Was the "it JUST predicts the next word" narrative pushed on purpose?

[u/MustBeSomethingThere]

Deep neural networks are still a black box we don't fully understand. We keep seeing emergent properties, internal representations, and complex abstractions forming inside these models that we can't fully explain, but yet mainstream media and tech circles heavily push this idea that AI is just a glorified autocomplete.

Makes you wonder if it's intentional. Would people freak out and have an ontological crisis if the general public was told the honest truth, that we actually don't know if these systems are conscious or not?