It's also possible that some people believe one of those will eventually happen (but not in the next three-ish years) AND those same people have a personal vested interest in continuing the current hype that's bidding up valuations as if there will be huge payout within the next three-ish years. Making those people "true believers" long-term but compelled by self-interest toward short-term dishonesty (either by omission or commission).

And beyond the insider founders and employees, there are legions of investors who have sunk serious money into AI bets. While many of those investors have pulled back on making more AI bets (probably due to now realizing it's a bubble), they have every reason to keep that realization to themselves and continue amplifying the hype. Finally, as the article observes, there's a huge ad hoc carnival of AI newsletters, pundits and media benefiting in smaller ways from perpetuating AI hype.