Ignoring the obvious that you are using fictional movies to predict the future..  if we dont make skynet, China will.  Which is my point.  We do not live in isolation.  Not sure what else to tell you.  Enjoy the day.  

In this day and age, who buys a newspaper? Who buys an encyclopedia for knowledge? A dictionary? Who visits a library? When it is just a google search away? It's the Internet it's out there for 'free'. How many jobs have been lost? When was the last time you'd buy a Gaming Magazine for real money? Long time ago isn't it?

And aren't those google searches just copy/paste from other sources?

We all do it.

We embrace tech advances in its convenience and getting things for 'free'. Only when it hits ones own turf we are getting outrage.

You're proving why we shouldn't advance AI that far by saying China will make Skynet if America doesn't, and fiction have often served as warnings that we should've taken seriously. Remember 1984? Now we have mass surveillance in Europe and North America. The Handmaid's Tale? Like I said, Roe V Wade was overturned and now women's reproductive rights are at risk again.

And then there's this incident that proves AI is the enemy.

AI can't be trusted with people's lives, which makes advancing AI even worse.

Well when AI encroaches on your livelihood, go ahead and prove it.

And this is why we must remain adaptable. Luckily, that is what human kind has proven to be pretty good add.

There are absolutely major concerns but only focusing on the negatives like this is really unreasonable. People are using LLMs to do things like help figure out what illness they have based on describing the symptoms and in general there is massive potential for this technology in its application in the medical field. There's also massive potential in improving the lives of disabled people since once robots get advanced enough they'll be able to help take care of people who are bed bound and whatnot.

Fine. How can I as an artist and animator adapt?

1) Invest time to learn how Ai tools work. I'm not saying that is easy. I'm saying there is a good chance it will pay off if you are able too.

2) If you find it not possible to learn these tools, look at cross references to your skills. Example: As an artist you are probably good of thinking outside the box and how to make things visually appealing. Go look for an occupation that requires that in the artistic field. Like Theater and such.

3) Ok this is harsch, ehhh McDonalds. Ok, joking, But I really think you should go for option 1.

The best I can do in that department is use AI slop as reference so I can draw less shitty versions of it.

To be fair, a few years from now we'll be looking for flaws in art to prove it's human-made, not the other way around.

But there will probably always be a thriving niche market for human art, like there was for artisanal furniture and clothing after the industrial revolution.

Well their are those who don't get fired because they try to adept and learn the tools. If their is no value then you have to go makes sense.