No, in this analogy, gold is the theoretical work that AI can perform. Once we realize it's not that huge a percentage of all work, demand for AI compute dries up.
Compute is the shovel.
You use the shovel (GPUs) to dig for the gold (work AI can do). However, the AI can't do as much as was hoped, so the demand for GPUs dries up.
Compute is the shovel.
You use the shovel (GPUs) to dig for the gold (work AI can do). However, the AI can't do as much as was hoped, so the demand for GPUs dries up.