The Best of 2025: Maclean’s Top 10 AI Stories
Bots infiltrated every aspect of Canadians’ daily lives—and we were there to cover it all
This was the year artificial intelligence leapt out of the abstract and into our daily lives. Chatbots became our friends, our co-workers, our personal shoppers, our therapists. And, of course, this powerful enmeshment raised a host of thorny ethical, philosophical and economic questions. This year, we featured stories that wrestled with the good, the bad and the scary of the AI revolution. Among the highlights: Cory Doctorow’s rousing manifesto on the enshittification of the internet and author J.B. Mackinnon’s fascinating essay on why he’s suing the world’s biggest AI companies for copyright infringement. Here, our top AI stories of 2025.
NO. 10
The Entry-Level Job Is Dying. AI Skills Could Save It.
Other countries are training students in AI from primary school. Canada hasn’t even started.
NO. 9
Why the Internet Is Worse Than Ever
On the “enshittification” of the online world—and how Canada can clean it up
NO. 8
AI Is Ruining My Education
I’m a university student in Ontario, and everyone’s taking shortcuts. Learning has never felt lonelier.
NO. 7
Can AI Save Us From Misinformation?
AI slop is polluting Canada’s information ecosystem. I’m building an AI-powered fact-checker to fight back.
NO. 6
AI Could Save Canada’s Health-Care System
Canada is running out of doctors. Artificial intelligence can help.
NO. 5
Canada Needs Homegrown AI Infrastructure
Allowing American AI companies unfettered access to Canadian data means giving up our digital sovereignty
NO. 4
I Let an AI Avatar Teach My University Course
She looked and sounded exactly like me—and left us all with more questions than answers
NO. 3
My Classroom Will Be AI-Free This Fall
A humanities education is vital in this polarized world. But students need to read the books.
NO. 2
Railway Tycoons Shaped Canada. Don’t Let AI Barons Do the Same.
When a few people control a transformative technology, they control a nation’s future
NO. 1
Big Tech v. Me
The world’s most powerful companies used my books, and millions more, without permission to train their AI models. I’m suing to stop them.
Get the Best of Maclean’s straight to your inbox.
Sign up for news, commentary, analysis and promotions. Join 80,000+ Canadian readers.
By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.