When I was a kid, I used a modded tone dialer, but that didn't make me a hacker. Solving problems with the tools that I had made me a hacker. I think using an LLM to help you code is valid, although possibly script-kiddie territory depending on how you use it. It's a tool like any other. Hacking has always been about using and abusing available tools whether that's a red box or an LLM.