It takes a lot of time to develop that craft, which won't be available to you if you have to do drudgery to keep a roof over your head. You're arguing for art to be at best a hobby, and full-time pursuit of it to be limited to rich kids.
Also I take issue with your argument about 'none of the jobs we do now' existing through most of history. Farming, construction, fighting, bookkeeping, cooking, transport, security are all jobs that have been around as long as people have lived in settlements.
Sure, you could point to the long history of nomadic hunting and gathering prior to that, but that's like expanding your argument back to the origin of cellular life or forward to the heat death of the universe in order to make your interlocutor's arguments look insignificant on a cosmic scale. It's not a helpful contribution to addressing the real challenges of the present.
There’s also loads artists that do web and graphic design, make videos for product demos, ad campaigns, and so on. It’s perhaps not the purest form of art, but it is one way in which artists can apply their craft and still put a roof over their heads. A lot of these AI tools seems squarely aimed at eliminating those positions.
For what it’s worth, I think we’re going to see a slide in quality. Maybe there will be a niche for some. But, I think companies will settle for 70% quality if it means eliminating 100% of a full-time position.
How long of a time are we talking about here? It was a lot easier to make a modest but steady living in the arts 30 or even 15 years ago. It's probably easier to have a breakout hit today on YouTube or Tiktok and maybe make a lot of money fast, but not to making a living consistently without sweatshopping content or being extremely personally attractive or similar.
Also I take issue with your argument about 'none of the jobs we do now' existing through most of history. Farming, construction, fighting, bookkeeping, cooking, transport, security are all jobs that have been around as long as people have lived in settlements.
Sure, you could point to the long history of nomadic hunting and gathering prior to that, but that's like expanding your argument back to the origin of cellular life or forward to the heat death of the universe in order to make your interlocutor's arguments look insignificant on a cosmic scale. It's not a helpful contribution to addressing the real challenges of the present.