If predictive models can’t survive without someone else to constantly give them input, does that make them digital parasites?

Entirely predictable. AI will put its own sources out of business, and we will be left poorer for it.

But so long as someone can make a buck, they will burn the world down for it.

This would actually be really interesting to observe. AI training on AI-generated content that was trained on AI generated content, etc. - and see how quickly the output breaks down and in what ways.