AI Mania or Market Mirage?

We’re heading into the week with a sharp reminder: not everything that glitters in AI is gold. Gary Marcus, longtime AI critic and NYU professor, told Yahoo Finance that today’s AI moment looks uncomfortably similar to past tech manias.

This week, we’re breaking down what’s hype, what’s substance, and how to sip responsibly as you scale AI inside your enterprise.

Let’s dig in.

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This Isn’t a Bubble, But it Sure is Frothy

When longtime AI critic and NYU professor Gary Marcus spoke with Yahoo Finance, he didn’t hold back. After decades of analyzing AI’s promises and pitfalls, Marcus says the current frenzy is starting to echo the hype cycles of past tech booms.

His basic critique is that the math just isn’t mathing. Nvidia’s $3T valuation, Meta’s 60% stock bump, and Microsoft’s $50B AI capex are all riding on future AI revenue that hasn’t actually materialized. Enterprises are making trillion-dollar bets on tech that is still, in many ways, experimental.

But don’t mistake this for AI skepticism. Marcus, like many enterprise leaders, still believes in the long-term promise. He’s just sounding the alarm on overhyped bets and underbaked business models. The gap between valuations and proven business models is widening, and leaders who confuse froth for fundamentals risk getting burned.

Enterprise reality check:

• Do your own diligence. Vendor FOMO is real, but avoid proof-of-concept purgatory with AI pilots that look impressive but do nothing.

• Watch out for revenue mirages. If a tool’s business model depends on your business being the product, that’s just advertising in disguise.

• Invest in internal capability, not just vendor lock-in. Today’s AI gold rush has created a new breed of middlemen. Not all of them are necessary.

The smartest enterprises are playing the long game by building durable AI workflows, skipping the hype, and keeping a cool head while the market overheats.

News Roundup

1. Emotion-Tracking Jewelry is Now a Thing
ThingX just announced Nuna, a pendant that claims to track your emotions in real time using AI. Meant to help you “self-regulate stress,” this necklace reads biometric data and suggests interventions. Wearables are clearly evolving, but whether this is wellness tech or corporate surveillance in disguise remains to be seen.
Read more →

2. Coinbase Fires Engineers for Ignoring AI
CEO Brian Armstrong says if you didn’t try AI tools at work, you’re out. The move is part of Coinbase’s internal push to “move faster” and lean into automation-heavy operations. Expect other startups (and some enterprises) to follow suit.
Read more →

3. YouTube Uses AI to Edit Creators’ Videos Without Consent
New reports reveal that YouTube is testing AI-driven edits on creators’ content without notifying them. It’s being framed as "optimization," but some call it overreach. It’s a case study in AI governance, platform control, and who really owns creative work in the algorithmic age.
Read more →

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TL;DR:

• Veteran fund managers are calling this AI moment a bubble, but savvy enterprises are avoiding the froth and focusing on actual ROI.

• Coinbase is doubling down on AI culture. If you’re not experimenting with tools, you might be left behind.

• AI-powered emotional tracking wearables are here. Cue the ethics debates.

• YouTube’s stealth edits raise big red flags for creator rights and enterprise trust in platform-level AI.

• The real winners in this AI cycle are teams who build with purpose.

Closing Thought
Markets may be bubbling, but your strategy doesn’t have to. This is a moment to stay pragmatic, cut through the noise, and double down on what actually improves enterprise performance.

Stay sharp,

Cat Valverde
Founder, Enterprise AI Solutions
Navigating Tomorrow’s Tech Landscape Together