The 24 biggest AI moments of 2024: A Laptop Mag countdown

Laptop Mag's Biggest AI Moments in 2024 image showing various leaders in the AI industry in a punk-pop-art scrapbook art style on a colorful pastel background.

(Image credit: Design: Rael Hornby, Photos: Ethan Miller/I-HWA CHENG/Odd ANDERSEN/AFP, Justin Sullivan/Getty Images and Annabelle Chih/David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Artificial intelligence played a major role in 2024, from the apps we use and the computers it now helps power to its wider impact on society. But with so much AI-centric news heading your way over the last 12 months, it can be hard to sort the wheat from the chaff.

So, what better way to wrap the year than by revisiting the stories that have shaped the impact of AI in 2024? Join Laptop Mag as we present the more memorable and impactful stories of the year in which artificial intelligence played a key role.

As we look back on these stories, we also want to look ahead to 2025 and beyond. Our selection highlights twenty-four stories that may have a larger impact on the road ahead, even if their initial breaking didn't cause shockwaves.

Stay with us throughout December to reflect on a busy year in tech as we dedicate this Laptop Mag special issue to counting down The 24 Biggest AI Moments of 2024.

█ Laptop Mag's Biggest AI Moments of 2024

Running Regu-late

24. Uncle Sam's Big Tech task force deliberated while AI worries proliferated

Silicon savior

23. AI supercharged the sciences in 2024, revealing a major breakthrough in Alzheimer's diagnosis

Learn to earn

22. Google invested millions in training job seekers to use AI this year. Will it work?

From Bard to worse?

21. This year, Google launched Gemini AI, but did it come too late to defeat ChatGPT?

There's an AI for that

20. AI was everywhere in 2024, except where you wanted it

The Humane-ity!

19. Remember the year's biggest AI flop? The Humane AI pin's public failure has a silver lining

Devin dev outed

18. In 1996, AI beat a grandmaster at chess. In 2024, the stakes are higher

AIs on you

17. In the AI arms race, the real loser in 2024 was your privacy

AI am the Walrus

16. In 2024, a controversial Beatles song made Grammy history and raised eyebrows

That's AImore

15. Amouranth was the AI girlfriend of 2024, but what exactly is an AI companion?

Hareware

14. This cute AI gadget was one of the biggest tech failures of 2024... or was it?

Total Recall

13. Microsoft created the single biggest AI controversy this year — and it might make AI more thoughtful

All that glitches

12. Robert Downey Jr. gave this 'Stark' warning to Hollywood execs over AI in 2024

Recipes for disaster

11. Google's AI Overview broke the Internet this year — is AI ready to replace search?

GeForce of nature

10. In 1999, Nvidia reinvented the GPU. In 2024, it is powering the AI revolution

Sign of The Times

9. The New York Times made headlines by suing OpenAI this year, but the case against AI isn't so black and white

Your lying AIs

8. "Is that Instagram photo AI?" Meta tried to police AI fakery in 2024 with an ever-changing policy

What's Joh's is mine

7. Scarlett Johansson: ChatGPT stirred controversy with "her" voice in 2024

Next-Gen-AI

6. Chat GPT-4o, one of the biggest AI launches of 2024, was just the beginning for OpenAI

TOPS Gun

5. This year, Copilot+ PCs beat the hype — and gaming is next, AMD exec tells Laptop Mag

Ryzen up

4. AMD ruled the AI PC market in 2024. Can it stay ahead of Qualcomm and Intel next year?

To the Moon

3. Intel aimed for the Moon with its Lunar Lake chips this year, but was it enough to best Qualcomm and AMD?

Qual-competition

2. Qualcomm transformed the AI PC market in 2024 with Snapdragon X Elite. Can it do it again?

Redefining AI?

1. It debuted this year, but Apple Intelligence has 2 giant advantages to triumph in 2025

Series written by

Stevie Bonifield

Contributing writer Stevie Bonifield brings a history of science and technology writing to Laptop Mag, covering numerous stories throughout the year on topics such as OpenAI and Apple Intelligence. Stevie's expertise stretches beyond software or societal impacts of AI, routinely getting to grips with AI at a hardware level through reviewing Copilot+ and AI PCs as part of the Laptop Mag review team.

Series edited by

Series edited by

Rael Hornby

Special projects editor Rael Hornby brings decades of tech enthusiasm to the table and a history of covering AI for Laptop Mag since 2023. From Copilot to ChatGPT, Rael has produced news and features focusing on AI's growing presence in tech and its wider impact on our lives.