I make more money selling anime emotes on etsy than my friend who got an art degree and his work showcased in Italy.

This is exactly the type of problem I think AI art will end up fixing. Maybe you will have to learn to write proposals to galleries rather than draw emotes.

a special kind of customer who likes to support the human behind the art as well as recognizes the unique trait that artist has in regards to art...

There is no threat of AI art taking these peoples business away from you.

Also logically think about this; why willingly buy AI art when you can just enter whatever prompt you want into these programs and generate it yourself? Why pay someone to do what you can feasibly do with a few types on a keyboard?

Well how about logically think about this; why willingly buy art when you can just draw whatever you like yourself in whatever medium you like and generate it your self? Why pay someone to do what you can feasibly do with a few brush strokes?

As a trained professional artist are you not squandering your time and training drawing emotes? If an AI can do it better why would anyone, barring the group mentioned above, pay an artist for anything?

More artists no longer shackled by the dead-end of consumer pop-art signals a cultural shift that I am personally looking forward too.