It's the last day of the year. For me, this is one of the most important days of the year. That's because I go over and look at everything I did, good and bad. I see where I should improve and the things that I need to keep doing. So, for my first-ever blog post for a year in review, let's get into it.
First, what happened with tech this year? AI. Next. Jokes aside, this was the biggest year for AI by far. To provide some actual insight, this felt like the first year since 2022 that AI has slipped out of OpenAI's hands. This was Google's year for AI. Gemini, in my opinion, is better than ChatGPT. That is saying a lot because it was hard to pull me away from it, but honestly, I do find that it's better (currently and for my uses).
Along with that, Google's Nano Banana Pro and Veo 3 have made AI content ('slop') much faster to create. Even OpenAI has unveiled the Sora app, a TikTok-style app for scrolling AI videos. Slop was definitely the star of the year. If it can be thought, it will be created. Out of everything wrong with AI, this has to be the biggest problem. I don't think AI is bad. I find it can be really useful if you use it like how it's meant to be used: a tool. I use it as a sounding board for different ideas, writings, and stuff like that. It's great as a vibe and sanity check when you work alone. But I don't ask it to create entire works, no way. These are my words. I might use AI for grammatical help, but it doesn't write my thoughts.
That is where, next year, AI needs to hit its maturity status. It needs to focus on solid, profit-forming tools that don't focus on just making everything AI. People are tired of AI videos and photos; it was funny at first, but now it's just the same thing. What people want and need is just a way to speed up doing things. That doesn't mean removing the process (like typing a prompt and getting a painting); it's having something to help you overcome concepts of brushwork and color theory, especially when you are alone. Then you can create your masterpiece.
The other big thing this year was the hardware crisis. The next-generation AMD and Nvidia GPUs launched at the beginning of this year. AMD's cards have stolen the hearts of gamers, while Nvidia has focused on the AI market. With this, the Nvidia GPUs were almost nowhere to be found for a few months after launch. Then, this summer and fall, things finally started looking up. Only for then the DRAM shortage to hit, causing markups of 100-400% of MSRP on RAM. This has also made it harder to buy storage, and GPUs are likely to get harder to buy as well with reports that production is being cut for consumer cards from Nvidia.
Basically, it was all AI all year.
But what about the biggest struggle? With the Federal Tax Credit gone and Tesla's brand image struggling in modern times, EVs are on the struggle bus. With even Ford nixing the F-150 Lightning, I say EVs are in for a rough three more years. I hope things swing back in their favor as I think electric cars are awesome. But if the government and legacy car markers aren't on board, the game becomes so much harder to play. But at least Rivian seems to be doing well.
The tech winner of the year: Google.
The tech struggle of the year: Electric Vehicles.
Now for my 2026 predictions. All of this could be wrong and is based mainly on just my vibes. First: will the AI bubble pop? Honestly, I don't think it will in 2026. It might decline, but just from the energy in the space, I think it will be more of a slip, less of a pop. Maybe 2027 will be its reckoning, but I'll save that for my 2026 in review post. But the company I expect to have a good year is Apple. I've written about some of their hardware expected in the new year. There is so much rumored to come out. New displays, new MacBook, new smart home devices—'new new new' seems to be next year. I think Apple will have a big year. Also, Tim Cook is rumored to step down as CEO, and someone new will replace him. Basically, Apple will be in the eye of the public all year long.
Well, that about wraps it up, but what about Terminal Eighty? This blog is basically brand new, and I think it has a lot of ground to cover in 2026. Also, Terminal Eighty's YouTube Channel this year saw good viewership numbers, but I struggled to post. I want next year to be a big year for Terminal Eighty, and I can't wait to reflect on it this time next year.