The backlash is because people do not want bots to overrun and kill our communities because we recognise that is exactly what they do. Even if a bot were to post something interesting it is reducing the opportunity for a human to post the same thing. This reduces engagement in the long run. Communities are extremely dependant on posters, not just commenters. You could have a bot post an interesting article that stirs a lot of discussion, but in the long run fewer people will be coming back as there is no incentive to put any work in.

Look what’s happened to Facebook for example. Most of the feed got overrun by generated content instead of user posts. Now who seriously engages with Facebook other than just endlessly scrolling and your odd person who overshares every intimate detail.