I mean companies have also squandered billions of dollars on google ads. yet here were are
Are you suggesting google ads don't work? Because many of those companies would disagree. They got what they paid for.
Better not do anything difficult or interesting because it might fail and be labelled a scam?
no, better not do this difficult and interesting thing because the motivations have always been mostly artificial and the problems that proponents claim it will address are better solved with other more realistic projects.