Hey friends!
Happy New Year — or maybe, "holy crap, it's 2025 already!"
Honestly, this feels like the year humans passed the cultural torch to AI — or, more accurately, the year AI snatched it. It stopped being "just tech" and became... well, everything. Generative AI didn't just slip in quietly; it kicked the door off its hinges while we were busy scrolling.
So... about last year
2024 turned the world on its head. Stepping into the year, I was testing LLMs on little tasks, feeling like I was somehow cheating. But by December, using AI wasn't just an option; it was the default. Entire workflows, conversations, and creative processes had <ai-inside> without us even blinking. We went from "I guess I can try it?" to "I can't do this without it." Wild.
The internet I knew — a mix of quirky forums, thoughtful back-and-forth discussions, and genuine connections — felt like it got yanked into hyperdrive. Social media has morphed into a relentless stream of shock clips and rage-bait arguments. Reddit, once "the front page of the internet," locked itself down (along with plenty of others) to ward off data-scraping bots. And Google, once the gateway to the web's nooks and crannies, now feels like a sluggish, ad-sponsored detour.
In the midst of all that noise, AI rose from novelty to the main event, cranking out polished content at the speed of light. It wasn't that humans stopped creating; it's just that our spark got lost in the sea of "pretty good" auto-generated everything.
Searching for human spark
So here we are, diving headfirst into 2025. AI is everywhere — woven into our apps, our feeds, our daily routines — and it's not slowing down. But maybe that means we need to lean harder into the things that make us decidedly human: our quirks, our rough edges, our ability to sit with mystery and contradiction.
Small, intentional spaces: Think private Discords or niche newsletters where you actually recognize the usernames.
Imperfect magic: If AI churns out flawless content, maybe our wobbly brushstrokes and slightly off-key notes become the real standouts.
Stay based: Let it handle the grunt work, sure, but let's leave room for the spontaneous, the weird, and the deeply, uniquely us — stuff AI can't quite predict or replicate.
Cheers to 2025
2024 wasn't just another year — it was a shift on a massive scale. AI grabbed the mic, and we all got swept up in the show. Yet I still believe the internet's true pulse belongs to us messy, creative, opinionated humans. After all, that's what made this place feel like home to begin with.
So here's to finding the corners where authenticity lives on, to slowing down and reconnecting, and to proving that even in a world humming with automation, there's still nothing quite like genuine human connection.
Cheers! 🍻
-Ryan