Right, people were trying to 'pay their bills' with content that was freely shared such that AI could take advantage of it. Weird people.

Or we're all talking about and envisioning some specific little subset of artists. I suspect you're trying to pretend that someone with a literal set of paintbrushes living in a shitty loft is somehow having their original artwork stolen by AI despite no high resolution photography of it existing on the internet. I'm not falling for that. Be more specific about which artists are losing their livelihoods.

Numerous kinds of artists are feeling the squeeze. Copy writers, stock photographers, graphic designers, UI designers, interior designers, etc.

I guess it's their fault for not being clairvoyant before AI arrived, and for sharing their portfolio with others online to advertise their skills for commissions to pay for food and rent.