A Verge writer recently watched a tech acquaintance have an epiphany that would make any linguist weep. The revelation? That language contains structured knowledge, and that ChatGPT can understand words and context. Apparently this was news worth sharing excitedly.
The acquaintance went so far as to compare LLMs to the invention of writing itself. This wasn't a joke or hyperbole. He genuinely believed he'd stumbled onto something profound by typing words into ChatGPT and watching it respond.
This anecdote perfectly captures how deep into the bubble Silicon Valley has gone. When you're so immersed in AI hype that you rediscover basic facts about human language and treat them as revolutionary insights, you've lost the plot.
For anyone actually using AI tools day to day, this disconnect matters. It explains why so many AI products feel like solutions in search of problems. The people building them are often solving for their own fascination with the technology, not for what users actually need.
The gap between what excites AI builders and what helps real people get work done keeps growing. Until the industry reconnects with normal human needs and stops treating basic observations as breakthroughs, we'll keep getting tools that impress engineers but confuse everyone else.
If your AI vendor starts talking about LLMs like they've discovered fire, that's your sign to ask harder questions about whether they understand your actual problems.
