The bar for things happening in the world isn't "do we really need this", it never has been. It's more like "does anyone have any incentive to do this", and with AI plenty of companies and people do.
I think like with any technology, it’s not so much “we need it” but “who has access to it”. Unless you consider genAI totally useless (which is a stretch) effective access is an impactful consideration, society-wise