Hyping up AGI is a good way for tech companies to distract people into thinking AI is actually not that big a deal, when it is. It may not be in terms of its pure reasoning or in the goal of reaching AGI, but it is very disruptive, and it's a guaranteed way to heavily reinforce the requirements of using big tech in daily life, without actually improving it.

Yes, it may not be AGI and AGI may not come any time soon, but by focusing on that question, people become distracted and don't have as much time to think about how parasitic big tech really is. If it's not a strategy used consciously, it's rather seredipitous for them that the question has come about.