🕹️Usage and controversy

Stable Diffusion claims no rights on generated images and freely gives users the rights of usage to any generated images from the model provided that the image content is not illegal or harmful to individuals. The freedom provided to users over image usage has caused controversy over the ethics of ownership, as Stable Diffusion and other generative models are trained from copyrighted images without the owner’s consent.[43]

As visual styles and compositions are not subject to copyright, it is often interpreted that users of Stable Diffusion who generate images of artworks should not be considered to be infringing upon the copyright of visually similar works.[44] However, individuals depicted in generated images may be protected by personality rights if their likeness is used,[44] and intellectual property such as recognizable brand logos still remain protected by copyright. Nonetheless, visual artists have expressed concern that widespread usage of image synthesis software such as Stable Diffusion may eventually lead to human artists, along with photographers, models, cinematographers, and actors, gradually losing commercial viability against AI-based competitors.[45]

Stable Diffusion is notably more permissive in the types of content users may generate, such as violent or sexually explicit imagery, in comparison to other commercial products based on generative AI.[46] Addressing the concerns that the model may be used for abusive purposes, CEO of Stability AI, Emad Mostaque, explains that "[it is] peoples' responsibility as to whether they are ethical, moral, and legal in how they operate this technology",[10] and that putting the capabilities of Stable Diffusion into the hands of the public would result in the technology providing a net benefit, in spite of the potential negative consequences.[10] In addition, Mostaque argues that the intention behind the open availability of Stable Diffusion is to end corporate control and dominance over such technologies, who have previously only developed closed AI systems for image synthesis.[10][46] This is reflected by the fact that any restrictions Stability AI places on the content that users may generate can easily be bypassed due to the availability of the source code.[43]