> I think it should be really obvious how they're equivalent: both are the result of a program running on a computer...

In fact it's really obvious everything is equivalent: it's all just matter and energy!

> Of course the LLM is just a tool. Models can literally be downloaded as ordinary files. There is not some threshold to cross where some configurations of bits on a disk deserve "credit" for work and others do not.

Of course there is such a threshold. And it's definitely been crossed when the "tool" can operate autonomously or nearly so, when it can generate the "creation" with minimal operator input or understanding.

Your classic IDE can't do anything without the detailed control of its operator. It's nothing like a coding agent.