> The fact that AI requires so much data does make me think that we are somehow on the wrong track.

I know the entire AI industry on the wrong track, but there's nothing that can be done about it. Sometimes you just have to wait for the crash and burn, and then things can change. It's like being at the ocean and trying to stop a wave from crashing after it has already formed, you just have to let it resolve itself of its own volition. As Einstein said, stupidity is infinite.