All of the major engines in current use (Unity, Unreal Engine, Godot, Defold, etc) were created mostly before the advent of theft-based generative AI and had the vast majority of their features already complete before it. Most major libraries and frameworks are the same (feature complete long before the advent of theft-based AI). It is also extremely doubtful that theft-based AI use is as ubiquitous as you are suggestion. I don't see much evidence of that, though I do see lots of evidence of AI companies constantly trying to force AI down my throat against my will by adding it to countless things it has no business ever being added to.

Regardless, it does not really matter whether they were or weren't, ultimately, morally. My point is still the same, as is my stance: I don't want any AI to have touched any part of any creative work that I support. Circumstances could force me use something that has been tainted in some way by theft-based AI, conceivably, or I could be unaware of it, but the principle remains the same and always will: I avoid supporting any of it as much as practical. It is automated theft, regardless of anyone ever trying to rationalize the contrary. Training solely on one's one work (or one's team's work) could be the exception I suppose (though I would never do it nor allow it on any team under my own control if that day ever comes), but even then you have to keep in mind that the baseline for the AI models may already contain partial pre-training on IP infringing work even prior to the point where someone trains it on their own work, and so even then it may in essence still contain plagiarism.

I have worked in the AAA game dev industry before and I have seen what artists have sacrificed to get there and it is disgusting to see so many people making up excuses for systematically stealing the work of these people. Concept artists were hit especially hard.

The AI situation reminds me somewhat of the Trail of Tears and other historical events where settlers repeatedly made up excuses to just keep stealing the Native Americans' land based on nothing but their own desire for more wealth and land. That is very similar to the same kind of energy and rationalization I sense every time I see someone going into contortions (like you are here, frankly) to rationalize the systematic theft of other people's work or to conveniently buy into the misleading rhetoric and propaganda the AI companies are delibrately spreading to make people think that it is all just merely technological progress in action or that it isn't hurting people or that the AI is just taking "inspiration", etc. That is all just AI propaganda designed to open up an avenue for the AI tech companies to essentially steal 95%+ of the rest of humanity's digital work without any need to compensate them, causing wealth inequality to potentially become worse than ever before in history (de facto digital slavery essentially... it is the most dystopian thing I have ever witnessed).

Above all, I do not believe in defeatism with regards to ethics.

I can only control what is in my power to control and in that regard I will always do what is in my power to minimize the extent to which anything touched by theft-based AI has any presence in my life. Indeed, with the pervasive and unethical and non-consensual pushing of AI by these numerous immoral companies it may indeed become impossible to avoid partial contact with it, especially with having one's own data unwilling stolen by the companies to be "trained" (in reality to be integrated into an automated randomized plagiarism engine that is called "training" just as part of a way of covering up the systematic theft and reducing the chances of being held accountable for it).

Theft-based AI is the most unethical thing I have ever witnessed the tech industry do in my life. It is almost mindbogglingly evil and greedy and will likely be highly corrosive to the integrity and meaningful survival of the internet if current trends continue.

It is essentially the largest act of intellectual property theft in the entire history of humankind and the people responsible for it should receive punishment proportional to the magnitude of that unfathomably large crime against real artists (and all other creators) everywhere.

Your rhetoric about theft-based AI merely being "progress" akin to photography is complete disingenuous sophistry. Photography didn't involve stealing from painters. There is nothing about this theft-based AI that is inevitable. It is simply being forced upon everyone else by greedy and unethical people for who no amount of wealth or power ever seems to be enough for. It is absurd.

Also, theft that "looks bad" also does literally nothing to justify or excuse the act of stealing. It is still theft, just as much.

Your whole argument amounts to nothing but excuse-making and rationalization and red herrings and strawman fallacies, just like every other "argument" in favor of theft-based AI I've ever seen over these past few years.

When it comes down to it, you are just making up excuses to rationalize your own desire to cut corners by systematically robbing the creative work and livelihoods of others from them. There can never be a genuine justification for such unethical treatment of other human beings. Never.

Wanting something can cause people to make up contortions and rationalizations to "justify" it but that does not ever justify it in reality.

As I like to say recently: Good is a journey where every step is treated as an end of itself, whereas evil is a journey where only the outcome is treated as mattering. The rationalizations of theft-based AI developers and users all fit the later. 

Joy can be found in any amount of anything, if one has a wholesome and benevolent enough perspective. 

Thus there can never be real justification for harming others for the sake of needless "gains".

One square mile of forest holds more true wealth than any wealthy person's wallet ever can.

Theft-based AI users are thus accomplishing nothing but inflicting suffering upon others, just like any other rationalized evil throughout human history, whether it be the Trail of Tears or (now) theft-based AI.

Goodnight...

I do not want to hear a reply of any kind if it contains even one whiff of rationalization of theft-based AI.

I may block any such respondent next time, potentially, but not this time. This kind of stuff ruins people's lives. 

One cannot be certain of what is or isn't AI, but that never justifies defeatism. 

There is never a good reason to hold the door open for evil.

No idea, sorry.