I’m not sure what other implication there is.

Hobby programming without LLMs and you gain unique skills (you can do the work without power tools).

Hobby program with LLMs, you gain unique skills again (you learn how to properly use these models and get to quickly iterate on your design skills). Regardless of what the big labs are saying, there is still a lot of skill involved in creating with them; if only because they don’t read minds so you have the get good at describing your taste and requirements.

My point is in the former case, if the skill feels less useful, it just feels less fun. It's not a 'better than' thing.

I guess I fundamentally disagree with that being a good metric by which to pick hobbies. I am not picking mine based on some economic expected value calculation, it's whether or not I enjoy doing the activity for its own sake.

I guess it's hard to express over text, it's not an economic value thing, it's about being able to cultivate a unique and useful skill.