Foreword »
Anji Maram
Founder & CEO
CriticalRiver Inc.
Welcome back to Vibe — a quarterly magazine that captures voices, visions, and vantage points shaping the future of work, technology, and leadership.
Every new year arrives with noise.
Predictions. Pronouncements. Big claims about what’s next.
But 2026 feels different.
Not louder — deeper.
This is the year AI stops being experimental and starts becoming structural.
Less about demos.
More about decisions.
Less about asking.
More about acting.
Because here’s the truth—
AI has grown up.
More muscle. More money. More autonomy.
It’s no longer sitting at the edge of systems.
It’s becoming the operating layer beneath them.
This edition of Vibe explores that inflection point.
How agentic AI is moving from assistance to execution.
How massive infrastructure bets are reshaping economies.
And how trust, governance, and integrity are no longer optional guardrails, but competitive advantages in a world running on intelligent systems.
Inside, we unpack the AI Supercycle—from autonomous agents and physical AI to sovereign models, multimodal intelligence, and the risks that come with speed. We look at how leaders are navigating energy
constraints, regulation, and the quiet erosion of human judgment in an always-on world.
But this issue isn’t only about technology. It’s also about people responding to change with creativity and courage.
You’ll meet artists, athletes, entrepreneurs, and performers who challenge binaries, redefine resilience, and pursue craft with conviction.
From cultural debates around authenticity and ownership to fashion as emotional expression, from comedy stages to cinema sets,these stories remind us that progress is never purely technical.
Because the real question of 2026 isn’t what AI can do. It’s how we choose to live with it.
The questions we’re asking this time:
- How do we lead when systems act faster than we can intervene?
- How do we preserve judgment, creativity, and empathy at scale?
- And how do we build futures that are not just powerful—but principled?
Vibe is where we explore those questions.
Thoughtfully. Honestly. In motion.
So turn the page.
The boom has begun.
What matters now is how we shape it.
We’re glad you’re here.