vile_Terrier there's a lot of reasons - AI training represents a very big toll on energy markets which accelerates costs to natural resources like water, forests, etc.
most AI models are aggregating data that was collected without direct consent from artists/etc. technically this isn't illegal due to social media account contracts and stuff (if you bought a data package from twitter back then, that can include artwork posted on twitter without needing to obtain direct permission, etc) but that basically winds up meaning that, to a lot of people, AI models are fundamentally based on theft and were popularized through theft.
finally, like you said, AI challenges and threatens artists because while there is not really a single AI on the market that can seriously make something to the quality you could expect from most excellent artists, there are a lot of people who are comfortable using what AI poops out because it's cheaper. that's why it's commonly called AI slop.
so there's a lot of reasons people don't like AI, at least in the west. and the AI bubble is also very close to popping, for a lot of reasons.
even if you're an AI supporter, there's not a "free" resource for AI that isn't significantly throttled at this point. this contest is just going to be who can afford enough tokens to make a half-decent funny video. that's all. honestly this entire thing was definitely thought of from a non-Western perspective and it's unfortunate how much it shows
