Calling AI art lazy misunderstands both the creative process and the tool itself. Art has always evolved alongside technology. When photography was invented, traditional painters called it cheating because it didn't require brushing a canvas. When digital art emerged, people said the same thing about undo buttons and layers.
Using AI doesn't mean someone isn't trying; it means they are using a different medium. Crafting a compelling AI image often requires significant effort: conceptualizing the idea, iterating on complex prompts, curating the results, and frequently editing or compositing the output in other software.
Furthermore, AI democratizes creativity. It allows people with physical disabilities, lack of access to formal training, or different neurological wiring to visualize and share their ideas. Valuing traditional skill is great, but gatekeeping creativity by labeling new tools as 'lazy' ignores the fact that art is ultimately about expressing ideas, not just the physical exertion of making them.