Is AI Trending Up or Down in 2026? | AI Reality Check

0:00AI news comes at you fast.

0:03Each article feels more breathless and more terrifying than the last, but before you have a chance to see how any particular story turns out, there's 10 more in its place.

0:13I think this speed and lack of accountability can create a sense of overwhelming disruption and change that can really be pretty disquieting.

0:22Well, it's Thursday, which means it's time for an AI reality check episode.

0:26So I thought this would be a great opportunity to try to slow down this news onslaught and get a better sense of what has actually been happening in the AI space recently.

0:38All right, here's my plan.

0:39I've invited the AI commentator Ed Zittron to join me.

0:42And we're going to look at three of the biggest stories about AI to land in 2026 so far, including one in which Ed is actually very much involved.

0:52And what we're going to do is for each of these stories, we're going to take a closer look on what actually happened and how things have since turned out.