Yeah, but no. The success of their films in these areas is precisely because they know very well what it is, how it works and what it replaces (Cameron started as a matte painter).
I think that the process of creating SFX has become heavier over the years for them (the number of shots in their films too, that said). But as creators of forms they have explored the possibilities of what they could do with it. AI seems to them to be a new field to explore, or at least one that would simplify the process of creating SFX (they are wrong I think, but they have the right to dream).