Do you think they will be affected differently? (I have my own thoughts but curious to hear yours here)
I do. Design is more focused on practical problem-solving, so these AI tools are great for helping that, actually. I don't see this as a threat to these professionals at all. Yes, a design project can eventually be considered art, but this is a byproduct of the design process.
People that are invested in specific visual art roles – specially those involved in the creation of a single piece or artwork, like cover illustrators, painters, photographers, and the like – will probably be more challenged by that.
But even then, it's just too early to know the long term impacts. I think that the effects will be highly variable. I'm sure a lot of artists will thrive with these tools, using them as a springboard for their careers – or even participate in the creation of new roles and modalities in the art scene. We have to wait and see what happens.
Illlustrators - So much of the output that I see looks like illustration more than anything. Midjourney seems to love that digital / procreate illustration style. I think this area might suffer in the years to come once the details and strange artifacts start to go away.
Painters - Used for ideation. While I'm sure there are physical tools that can mimic some sort of painting on a surface I don't see it having much impact. A lot of painting is layers, push and pull, imperfections, brush strokes and a tactile surface.
Photographers - If you're a stock photographer you will probably suffer over time. Overall though I think talented photographers are very much going to continue to work. Open up a Vogue magazine and you'll see there's a gulf between what humans are creating and what these tools are outputting.
Others - If you do cheap (not neccessarily bad) work on Fiverr you'll soon be competing with these tools for work. I would be shocked if Fiverr itself isn't investing in these tools themselves.
It is certainly an earthquake for visual artists!