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November 24, 2025<\/p>\n
3 min read<\/p>\n
Is This Our First AI Thanksgiving?<\/p>\n
As AI slips into kitchens, conversations and memories, Thanksgiving has become a test of how much we\u2019re willing to outsource<\/p>\n
By Deni Ellis B\u00e9chard edited by Clara Moskowitz<\/span><\/p>\n Tom, the turkey in Google\u2019s new commercial, is a plush\u2014the kind of stuffed animal you might find on a couch. To dodge Thanksgiving, he asks Google\u2019s \u201cAI Mode\u201d to point him to a destination where the holiday doesn\u2019t exist. The 30-second ad isn\u2019t just about AI; it\u2019s by AI\u2014the first Google commercial made entirely with its AI-generation systems to be released on TV.<\/p>\n Tom may be a cartoon, but he lands close to the mood right now. This year many Thanksgiving choices\u2014what ends up in the oven, how much families spend, how the day gets remembered\u2014may be influenced by artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not talking about a few tech-savvy hosts who have ChatGPT concoct a pumpkin pie recipe. A recent survey by software company Qlik found that 54 percent of respondents said they\u2019d used AI to help plan, prep or cook a holiday meal. Among younger adults, the number was at 58 percent, but even a quarter of baby boomers reported doing so. About a third of people said they would rely more on AI than on family members to make a grocery list for Thanksgiving. Part of the motivation is saving money\u2014over half trusted AI to lower costs. AI can hunt for deals, compare brands and find items within a proposed budget while taking into consideration guest counts and dietary restrictions. Sometimes bots place your order online; sometimes they tell you which nearby store has the cheapest boxed stuffing.<\/p>\n If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.<\/p>\n AI is starting to sound like another kitchen appliance\u2014which themselves are becoming more algorithmic, capable of recognizing the food you want to cook and adjusting temperature and timing appropriately. Some even learn your preferences. Humans still control these tools, but the judgment usually reserved for experienced cooks seems to be shifting to machines. Future Thanksgivings may require no human cooks at all.<\/p>\n AI is also changing how we communicate. With so little free time and so much pressure to be perfect, many who\u2019ve never cooked a turkey might have a chatbot walk them through the steps, feeling safer asking \u201cstupid questions\u201d in private. People even report using AI conversation prompts to get lively discussions going at the table. AI can generate the toast, the prayer, the party games and the poem read before dessert.<\/p>\n It may even transform our memories. Platforms promote \u201cThanksgiving Dinner Portrait\u201d image effects, transforming photos into banquet scenes with warm light and a perfectly styled table. Other presets promise golden\u2011hour Thanksgiving outdoors. Some sites advertise AI Thanksgiving image generators for greeting cards and seasonal marketing. In effects galleries, cozy Thanksgiving\u2011kitchen filters can sit next to AI boyfriend or girlfriend generators. A smiling partner or extra guest can be conjured as easily as a pumpkin pie.<\/p>\n With 72 percent of teenagers having used AI for companionship, one might slip away from the table to vent to a bot about a tense political debate. A young adult might message an AI \u201cpartner\u201d when family questions about dating get invasive. The outlet might be helpful, or it might replace the work of maintaining relationships with the humans passing the mashed potatoes.<\/p>\n So is this our first AI Thanksgiving? In one sense, no. Global and national food systems have been computerized for decades, and grocery chains began using algorithms for logistics and pricing long before we heard the phrase \u201cgenerative AI.\u201d We all depend on algorithms for weather forecasts, route planning, flight bookings and online orders.<\/p>\n In another sense, the answer might be yes. For many, this may be the first holiday in which AI helps decide what goes on the table, what we say and how we appear to others.<\/p>\n Or maybe we\u2019re asking the wrong question, and this isn\u2019t our first AI Thanksgiving\u2014it\u2019s theirs. All our searches for cranberry sauce and gluten-free stuffing\u2014every filtered photo, every venting session with a chatbot\u2014are the real harvest: data from millions of homes, millions of side dishes, millions of negotiations about where to sit and what to say. We can easily imagine, in the years ahead, someone setting a seat for a tablet or robot and asking what it\u2019s thankful for. If its answer is convincing, it will be because AI is already at our table, studying our messy ways.<\/p>\n Though unsettling, the prospect is also an invitation. If we\u2019re going to be written into code, we can decide what AI sees. We can let it record an optimized, robotic evening, or we can leave glitches: embarrassing toasts, typical disagreements and spontaneous jokes. That way, when future models tell us about Thanksgiving, they will respond that a successful holiday can look a little broken.<\/p>\n If you enjoyed this article, I\u2019d like to ask for your support. Scientific American<\/span> has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been a Scientific American<\/span> subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm <\/span>always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.<\/p>\n If you subscribe to Scientific American<\/span>, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.<\/p>\n In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can’t-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world’s best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.<\/p>\n There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you\u2019ll support us in that mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" November 24, 2025 3 min read Is This Our First AI Thanksgiving? As AI slips into kitchens, conversations and memories, Thanksgiving has become a test of how much we\u2019re willing to outsource By Deni Ellis B\u00e9chard edited by Clara Moskowitz Tom, the turkey in Google\u2019s new commercial, is a plush\u2014the kind of stuffed animal you<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35155,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[2906,6023,5954,18657,18293,13120],"class_list":{"0":"post-35154","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-family","9":"tag-meals","10":"tag-memories","11":"tag-thanksgiving","12":"tag-traditions","13":"tag-transforming"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35154\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/35155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}On supporting science journalism<\/h2>\n
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