The rapid adoption and democratization of generative AI has been compared to that of the lightbulb, which did the same for electricity nearly 150 years ago. Much as its invention in 1879, which came decades after the invention of electricity (1831), brought practical use cases to the masses and businesses, generative AI is doing the same for AI.
When technology moves from the lab into everyday life, mainstream adoption typically rides on increasingly powerful and proven initial use cases. With such rapid adoption comes excitement about the art of the possible. This is part of the reason gen AI is now at the peak of inflated expectations in Gartner’s hype cycle.
