Commentary
For decades, Americans have seen this pattern before: a new technology arrives with promises of progress, and before we know it, it’s reshaped our lives in ways we never voted on. From the television that transformed our living rooms, to the internet that rewired our news and politics, to smartphones that put the world (and a thousand distractions) in our pockets, each wave of change has come with a cost.We didn’t vote on the 24/7 news cycle, but cable networks made it the norm. We didn’t ask for surveillance capitalism, but social media gave it to us anyway. And each time, what began as convenience became dependence. Now, with the release of one of the world’s most advanced public artificial intelligence systems, ChatGPT-5, we’re seeing how far that influence can reach. And for the first time, it’s not just tech critics sounding the alarm. It’s loyal users who are heartbroken.
