But that machine can't do what you can, and is reliant on your input. I don't think they can ever be a replacement for human art, certainly if they're not allowed to feast on everything in an unlimited way. It's a cheap version of what humans do.

Put another way, should people be allowed to sell art to be input into these engines? If they're properly licensed and limited, I don't see them as problematic tbh. It's the current parasitic approach that seems to be the big problem.

Depends on what you mean by ‘a replacement’— because there certainly seem to be a great number of applications where ‘immediate’ and ‘essentially free’ appear to outweigh any kind of human quality. It’s certainly hurting people already.