Ep 386: Was 2025 a Great or Terrible Year for AI? (w/ Ed Zitron)

2025 was a year that was saturated in AI news, from Deep Seek, through claims of economic “bloodbaths,” to GPT-5, Sora, and Chatbot girlfriends. Frankly, it was exhausting. As we now look back on 2025 an interesting question arises: all in all, did this end up being a good or bad year for AI? To help me answer this question, I’m joined by hard-hitting AI commentator Ed Zitron, who's been everywhere in the media in recent months helping to make sense of the wild claims being thrown in the public’s direction. Together we go through the biggest AI stories of the year to try to make sense of what just happened.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvo

Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

INTERVIEW: Was 2025 a Great or Terrible Year for AI (w/ Ed Zitron) [3:16]

Cal Reacts to Comments: Is the Internet Becoming Television? [1:58:25]

Links:
Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at calnewport.com/slow
Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/
Cal's monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?
bbc.com/news/articles/c5yv5976z9po
axios.com/2025/01/23/davos-2025-ai-agents
blog.google/technology/google-deepmind/gemini-model-updates-february-2025/
openai.com/index/sora/
openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-4-5/
ai-2027.com/
fortune.com/2025/05/28/anthropic-ceo-warning-ai-job-loss/
media.mit.edu/publications/your-brain-on-chatgpt/
usatoday.com/story/tech/2025/08/07/chat-gpt-5-release-date-open-ai/85566627007/#:~:text=GPT%2D5%20release%20date,release%20date%20for%20Part%202
newyorker.com/culture/open-questions/what-if-ai-doesnt-get-much-better-than-this
wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-bubble-building-spree-55ee6128
nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/openai-and-nvidia-announce-strategic-partnership-to-deploy-10gw-of-nvidia-systems
nytimes.com/2025/10/02/technology/openai-sora-video-app.html
anthropic.com/news/claude-opus-4-5
ft.com/content/064bbca0-1cb2-45ab-85f4-25fdfc318d89
youtube.com/watch?v=Z_WEmjygNK0

Thanks to our Sponsors:

This episode is sponsored by Better Help:
betterhelp.com/deepquestions
reclaim.ai/cal
expressvpn.com/deep
calderalab.com/deep

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this replay of a classic episode from March 2024, Cal discusses his transformative experience using a small analog notebook to tackle a complicated problem in his life. He makes the broader argument that sometimes simple analog tools can far exceed the utility of their digital counterparts.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: https://bit.ly/3U3sTvo

Video from today’s episode:youtube.com/calnewportmedia

Deep Dive: Single-Purpose Notebooks [1:21]

- If “pseudo-productivity” isn’t effective, why is it so common? [21:58]

- Can you explain the difference between limiting missions, projects, and daily goals? [29:54]

- Should everyone buy a $50 notebook? [34:18]

- How does “Slow Productivity” relate to mental models and first principles? [43:08]

- Should I read your new book slowly? [47:40]

- CALL: Struggling writer obsessing over quality [53:10]

CASE STUDY: Applying lifestyle-centric career planning [58:14]

SOMETHING INTERESTING: TikTok Falters [1:01:39]

Links:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow

Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at https://peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/

Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?

https://www.notebookstories.com/2013/05/06/picasso-sketchbook/

https://www.anothermanmag.com/life-culture/10788/remembering-bruce-chatwin-the-greatest-travel-writer-that-ever-lived

https://www.notebookstories.com/2023/12/22/a-notebook-in-the-movie-elf/

https://www.wsj.com/tech/personal-tech/quitting-tiktok-less-swiping-more-sleeping-1e166a39?page=1

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/tiktok-and-the-fall-of-the-social-media-giants

Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvo

Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

Thanks to our Sponsors:

monarch.com/deep
1password.com/deep
makeheadway.com/deep
meetfabric.com/deep

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In our annual holiday episode, Cal tackles one of the questions he’s asked most often: What should I read? But with a twist. He recommends six books that are not from the self-help or advice genre that will nonetheless help you change your life into something deeper. For the rest of the episode, he then answers listener calls.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvo

Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

CAL’S BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:

Walden by Henry David Thoreau [2:40]
Lincoln’s Virtues by William Lee Miller [7:28]
The Case for God by Karen Armstrong [10:54]
You Are Not a Gadget by Jaron Lanier [21:25]
The Shallows by Nicholas Carr [26:28]
Falling Upward by Richard Rohr [28:45]

CALLS:

• Concerned father and husband about smartphones [37:48]
• Living deeply with multiple gigs [43:27]
• Effective timeblocking [47:19]
• The Deep Life for non-knowledge workers [54:01]
• Dealing with overwhelming technology [58:59]
• The real cost of AI [1:02:59]
• Where to start with deep work? [1:07:33]

Links:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at calnewport.com/slow
Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/
Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?

Thanks to our Sponsors:

monarch.com/deep
wayfair.com
notion.com/cal
reclaim.ai/cal

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.