'That's so AI ' What gen Alpha's biggest insult tells us

# ‘That’s so AI!’ What gen Alpha’s biggest insult tells us Source: [https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/sep/24/thats-so-ai-what-gen-alphas-biggest-insult-tells-us](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/sep/24/thats-so-ai-what-gen-alphas-biggest-insult-tells-us) **Name:**“That’s AI\!” **Age:**Brand new\. **Appearance:**Primary schools everywhere\. **What’s AI?**It’s just a thing the kids are saying now: “That’s AI\!” or “That’s so AI\!” **But what is?**Something inauthentic, unbelievable or rubbish\. **Which****was made by AI?**No\. Artificial intelligence has very little to do with this\. **But isn’t[artificial intelligence poised to destroy humankind](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/sep/15/could-ai-really-wipe-out-humanity-and-hijack-the-internet)?**Very possibly, but that doesn’t concern us right now\. **It doesn’t?**No\. The kids – gen Alpha – have noticed that certain qualities of AI\-generated slop, such as the way it’s superficially convincing but ultimately cheap and of dubious value, can be found in lots of other things: knock\-off merchandise, exaggerated claims, excuses your parents make\. If something is considered somehow suspect, then it is also, by definition, AI\. **Is “That’s AI” the new “****[six\-seven](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/oct/20/six-seven-latest-slang-should-parents-be-worried)”?**No, this bit of slang means something: the young people have simply broadened the definition of AI to make it equivalent to “bullshit”\. **So it’s always deployed as an insult?**Always\. **But aren’t things more complicated than that? Couldn’t AI also be our saviour, as long as good****judg****ment****is used and the right guardrails are in place?**While the rest of us are having that debate, gen Alpha has already made up its mind: AI is so AI\. **What will happen when AI finds out it’s AI? Will it get trapped in a logical feedback****loop until all the****data****centre****s start exploding?**You’re not a very scientific person, are you? **Anyway, didn’t Donald Trump just change the name of artificial intelligence to****“super intelligence”, or SI****?**SI is so AI\. And Donald Trump is AI\. **Not for the first time this year, I feel like dumping all my tech stocks\.**Tech stocks are AI\. **What about driverless taxis?**Driverless taxis are AI, especially the ones that have[humans in the driver’s seat](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/aug/05/self-driving-taxis-approved-london-summer-2026-wayve-uber)\. **My job in marketing was certainly AI, which is probably why AI took it\.**I’m sorry\. **Do say:**“That’s so AI\!” **Don’t say:**“No, that’s Al – Al Gordon\. He’s in my year, and he’s actually OK\. But his shoes are AI\.”