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Tech Marketing's AI Hype Problem: What Comes After the Boom
AI CEOs promise the end of poverty and the world. When the hype cycle ends, marketing faces a problem: what replaces a pitch that promised to replace every job?
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Sam Altman says AI will "sort of lead to the end of the world." Elon Musk claims Optimus robots will "eliminate poverty." Peter Thiel warns of an Antichrist rising through technology fears.
These quotes generate hype. They also generate billions in investment. The strategy is old – say the same thing louder until it becomes believable. The difference this time is the scale.
During the dot-com era, a CEO claiming the internet would replace every job and end civilization would have been laughed out of the room. Now the room applauds.
This is the largest disconnect between the ultra-wealthy and everyone else that I have seen in my lifetime. The assumption may be wrong. It does not matter. Money keeps flowing in, inflating valuations.
When the hype cycle ends and AI settles into its actual utility, marketing faces a problem. What replaces a pitch that promised to replace every job? You cannot escalate from "we will eliminate poverty" to something bigger without bringing aliens or swapping out the sun.