Unless it is AI doing the stealing, many people care about their content being consumed by machines but are happy to block ads at the same time

If no one is supporting them they won't exist.

This is a false equivocation, blocking ads doesn't mean nobody will be supporting them. Anyway watching ads enriches Google far more than the creators. You can block all ads indiscriminately and send money directly to the creators you care about.

If everyone blocked ads it means exactly that. People can send money directly to the people who can set that up. If not enough people send money then the creator moves on.

Aren't you cheating yourself out of future content? Whatever you like doesn't matter to the creator.