As we move deeper into January 2026 and reflect back on 2025, at least from a technology perspective, it is already clear that last year was when various artificial intelligence tools went mainstream. Not that true artificial intelligence, known as artificial general intelligence, made an appearance. It did not really matter, as for much of the public, AI tools, while appearing akin to magic, were being used by young and old for tasks ranging from the commonplace to the new and novel.

First mentioned in this space back in late 2022, AI tools featured in various columns throughout the year. Early in the year we covered the online planning tools available in Grok and ChatGPT for a fellow parishioner planning a trip to Canada’s north in January 2026 to view the aurora borealis. “Grok, give me an analysis of auroral conditions probability for Yellowknife Jan. 5–9, 2026.”

My friend was surprised on multiple fronts. He had never heard of Grok, and he was shocked at just how detailed an analysis was provided.

Perhaps the most popular column of the year concerned the use of the new Google tool named Nano Banana to carry out an analysis for a front yard makeover. The request to see what I could do with the tool was a direct consequence of someone reading my earlier columns on the AI space.

With the year now over, I can report that the reader made use of the various drafts proposed by Nano Banana and has finished the front yard project, complete with a wishing well. The result is quite spectacular.

Another AI column during the year concerned various artwork tools which could take photographs and “redo” people and animals in various artform styles.

Here is what we wrote at the time about ChatGPT: “What captured the public’s attention initially was Ghibli-style images, evoking the style of a Japanese design studio. These images represented a major step up from first-generation LLM AI artwork. Further, they could be produced with very simple commands.

“All that is needed with these new types of images is to upload a photo and then follow with a very simple command, such as ‘Redo this in Ghibli style,’ or Lego people style, cartoonize this photograph, Fisher-Price people style, Playmobil people style. You get the idea.”

AI tools are highly disruptive. They have become central to many workplaces, and they are already figuring prominently in education. The rate of change is breakneck, with no end in sight. As the year ended, Alphabet/Google upgraded the artwork capabilities of its Gemini platform and released Nano Banana Pro. We made use of the tool in our final column on the loss of a reader’s phone by accompanying it with a high-quality infographic, made in minutes, detailing the steps to locating or recovering from a lost phone, be it of the iPhone or of the Android type.

Old-school technologies figured into several columns, including two on radio. Whether we like it or not, AM radio appears to be on its last legs. We covered the move of longtime market leader CKNW from its 980 position down the dial to 730 and noted that parent company Corus Entertainment is essentially insolvent. For the first time in my memory, CKNW did not run music on Christmas Day. In fact, the station did not even have a newscaster working. Instead, it made use of the Canadian Press with a feed running from Ottawa.

Next on the chopping block is likely to be standard TV newscasts, the typical hour-long broadcasts we all grew up with. Ask anyone younger than say 50 if they watched the TV news last night and you will surely be met with a puzzled look. News on TV? The generational shift is underway. For better or worse, streaming is king, and once you are into the world of streaming, all feeds are pretty much equal.

However, we did note the rather impressive media coverage of the incident at Toronto’s Pearson Airport in which an aircraft flipped onto its roof during a snowy landing. “Passengers, rescuers, chaplains, and media responded impressively to a near-disaster.”

We covered the canonization of “God’s influencer,” Carlo Acutis (“The meaning of life is to become a saint.”), and the most interesting story in which we interviewed a blind person who has developed a passion for photography. Yes, photography.

As has become commonplace in recent years, cybersecurity matters featured in a number of columns. Phone scams were back on the agenda, and in “A reader’s painful lesson in online trust” we covered the so-called Apple gift card scam. We once again wrote about haveibeenpwned.com, the highly useful site where we can check if our email addresses have figured in major online hacks of prominent sites.

A smattering of other technology-based columns filled out the year. Microsoft’s ongoing efforts to have users leave behind the now-shuttered Windows 10 operating system, the possible end of the road for the desktop computer, and our annual look at the digital camera field all received attention.

To look back at any of my columns, search for “Peter Vogel columns” or find them at bccatholic.ca/authors/peter-vogel-bccath.

As always, and after all these years, thank you to my editor.