Granted, your post is vague enough to be open to interpretation, but I disagree. What you describe ("there will be a bit of progress, but eh, nothing worth excitement") is more like a 2010s year. Nowadays each year counts for quite a lot. AI video and AI art are in a very different place now compared to January. We're at a point where the slow years are over and each new year brings major change. That doesn't mean reaching the finish line in any given field, but 20s years bring a lot more progress in the fields we care about than 10s years. We're past the point where there's ho-hum years where not much happens, and have reached the point where every year is like the four guys on a couch meme.