An actual assistant that can preempt what you need and create it before you get there with a 95% success rate will not feel like Clippy.
Lastly, people are more or less aware of these other dynamics at work. Yet, people are people and respond to other social cues. The sheer popularity of something being novel, cute or especially "cool" does move the needle about adoption and implementation. Clippy was a direct marketing response to Apple getting "cool" ratings with innovative GUI elements.
Furthermore, saying "techies really lose perspective" comes across as dismissive and judgmental. It's important to remember that people are drawn to technology for various reasons, and many are deeply concerned about the ethical implications of what they build. Painting an entire group as lacking awareness isn't helpful or accurate.
If we want to have a productive conversation about the impact of technology, we need to avoid generalizations and engage with each other respectfully, even when we disagree.
Honestly think Clippy predated that, came out in 1996 for Office 97, Macs were only on System 7.5 back then while I think you're thinking of the early MacOS X era which was was 6-7 years later.