Are these really separate phenomena though? I'd strongly argue that between self-supervised learning, transformers, diffusion models, and LLMs we're looking at

Are these really separate phenomena though? I'd strongly argue that between self-supervised learning, transformers, diffusion models, and LLMs we're looking at phases of the same phenomenon, each building on top of the knowledge that came before. Like vaccines - inactivated viruses isn't a different "wave" than mRNA, they are logical successors within the same intellectual pursuit. Or Vulkan vs. OpenGL. They aren't separate "fads" that gained traction. Or ARM vs. x86. They aren't "fads" so much as entirely reasonable evolutions of technologies based on the evolving knowledge of the field and its needs. Not everything is a popularity contest.