Tech is quietly getting worse for regular users — AI is flooding search with junk, free AI tools are being downgraded, digital purchases are being clawed back, and entry-level jobs are vanishing.

• Google's AI now answers searches itself instead of sending you to real sites, and it often spits out garbage scraped from jokes and trolls.
• Bots make up half of web traffic, churning out fake AI articles that crowd out real human-made sites — small sites lost most of their traffic after a 2024 Google update.
• OpenAI is losing billions, so it's quietly downgrading free ChatGPT, locking the smart version behind a $200 plan, and adding ads that target your private chats.
• Amazon is deleting games people paid for on its Luna service, arguing in court that "buy" never meant you owned anything.
• AI and outsourcing are wiping out entry-level jobs — US entry-level openings fell 35% in 18 months, pushing young people into gig work or moving abroad.

Outlook: Expect more paywalls, more ads, fewer real search results, and a tighter job market as companies lean harder on AI to cut costs.