This article is actually quite well written. "Lenin is a mushroom" ties in nicely, and I think it's the biggest factor - that LLMs have somehow ended up with this societal air of authority. I disagree that it stems from the funding and Sam Altman, though. Personally I am not sure what the root of the authority is, but I think it could be the impressive abilities of the LLMs themselves. Package up everything in a box - music, picture and video generation, impressive language skills, et cetera - and people would be fascinated by, and respect the box, even with zero context. Respect and authority for an extraordinary talent is the default case.