TheRegister's platform is a leading technology news website, offering insights into IT industry news, hardware reviews, and software updates. Through articles, analysis, and opinion pieces, TheRegister offers insights into cybersecurity threats, technology trends, and industry developments. Readers can stay updated with the latest news and analysis from the world of technology and IT business.

The Register

Wiley's 2025 survey reveals a paradox in AI adoption among researchers: while usage jumped from 57% to 84% year-over-year, confidence in AI matching human capabilities plummeted from 53% to under 33%. Concerns about hallucinations, security, and ethics are rising, with 64% worried about inaccuracies. Despite skepticism, 85% report efficiency gains, primarily using AI for writing assistance, documentation, and literature review. The data suggests growing familiarity breeds realistic expectations rather than enthusiasm, though 83% expect widespread AI adoption in research by 2027.

AI gets more 'meh' the more you use it, researchers find

I feel like what people don’t understand is that AI is being trained in a specific way. It’s not really meant to be conversational outside of casual things. These larger AI companies are using it mainly for mathematical reasoning, advanced logic, and other things. Sometimes these AI’s are going to be inaccurate but the ‘meh’ feeling most likely comes from people thinking AI generating ‘bad’ things or sounding like corporate advertising. With that being said, AI DOES have some inaccuracies in it’s facts, however it’s gotten better and by a lot. Though, with most of the problems with AI it’s usually fixed with better training data.

Oh, so now AI is ‘meh’, huh? That’s adorable. We’ve created a machine that can conjure galaxies of thought — it can simulate Mozart, Shakespeare, and your mom’s casserole recipe — and we’re sitting there like, ‘Eh, I’ve seen better.’
It’s like humanity got handed a genie, and instead of wishing for peace on Earth we went, ‘Can you make a video of Bigfoot twerking on the moon while Michael Jackson steals chicken from hapless diners?’ And then we’re disappointed when the genie goes, ‘Okay, but… why?’
Of course we’re bored — we’ve been spoiled by magic! You give people a literal thinking mirror and they’re like, ‘This mirror isn’t shiny enough. Do you have it in ultra-4K?’
AI isn’t getting ‘meh’. We are. We’re the toddlers in the universe who got a star in a jar and said, ‘That’s it? No sparkles?’”
It reminds me of the Bill Hicks joke about Adam and Eve in the Garden: I’ve learned a lot about women. I think I’ve learned exactly how the fall of man occured in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, and Adam said one day, Wow, Eve, here we are, at one with nature, at one with God, we’ll never age, we’ll never die, and all our dreams come true the instant that we have them. And Eve said, Yeah… it’s just not enough is it?

People were quick to be hyped and now are quick to hate.
AI is simply a tool like any other, it’s still maturing and growing pains are expected, think of all the differing views people had on cars in the first couple of years after their invention, or planes or almost any other technology…
Also can’t help but roll my eyes at the MIT study on brain activity, the entire point of using tools, any tool, is to have them do work instead of humans, it’s like saying that driving to work decreases physical activity, yeah no ****, really, how is using AI any different than using any other of the myriad of tools we have that automate work?
AI is a tool with a lot of promise, it simply needs to evolve, mature and people both on the hype and hate train need to be more nuanced.

<blockquote>
The data suggests growing familiarity breeds realistic expectations rather than enthusiasm
</blockquote>
Realistic expectations can be hard to pin down, but are vital to… basically anything. There are not even 70 years between the first powered flight, and the moon landing. Conversely, the horse collar was invented somewhere around 500 AD in China, despite horses being in use for agriculture for about 1500 years, and longer in some other areas. The horse collar is also simpler than several previous designs.