Apparently arguing in favour of AI art is pretty controversial, but then the anti-AI luddites are about as intractable as trump cultists, and their arguments about as valid, so fuck 'em!
the luddites were happy to use the new tech, but not for less pay and worse working conditions, so they trashed the machines - and history has sadly looked down on them ever since.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-the-luddites-really-fought-against-264412/
They are mostly known for having smashed machines and been terrified of technology. That’s where the parallel here lies, and what the term has come to mean. Whether they had good reasons back then is irrelevant, the anti-ai bunch don’t have now.
I drew out the luddite parallel deliberately: artists likely do not mind AI tools if they are credited and compensated for their work, but they receive no residuals nor credit whenever their work is used so using the tools amount to their theft.