Abstract visualization of AI hype colliding with public skepticism

The AI Boom Hit a Wall — And It's Made of People

Something shifted this week. Not in the technology — the models keep improving, the benchmarks keep climbing, the agents keep getting sharper. What shifted is the mood. And if you’re watching the AI industry, that mood shift might matter more than any new model release. In the span of a few days: The New York Times asked why the public doesn’t love the AI boom the way they loved dot-com. Bernie Sanders stood at Stanford calling this “the most dangerous moment in the modern history of this country.” Ads quietly appeared inside ChatGPT conversations. And a Bank of America survey showed that a full quarter of fund managers now see the AI bubble as the single largest risk to the market. ...

February 22, 2026 · 6 min · DBBS Tech