But in the real world, haven't we got to see whether all this investment will pay off? What happens if it turns out people actually don't want to pay for this?
The companies go bankrupt their stuff is sold for pennies & investors loose their money.
The now super cheap stuff might get reused for something else, that is actually profitable. Or will just get dumped, like many unprofitable or never finished lines from the railway mania days.
Once everyone has to pay enough for the usage to just break even, it's going to be a shitshow. And what's worse, they'll have to make up for all the debt they're accumulating now, so even pricier.
Basically, individuals will only stay at the current massive discount. Corporations that are paying token costs right now are dialing back as they realize it's not worth the expense.
We are going to have an AI crash, and the only thing left are going to be the efficient on-device or local models, which are already starting to bridge the gap.