PI Network. Is it real or another info gathering tool that provides no value to users?

According to the team behind the Pi network, “Pi is a new cryptocurrency for and by everyday people that you can mine (or earn) from your phone”. It sounds simple enough.

I have been mining Pi currency for a week and after 3rd day, it started to play advertisements. Though some of my online researches suggested if it shows advertisements, higher chances it to be another scam. But is it really? Sometimes we have to list out our concerns and give them a second thought in order to provide a fair judgement.

Can Pi creators make good money using their 13million+ network, if they are operating a scam? I believe the answer is yes. They can earn money by showing advertisement and selling user data such as phone numbers and emails to other scammers.

But what if it's not a scam and someday payout its value to users? I remember back in the early 2000s eBay offered a refund to a friend of mine in Bitcoins for a faulty product they delivered. He rejected it as he didn't see a value in it. If he accepted it, He could have been a Millionaire now. (The product was an O2 Phone)

For all these reasons, I'm sceptical about Pi but also afraid to let it go. Is there an Expert who can provide an opinion?