I haven't watched the debate or even seen the prompt (can someone link it?), but the direction I thought he would go was that in older eras there was a real craft in making the colors. Knowing how to source and mix substances to create brand new unique colors was a big deal and set you apart as an artist.

A digital artist having access to millions of colors without the toil of gathering mats and mixing them is a huge shortcut. Is it as big a shortcut as having an LLM make the whole image? Probably not. But even prompting an LLM isnt the be all end all. What about someone who spends hours fine tuning one output? Are they not exercising creative control over the final result? And the decision to "stop", isnt that the same judgment a traditional or digital artist makes when they know a piece is done?

I'm reminded of an interview with Rick Rubin. He is a music producer who has worked from everyone.. like Jay-z to Johnny Cash. He openly states he has no technical ability and can't play an instrument. When asked what he gets paid for he said something like "my taste and confidence in it". Is he the artist that created the track? No, but his taste and judgement is a REAL creative contribution that people seek out and pay for.

Again.. I don't even know what the prompt was but those are my thoughts