I honestly think tech hype cycles don't work if people can recognise them as hype cycles.

I think there are a lot of business majors out there with access to a lot of capital and absolutely no technical expertise making decisions about where all the money should go in tech, and experts talking about the limitations of that technology do not reach their ears.

Edit: on reflection I think the hyoe cycles works even if people know it's a cycle, because the investment game here is to pump up the stock, knowing that the bubble is growing, then dump before the bubble bursts. The investment market makes hype cycles happen regardless of whether the tech is vaporware or not, and that's bad for tech in general.