I imagine it will affect artists much the same way wordpress has affected web designers.

Maybe everyone will have an AI image as their desktop wallpaper, but if you've got cash you'll want something with provenance and rarity to brag about.

Also, I think creatives are valued for their imagination. If you wanted something decent, would you pay someone to sift through a million AI generated images to find a gem, or just pay an artist you like to create one for you?