We didn't have to do that. It is, in fact, extremely stupid that we have done that. Computers are valuable because they are fast and deterministic. Fast but stochastic has no value.
I don't understand how that angle keeps surviving. It is in the interest of the rich and powerful to keep the vast majority of society in jobs and pay them a wage. That's what they use to consume the things that drive the economy which ultimately makes the rich richer. The narrative that the rich want to get rid of workers is as nonsensical today as it was decades ago when I heard it the first time. It doesn't make any sense.
Those employee wages for a product is a 20th century way of making money. Taking investor cash and paying it back with supplier "investments" is how "capitalism" works in today's economy. The labor market and products is just the money laundering cover story for ponzi schemes. It's way faster and more lucrative taking money from the rich in big chunks than taking it from the poor in teensy amounts. This is why everything sucks now, no one cares about the product.
