Hype Cycle Redux: Game of Pin the Tail on the Donkey

Gartner's Hype Cycle serves as a reminder that excitement can outrun reality, narratives can outpace fundamentals, and even extraordinary technologies often follow very ordinary patterns. Many cycles reach a point when confidence swells just enough for investors to declare that the old rules no longer apply. That moment is usually where the trouble begins. Where would you place AI enthusiasm, hyperscalers, data centers, equity markets, private credit, or passive investing on the Hype Cycle today?