How do I catch up on “basic” knowledge so I don’t feel socially lost?

I’ve been realizing that my lack of general knowledge is severely affecting how I connect with people. I’ll go to networking events or meetups, and when topics like AI, fashion, or current trends come up, I have nothing to contribute.

For example, someone mentioned AI and all I could say was, “Yeah, ChatGPT is cool,” because that’s literally all I know. Another time everyone suddenly started talking about fashion trends and laughing and I just sat there silently. It makes me feel socially behind or even autistic at times because I genuinely don’t know what most people consider basic stuff.

In one instance, my coworkers were talking about "inflation" and I asked "inflation? what is that" and they looked at me like surprised.

How do you guys build that general awareness? Do you actively study topics or is it just life experience? I hate feeling like the quiet guy with nothing to add. I feel very dumb tbh. Any advice on how to catch up?