How AI excited should I be when applying for work or in job interviews?

I think it is company dependent and you should be able to gauge their AI excitedness from their Linkedin posts, mimic that to some degree.

Seems like you've figured out just how useful AI is (and I agree with you I rarely use it) but management and HR types might have a different view.

This depends on who is interviewing you. A non-technical HR or management person: Be hyped! An actual developer / engineer: Explain why you're reserved on the topic.

Overall it depends A LOT on the company culture though. A "move fast and break things" startup or "we must be modern NOW at all costs" rusty corporation may immediately toss you with the sentiment described in the post while more productive, down-to-earth enterprises may push you to the top of the stack exactly because of your reserved mindset.

Imho your enthusiasm doesn't (or rather shouldn't) matter as long as you have given the topic thought. No matter your conclusion on it, it's relevant and you need to have an informed, experienced opinion. Aka either you don't use it because you're faster without (but you have tried it and know what it can do) or you describe how you're using it while acknowledging and overcoming the huge limitations. But that's an ideal, nuanced world and that's not how hiring always works.

Be honest with your views. An interview serves two purposes:

• does the candidate fit the job?
• does the company and job fit to your needs?

One important aspect is company culture. You want to end up in a company whose culture matches yours. If you have a balanced view on AI or reservations, you do not want to join a company that pushes AI "no matter what". If you have to act overexcited to get the job, this is likely what will happen. Of course, everything has to be balanced with other factors like pay, commuting, benefits. But I think, we are spending way too much time at work to get ourselves into a cultural misfit without a good reason