> But now we have a choice to either address the systemic causes of the unmet demand, or just try to paper over them with layers and layers of AI scab.

Yeah, but in my experience it won't come down to "which is the better solution" but "which is cheaper/easier"

So I look forward to lots of layers of papered over AI scabs in the future. It won't be cheaper in the long run, but it will pump someone's quarterly numbers enough that they get a promotion before the problem they introduce come back to them