Ten Bold Predictions for 2026
Captain K’s latest attempt to bring order to the chaos on every side after nailing 7/10 in 2024 and 6/10 in 2025.
One of these years, I’m going to botch my predictions in grand fashion. It didn’t happen in 2023, when I first started making them, or in 2024, or even in 2025, when I nailed 6 of 10 with direct hits, got 2 more partial hits, and only whiffed on 2.
2025: End of Year Predictions Scorecard
Author’s Note: My third article of the week will run tomorrow, January 1, to keep the annual predictions post on New Year’s Day.
There is no reason I have to blow it in 2026, either; indeed, it is shaping up to be a very important year. Most are placing substantial weight on the outcomes of the 2026 midterm elections, which have plenty of historical input helping a serious analyst discern the undercurrent, but it stands to be a year to redirect a lot of the world’s tempo at this point in the early second quarter of the 21st century (damn, that makes me feel old).
Without further ado, please enjoy my Ten Bold Predictions for 2026:
I. The Russo-Ukrainian War Will End
Europe doesn’t want it to end because they need Russia to remain in their crosshairs, and while Russia may want to win, they know they are best positioned to win a war of attrition and are content to wait things out if terms for peace are not exactly what they want.
We, on the other hand, want it to end, even if there are only nominal benefits for the average American.
Is Peace Imminent Between Russia and Ukraine?
Many of President Trump’s most significant accomplishments in the first year of his second term have addressed problems existing outside the borders of the United States; as such, many of his critics on the right have suggested this foreign focus detracts from his most important campaign promise - which is to Make
Ending loss of life is a good thing for all, and with President Trump mediating, both sides have come close to getting what they want to stop the bloodshed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes the solution is “90%” of the way there, and Vladimir Putin of Russia is telling his countrymen they’ve got the war won. Ukraine is hesitant over giving up too much in terms of concessions, and the Russians are upset about what they believe to be attempts to assassinate Putin, which have made the peace process much more complicated.
I’m expecting this to get done by necessity, and with it, a huge victory for the Trump administration as the last big peace to get done before turning all focus to the domestic quality of life here in the United States. I predict this war ends in 2026, and probably early on.
II. The Artificial Intelligence Honeymoon Ends
Kids are cheating on projects, writers are outsourcing intellectual product, and companies are slashing jobs by the thousands. What else could go wrong? It seems like everywhere you look, there is an AI solution for you. “Want to wipe more efficiently after you use the toilet? There’s an AI for that!”
The Undramatic Future of Artificial Intelligence Explained: How It Will Alter the Political and Societal Landscapes
I remember being 15 years old, riding along in the passenger seat of my Dad’s midlife crisis car, a torchred Corvette bought at a relative bargain because of a glitch in which the steering column would lock itself out, preventing an important task we know as
I have an axe to grind over AI because I don’t use it to create content, but I lose plenty of business to writers on here who have no intellectual skill or writing ability, yet generate computer slop to sell to paid subscribers. I only use it to scan for typos. I have seen some predictions suggesting that between China, India, and the United States, AI could cost 100 million jobs in the next decade.
Now that is a crisis. Academic conservatives hate the idea of regulating anything to do with business, but anyone not asleep should understand there are serious political debates coming about AI, and the Republicans (and the global right) must command the issue or we will be knee-deep in a political world in which the left campaigns only on how much Universal Basic Income should be doled out, and to whom. They won’t even need open borders when suburban Sally and corporate Kenny switch parties because they aren’t able to cash in on their degrees anymore.
I predict the public will begin to crave authentic connection and living and grow tired of AI around every corner. I think some American states, and many foreign countries, will take up a serious debate on restraining AI before it devastates the global workforce. It is in a nation’s best interest to keep AI from getting out of control and ensuring average Americans have work. You know what they say about idle hands…
III. The Trumpian Economic Boom Will Arrive
