As soon as it works, no one calls it AI anymore.

The line is used to describe the "AI effect": once a technique becomes reliable and widely understood, people tend to stop labeling it as artificial intelligence and instead treat it as ordinary computing or a standard subfield. The Quote Investigator article traces related formulations back decades, with many early versions circulating anonymously and later being attributed to prominent AI figures.

The quote argues that "AI" is often a moving label applied to unsolved or impressive problems; when a solution becomes routine, the achievement is reclassified as normal software or another established discipline, which can make AI progress seem less visible than it is.

If it works, it isn’t AI.

If it’s useful, it isn’t AI.

AI is whatever hasn’t been done yet.