so, background, I'm currently workshopping a Disco Elysium/Touhou Project fusion fanfic (Disco concept, Gensokyo setting) and, since I already pay for NovelAI for recreational purposes, I figured I'd generate some character/skill portraits for it to accentuate the presentation of it.
Here's some of the better ones as of yet, alongside the one in the thumbnail.
However, I am conflicted on actually using them.
I figured I'd outsource the question because I've been thinking about it for a week and am no closer to resolving the internal contradiction. Here's what I've been thinking thus far:
Concerns: I have moral concerns about the scraping and the 'ask-for-forgiveness-not-permission' philosophy that is central to these major generative models. I also think, in the context of it's use within the hands of the bourgeoisie, AI is used as a tool of displacement and discipline. I also know that there is generally a negative perception of people who use AI image generation, for mostly valid reasons as most self-proclaimed 'AI artists' are coomers/techbros who make it a mission to discredit and disparage human artists. Even though I don't fall into this category, I'm worried that I'd open up a vector of harassment where there otherwise wouldn't be one if I include them, and I don't want to deal with that.
Benefits: It adds to the vibes of the fic, and I think there's a tangible enhancement with adding visuals to it. I also like what I've output so far.
Caveats: I don't plan to make money off of this. I don't have the disposable income to commission portraits for what ultimately is a fanwork that I don't plan to profit off of and don't have enough investment in to sink money into. The concerns are specifically what are holding me back in adding them, because it would be nice to add a visual component.
I just wanted to get a vibe check on here for this use case. Want to see if it will help me resolve the internal contradiction I've tangled myself in 
edit: I'll err on the side of caution and drop the visual aspect of it, thanks for the feedback
Then there's nothing to feel bad about IMO.
Nah I get it, even if you're not making money off of it I understand feeling weird about using bootleg versions of other people's creativity.
People should feel bad using something that requires stolen art to function
The easiest way to prove this is this simple thought experiment: if a major corporation, say Disney, could have a model produced exclusively with material it owned or otherwise licensed for the explicit purpose of model training, would that it make it ok for that model to then be used in their animation studios or licensed out to other studios? And the answer is a resounding no: it doesn't matter that they own the property involved, because the harm the model is doing is to skilled labor. So clearly the question of property is just a diversion that keeps the discourse within boundaries that are favorable to huge corporations who can easily own all they need.
That's why my stance has been and remains that generative AI should be a copyright poison pill: the models should be public domain even if trained on licensed art, the direct outputs of them should be public domain, works that include them should be public domain including the parts that aren't AI generated, and as an extra penalty all the IP within a work containing generative AI should become public domain as well. So if, say, Disney were to use some generative AI in a Star Wars movie, not only should that movie become public domain but the entire Star Wars IP should as well, along with all the Disney trademarks they toss in in splash screens at the front just because fuck them.
I think that's a fundamental misunderstanding of how generative models work and what stealing is
👍