A Manifesto Against AI Bubble Fatalism and Hype-Driven Tech Narratives

Is the AI Boom Inevitable or a Choice?

This manifesto, published on UX Design, argues that the current AI boom behaves like a speculative bubble and that its direction is a choice rather than something preordained. The authors say they are not against AI itself. Their target is abuse, exploitation and the hype that covers for them. They draw on earlier tech bubbles and on critics such as Ed Zitron to make the case that generative AI is overstated, that circular investment among AI firms is worrying, and that people, not machines, decide how technology gets used.

For brand builders, designers and strategists, the piece is a useful counterweight to the steady stream of inevitability talk in launch decks and vendor pitches. It asks practical questions about customer service bots, data handling and the flood of machine-made content that brands are now part of. Read it if you want to pressure-test your AI assumptions before committing budget, and if you want language for explaining to clients why saying yes to every new tool is not the same as strategy.