“Topics come and go. And come back again.”
(Richard Seidl)
The AI hype is blaring at us from every side. AI here, agents there, and superintelligence just around the corner. Promises and doomsday warnings, the AI hype cycle in overdrive … what used to be a gentle hum on our so-called social media has turned into nonstop fire that’s hard to escape.
But escape we must, or we’ll go crazy. Getting out of this information (and disinformation) madness takes strategies. One would be to leave the bubble altogether. No more social media, smartphone in the trash. Radical. You can do that, but it’s tough if you work in tech. I’m not a fan of total refusal. Shutting it all out doesn’t make my world any better, and it feels kind of backward. I believe we have to learn to live with what’s there and deal with it. Whether we like it or not. Two things help me with that: small steps and a look at the AI hype cycle.
And then there’s the question: where do we draw the line? Is WhatsApp still okay? Telegram? Mastodon, still fine or not anymore? I also know a few people who have banned the TV, RIGOROUSLY. That devil’s box has to go, it makes us all stupid, and the kids too. Pure freedom …
… and then they watch Netflix and YouTube on the laptop. More or less in secret. Even worse: instead of a family movie night together, everyone sits in their own room with a smartphone, tablet or laptop, consuming. Well, somehow that doesn’t work.
Learning to Live with the Topics
Another way is to engage with things. To try to understand them, form an opinion and stand up for it. To actually look at our “feeds,” question the information critically, and neither parrot along mindlessly nor reject everything on principle.
The nasty part of this path: it’s laborious, exhausting and not easy. Which doesn’t fit our everyday lives at all, where we’d rather have a quick AI answer than a real debate. Saving energy and time just to get through the day.
The Art of Small Steps
The trick for me is taking small steps instead of trying to turn the big wheel. Sure, I can be frustrated that nothing moves in my company. But I can start at my own desk. Set up an Outlook rule, for example, that sorts my mail out of the way. Unsubscribe from newsletters. Get into the habit of closing all tabs at the end of the day so I can start fresh the next morning.
Putting AI Hype in Perspective with the Gartner Hype Cycle
Another strategy is to zoom out. To be less wrapped up in the topics swirling around us. For me, one of the most relaxing tools for that is the Gartner Hype Cycle. It has become an anchor: a hype arrives, gets pumped up properly … then comes the trough of disillusionment, and something productive is left over in the real world.
Take 3D printing. There was a time when the media predicted the total collapse of retail. We’d all just download blueprints and print our products ourselves … nobody would ever need to go to the hardware store again (hype).
In my workshops and keynotes, I like to ask how many people in the room own a 3D printer. Even with hardcore IT audiences, usually only two or three hands go up. And yet 3D printing has established itself in industry and, for example, in dental technology (plateau of productivity).
We saw the same with the metaverse, and the same is ahead of us with AI. As I write this, “AI agents” sit right at the peak of the hype cycle. Just before disillusionment sets in.
I find that a real relief. Topics are topics … marketing pumps them up … then comes the crash, and whatever is productive stays. So take a breath and keep going.
In the end, everyone has to find their own strategy for dealing with this crazy, wonderful world and holding their ground in it. Whining and dithering won’t help. That’s what we earthlings are here for. So here’s my call: look at your strategies, become aware of them, and if they don’t work … change them!
