well, for one thing, using ai image generation is supporting a business model that’s whole thing is ripping off artists, even if you personally aren’t turning a profit. and for another, if an image is used in a meme, it is not that hard to do a reverse image search to find the original, if it was posted online, whereas the blended chicken nugget ooze that is the output of image generators specifically defies attribution.

also, there’s the fact that artists often like it when people like their art, even if it would be better to provide attribution. i don’t think i’ve ever seen anyone argue that slapping some text on an image for a meme hurts the original artists ability to make a living, but tons of artists have noted such an effect from ai slop extruders.

it’s only happened once to me that i recall, but the reason was pretty ridiculous. i told him i wasn’t allowed to mislabel his hot sandwich as a cold sandwich so that he could buy it with food stamps. he didn’t send me death threats, but he did shout them right there in the deli.