Vent: That AI talk at the Denver library in 2019 still bugs me

Back before the whole generative thing blew up, I went to a free panel at the Denver Public Library. Three 'experts' spent 2 hours arguing about robot rights while some guy in the front row kept nodding like he was in a cult. I asked a simple question about hiring algorithms and job loss, and one of them said 'that's a short-term concern, we need to think bigger.' Still bugs me. We're now 6 years past that and nobody's solved the short-term stuff. Why do we keep pretending the big picture matters when people are getting rejected by AI screening today? Has anyone else sat through one of these talks and felt like they were in the wrong century?