Moral panic is driving it. Every time somebody manages to make AI bot say something outrage worthy, all the press is throwing a fit - how dare you, think of the children!!! And since the western culture is ruled by concern-trolling vocal minorities now, corporates predictably kowtow. Nobody wants to be canceled, or paraded before Congress as somebody who let the evil robots destroy our children for profits.

SV has nothing to do with starting it though, they just follow. Look at your newspaper, college campus and talk show to find the leaders and the fanners of the flames.