What is ai's pinnacle?

[permanently tired]

I was browsing some threads earlier and there's a trend of ai making a studio ghibli style of things. Ppl are going back and forth arguing whether it's a tool or it's theft. What caught my eye is the amount of analogies ppl are making between ordering takeout/using a microwave and calling yourself a chef. What interests me is not the right to call yourself artist, but the limits of ai. If ai can be equated to a shortcut like the analogy above, there must be significant decline in quality accompanying it as consequence. I noticed ppl pointing out the inconsistencies in ai generated images with others replying how ai is in its infancy and is bound to improve. That much is true, but I suspect ai will plateau eventually and never reach a professional standard. For instance, why ppl would pay to see a lesser quality animated movie when they can watch a better one human crafted one assuming no other variables.

Ai is free, but outside of attracting ppl as a casual feature in social media and other applications it's going to cost the owner real resources. This may limit its universal accessibility when the novelty fades as that alone will not bring more traffic. Here's my prediction, ai has an inherent limitation in how well it will be able to mimic ppl so no it won't be a better counterpart to us. Whether that distinction matters to those who will replace ppl with ai regardless, probably not. This is awfully hopeful of me compared to my usual doomer mentality lol. Maybe I'm just coping and I don't want to believe ai can create better art than ppl.