I hope it's not inevitable.
Nothing is, but the chances of changing course seems to be incredibly difficult. It is åpossible to change en masse, but it is nearly always a large negative event and for the negative. What event drives us to change globally for the better?
The trend since PCs were introduced seems to have been leading us in this direction,
Yes and as you mentioned, AI will increase its effect. It already is, since most of what we do is at its core, algorithm driven.