Is Fortune Playing Both Sides of the AI Hype Cycle?

The MIT study goes viral. Mira Murati's $2B seed round headline doesn't make buzz even with a twist! but this August is set as one perfect storm by Fortune!

Aug 22, 2025

The Fortune article highlighting the MIT report that 95% of GenAI pilots are failing is everywhere right now 🔥 across both traditional and social media. (Which likely means a lot of people are reacting to the article rather than diving into the full report — but lets talk about it in next post after I have reviewed the full report. 👀).

This morning I also noticed Fortune’s piece on Mira Murati’s $2B seed round pop up on LinkedIn. Interestingly, it’s already a week old and which means it didn’t gain the same kind of viral traction — even with the “largest ever by a female founder” twist. Of course not every headline is breaking through the noise, though Fortune is clearly pushing hard to keep AI at the center of the conversation, and here is why!

💡 lets’ look at the streak of headlines from August 2025, all circling the shift from AI hype → skepticism:

📰 “MIT report: 95% of generative AI pilots at companies are failing” (Aug 17, 2025)
📉 “U.S. tech stocks slide after Altman warns of ‘bubble’ in AI and MIT study doubts the hype” (Aug 19, 2025)
😬 “AI anxiety has sent markets into a tizzy, but experts say the jitters will only ‘punish those chasing the froth’” (Aug 19, 2025)
💻 “The ‘shadow AI economy’ is booming: Workers at 90% of companies are using personal AI tools” (Aug 18, 2025)
🗣️ “What CEOs are saying about the alleged AI bubble” (Aug 20, 2025)
⚖️ “Just don’t call it an AI bubble” (Aug 20, 2025)
💵 “Wall Street isn’t worried about an AI bubble. Sam Altman is” (Aug 19, 2025)

Fortune's AI Coverage Strategy: From Reality Check to Hype Cycle Monetization (Dec 2024 - Aug 2025)

And remember: back in Dec 2024 they already ran “AI leaders provide a reality check about a technology they say is both ‘exciting’ and still a very ‘manual exercise’.” The “reality check” narrative isn’t new — but this August pile-on is impossible to ignore.

🔎 The AI Hype Reality Check: Multiple Stories Signal a Major Shift

But is it just Fortune?. August 2025 feels like the first real AI reality check since ChatGPT took off three years ago: Over the past few weeks there’s been a wave of stories that together are shaping this story — even sparking bubble warnings. A quick recap of the flashpoints:

❌ The GPT-5 Disaster (Aug 7): Marketed as a PhD-level breakthrough, GPT-5 landed with a thud — described by early users as “cold,” “mechanical,” and prone to bizarre mistakes (like claiming “blueberry” has three b’s). The backlash was so strong that over 3,000 users petitioned to bring back GPT-4o. OpenAI caved, and Sam Altman issued a rare public apology, admitting they “messed up.”
💬 Bubble talk - Sam Altman’s Bubble Warning: At a private dinner with reporters, Altman himself admitted AI is in bubble territory — comparing it to the dot-com era and warning “someone’s going to get burnt” on overvalued AI startups.
📉 Market jitters: The stock market noticed too. Nvidia, Palantir, and even SoftBank all tumbled. Nvidia shed 3.5% despite its $4T milestone. Palantir dropped nearly 10%. Nasdaq fell 1.2%. International AI stocks like SK Hynix (–2.9%) and SoftBank (–7%) also stumbled.
😒 AI fatigue: Consumer pushback is rising. Surveys show nearly half of Gen Z and Boomers now oppose AI ads. Companies like Duolingo and several gaming studios drew heavy criticism for AI-first strategies or AI-generated content. Social media sentiment has turned increasingly hostile, with people trolling AI outputs instead of celebrating them.
💬 The “AI Winter” (or Autumn?) Debate: Analysts disagreed on whether this signals a looming “AI winter” or simply an “AI autumn” — a necessary correction instead of collapse. The utility is there, but the exuberance is fading.
📊 Corporate Spending Worries: Meta’s abrupt AI hiring freeze (after dangling $100M sign-on bonuses) and its restructuring of the AI unit into four teams sent another signal: even giants are tightening belts.

As CNN Business put it, August has delivered a “vibe shift” around AI. With GPT-5’s flop, the MIT 95% failure study, Altman’s bubble admission, Meta’s reorg, and market selloffs all converging, this feels like the first serious reality check for AI since the ChatGPT boom began in late 2022.

The mood has flipped from inevitability 🚀 to caution ⚠️.

👉 In other words, it’s not the end of AI — but the narrative has shifted. We’ve moved from unchecked hype to skeptical evaluation, and that transition is now playing out in headlines, boardrooms, markets, and consumer sentiment all at once.

Chart — Bar chart comparing how different AI "reality check" events performed across media coverage, social engagement, and market impact

📊 Evidence of Fortune’s AI Hype Strategy

Here’s another twist though: Fortune isn’t just covering AI — they’re monetizing both sides of the cycle.

🤝 AI Partnerships: They’ve teamed up with Accenture to launch Fortune Analytics, branding themselves as AI innovators.
✂️ AI Layoffs: Yet in July they cut 10% of staff, citing “the rise of AI” and declining traffic — while publishing stories about AI’s disruption of jobs.
🌀 Content Pivot: Their headlines span the whole spectrum — hype, backlash, and reality checks — capturing clicks from every camp.

Now this, follows the classic media playbook: hype → backlash → analysis. And the result? Engagement from all sides.

Which is the real point: Fortune’s AI coverage isn’t about a consistent stance — it’s about winning the attention game. From the boom to the backlash, they’re having their 🍰 and eating it too.

❓So Where Does This Go Next?

Here’s what I keep wondering:

⏳ How long will this hype/backlash cycle keep spinning?
🧠 Is the MIT “95% failing” story the moment people actually wake up to AI’s realities, or just another spike in the cycle?
🚀 Does the next “AI breakthrough” reignite hype just as fast as this bubble talk cooled it down?

Because if Fortune’s coverage proves anything… it’s that the hype cycle itself has become the story.

💭 What do you think? Are we finally moving beyond the hype, or just stuck in another loop of exaggerated peaks and panic dips?

In the next post we’ll cover the MIT report and try to find the answer to some of the burning questions .»

If the AI revolution really living up to its promise, or are most companies stuck at the starting line? With 95% of generative AI pilots reportedly failing, are businesses missing something critical in their rush to innovate? Could the billions invested have overlooked the true hurdles to impact? What will it actually take for AI to deliver on the hype?

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