The AI hype is just like the blockchain frenzy – here’s what happens when the hype dies
- Written by Gediminas Lipnickas, Lecturer in Marketing, University of South Australia
In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has taken centre stage across various industries. From AI-generated art to chatbots in customer service, every sector is seemingly poised for disruption.
It’s not just in your news feed every day – venture capital is pouring in, while CEOs are eager to declare their companies “AI-first[1]”. But for those who remember the lofty promises of other technologies that have since faded from memory, there’s an uncanny sense of déjà vu.
In 2017, it was blockchain that promised to transform every industry. Companies added “blockchain” to their name[2] and watched stock prices skyrocket, regardless of whether the technology was actually used, or how.
Now, a similar trend is emerging with AI. What’s unfolding is not just a wave of innovation, but a textbook example of a tech hype cycle[3]. We’ve been here many times before.
Understanding the hype cycle
The tech hype cycle[4], first defined by the research firm Gartner, describes how emerging technologies rise on a wave of inflated promises and expectations, crash into disillusionment and, eventually, find a more realistic and useful application.
References
- ^ AI-first (www.theverge.com)
- ^ “blockchain” to their name (www.theguardian.com)
- ^ textbook example of a tech hype cycle (theconversation.com)
- ^ tech hype cycle (www.gartner.com)
- ^ CC BY-ND (creativecommons.org)
- ^ US$40 billion into the metaverse (fortune.com)
- ^ abandon it later (www.afr.com)
- ^ Why the metaverse isn't ready to be the future of work just yet (theconversation.com)
- ^ 400% overnight (www.theguardian.com)
- ^ stock price soaring (www.bbc.com)
- ^ misaligned with real industry problems (www.birmingham.ac.uk)
- ^ tracking pet food ingredients (www.petfoodindustry.com)
- ^ loyalty programs with crypto tokens (www.mintel.com)
- ^ 90% of enterprise blockchain solutions failed (www.forbes.com)
- ^ announcing it would use AI to generate quizzes and content (www.reuters.com)
- ^ replaced 700 workers with an AI chatbot (www.klarna.com)
- ^ walk back its strategy (www.independent.co.uk)
- ^ shut down (www.theguardian.com)
- ^ riddled with errors (www.theverge.com)
- ^ overpromise what AI can do (economictimes.indiatimes.com)
- ^ “asset tokenization” (www.mckinsey.com)
- ^ tapering off (www.gartner.com)
- ^ pushing back against the use of AI to replace them (www.brookings.edu)
- ^ AI making frequent and costly mistakes (www.bbc.com)
- ^ most likely path forward (www.forbes.com)
