The etymology, while interesting, is trivial hair-splitting in the context of the real issue. I’d be interested to see any court case that has been argued successfully on such grounds.
As for the opinion people from 1855 might have had about AI and artwork, I take them about as seriously as I do their opinions on germ theory, space exploration, racial politics, warfare, psychology, biology, nuclear physics, and many other subjects we have learned more about in the intervening 168 years.
OK, your point is well received about the etymological argument, but my real point, right after "artwork", is that yes, even photographs do require work to create. Would you say that Ansel Adams' photographs were effortless to produce? I wouldn't.
As for the opinion people from 1855 might have had about AI and artwork, I take them about as seriously as I do their opinions on germ theory, space exploration, racial politics, warfare, psychology, biology, nuclear physics, and many other subjects we have learned more about in the intervening 168 years.