Is this time truly different?
Every day, a new company is born around it. Investors rush in. Founders promise revolutions. Everyone’s talking about this new thing that’s going to change the world; how it will reshape industries, replace jobs, and create new ones. The excitement is contagious. Capital moves faster than ideas can mature. And no one wants to be left behind.
Well-trusted leaders and analysts call it a new era. Successful companies rewrite their roadmaps, trying not to miss the next big wave. Friends quit their jobs to join startups with bold visions and vague plans. Markets hit record highs. The belief seems to be unanimous, this technology will redefine everything. Doubt starts to look like ignorance.
It sounds like I’m describing AI, doesn’t it? But this story happened twenty-five years ago. They called it the dot-com bubble.
I’m not saying history will repeat itself, but the rhythm feels familiar. Bubbles aren’t scams; they’re the result of collective over-optimism, the idealization of a new concept that eventually bursts, leaving many out of the game. In the late ’90s, investors realized too late that many companies weren’t making money, and might never. Giants like Pets.com, Boo.com, and Webvan vanished almost overnight. Yet from that same chaos, Amazon, Google, and eBay emerged.
AI is a real revolution, just as the Internet was. The question is not whether it will change the world, but how much of what’s being built today will actually endure.
I don’t pretend to know where this ends. But looking back helps us stay grounded. History doesn’t always repeat, but it rhymes. If the pattern holds, some dreams will burst while others will build lasting value. And if this time truly is different, then we’re witnessing something extraordinary. A chapter we’ll be lucky to have lived through.
Technology evolves fast. Human nature doesn’t.
