Art/ificial Intelligence: A Reflexive Inquiry into the Usefulness of AI Image Generation within Art Education via Midjourney

Abstract

This study investigates the reflexive potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) image generation as a tool for the ideation of conceptual thought in art education, focusing on how emerging technologies reshape creative processes for students and researchers. While AI image generators have prompted widespread debate concerning authorship, originality, and artistic value, their capacity to function as reflexive tools within artistic inquiry remains under-explored. This study addresses that gap by examining how participant engagement with AI imagery, generated via Midjourney, fosters critical reflexivity, stimulates conceptual development, and expands dialogue within art-making and research. Employing a grounded theory methodology, qualitative data was collected through a questionnaire and roundtable with art education master’s students in early stages of thesis development. The data set, analyzed through axial coding, thematic recurrence and emergent narratives, suggested that AI image generation provoked unexpected avenues of thought that challenged initial assumptions and encouraged reconsideration of conceptual frameworks, however, AI images were significantly limited by frequent misinterpretation and overtly literal depiction of key terms. In addition, participants had major ethical concerns surrounding authorship, copyright, and prejudice of machine learning systems. The study argues for an art education pedagogy that embraces AI technologies not solely as instruments of production, but as partners in the ongoing negotiation of meaning, perspective, and creativity. Emergent findings suggest that in order for AI image generation to function as a reflexive mirror within artistic/research processes, increased transparency of data archives, categorization hierarchies and algorithmic processes is required. Furthermore, the roundtable emphasized the importance of situating AI tools within a critical pedagogy that foregrounds dialogue, ethical awareness, and self-reflexivity, rather than positioning technology as a replacement for human creativity.