Are We Living in an AI Bubble?
I have watched Off Campus three times. Because obviously once was not enough to enjoy the romance, the healthy relationships, and the drama of the series.
But watching it for the third time I noticed something. It reminded me of Dawson’s Creek and all those series from the early 2000s, which I think was entirely intentional. And then I noticed something further. The characters are not glued to their phones all day. Yes, they use Instagram and they text each other, but they are not killing time scrolling endlessly through their feeds. One of the most important scenes in the series centres around a cassette player and a cassette tape, I hope all of you know what those are. But the detail that really struck me? Nobody is using AI.
I do not think this is accidental.
If we actually think about it, there are very few series or films where we see characters using AI, and this is clearly far from reality, because the truth is that most of us use it in one way or another every day. So why has it not been reflected on screen yet?
I think you already know the answer. People are rejecting the technology. And the evidence is not just in what we are watching.
Think about advertising. Last year every time I went to the cinema I was bombarded with ads from Google, Copilot, and Samsung promoting AI features in their products. The benefits of AI. The future of AI. AI everywhere. But the campaigns have changed. Recently I was genuinely surprised to see Pinterest running a campaign called something along the lines of “the best thing you can find online is to go offline”, calling out the cost of being constantly connected and suggesting that while other platforms sell the illusion of living, Pinterest helps you build a life you actually want to live.
I am not entirely sure how Pinterest, an app specifically designed to keep you scrolling, can genuinely help you go offline. But it definitely signals a trend.
Two other campaigns landed at almost exactly the same time and in exactly the same spirit. Heineken, “Social Networking Since 1873”, making the case that the best networking happens in person, over a beer, not behind a screen. And Google, which has quietly shifted its messaging away from AI capability toward human connection.
What advertising and cinematography are telling us, and advertisers only spend money on campaigns they believe will work, is that nostalgia, connection, and the analogue are having a cultural moment. The rejection of technology, and of AI specifically, is not fringe behaviour. It is mainstream enough that the biggest brands in the world are pivoting their entire campaigns to meet it.
The bubble may not have burst yet. But the cracks are showing. And they are showing up exactly where they always do first, in what people choose to watch, and what makes them reach for their wallets.
Azahara Corrales
