Of course you can also get rich selling scams.
[1] to farm reward points to get cosmetic items in video games
On the profitability point. Yes and no I guess. ChatGPT will likely go down as the most influential thing in the ai race (or early ai race) simply because it was the most visceral illustration of the art of the possible to the general public.
Technical people will correct me or have arguments to why this isn't the case but they'll be wrong simply because ChatGPT captured consumer attention, which ultimately led to supercharged financial attention, and everything that has happened since is due to that. Whether its pure marketing or futuregazing, the world of money bought into it, with the ultimate view that this is the worst it will ever be.
The ultimate profitable goal is unarguably replacing human labour (at a lesser all in cost) but if that is not possible, but you believe it could be possible, then showcasing and getting people to believe that you can achieve that goal, is pretty damn profitable too and it's proven to be for some people while giving them runway to continue to pursue the ultimate goal.
It's been a long time since I thought of the Segway, which exemplifies one possible trajectory: Recognizable to all, everyone interested in trying one out, but still fell short of the investor dream of replacing the car and changing urban travel forever.
But yes, someone else said that as soon as any of these get to AGI you will not be able to use it.
It funds the initial cost and reduces risks
It also provides additional training data and feedback
A run can cost 100 Million $