In 2023 it was undeniable that artificial intelligence (AI) takes home the prize for being the most talked about topic across the world, but heading into 2024, are we getting tired of it all?

Collins Dictionary named AI their word of the year after it was seen nearly everywhere you looked.

From celebrity AI voices, generated AI images, the ChatGPT takeover, and so much more, it is no surprise that a word to define 2023 would be AI.

With the popularity and hype around AI, experts across the board expect that this era is only going to continue heading into 2024.

But as the general public, are we getting tired of the constant AI talk that we keep seeing every week?

Hema Sridhar, Strategic Advisor for Technological Futures at the University of Auckland, says that there is a lot of “noise on the topic” so it is clear that “people are overwhelmed”.

“Almost every company is using AI. Pretty much every app that you’re currently using on your phone has recently released some version with some kind of AI-feature or AI-enhanced features,” she adds.

“Everyone’s using it and [it’s] going to be part of day-to-day life, so there are going to be some significant improvements in everything from how you search for your own content on your phone, to more improved directions or productivity tools that just fundamentally change the simple things you do every day that are repetitive.”

2023 was considered the year for companies, businesses, and individuals to experiment with the technology and their grip on what a world of AI could potentially look like.

AI became an everyday tool for both the public and businesses with the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022.

Many were quick to jump on the bandwagon and the year became one of experimentation, as businesses were locked in a race not to be last to make use of the new technology.

Sridhar says that with AI, we are only really scratching the surface of what the advanced technology could do.  

Heading into the new year, many are still experimenting with how they can innovate with AI to create the next big thing.

Read more: Is there space for innovation in AI?

“We’re still going to see some kind of movement in this space,” Sridhar says.

“To be honest, [this] is something that happens periodically. We had it during Covid, you had it with things like cyber where you end up with so much information about it that it’s really hard for people to do anything with it.”

Though we might have all the AI pumped out of our systems in 2023, Sridhar says that the discussion is clearly shifting towards something else: the core issues. 

She says that the fatigue the general public is facing is something decision makers are not having to face.

“We need parents and communities to have enough information so they can make informed decisions about AI,” she adds.

“It’s more about how you give people a pathway through the fatigue.”

The “over-information” that the general public are seeing about AI in a way is giving everyone more chances to understand AI, what it can do, can’t do, what it is good at and what it is bad at, in a world where AI is clearly being integrated in our daily lives.

AI will ultimately be in everyday use for the general public and is clearly not going away, so into 2024 it is more about just understanding the technology.

“It’s about how do you get comfortable with it being part of your day-to-day life and take the time. Whether it’s better-curated Spotify playlists or something else, you’ve got to know that the stuff is there. And instead of being dictated by fear, actually take some time to play with it and explore,” she says.

With so much innovation happening in the space, there will always be something new in the realm that is AI, meaning every story won’t always be the same thing.

Sridhar adds that the discussion is also shifting to follow the world in governance and policies that can create a safer AI space.

So yes, there is definitely a fatigue within the general public that there is too much AI news, but despite being in its early stages, AI is only continuing to grow and grow as a thriving industry that is quickly being integrated in our daily lives.

And just like history, it won’t get any more tiring, it’ll just be daily news.