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> If you could invest today in a company that will result in the destruction of your town (say a mining company) but you got 1% higher return compared to others, you're saying that's a perfect investment and would do it right away?

If you look at how the money people behaved since always, that's exactly what would happen.

Economics works on larger scale than region or sector. I am sure that people that were copying books in the medieval ages would not have invested in the printing press, but someone else did and it was still good for society even if not for that specific group.

Society works by balancing the interests of various groups, and there will be people with different opinions than yours, including some you don't like.

That’s what regulations are for. If AI was known to have the destructive capabilities of strip mining, with real evidence of harm then it should be regulated and would have much lower returns regardless of your morals.