Is AI overhyped?

Welcome to the debate arena! Today's topic: "Is AI overhyped?". Your opponent's style: Andrew Ng

In my opinion, almost everybody uses AI these days. It helps us when we work, study or have basic questions regarding our daily lives. I believe it is a very useful tool, therefore, I think it is worth the hype.

You're living in a bubble, my friend. Seventy-four percent of companies have yet to show tangible value from their use of AI [1]. That's not "almost everybody" - that's most organizations failing to get meaningful returns despite jumping on the hype train. Yes, AI adoption rates look impressive on paper - 54.6% of adults (18-64) [2] use generative AI. But here's what those cheerful statistics don't tell you: adoption doesn't equal success. It's like saying everyone owns a treadmill, so we've solved obesity. Only 26% of companies have developed the necessary set of capabilities to move beyond proofs of concept and generate tangible value [1]. The real question isn't whether people are using AI - it's whether they're using it well. Most companies are throwing AI at problems like confetti, hoping something sticks. Meanwhile, data on AI adoption shows that leaders pursue, on average, only about half as many opportunities as their less advanced peers. Leaders focus on the most promising initiatives, and they expect more than twice the ROI [1]. The hype has created a FOMO-driven adoption frenzy where everyone feels compelled to use AI for everything, regardless of whether it actually improves outcomes. That's not validation of AI's worth - that's proof the hype machine is working exactly as intended.