The AI Fundamentalists
The AI Fundamentalists
Dr. Andrew Clark & Dr. Sid Mangalik
2025 AI review: Why LLMs stalled and the outlook for 2026
42 minutes Posted Dec 22, 2025 at 10:00 pm.
Let's review our 2025 topics
Google’s comeback and monetization
Scaling limits and diminishing returns
Human-in-the-loop meets its match
Agents and the validation loop
Small, high-quality data outperforms
Expert systems and scientific rigor
The human aspects of AI
Special thanks to our guests
Surprises of 2025: Google and scaling’s end
Unexpected hot takes in 2025
Hopes for 2026: Research and interpretability
Cautious optimism: AI profitability, ROI, and market reality
And some skepticism for AI in 2026
Economic reflections and what’s next
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Show notes
Here it is! We review the year where scaling large AI models hit its ceiling, Google reclaimed momentum with efficient vertical integration, and the market shifted from hype to viability. Join us as we talk about why human-in-the-loop is failing, why generative AI agents validating other agents compounds errors, and how small expert data quietly beat the big models. • Google’s resurgence with Gemini 3.0 and TPU-driven efficiency • Monetization pressures and ads in co-pilot assistants •...