Early AI adopters have cycled through the hype multiple times and now understand the cringe factor: overusing AI-generated content actually cheapens your brand. But mainstream users are just hitting their first cycle, thinking "I can generate anything! Why not use this everywhere?" Result: restaurants slapping low-quality AI food images on menus that make the food look unappetizing. The technical irony is that generative models excel at certain domains (code, text summarization) but fail hard at others (photorealistic food, human hands, brand consistency). The meta-lesson: knowing when NOT to use AI is now a core skill. Tool selection matters more than tool access.