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17 Predictions for AI in 2026

AI will continue improving rapidly, but real-world economic impacts will be modest.

Timothy B. Lee, Kai Williams, and Kai Williams
Dec 31, 2025
∙ Paid
This post originally appeared in Understanding AI.

“Tech companies are now investing more, as a percentage of the economy, than the peak year of spending on the Apollo Project or the Interstate Highwa…

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Kai Williams's avatar
A guest post by
Kai Williams
I'm a reporter at Understanding AI, supported through the Tarbell Center for AI Journalism. Previously, I did AI safety research through the MATS program. I graduated from Swarthmore College with a degree in math and music.
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Kai Williams's avatar
A guest post by
Kai Williams
Writes at UnderstandingAI.
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