What happens next in AI may be less exciting — and far more confronting — than what just happened.
In this episode of The AI Transition Podcast, Stephen and Lauren make five bold predictions about what AI could trigger in 2026, looking beyond product launches to the system-level consequences for work, identity, power, and society.
These are not predictions designed to hype AI.
They are predictions designed to help people prepare for transition.
🔻 The Top 5 AI Predictions for 2026
01:40 (5) Humanoid Robots Go Mainstream
Why labour shortages could push robots out of pilot programs and into warehouses, hospitals, and aged care — and why visibility matters as much as capability.
06:23 (4) The First “Proto-AGI” Moment
Not full AGI, but AI behaviour that feels close enough to trigger existential questions about meaning, identity, and what makes us human.
10:24 (3) The First Large-Scale AI Disaster
A major failure — banking, healthcare, logistics, or infrastructure — big enough to force regulation and slow unchecked deployment.
13:52 (2) Digital Immigrants Arrive
Autonomous agents begin replacing entire job categories, raising uncomfortable political questions about work, culture, and who really belongs in our systems.
20:25 (1) The AI Stock Market Bubble Pops
Why a correction — or worse — could reshape global markets, labour, and power, without slowing AI itself.
🔄 Why This Episode Matters
AI isn’t just changing how we work — it’s changing who we are at work.
These predictions sit squarely in the messy middle of transition, where fear, resistance, and possibility all coexist.
We may be wrong on timing.
But ignoring these signals would be far riskier.
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