If you are a "digital art" community, clearly you have already accepted some digital tools.
I do think it makes logical sense to try and ban "AI" art if it is not what the community is interested in. It's likely not just about pretty images. They might value the mental process, the individual's style, progression, techniques, and yes, the effort. Someone coming in with generated images expecting to be treated the same is to me a bit like commissioning art from someone else, and then presenting that as your own. The images might be great, but it's not in the spirit of the community. There must be tons of "AI" focused communities for that.
I suppose they will eventually fail at resisting this, but that's another matter.
I do think it makes logical sense to try and ban "AI" art if it is not what the community is interested in. It's likely not just about pretty images. They might value the mental process, the individual's style, progression, techniques, and yes, the effort. Someone coming in with generated images expecting to be treated the same is to me a bit like commissioning art from someone else, and then presenting that as your own. The images might be great, but it's not in the spirit of the community. There must be tons of "AI" focused communities for that.
I suppose they will eventually fail at resisting this, but that's another matter.