they pretty much saved the whole AI industry
Sam Altman could've vanished from the face of the Earth, and AI would be fine. There are so many big players (including Microsoft) in the game and so many other AI researchers that things would've likely continued going strong.
Can you give an example? I know that some people have a hard time with the strong smells, but I honestly have never heard it made fun of in any demeaning way. Maybe at worst a character has a bad time on a toilet due to the Indian food being so spicy, but I can't think of how it would be made fun of. Seems well loved here in the States in my experience.