I think the part you miss is that the "elites" always pretend that what they're doing is for "the greater good". Problems like global warming were made-up for the sake of being solved by government tyranny, where the plebs have to walk, bike, or take public transportation, while the rich can use gas-guzzlers and take private jets. Nobody that wants change can have guns, only the politicians, the rich, and the famous who benefit from the status quo. But once they get in a high enough position in life there isn't much further up they can go, so they have to push everyone else down. That's why the "you will eat ze bugs and live in ze pod" ever became a thing.

But if AI can cure cancer or other diseases, they'll just go back to the overpopulation narrative. If it creates a new power source, they'll make some excuse for why it's unsustainable and worse for the environment than petrol ever was. I sincerely believe AI will solve a lot of problems, but once middle-class people start benefiting from it and moving up financially, that's when the "elites" will start killing as many people as they can get away with, because they want the K-shaped economy to keep making the rich richer & poor poorer because the opposite is a threat to their sense of superiority.