The ruckus over AI in art reminds me of the uproar over Photoshop in the photography community a while back. Not sure what you mean by the coward's way out but if that analogy holds true I'm sure some see it that way. For shits & giggles I started experimenting with MidJourney late last year and ended up finding it fascinating, which led me spending a lot of time thing about it and trying to conceptualize what it was and where it fit into the grand scheme of things. Best I could come up with is that it all comes down to what you're using it for. I decided that as long as I/it was creating things for the sake of being seen/the reaction they incite, the question of "is it art?" was a moot point.

Are you familiar with Marcel Duchamp? To me AI art is the digital equivalent to Fountain.