Keeping an AI on the Future in the Age of Hype and Tech
Why Read This
What Makes This Article Worth Your Time
Summary
What This Article Is About
In this sharp satirical piece, Ravi Shankar argues that Artificial Intelligence has become less a technological revolution than a social performance. By early 2026, ChatGPT alone was generating over 618 million monthly searches globally, with rivals like Gemini, DeepSeek, and Perplexity close behind — yet Shankar contends that the word “AI” is deployed less for substance than for signalling relevance at conferences, pitch decks, and political summits.
Drawing a pointed parallel with the sustainability buzzword cycle of the previous decade — when oil companies embraced windmills and airlines distributed compostable spoons — Shankar suggests that AI risks following the same trajectory of greenwashing-style inflation. Politicians invoke it to appear contemporary, CEOs use it to excite investors, and journalists scatter it to avoid harder stories about infrastructure and public health, raising the question of whether AI hype will outlast the substance beneath it.
Key Points
Main Takeaways
AI as Social Signalling
Artificial Intelligence functions today as a buzzword that signals relevance, deployed at summits and pitch decks far beyond its actual applications.
ChatGPT Dominates Search
ChatGPT generated over 618 million monthly searches globally by early 2026, with Gemini, DeepSeek, and Perplexity as close competitors.
History Repeats Itself
The AI craze mirrors the “sustainability” buzzword era, when fossil fuel companies used green language to project responsibility without substantive change.
Politicians Exploit the Trend
World leaders host AI summits and invoke the term to appear forward-thinking, even when policy substance remains shallow or disconnected from real challenges.
Media Scatters the Buzzword
Journalists insert “AI” into articles to stay current, often sidelining substantive coverage of infrastructure, governance, and public health issues.
Greenwashing Parallel Looms
Just as sustainability was co-opted for optics, AI risks becoming a performance of innovation rather than a genuine driver of meaningful technological progress.
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Article Analysis
Breaking Down the Elements
Main Idea
AI Is This Era’s Buzzword Performance
Shankar’s central argument is that Artificial Intelligence has been hijacked as a cultural signifier — a term wielded for social credibility rather than genuine understanding. With ChatGPT breaking search records and AI Summits proliferating globally, the author warns that substance is being eclipsed by spectacle, just as happened with “sustainability” a decade earlier.
Purpose
To Provoke Critical Reflection on Tech Hype
Shankar writes to critique and caution — using satire to prod readers into questioning whether their enthusiasm for AI is intellectually grounded or merely socially performative. He targets a broad audience: the conference-goer, the CEO, the journalist, and the policymaker who invoke AI without rigor.
Structure
Satirical Hook → Data → Historical Analogy
The article opens with a sardonic, image-rich hook about conference culture, moves into concrete data on ChatGPT’s dominance, then pivots to a historical analogy — the “sustainability” craze — to build its critique. The structure is Satirical → Evidential → Analogical, layering wit over argument.
Tone
Sardonic, Incisive & Culturally Aware
Shankar writes with sharp wit — comparing AI enthusiasm to chimpanzee chutzpah and generative AI to “cocktail garnish.” The tone is sardonic and irreverent throughout, yet grounded in real data and cultural observation, making the critique entertaining as well as substantive.
Key Terms
Vocabulary from the Article
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Tough Words
Challenging Vocabulary
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Small, elegant pieces of food served at formal gatherings; here used to evoke the pretentious atmosphere of tech conferences.
“…aggressively wolfing down curated trays of canapés.”
A French-derived preposition meaning “without,” used in formal or literary English to indicate the absence of something.
“No article…is perfect sans the ‘AI’ word.”
Calling upon or citing a concept, law, or authority to lend legitimacy or power to one’s actions or arguments.
“…politicians invoking it to seem contemporary…”
Growing or spreading rapidly and in large numbers, like mushrooms appearing overnight; used metaphorically here for AI summits.
“…think AI Summits mushrooming internationally…”
Strewn with or full of many things in a disorganised way; here used figuratively to describe history filled with discarded trend obsessions.
“History is littered with obsessions of yesterday.”
A coined phrase referring to activists who resemble Greta Thunberg (known for her braided hair), used satirically to describe environmental protesters.
“…charged by Greta Thunberg plait-alikes with ‘greenwashing’.”
Reading Comprehension
Test Your Understanding
5 questions covering different RC question types
1According to the article, ChatGPT generated over 618 million monthly searches globally as of early 2026.
2What does Shankar compare the widespread use of “AI” as a buzzword to?
3Which sentence best captures the author’s argument that AI has become a tool for social credibility rather than genuine technological engagement?
4Evaluate the following statements based on the article.
Gemini, DeepSeek, and Perplexity are mentioned in the article as competitors to ChatGPT.
The article states that the “sustainability” buzzword era ended because businesses genuinely achieved their environmental goals.
The article suggests that “sustainability” appeared in annual reports, on shampoo bottles, and in real estate brochures.
Select True or False for all three statements, then click “Check Answers”
5What can be most reasonably inferred about Shankar’s view of how buzzword-driven trends tend to end?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Shankar uses “social performance” to describe how AI is deployed less for its actual utility and more as a signal of relevance or modernity. Politicians use it at summits to appear forward-thinking, CEOs mention it to excite investors, and journalists insert it into articles to seem current — all without necessarily engaging with the technology substantively.
Greenwashing refers to companies making superficial environmental gestures — like airlines using compostable spoons — while continuing harmful practices. Shankar draws a parallel to argue that AI risks the same fate: corporations and institutions may deploy AI-language for optics and investor appeal rather than meaningful technological transformation.
This phrase is Shankar’s punchline for the sustainability cycle — suggesting the buzzword didn’t fade because the problem was solved, but because a more urgent global crisis displaced it in public discourse. It implies that AI hype, too, may not resolve through accountability but simply be overtaken by the next dominant cultural moment.
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This article is rated Intermediate. It features some technical vocabulary (e.g., generative AI, greenwashing) alongside satirical and cultural references that require contextual inference. The arguments are accessible but reward readers who can identify rhetorical devices like analogy and irony, making it well-suited for CAT, GRE, or GMAT reading comprehension practice.
Ravi Shankar is a columnist for the New Indian Express, known for satirical and culturally incisive commentary on society, politics, and technology. His perspective is significant because he critiques AI hype from a literary and sociological standpoint rather than a purely technical one, offering readers a lens to question how language and trends shape public discourse beyond their actual substance.
The Ultimate Reading Course covers 9 RC question types: Multiple Choice, True/False, Multi-Statement T/F, Text Highlight, Fill in the Blanks, Matching, Sequencing, Error Spotting, and Short Answer. This comprehensive coverage prepares you for any reading comprehension format you might encounter.
