To me, this feels similar to when photography became a thing.

Realism paintings took a dive. Did photos capture realism? Yes. Did it take the same amount of time and training? Hell no.

I think it will come down to what the specific consumer wants. If you want fast, you use AI. If you want the human-made aspect, you go with a manual artist. Do you prefer fast turnover, or do you prefer sentiment and effort? Do you prefer pieces from people who master their craft, or from AI?

I'm not even sorry about this. They are not the exact same, and I'm sick of people saying that AI are and handcrafted art are the exact same. Even if you argue that it takes time to finesse prompts, I can practically promise you that the amount of time between being able to create the two art methods will be drastic. Both may have their place, but they will never be the exact same.

It's the difference between a hand-knitted sweater from someone who had done it their entire life to a sweater from Walmart. It's a hand crafted table from an expert vs something you get from ikea.

Yes, both fill the boxes, but they are still not the exact same product. They each have their place.

On the other hand, I won't commend the hours required to master the method as if they're the same. AI also usually doesn't have to factor in materials, training, hourly rate, etc.