Sorry for not being specific - that wasn't was I find depressing! The bolded part gets closer to it though... I can't begin to describe how much that pains me.
I understand that view. I'm sure a good few people might post "stylized" images as their own work; and one can even stylize one of one's own works in the style of another of one's own works with the G'MIC plug-in. However that pales in comparison to a recent generative AI called "UnDress"!
And then there is ChatGPT (the non-image version). Suppose I asked it "what is the best background and sky for two oak trees" and suppose I acted on it's advice in the above image. Would that result in my "own work"?
I'm not as much against AI as y'all seem to be ... but I am seriously against any misuse thereof.