> AI being nothing special in this regard?

Here the user is actively generating

Cite your sources?

You are shrinking the larger picture to fit a narrow narative.

You never heard of newspaper reporters? TV shows producers? Writers? These are the actively generating ones. You will also have consumers. Not looking to generate but looking to... consume.

The same with AI. AI is just an evolution of production and consumption. Not all use AI to create. Most use AI to consume what others created: models, harnesses, knowledge.