What the “AI Bubble” Really Means for Us AI & Our Community

By Tenita “AI Advisor” Abraham

Technology Columnist

A couple weeks ago, my niece Briana kicked off her new column by asking a question that many of you have been thinking quietly: “Is this AI wave just another bubble waiting to pop?”

She broke it down from a young creator’s point of view—one shaped by the Internet age, content culture, and watching tech trends rocket and collapse overnight. And she wasn’t wrong. There is a bubble forming. But the way that bubble impacts our community looks very different.

So let’s talk about it plainly, the way we talk after Bible Study or while waiting in the barbershop.

Yes, there’s an AI bubble—but it’s not because AI is fake or temporary. It’s because companies are spending faster than they’re thinking.

Major firms—banks, tech companies, retailers— are pouring billions into AI tools, software, and automation systems they don’t fully understand. Surveys from fund managers show the same increasing concern: companies are overinvesting in AI, just like they did during the dot-com boom.

And you know what happens when people spend too fast:

• systems break

• jobs get disrupted

• whole industries wobble

• communities like ours feel the impact first

But here’s the part older

readers need to hear: AI itself

is not the bubble. The behavior around AI is.

This moment reminds me a lot of past economic cycles we lived through. Some of you remember watching the housing bubble burst. You remember the Internet coming in like a storm. You remember companies buying technology without preparing the people expected to use it.

AI is following the same pattern: big promises, big investments, and not enough planning.

But that’s only half of the picture.

The other half—and the part I need our community to hold onto—is that AI is here to stay. It’s not going anywhere.

Just like the Internet didn’t disappear after the dotcom crash, AI won’t vanish when the hype cools down. The bubble might burst for corporations, but the technology will become more stable, more useful, and more everyday.

So what does that mean for regular folks?

Let me put it in everyday terms:

• 1. Don’t let the headlines

scare you. The bubble is business hype—not everyday usage.

AI isn’t replacing people. Companies just need better strategy.

• 2. AI can help our community right now in simple ways. Older adults can use it

ways.Older adults can use it to:

• read and summarize confusing letters

• organize medical instructions

• manage bills

• translate legal or insurance language

• keep up with grandchildren’s schooling

• keep track of church announcements or events

• write letters, speeches, or even obituaries with ease and dignity