I'm curious where the "line" is, though. If I do a web search for a term, I get various results. As I refine my search, the results get closer to what I want. Eventually, there comes a point where it's possible to recognize that there is "skill" associated with crafting a good web search. To some extent, the same is true of crafting what you tell the AI to generate for you; especially as AIs become more complex in what they can be told to do.
So, given that, at what point does enough creativity go into the crafting of the instructions that it _can_ be considered, at least in part, a work by the person giving the commands.
The steps you take to make a work in a graphics program, eg "open an image, circle area with lasso tool, apply content-aware-fill" are not copyrightable. The method and product are different things.
So, given that, at what point does enough creativity go into the crafting of the instructions that it _can_ be considered, at least in part, a work by the person giving the commands.