AI or Pie in the Sky: Are We Being Served Value or Just Hype

Everywhere you look online these days, you’ll find someone promising that their AI tool will change your life.

My Instagram feed is overflowing with apps that claim to slash costs, automate everything, and make me tea in bed.

LinkedIn is not much better, with endless pitches for AI software “redefining” industries. It seems that every 21-year-old has an AI startup tucked away alongside their half-finished degree.

Behind the memes, though, there are some serious numbers to consider.

The Young Guns of Y Combinator

Y Combinator, Silicon Valley’s legendary accelerator, recently revealed that the median founder age in its 2025 batch is just 24. Even more striking is the surge of founders between the ages of 18 and 22, which has grown by more than 100 per cent compared to a few years ago.

That means many of the people pitching for million-pound investments are barely old enough to rent a car. In Britain, some of them wouldn’t even have cleared their driving test yet. Yet they’re shaping technology that entire industries may depend upon in the coming years.

The Sheer Flood of AI Tools

The scale of this “AI gold rush” is staggering. According to There’s An AI For That (TAAFT), there are now over 37,800 active AI tools listed worldwide.

Apply the Y Combinator demographics to this pool, and you arrive at an estimate of roughly 5,000 AI tools built by under-25s.

In other words, thousands of students and young graduates are producing software that businesses are being told to adopt right now.

It is no longer Wall Street dictating trends. The real AI boom is taking place in bedrooms, dormitories, and shared apartments.

The Times Square Gamble

Perhaps the best symbol of this moment is the story of “Roy”, a 21-year-old who recently spent $150,000 on a Times Square billboard to promote his AI startup. The advert was strikingly simple:

It is either the bravest or daftest marketing campaign of the year, depending on your perspective. Yet it perfectly encapsulates the energy of this generation of AI entrepreneurs: confident, raw, and willing to bet everything on capturing attention.

The Promise and the Problem

Here’s where my opinion comes in. AI is not a fad. It is without doubt reshaping the future of human civilisation.

From breakthroughs in healthcare, where algorithms can reduce drug development timelines by years, to smarter logistics, to creative tools that genuinely expand human potential, the transformative potential of AI is immense.

But let us also be honest. A large number of AI products hitting the market right now are little more than hype machines. They slap “AI” on the label, spin up a decent-looking landing page, and call it innovation. Underneath, many provide limited functionality, fall short of standards, or solve problems that barely exist.

For every genuinely useful product, there are dozens of copycats and gimmicks. The AI market today feels uncomfortably similar to the dot-com bubble: some real gems, surrounded by a mountain of hot air.

The Risk of Hype Fatigue

There is a danger here. If businesses repeatedly try AI tools that promise the world but deliver very little, scepticism will set in. “AI fatigue” could slow adoption of genuinely valuable tools. And in a field this important, that would be a real setback.

It is not just investors who risk wasting money. Companies adopting the wrong tools may end up disrupting workflows rather than improving them.

Imagine paying for a subscription to an AI service that is less reliable than the intern you already had on minimum wage.

Sorting the Signal from the Noise

So, how should buyers, investors, and decision-makers approach this crowded market?

1. Demand real use cases. If a tool cannot clearly demonstrate how it improves outcomes or saves time and money, move on.
2. Check the track record. Young founders can do brilliant work, but look for signals of staying power: consistent updates, user adoption, credible backers.
3. Beware the buzzwords. “Revolutionary” and “disruptive” are often red flags. Value should be measurable, not just marketable.
4. Diversify. Just as in investing, spread your bets. Some tools will fail, but a handful could prove transformative.

A Touch of British Perspective

Living in the UK, I have noticed how quickly people here jump on novelty food fads. One month it is cronuts, then freakshakes, then rainbow bagels. They look fantastic on Instagram, but try eating them regularly and you’ll regret it. AI tools are no different.

Some are genuinely nourishing, while others are little more than empty calories dressed up as innovation.

The trick is not to be dazzled by the sprinkles.

Closing Thoughts

We are living through a remarkable moment in history. Thousands of young adults are shaping tools that will influence economies, workplaces, and daily lives for decades to come. Some of them will go on to build the next OpenAI, Canva, or Stripe. Most will not.

AI is shaping the future of human civilisation, but it is vital to separate genuine innovation from opportunistic hype. If you are an investor, buyer, or business leader, approach this new wave of AI with curiosity and caution in equal measure.

Roy’s billboard in Times Square may be laughable to some and legendary to others, but it symbolises the sheer audacity of this generation. Whether that audacity translates into lasting value is up to all of us to decide.