but it's in no way a threat to human artists.
Unfortunately, I have to disagree with that... Such things give an unfair advantage to some of the so-called artists while it makes "true artists" suffer in multiple ways
[e.g. time-based competitions]I agree with that.
Limiting the discussion to “competitions” (might also be true for paintings on commission), it also might be easier to master the use of AI than master the painting technique. Unfair advantage.