“Can a Machine Create Art?”: Young Children's Conceptualizations of Artificial Intelligence and Creativity

Author First name, Last name, Institution

• Olga Drakopoulou, University of Patras
• Tzina Kallergi, Ministry of Education
• Agathi Argyriadi, American University in Dubai
• Louiza Ioannidou, European University Cyprus
• Maria Athanasekou, Hellenic Open University
• Efthymia Efthymiou, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi CampusFollow
• Alexandros Argyriadis, Hellenic Mediterranean University

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

Experiential Learning and Creative Pedagogies in Digital and Arts Education

Publication Date

6-18-2026

Abstract

Artificial intelligence has entered domains of human creativity, challenging assumptions about authorship and intention. Yet, limited research explores how childrenconceptualize artificial intelligence as a creative agent. This chapter examines children’s interpretations of artificial intelligence in artistic creation, focusing on distinctions between human and machine-generated art and criteria for creativity.Grounded in sociocultural and constructivist perspectives, children are viewed as active meaning-makers constructing understanding through interaction and symbolic expression. Using qualitative, arts-based methods, the study analyzes children’s productions and narratives as knowledge forms. Findings show that children view creativity as intentional, embodied, and emotionally driven, linked to human agency. Artificial intelligence is mainly seen as a tool dependent on human input, though creativity may be attributed based on outputs. The study highlights children’s voices, emphasizing implications for fostering critical thinking and ethical awareness in education.

DOI Link

10.4018/979-8-2600-2443-0.ch002

ISBN

[9798260024430, 9798260024454]

Publisher

IGI Global Scientific Publishing

First Page

29

Last Page

56

Disciplines

Education

Keywords

Creativity (0.82) | Human intelligence (0.72) | Sociocultural evolution (0.6) | Narrative (0.51) | Creativity technique (0.5) | Psychology (0.44) | Cognitive science (0.39) | Epistemology (0.38) | Sociology (0.37) | Computer science (0.31) | Human culture (0.3) | Grounded theory (0.29) | Artificial intelligence (0.29) | Intelligence cycle (0.29) | Process (computing) (0.28) | Social intelligence (0.27) | Exploratory research (0.27) | Qualitative research (0.27) | Human science (0.26) | Computational creativity (0.26) | Human life (0.25)

Scopus ID

105044393421

Recommended Citation

Drakopoulou, Olga; Kallergi, Tzina; Argyriadi, Agathi; Ioannidou, Louiza; Athanasekou, Maria; Efthymiou, Efthymia; and Argyriadis, Alexandros, "“Can a Machine Create Art?”: Young Children's Conceptualizations of Artificial Intelligence and Creativity" (2026). All Works. 8286.
https://zuscholars.zu.ac.ae/works/8286

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

no