I'd rather not pay extra for silicon I could have someone design something more useful for.

Eh, honestly, the "AI" selling point alone probably reduces the cost of the die though amortization/more sales more than leaving it out would.

I have some quips about Phoenix, but the tiny AI block with poor software support is very low on the list.

true, I've heard about "dark silicon" and "binning", although some of that is due to saving on power rather than selling different product segments https://semiengineering.com/knowledge_centers/low-power/tech...