AI or No, It’s Always Too Soon to Sound the Death Knell of Art

Photography didn't kill off painting, painting was only for rich people to begin with.

Photography began putting commercial artists out of work in the 40s and 50s as print processes for mass photographic reproduction became better and more accessible. If you leaf through magazines from the era in which Norman Rockwell and JC Leyendecker took turns doing covers on the Saturday evening post, and the era in which the MAD magazine artists were forged, the editorial and advertising art in print media was overwhelmingly hand made.

Print media illustration took another huge blow when everybody bought iPhones and stopped buying print to entertain themselves while on the go.

Of course, it's not like there are less artists employed today. Now the Lion's share work in TV, movies and video games.