Is using AI grain removal "cheating" for a beginner with low-end gear?

Hey everyone,

I’m a total beginner and I’m currently shooting with a Canon 1000D and a 55-250mm zoom lens.

Here is the situation: both my sensor and my lens have a heavy fungus infestation.

Because of the fungus, I’ve found a workaround where I mainly shoot low-key lighting photography. By keeping the background dark and only lighting the subject, I can usually hide the fungus spots.

However, the 1000D only goes up to 1600 ISO, and the grain at 800/1600 is pretty intense.

I occasionally get a shot I really love, but the noise/grain is overwhelming. Since I have zero knowledge of manual editing or post-processing, I’ve been looking into AI noise reduction and enhancement tools.

My question is: Is it ethically "right" to use AI to clean up these images?

As a beginner, I’m worried that using AI tools to "save" my photos is somehow deceptive . On the other hand, it’s the only way I can make my current gear usable given the fungus and ISO limitations.

What’s the community consensus on using AI enhancement when you're limited by hardware?