I run AI on the same model MBP with absolutely no problems. The fans may kick in from time to time to help cool things down, but that's what they are designed to do.
lol AI? Really? Maybe if you would've said Photoshop or After Effects or flash. You'd need one heck of a composition at an obscene DPI to get AI to bog down.
I'm curious as to why you think it would "harm" your MBP. I could understand if you asked if it would run smoothly or not, but why would you think it would actually damage your machine?