I don't think hype around either of those was nearly as pervasive as the hype around AI now. I agree the terms all entered earnings calls for similar herd-mentality reasons and most companies won't actually do much with AI, either. But blockchain and especially NFTs were pretty niche.
Bingo. Not long ago it was just machine learning. There is no shortage of successful deployments of AI/ML in the world, and it enables some of the biggest businesses we have. Blockchains deliver what value?