IT Essentials: Between the hype and the humdrum

Is AI overhyped and underestimated at the same time?

Last week I was asked by a PR about the relationship between Computing’s research activities and our journalism. Our research keeps us grounded in reality and informs everything we write, I replied.

This is true, but unfortunately our research is sometimes so grounding that it kills a planned punchy headline stone dead – it's the exact opposite of attention-grabbing declarations by Altman, S., Musk, E., et al.

The gulf between the utopian (or sometimes dystopian, all publicity being good publicity in an attention economy) visions propagated by those at the bleeding edge of technology and the – for want of a better word - mundanities of real-world implementations has never been wider, as our latest research shows.

While tech company execs trumpet “AI will cure cancer and solve climate change” (Schmidt, E.) their counterparts in UK organisations are more likely to say: “There really aren't that many use cases,” or “Generating materials more quickly results in a lower quality and accuracy.” Hardly ‘stop the presses’ stuff, you’ll agree.

AI is certainly not vapourware, but covering it can be quite the schizophrenic experience.

Of course, it’s still early days and it’s perfectly possible that GenAI is both overhyped and underestimated at the same time. Considering that five years ago we were awestruck that GenAI could compose a passable poem and magic up a half-decent cat picture it’s clear that much progress has been made in a very short period.

Whether improvement will continue at the same pace leading to something that’s genuinely and generalisably effective is the question on everyone’s lips. Recent turmoil on the stockmarkets and new warnings that the end is nigh for white-collar jobs suggest it will. But we’ve been here before.

Our latest research into AI, including what chatbots IT teams and organisations are using and for what purposes can be found here, joining previous articles that looked at whether AI is a bubble, and real-world use cases.

The AI boom has put a squeeze on the silicon supply chain and caused a change in roles. Kerstin Stief looks at the effect of shortages of chips and memory on the industry and at the newest arrival in the boardroom, the CAIO. Meanwhile Samara Lynn reports that as AI spreads across enterprises, the CIO role is changing from technology enabler to enterprise orchestrator.

A major highlight of our year the Women in Tech Excellence Awards is back and open for entries. If you know a woman who consistently pushes boundaries, leads with vision, or champions the next generation of tech talent, tell us about her – or if it’s you tell us about you.

Speaking of awards, check out the shortlist for the AI and Software Development Awards 2026, and if you’re included be sure to book your table for the ceremony.

And our IT Leaders 100 list is open for 2026. Whether you’re a CIO, CTO, IT director, chief architect or perhaps a CAIO, or wish to nominate one, now is the time to be recognised. Make sure you send us your entry.