Why is the Square Format so Appealing?

There was a time when I'd encounter other older photographers who would say that converting an image to black and white or using square format is cheating. Their past photo-related traumas aside, I think that the square format is pretty incredible for various reasons. And in 2025, I think that using assistive AI or Generative AI is cheating. So why not use all the tools available that a camera offers to you? Afterall, the square format is just so appealing for so many reasons.