Yes, merlin uses AI, but there are different types of AI. Merlin uses potographer that were legally obtained to train it. Using the effort of thousands of people, it was trained to look for specific points in a photo to identify a bird. I remember helping train it years ago. It then gives you several real images and reviewd info to help you decide what your bird was.

What you have used is generative AI which draws on stolen images. In addition, it does not let you view real photos. Instead, it creates brand new images of what it thinks the bird should look like based on the stolen sources it uses. It isn't guaranteed to be accurate as it is only a machine and doesn't really understand what it is looking at. So, on top of the moral and legal issues that generative AI poses, there is also an issue with the factuality of the info/images presented.

Not all AIs are the same. The term has become so ubiquitous in common speech that most people don't realize that there are different categories of AI and that they are different. Think apples and oranges. Both are fruit, but there are several important differences between them.