@3dsynergy I would disagree with the "not being free” argument since a lot of the cutting edge progress made in this area has (surprisingly) been free and/or open-source. At least for a good while, the absolute best AI results you could get came from open-source software which get new updates and features on a weekly basis.
It’s mind-blowing what you can achieve with StableDiffusion and ComfyUI. Sure it takes a lot longer to learn, but I’m very impressed with the fact that it’s possible to compete with the “big guys” when it comes to image generation.
And as Kyle said, it really depends on the industry and the type of work you’re doing. I’m far from being the most experienced person out there, but in many places, people just want to get a better representation of what they’re seeing. Sometimes I’m asked to make a render in 10-20 minutes because someone is on a meeting with a client and they want to show something fast. Or they can’t afford to spend too much time on 3D renders because there are more important things.
In cases like these, you’re looking for any and all shortcuts that will get the job done. If AI can create a photo-realistic result with perfect lighting/materials/textures/color matching/etc. in about 10 seconds, it’s not even possible to justify spending 1 hour on a single image.
I don’t use AI in any of my personal projects because I do them for the pleasure of learning. Obviously using AI for art opens up another can of worms but from a purely functional point of view, it’s very hard - if not impossible - to deny its power and usefulness.