A clunky self-replicating thing running a corporation on predatory capitalist principles would not be "an interesting trinket." We're talking about automating

A clunky self-replicating thing running a corporation on predatory capitalist principles would not be "an interesting trinket." We're talking about automating dictatorship, with humans living inside an AI panopticon which is far more intelligent than we are. And far better at manipulating our intellectual and emotional responses than any human dictator to date. And that's one of the better outcomes. The worst outcome is an AI that decides we're disposable because we're in its way. Note that all of these are possible even if the AI is not sentient or self-aware. A machine intelligence can be an effective goal seeker, even if it's morally as sophisticated as a room thermostat - which has goals but no concept of what temperature feels like, or why humans can only survive in a certain range.