Bigbee Labs

Artificial intelligence needs better words for a specific kind of thinking: the belief that intelligence will arrive without engineering it. That scale solves architecture. That prediction equals cognition. That complexity wrapped around guessing machines produces reasoning.

This phenomenon has a name now. Several, actually.

Fanboi (n.)

IPA: /fɑ̃.bwa/ Pronunciation: fahn-BWAH
Plural: fanbois /fɑ̃.bwa/

An individual who engages in magical thinking about artificial intelligence, particularly the belief that intelligence will emerge from scaled prediction without engineered cognitive architecture. If you think that Agentic AI is actually “agentic”, this might be you. If you think LLMs think, understand, reason, or remember, this might be you.

Example usage:

• “The fanbois keep adding complexity around the same guessing machine.” (plural noun)
• “Every researcher waiting for reasoning to emerge at scale is a fanboi.” (singular noun)
• “He’s a JEPA fanboi and thinks better embeddings equal intelligence.” (singular noun)

Fanboisie (n.)

IPA: /fɑ̃.bwa.zi/ Pronunciation: fahn-bwah-ZEE

The class or movement of individuals who share fanboisique beliefs; the intellectual and economic stratum that promotes, funds, and celebrates emergence-through-scale narratives in AI.

Example usage:

• “The fanboisie controls AI funding and discourse.”
• “Venture capital serves the fanboisie.”
• “The fanboisie assumes scale solves architecture.”

Fanboisique (adj.)

IPA: /fɑ̃.bwa.zik/ Pronunciation: fahn-bwah-ZEEK

Characterized by magical thinking that cognitive capabilities will spontaneously arise from scaled systems without explicit engineering of memory, reasoning, goals, or coordination mechanisms.

Example usage:

• “Fanboisique economics: raise another billion to scale the guessing machine.”
• “That’s a fanboisique assumption—prediction does not equal cognition.”
• “Agent-washed LLMs represent fanboisique architecture.”
• “C’est fanboisique!”

Use freely and frequently. Attribution appreciated. Go forth and call un bêche un bêche.