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After Hype

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2026

Neil Pollock  and
Robin Williams
Neil Pollock
Affiliation:
University of Edinburgh
Robin Williams
Affiliation:
University of Edinburgh

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Chapter
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After Hype
The Business of Taming the Digital Economy
 , pp. i - ii
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2026
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This content is Open Access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/cclicenses/

After Hype

From artificial intelligence (AI) to quantum computing, every new technology is surrounded by ‘hype’ – but what exactly is hype, and how does it work? This is the first book to take hype seriously, showing how it is made, managed, and mobilised across today’s innovation landscapes. Far from being just empty talk, hype has become a structured practice and even a business in its own right. The authors uncover the machinery that drives markets, guides innovation, and shapes whole promissory economies. They also initiate ‘Hype Studies’ – a new way of understanding how innovation unfolds in the digital age and beyond. After Hype not only establishes hype as a serious object of study but also reveals it to be one of the most powerful yet overlooked forces shaping and influencing our technological future(s). This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Neil Pollock is Professor of Innovation and Social Informatics at the University of Edinburgh and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. He is an award-winning researcher of digital innovation and has authored several influential books on technology and markets, including How Industry Analysts Shape the Digital Future (Oxford University Press, 2016).

Robin Williams is Professor of Social Research on Technology at the University of Edinburgh. A pioneer in the social shaping of technology, he has led interdisciplinary research in Science and Technology Studies for over forty years; founded the Institute for the Study of Science, Technology and Innovation; and chairs the UK Association for Science, Technology and Innovation Studies.

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