They could though. They could see job creation occurring AS the internet grew. I saw Netscape become an actual company. Saw CISCO grow. Saw tons of startups that employed people and saw the kinds of jobs it was bringing.
AI proponents says 'jobs appeared in the past after X, therefor they will magically appear in the future after Y' ignoring the industrial revolution started in the late 1700s and the lifestyle they brag about it delivering didn't come along until the late 1940s/1950s.
That’s why you can’t say how jobs can be created now.