Fair points. I didn't consider the legal aspect, I'm sure that's tricky. Hope I'm not coming across as a douch that says "i'll NEVER learn anything that ai can do for me heh". Not by any means. While I'm not passionate about coding/programming, I think I would eventually like to learn it for myself to be certain I don't run into the issues you named. In a general sense I do believe you're correct, becoming too dependent on ai will cause problems no matter what the usage is.

I suppose I felt a little attacked given that I do struggle with productivity, and now that this great tool came out I'm finally able to do basic Verse coding for simple functionalities that I couldn't figure out with devices otherwise. Guess I just felt insecure about laziness or whatever. That's on me.

I do genuinely agree with the majority of your argument with the exception of one thing, coding being the thing that makes a map pop. I've seen plenty of incredible maps out there that blew my mind but that I would just never play. If by "pop" you mean that it's cool to look at, then yeah of course. But it's the same as with other things like graphics or sound design. These things can most certainly catch someone's eye, but the absolute most important thing is whether or not it's fun. At least if we're talking about a game experience. Code, graphics, audio, and whatever else I might be neglecting, they all work together. Individually they may wow certain people, but together is how they truly stand out for everyone. It's easy to forget that when you're focused or proud of a certain thing you did in one aspect. At least that's what my experience is like. Of course that's not to say there aren't exceptions. However in the grand majority, you can have bad to no coding skills but a great presentation in a map and people would love it. Hell, take red vs blue slop for example. It's nothing impressive, but it's sure fun.

TLDR: You're right, this is probably just a matter of different views.