5 AI trends that made the biggest difference in my life

5 AI trends that made the biggest difference in my life Features (Image credit: Pixabay) (Image credit: OpenAI) (Image credit: Shutterstock) (Image credit: Getty Images) Eric Hal Schwartz published How AI attempted to rewire how I live AI tools went mainstream in 2025, but they were hardly static. New models and features gave rise to all kinds of trends, fads, and fashions. The more durable or notable trends have had a real impact on my life, sometimes in obvious ways and sometimes in ways I only notice in retrospect. Here are some of the best and worst, or at least annoying, ways AI trends have affected me this year. 1. I now double-check every realistic AI photo Until recently, spotting an AI-generated photo took me no time at all. I didn't have to check for a watermark; it was just always obvious. But as AI image generators became more and more powerful this year and people became better at prompting them to mimic reality, I sometimes need a few seconds, or sometimes more than a few, for particularly good ones. Perfect sunsets at fictional beaches and headshots of people who don't exist can be very tricky. It means if I have any doubt, I can't just look for obvious signs of synthetic origin. I have to check shadows, the folds of clothing, and other subtle indicators. It's only because I am constantly checking AI trends that I realized the technology had reached a point where I couldn't always assume I was perfect at telling AI-generated images from real photographs. I couldn’t trust my instincts anymore because the visuals are too good to spot when scrolling past quickly. I haven't had any noticeable confusion with AI videos yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if I need to double-check films soon, too, especially on social media. To be fair, most AI image generators include a little mark indicating AI was used, but not all of them, and it's easy to crop it out. I wouldn't say I'm paranoid about it, but vigilant skepticism feels appropriate. 2. Online writing has a trust issue The trust issues aren't limited to images. You might have noticed the proliferation of "AI slop" in blog posts and articles of all sorts. Some of the more glaring issues are evident in recipes. The average reader can no longer assume authenticity based on surface polish alone. Churning out content is easy with AI, but that doesn't make it good. And unvetted advice on everything from cooking to home repair can be a real pain. Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. It's worth digging deeper, especially if you spot any of the telltale signs of unedited AI-generated content with no identifiable voice or history. Now, if a post doesn't link to a real human, cite real sources, or include comments from people who have tried the thing being described, I get suspicious. I still use the internet constantly, but I no longer assume that...

Preview: ~500 words