AI Hype Follows Same Pattern as Dot-Com, Mobile, and Blockchain Booms

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A veteran developer argues that the current AI startup rush mirrors past tech booms — from 1990s websites to 2008 mobile apps to 2015 blockchain — where hype attracted crowds who skipped foundational engineering. In each cycle, early adopters who understood the technology deeply built lasting products, while those chasing quick returns largely failed. The 2024 wave of 'build an AI SaaS in a weekend' tutorials is producing a similar graveyard of abandoned projects. Core engineering disciplines — clean architecture, cost management, security, and testing — remain critical even when the underlying technology is genuinely transformative. The author contends that no amount of prompt engineering substitutes for solving a real problem and building maintainable, user-focused systems.

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