The new vegans

After recently posting a somewhat enthusiastic piece about AI, a friend roasted me in the comments by saying, “AI enthusiasts are quickly becoming the new vegans.” This immediately struck me as both hilarious and uncomfortably close to home (I don’t consider myself an AI “enthusiast,” but I definitely talk about it waaaay too much).

Since then, I’ve repeated my friend’s joke to a dozen or so people, and the reaction is always the same: laughter, followed by a knowing smile. It's a joke that lands because it reflects something real; AI has become such a ubiquitous topic in certain circles that people are starting to feel... pretty over it. I think you can only take so many articles claiming that AI will revolutionize everything, everywhere, all at once –– before your eyes stay permanently rolled.

The fact that the joke resonates for so many people reveals something about our current zeitgeist: people are more likely to feel mildly annoyed by AI hype than they are to feel awestruck or terrified. And honestly? I think this is a good thing. For a while, it felt like we were stuck in two extreme narratives: either AI was going to save humanity from all its woes or doom us to some dystopian nightmare. But now, it seems like we’re moving toward a middle ground—a more nuanced and sober conversation about where AI fits into our lives.

And that’s exactly where it belongs: as a tool, albeit a massively transformative one. But not some mythical force that requires existential hand-wringing or inspires fanatical devotion. The truth is, AI is becoming ordinary. It's weaving itself into the fabric of how we work, create, and solve problems, and that's precisely why it has so much potential. Like any other transformative technology, AI is most impactful when it fades into the background, quietly enabling us to do things better, faster, or smarter without demanding constant attention.

So, while I may joke about being the “new vegan” of AI, I’ll take it as a sign of progress. It means AI is moving from spectacle to substance. But if you ever catch me at a party trying to explain to some poor victim about how pre-trained transformers work, please gently just guide me to the vegan end of the buffet.