literally all these things you've listed that you're working on would not be needed if AI didn't exist. which goes back to OP's point about spinning in circles.
I'm doing all this myself, and it's my first time getting a consumer facing product from zero to revenue generating on my own. I wouldn't bother doing this without AI, the project is too big. That being said, doing it with AI comes with a learning curve & many things I've never done before.
what exactly here advances the project?