The no AI rule started out pretty understandable, but now it feels like a personal bias that had to be extended towards EVERYTHING that uses any kind of ML just to rationalize the decision in the first place
Let's be real with ourselves, there are plenty of everyday tools that speed up tasks, like image background removers, that utilize AI.
Excluding every single AI-powered piece of tooling because of a personal bias doesn't feel gratifying, even if you insist that the motivation is to drive individual development and growth.
You would be doing people more favors by allowing them to stretch their abilities with the assistance of tools that they would normally be able to use freely.
That said, it's not my jam, so obviously these are the rules that must be followed.