So it's not possible to use AI and be skeptical about the hype at the same time? You seem really stuck on binary thinking here.

I'm saying stay sober about it, not "don't use it".

FWIW I was working in machine learning for years before the LLMs even hit and cut over to them as soon as they cane out. I use "AI" every day.

My point about pets.com is not that people in 98 should have stopped using the internet. It's that they should have been aware that they were in a hype. If you recognize that people get giddy and unrealistic about new tech and figured out how to objectively test perceptions to separate hype from reality.

I am not anti-ai, I am pro sober objective thinking.