The Parallels of Paradigm Shifts

The current fervor surrounding AI feels remarkably familiar for those who were active in the early days of Web 2.0. Both periods have been characterized by a rapid cycle of hype, hordes panning for gold. There is a palpable rush around experimentation and daily updates, all counterbalanced by a healthy dose of skepticism and cynicism, particularly from established creative, technical and Luddite communities. But there are a few key differences: the immediacy, power and accessibility of GenAI are proving far more compelling than the initial promise of social media ever did. After all, it’s much easier to demonstrate the magic of Lovable or Ideogram than the ROI of a Twitter handle.

In the mid-2000s, social media felt like an underwhelming fad to many. The initial vision – connecting with friends and family online – seemed quaint, but didn’t have the slightest chance to be a corporate outpost for companies to engage with consumers (even more so for B2B). Businesses were baffled. Most marketing and communications professionals dismissed Facebook and Twitter as adolescent fads. Those who built their careers around traditional media largely dismissed the rising tide, viewing social as a medium for amateurish content that lacked the polish, sophistication, and reach of established and respected channels. Ironically, UGC has now become the most effective creative tactic for many brands, especially in the lower funnel. The more polish, the worse the results on some apps.

Now, since the watershed moments of ChatGPT, DALL-E and MidJourney, many in the creative industries dismissed these tools and the output solely as a “cheap imitations,” a threat to their livelihoods, or brazen copyright violations. One conversation I recall pointed to the fact that GenAI tools were trained to mimic and were incapable of ‘originality.’ This isn't entirely false, but also not entirely true and I believe will be less and less true over time. The rate of progress in this particular area over the last 6-12-24 months is astonishing.

But it’s not just creatives and philosophers who dread the paradigm shift; Developers are struggling with the rapid changes coming their way. Many question the underlying technology, pointing to biases in training data, the limitations of current models, and opine on the inevitable breakage or security risks. Concerns about copyright, plagiarism, and the potential for misinformation were (and remain) valid, but history proves that most of these concerns can and will be solved for.

There is also some anger, resentment and disbelief that ‘vibe coders’ (people with little to no coding experience utilizing tools like Lovable , Databutton , Replit , V0, Bolt, et al) can build viable web applications, prototypes and even functioning games.

Unlike the slow burn of social media adoption, GenAI captured attention almost instantly. The ability to generate realistic images from text prompts, write compelling copy, and even create functional code with minimal effort has proven undeniably powerful and fundamentally disruptive.

The key and obvious difference lies in the immediacy and tangibility of GenAI’s output.

• Social media’s impact was abstract. Especially early on, the value of a brand Facebook page or Twitter handle was often relatively abstract – brand awareness, consideration, and potential customer engagement. It required consistent effort and a long-term strategy to see results. And good luck measuring or proving the value when pitted against or complementing TV ad spend.
• GenAI, on the other hand, delivers instant creation and instant value. You type a prompt, and within seconds, you have a unique image, video, a draft article, or a snippet of code. This immediate gratification is incredibly compelling, even for skeptics.

The power isn’t just in the output but in the democratization of creation. Previously, creating high-quality visuals required expensive software and specialized skills. Now, anyone with an internet connection can generate stunning images with a simple text prompt. Similarly, writing code, once the domain of highly trained developers, is becoming increasingly accessible through AI-assisted tools.

This immediate impact has fueled a far more widespread “gold rush” than we saw with social media. Not just venture capitalists, but individual creators, small businesses, and even established corporations are scrambling to explore the possibilities of GenAI. The sheer volume of new tools, applications, and use cases emerging daily is staggering. The ability to find new efficiencies and optimizations is nearly limitless, and I don’t believe that’s hyperbole at all.

However, it’s crucial to remember the cautionary tale of social media itself – a platform initially envisioned as a tool for connection that has, for many, devolved into a wasteland of vapid content, hate speech, relentless advertising, and spawned a generation of creators prioritizing fleeting virality over substance or authenticity. While GenAI holds immense promise, we must learn from the broken promises of social media and strive to build a future where this new technology empowers genuine creativity and meaningful connection, rather than simply adding to the amplified noise.