The company made 80 times as many reports to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children during the first six months of 2025 as it did in the same period a year prior.

Videos such as fake ads featuring AI children playing with vibrators or Jeffrey Epstein and Diddy-themed playsets are being made with Sora 2 and posted to TikTok.

Two decades ago social media promised to connect people with pals far and wide. Twenty years online has left us turning to AI for kinship. IRL companionship is the future.

In today’s episode of Uncanny Valley, we dive into five stories—from AI to DOGE—that encapsulate the year and give us clues as to what might unfold in 2026.

In this episode, we look back at 2025 and look ahead to what’s happening in 2026—including what’s in store for Uncanny Valley.

From dead crabs to shredded bed sheets, fraudsters are using fake photos and videos to get their money back from ecommerce sites.

Could the AI industry be on the verge of its first major layoffs? Will China spread propaganda to slow the US data-center building boom? Where are AI agents headed?

The developers of a browser tool that changes AI-centric LinkedIn posts to Allen Iverson facts want to help “take back control of your experience of the internet.”

Capable of creating “nearly perfect” face swaps during live video chats, Haotian has made millions, mainly via Telegram. But its main channel vanished after WIRED’s inquiry into scammers using the app.

The influential progressive third party announced Thursday that it was putting out a recruitment call for candidates specifically opposed to data centers.