Emerging human-technology relationships in a co-design process with generative AI

Abstract

This study explored how pre-service teachers (N = 33) perceived human-technology relationships with generative AI (genAI). The study employed a research-creation approach and implemented a hands-on workshop, in which the participants engaged in a speculative design process using generative AI. The study focused on how participants, armed with their new tool, approached their designs, made design decisions, and interacted with the responsive tool. The qualitative analysis of the video data from students' project presentations employed thematic analysis, interpreting the students' responses in relational terms. The results revealed that the emerging human-technology relationships were primarily expressed through distributed decision-making, with the AI actively contributing both to the object of activity and to the emerging design process. The findings highlight that genAI is neither passive nor neutral tool but actively transforms both the design process and its outcomes, shaping how people experience new forms of agency in relation to such technology.