some of the biggest questions about how this tech revolution will play out remain unanswered. Here are some I¡¯d like clearer answers to in 2026:
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