Here are our picks for the advances to watch in the years ahead—and why we think they matter right now.

NRF 2026 wasn’t billed as a “retail & AI” conference, but that’s exactly what it was.

Not predictions. Just what I’m noticing among the UX professionals I work with right now.

This series examines the incoming crisis of human irrelevance and provides a map towards a future where people remain the masters of their destiny.

The future of software engineers and data scientists is bright.

So we are all — collectively, culturally — looking for the Next Big Thing, and we keep not finding it.

Each year, NiemanLab asks some of the smartest people in digital media what they think is coming in the year ahead.

Algorithms and AI don't just show us reality — they warp it in ways that benefit platforms built to exploit people for profit.

From talent arbitrage and “proof of craft” to hardware moats, ambient listening, homegrown software, and the end of waste.

Creative Boom asked a selection of artists and their representatives to cast their minds ahead and visualize what’s in store for the next 12 months.

Public data as well as our original polling suggest LLM adoption is roughly on trend, but the underlying drivers are shifting.

Emerging trends across all categories… and unlimited possibilities for using them.

22 powerful new CSS features that landed in Chrome this year.

A reality check from leading researchers.

A drive folder with 2026 Trends reports from multiple companies, consultancies, and research groups.

The range of outcomes spans from “just more software” to a single unified intelligence that handles everything.

In the coming year, we will begin the transition into a new era of AI in the human loop, not the other way around.

From making brain-computer interfaces affordable to enabling people with low vision to follow live sports.

Workflows, burnout, AI impact, career growth, and job market insights across regions and company types.

A prediction essay for the next 20 years of intelligent robotics.