My instance, sh.itjust.works, just went through this.

It got started before the turn against AI art and before people could easily recognize the AI art style. I think the admin had a competition, and an AI-generated lemming won.

Having been a recent member, I always thought it was incongruous that I'd bitch about AI on this server while the AI-generated lemming was smiling at me from the homepage sidebar.

I proposed someone draw a new icon, and the admin set up a competition with no ban on AI-generated images. Last I checked, the leader in the race was AI-generated with the majority of human-drawn stuff being explicitly low-effort placeholders. I haven't had the heart to check into that thread since I voted for the best human-drawn piece of art (which was a true second to the AI icon in my heart), though I see its exploded in comments, so I imagine there is a fierce war raging.

So from this, a few possibilities:

a) People don't like working for free. You'd think, from all the jibber jabber, that there are all these artists just willing to contribute to community projects, but maybe there there is not.

or

b) People don't like competitions. I wouldn't want to work for free for a CHANCE at contributing for a rinky-dink lemmy. I'd rather talk to the sysadmin about what they want, what I think I can offer, and go from there, with the confidence that this concept--which is not mine--will be put into circulation.

or

c) People don't like competing with AI. Imagine you spent hours drawing something and you get beat by a prompt generated in a few minutes. I'd be pissed, and I'd want to avoid feeling that way, so I'd avoid competition where AI is allowed.

c2) AI probably has an edge in open competition because it will be blandly familiar to the average uninterested voter.

or

d) Artists might not want to contribute to server that already has an AI banner and is running a competition without an AI ban because why would they volunteer to support a server that is not supporting them?

There are banners?

Lack of real skills or talent.

Laziness.

They forgot how to do basic and easy web searches.

Laziness is a human virtue.

many communities are driven by an individual. so for the same reason many rpg characters will be using ai for non artistict types. previous to that they just did not have a picture.

It's so that you can easily avoid low quality ones

Does using something like a background remover utility count as AI, or just generative AI?

Lemmy isn't really something that's funded by ads or investors, even if you know people who can work for free, the admins don't have the time to manage the people

The ones you notice are years old. Good luck noticing the ones made with modern models.

Turns out actual piracy "just google an image" is just as wrong as maybe-if-you-frame-it-right-piracy "have an ai do it" when the chips are on the table. Also, everyone that shouts about not using ai images, but then refuses to help with making a non-ai image that isn't just human slop drawn hastily in mspaint with a 30 year old half broken mouse.

Society will eventually sort this problem out. Or, there isn't really a problem, but everyone is encouraged by their peers to make it a problem

Probably the places you're going...

Like, the vast majority on here are against AI and not shy to mention it.

If you're seeing a lot of AI, there's a good chance you're looking at the parts most people have blocked. Those places also tend to ban anyone who down votes their AI or says anything even slightly negative of AI.

But in general, if you see shit you don't like here, just block it so you don't see it. You're not going to get a pro-ai mod to change their mind, and the main reason they run those communities is to argue in a place they can just ban anyone.

It's either trolls or brain rotted ai addicts, there's nothing to gain from trying to change them.

Edit:

Your profile has a furry pic and "anarcho-communist".

No judgement on either, but those are the two islands on the fediverse that seem to be pro-ai like I was talking about, and likely explains why you think it's everywhere.

Db0 in general is very pro-ai, as are most instances/communities who claim to be anarchists while running their instances like dictatorships.

If you wanted to start communities about either topic and wanted to ban ai slop while moderating in good faith, there's likely a demand for that.