​The emergence of generative AI has presented a fundamental challenge to traditional paradigms of art education. The present study aims to: The emergence of generative AI has presented a fundamental challenge to traditional paradigms of art education. The present study aims to investigate the role of tools such as Midjourney as a “co-creator” in the creative process and analyze its impact on the four components of creativity (fluidity, flexibility, extension, and originality) in art students.
This study is a systematic review, conducted by collecting and synthesizing the findings of empirical research published between 2024 and 2026. The sources used include reputable international articles as well as proceedings from reputable conferences in the fields of design and art education. The criterion for selecting sources was their direct relevance to the application of generative artificial intelligence (particularly Midjourney) in art and design education, with a focus on students’ ideation processes and creativity.
Research questions: 1. What is the effect of interacting with Midjourney on students’ fluency and mental flexibility scores in the ideation stage? 2. How does the use of generative AI change the concept of “artistic agency” and “originality of the work” in the students’ perception?
Findings: The results showed that the use of AI significantly increased the fluidity and visual development in the initial designs (P < 0.05). However, in the “originality” component, the experimental group faced the challenge of “repetition of algorithmic patterns”. The findings emphasize that AI in the idea incubation stage leads to a reduction in fear of the blank canvas and an increase in boldness in experimentation, provided that the art teacher strengthens the role of “curator” and “critic” for the student.
Throughout history, technology has always been a tool at the service of the artist; from the invention of the camera that freed painting from the constraints of representing reality, to the emergence of digital software. But generative AI is fundamentally different from previous tools. This technology is no longer a passive tool, but acts as a “co-producer” capable of providing new visual suggestions based on machine learning patterns (Anantrasirichai & Bull, 2022: 11-19). For art students who are in the process of forming a personal style and learning ideation skills, encountering tools like Midjourney or DALL-E can be both inspiring and paralyzing. The main question of this research is whether the introduction of AI into the art classroom broadens creative horizons or slows down the process of mental effort of the student by providing ready-made solutions? Also, what is the impact of using generative AI tools (Midjourney) on the components of fluidity, flexibility, and expansion in students’ creativity? How does interacting with AI as a “co-producer” change the traditional design process (sketching) among students, and does dependence on AI outputs lead to a decrease in intuitive understanding and visual problem-solving skills in students?
The main objective of the research is to explore the impact of interacting with generative AI on the quality and speed of visual ideation in art students. Also, examining the difference between the originality of works produced with AI and traditional methods and analyzing changes in students’ creative self-confidence after using generative tools are other secondary objectives of this research. This research is of a mixed type:
Quantitative part: Using a quasi-experimental design. 60 students are divided into two experimental and control groups. The experimental group uses Midjourney for idea generation to design a poster with a single topic, and the control group uses only traditional methods (brainstorming and hand sketching). Qualitative section: Content analysis of in-depth interviews with students and professors about the experience of “agency” while working with artificial intelligence.
The data from the pre-test and post-test were analyzed using SPSS software version 27. To compare the mean scores of the two groups and ensure that the improvement in creativity was due to the independent variable (Midjourney), the analysis of covariance test was used. Given the nature of the use of artificial intelligence, two ethical principles were observed:
Transparency: Students were required to attach all steps of changing the prompts to the work.
Property rights: Students were taught how to avoid directly copying the style of living artists. The concept of co-production: In classical theories, creativity was considered a purely human trait. However, with the emergence of “computational creativity”, the concept of “distributed agency” was introduced. Boden (2004) believes that creativity is the ability to combine new ideas in a way that is valuable. Artificial intelligence is defined in this article as a “random but intelligent agent” that plays the role of the “creative other” in the student’s ideation cycle.