Where did my recent photos go after Apple suddenly "curated" them?

All of the sudden none of my photos from 2022 or 2023 are appearing in my photos on my MAC. I'm signed in with the Apple ID I have always used. Two days ago I got a popup message the my photos were "finished curating." I have been using MACs since 2011 and have never seen this message. Coincidentally, the night before my iOS upgraded overnight, but not sure if that has anything to do with it. However, since the laptop rebooted after that "upgrade" none of the photos from the years 2022 or 2023 are showing when I open the Photos app on the MAC. (They are still on my iPhone and iPad.). I clicked on iCloud in the Photos app and all it tells me is "iCloud features for Photos are only available in the System Photo Library." In addition, all of my shared albums are not appearing either. There are no options in the iCloud tab, but I AM signed in. I've never seen this, have not changed anything so I'm befuddled as to what has happened.