None of this would be necessary if they thought they were actually anywhere near AGI...hmm.
Turns out, just like the Turing test, its easier to dumb down intelligent expectations than to improve intelligence. AGI makes a lot better argument if everyone is in idiocracy.
IIRC, a part of the backstory of Idiocracy is the development of pervasive and good enough AI/automation, which enabled society to get that dumb without immediately collapsing.