That Was The Year in Tech: When Nothing Happened (except Everything, Everywhere, All at Once)
That was the year in tech. When nothing and yet everything happened. A year betwixt and between, simultaneously revolutionary and uneventful. That's the ironic conclusion Keith Teare and I reach about Silicon Valley in 2025. It's as if the AI revolution is changing the world without us fully noticing. AI has become electricity—ubiquitous and essential, yet barely noticed. So what will happen on the tech front (or not happen) in 2026? Will it be another year in which nothing happened (except everything, everywhere, all at once). Or are we reaching 1789 or 1917 or 1989—a grand historical year where the logjam breaks and tech formally takes over the world? A true end and beginning of history. The first real year of the tech 21st century.
Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe
The Nazi Mind: 12 Warnings from History
Death of the American Dream: Terrence McCauley on why the Mob was behind the JFK Assassination
Why Everything is Propaganda: Connor Boyack's Libertarian Manifesto for July 4
From the Internet of Trolls to the Internet of Tolls: Has the Publishing Apocalypse Finally Arrived?
From Ghana to Goldman Sachs: Rachel Laryea on a Blueprint for Black Capitalism
The Great White Hoax: Two Centuries of Manufactured Racism in America
The Real Monkey Business: What the 1925 Scopes Trial was actually all about
The Michael Douglas Trap: What Is Wrong with Men
The $200 billion dilemma: Is Bill Gates helping or harming Africa?
The Architecture of Terror: Rafia Zakaria on Trump, Miller, Israel, Iran and Gaza
Why Elections Aren't Always Democratic: Challenging American Political Science's Founding Myth
The Virtuous Side Of Silicon Valley: How Jimmy Chen is Building Tech to Help the Poorest America
The Tragic Paradox of Survival in Auschwitz: The Mystery of Primo Levi