Over the past few weeks, I've spent a significant amount of time promoting my AI course and seeking affiliates to help sell it. In this process, I reached out to several social media influencers who have a large following and often post content about AI. My primary focus was LinkedIn and Twitter, where AI discussions are thriving.
To my surprise, almost every one of them declined to promote my AI course, even when I offered them a generous 75% affiliate commission. Instead, they were willing to talk about my course if I paid them upfront. This didn't make sense — if they were truly genuine in promoting AI and its potential, they should have been more interested in the affiliate commission that could lead to bigger long-term earnings. With their huge followers interested in AI, they could easily earn a lot of money from my affiliate offer compared to a fixed upfront price. But as they prefer a fixed payment to an affiliate offer, they know that their huge following is not real; it is inflated.
This situation got me thinking, and I decided to dig deeper into these so-called AI influencers. What I found was unsettling: a clear pattern started to emerge. It seems that some AI tool makers are funding these influencers to get inflated/unreal/low-quality huge followings, pushing tools that are more about hype than substance, with the help of an inflated fanbase. With this process, they are trying to create hype about their fancy but useless AI Tools. I fear this kind of hype could destroy the entire AI ecosystem, much like what happened with Web 3.0.
We saw how overhyped promises and so-called “experts” in the Web 3.0 space made it difficult for genuine projects to get the attention they deserved. Today, we need to be cautious and mindful as the same trends threaten to take over AI.
This realization led me to write this post. It’s important for us to recognize the difference between genuine AI progress and the noise created by hype — and to handle this technology responsibly.
We Are Living in the Era of the AI Echo Chamber
We are all hearing about Artificial Intelligence these days. Whether it’s ChatGPT, Google Gemini, or Copilot, AI tools have suddenly become part of everyday talk. Everyone wants to use AI, sell AI, or look like they know AI. But here’s the problem — most people are only scratching the surface. We are not really in the age of intelligent machines; we are in the age of people pretending to understand them.
Everyone’s Talking, But Few Are Thinking
Today, AI is a hot topic. It’s everywhere — news, social media, WhatsApp forwards, online courses. People are throwing around words like “prompt engineering,” “AI expert,” "Agentic AI", "Vibe Coding", and “machine learning” without knowing what they actually mean. It’s like a classroom where everyone is talking, but nobody is really learning.
People are creating videos, courses, and posts about AI after spending just a few hours with ChatGPT. Many influencers are giving advice with full confidence, even though they have no background in AI or computer science. Companies are planning "AI transformation" without even asking their technical teams how realistic it is.
Echo Chamber of Confusion
This creates what we call an "echo chamber." People repeat what others say without questioning or understanding it. On LinkedIn and other platforms, the same ideas are repeated again and again — just with different packaging. If someone questions the hype or tries to explain the limitations of AI, they are often ignored or labeled as negative.
Why This Is Dangerous
This fake understanding is not just a small issue. It can lead to serious problems:
Companies wasting money on AI projects that don’t work
Poor decisions made based on wrong AI results
Biases in hiring, medical treatment, and loans because of faulty algorithms
Overtrust in machines that don’t really understand anything
In a country like India, where millions are still learning about digital tools, this misinformation can spread fast and cause big mistakes. Imagine a school using AI to grade students or a startup using AI to hire people without checking if the model is fair or correct. And almost all big companies are offering their AI Tools freely initially. But people will start realizing the limitations in the free version only after they become heavily dependent on those tools. Then they won't have any option other than going with the paid version. It reminds me of how Microsoft Windows dominates many countries like India, even when the free and open-source operating system Linux, is better than Windows.
AI Is Not Magic — It’s Just Maths and Code
Let’s be clear: AI is not a human brain. It doesn’t have feelings. It doesn’t “think” or “understand” the way we do. AI is a tool — a powerful one — built using data, probability, logic, and mathematics. It works based on patterns it finds in the data we give it. If the data is wrong or biased, the results will also be wrong.
Many people feel AI is some kind of magic. But the truth is: it’s just well-designed software. The moment we treat it like a superhuman, we lose our ability to control and question it.
What Should We Do Instead?
Instead of blindly following the hype, we should:
Learn the basics of how AI works (not just how to use tools)
Encourage open discussions, not just one-sided promotions
Work together — developers, designers, educators, policy makers — to use AI responsibly
Stay humble — the more we learn, the more we realise how little we know
You don’t need to become an AI scientist. But if you are using AI in your work, business, or content, it’s your responsibility to understand it properly. Even simple courses or books can give you a strong foundation.
We Are at a Crossroads
Right now, we have two choices:
Continue spreading half-knowledge and build a world of confusion.
Slow down, learn properly, and build a future where AI helps society in a safe and useful way.
The first option is popular, quick, and gives short-term fame. The second one takes time, effort, and honesty. But in the long run, the second path will create better jobs, better tools, and a better society.
Let’s choose wisely.
There is no question about the huge development of AI, the opportunities it is going to give, and the impact on jobs. Surely we need to learn AI. There is no question about it. That's why I created my AI Course to share my understanding about AI. I am criticising only the unnecessary hype.
And when learning AI, you need to be very careful. I used to get questions like "why do I need to buy your AI course while many free AI courses are offered by big companies?". But if you analyze those free courses, you can understand the motive behind them. Mostly, they will be preparing the learner to use their own AI Tools or cloud services; they won't tell about better open-source and on-premise opportunities. So, it is important to learn AI from an unbiased source.
Use the Coupon code QPT to get a discount on my AI Course available at Rajamanickam.Com
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