Well, speaking as one of those artists who pays their rent in the current, existing system... most of us would much rather produce work that's "meeting another mind" stuff and not "hey look at this cool plot twist" or "hey look at this image that makes you want to buy this product." We make that kind of "art" because a capitalist society demands that we make that stuff in order to survive. If we didn't have to cater to the demands of a profit-prioritizing market, we'd be making very different stuff.

While I have no doubt that we'll go through a rocky period while we find a new equilibrium, the reality is that it has always been extremely challenging to make a living in the arts, and AI doesn't really change that fact. It just means the *nature* of the challenge is slightly different.

I think once AI makes the necessity of UBI clear (which... god knows how many years or decades that might take--let's hope not many), we'll see an incredible renaissance in the arts (and that renaissance will include using AI as a tool to aid human artists in the act of creation) where finally, our arts will be freed from the yoke of capitalism. We'll see pure art-making for the sake of it, not because wealthy patrons demanded this or that image or whatever company needed an image to sell a product or because Hollywood wanted another bland superhero movie. You know? I think this is something to look forward to, although we will have a rough final stretch of road before we get to that destination.