Linux is great, give it a try.
There are plenty of Adobe alternatives that force you to use AI.
The AI bubble isnt going to burst for a long while yet. Most costs are based on building up infrastructure, and outside of that, the big players are bringing in enough to sustain. As far as the Forbes article, its not saying that it fails at 90-95% of tasks... and most of the pain points in the MIT article it was based off are no longer as big an issue (learning from feedback and remembering context).
The component prices suck though.