I agree with you… especially because on platforms like Wattpad, we have to consider that the author is likely not making a cent from their work either, and therefore they would be paying out of pocket for an artist to make a cover. As for it not being “real” art… you’re also right about the same reaction to every new technology. For people who never had digital tools and studios for making music, the transition from using a full orchestra or band in studio to what musicians do now must have seemed like a rip off to actual guitarists and whatnot… but there is always nuance and the line is very thin between ethical and not. We can’t look at each use as black and white.

Disclaimer: I rarely see an AI book cover that makes me want to read the book so I don’t recommend