There's a more fundamental issue at play here than AI replacing human skills and craft and the consequent aimlessness it can invoke.
When we build software, we have a number of diverse experiences. We get 'into the zone', our daily worries fade away and we fall into a sweet mental harmony. We feel the joy of architecting and building castles in the sky, we bask in the carefully honed simplicity and balance of the system we have created. This all takes place within ourselves and needs no observer. But there is another force at play, we look forward to the admiration of other people's gazes on our work. This admiration is rooted in their recognition of our special skills that few can demonstrate. Now though, the AI has diminished the uniqueness of that ability. The product of our work is no longer an admirable thing in the eyes of our imagined audience. If this was your main goal, then motivation drains away.
I see what you're saying and to me seems the most relevant aspect of the transition. This has happened before, vehicles go faster than people or horses and machines play chess better than any human, but we still have foot-races and chess is as popular as ever. People will always do things and compete and play, it will just not be for work and to pay for things we need. The road there may be very bumpy, but once there we will have a new currency for recognition and appreciation.
When it comes to art, machines won't replace humans because communicating the human condition is at the core of art. Some things categorized as art e.g. blockbuster movies may entirely be machine made and enjoyed for its novelty and spectacle and that's fine too.
When we build software, we have a number of diverse experiences. We get 'into the zone', our daily worries fade away and we fall into a sweet mental harmony. We feel the joy of architecting and building castles in the sky, we bask in the carefully honed simplicity and balance of the system we have created. This all takes place within ourselves and needs no observer. But there is another force at play, we look forward to the admiration of other people's gazes on our work. This admiration is rooted in their recognition of our special skills that few can demonstrate. Now though, the AI has diminished the uniqueness of that ability. The product of our work is no longer an admirable thing in the eyes of our imagined audience. If this was your main goal, then motivation drains away.