I dont think those arguing in good faith dispute its utility, they dispute the cost-benefit assessment of those using it.

If someone, for example, made a tool that produces something of objective value every time you feed it an orphan, it has undeniable utility but many would refuse to use it on moral and ethical grounds.

That’s obviously a hyperbolic example, but the logic behind it is sound and what the detractors are using to make their assessment. LLMs do something useful, but are grievously inefficient on every resource except time, when compared with traditional methods of doing the same thing. That trade-off is unacceptable to many, especially with the backdrop of the planet’s ecosystem rapidly dying.