There’s a lot of noise right now about faster models, bigger GPUs, and new benchmarks.
But stepping back, I think 2026 will be defined by something simpler and harder to engineer: presence.
Not screens.
Not windows.
Actual human-to-human presence, even when distance is unavoidable.
Some things that were labeled “impossible” a few years ago are now operational, including immersive, holographic AI presence in environments as constrained as orbit. That forced a realization for me:
The real challenge isn’t adding more technology to life.
It’s designing technology that restores what gets lost when humans are separated by distance.
Eye contact.
Attention.
Energy.
I’m curious how others here see this playing out.
Do you think the next phase of AI is less about raw capability and more about how it feels to interact with it?
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