"AI was supposed to help us get our work done faster, so we could have more free time."

No it wasn't. That's not what investors have poured billions of dollars into. They do not care about your free time.

AI is supposed to help capital extract value more efficiently.

That's it. That's the whole goal. The rest is incidental.

You're absolutely right

It's a combination of easy to build and that everyone seems to creating interesting products and apps, inducing unprecedented levels of FOMO.