In the context of the Japanese animation industry, I don't think so. Animators there are worked to the bone for a pittance and are usually contractors, so they

In the context of the Japanese animation industry, I don't think so. Animators there are worked to the bone for a pittance and are usually contractors, so they don't even enjoy the benefits a full-time employee would. Either way I think the difference between e.g. driving and animating is the passion component. For the most part, I don't think anybody really enjoys working as a bus driver for example… in many ways it's a brutal and thankless job. By contrast people who work in animation tend to really, really love animation and pour themselves into their craft. It certainly creates problems for drivers to have their job automated away, but for the most part nobody is being denied of earning a living with their passion in the process. By replacing artists with AI you're eliminating the possibility for many artists to produce art because they're going to have to find some other kind of work which will commandeer the majority of their time and energy instead, leaving little for creative pursuits. Ideally it's the menial and mindless things that get automated, so long as the displaced workers are provided for. It's squandering of human potential on a massive scale for people to have to do those things just to exist.