I agree that the various plug-ins we use are a kind of AI.
I've been playing with AI using NightCafe. It's free and I've been having fun with it. You describe what you want in the text prompt and see what you get. You can change it, have the program suggest prompts, choose different models, and so on. Once I get my PSP back up and running, I'll probably use some of my creations. Here are two very different styles for two of the daily challenges. One was for a Proud Robin challenge. The other was for a Bubbles challenge.
To me, I see these as two different sources and processes:
Creative skills: you take existing images and modify them with your tools, your skills, your knowledge. You can say "I did this". You have no permission to ask as everything is either yours or used with permission (ex: Unsplash). You can take credit for the end result.
Artificial intelligence: they take THEIR knowledge and "image base", and use THEIR tools. You can say "They did this".
Before AI, people would edit images, create fake ones, share satirical ones, but they were all created by PEOPLE. Now, the exact same thing is done with a tool that is a million times faster and more accurate. Yes, it means that "real" creative artists now have unfair competition, but in the past, wasn't that how "photo editors" appeared to "real photographers"?
The line definitely gets blurred.
I worked with an image (the flying puffin) this week, and I had such a challenge trying to use a dark background photo and getting it to blend into the paper background without appearing "weird". Does anyone have any techniques to make this less awkward?