A photograph is distinct from a painting. The camera does things a paintbrush cannot, even if given infinite time. (And vice versa, a camera cannot make a painting.)
What can generative AI do that can't be done, and done better, otherwise? Nothing.
It's not an attempt to replace or add an artistic medium; it's an attempt to replace the artist. It doesn't open new avenues of expression, and it has negative journalistic value too.
People who "make AI art" are not making art, nor making anything else. They are commissioning images/videos/text from a bot, just as people commission art from humans. The amount of praise/admiration this deserves is zero.