Like it or not, artificial intelligence is part of art school curricula

When my little brother, a 3D design and animation student, talks to me about his projects and studies, the pride I usually feel becomes increasingly tainted with a growing sense of dread. As a creative professional and former design student, I understand all too well how fierce the competition for graduate jobs is, but its future is threatened by something that barely existed during my time in higher education: generative artificial intelligence.

College students feel this fear too. Earlier this year, at a small protest at CalArts, posters asking for AI artists’ help with their thesis were reported Changed with anti-AI messages and Anti-Amnesty International leaflets It was placed About campus. A film student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks destroyed another student’s performance piece that was allegedly created by artificial intelligence By taking it physically Out of protest.

Today, almost any creative task can be assisted or even completely completed using creative AI tools. Technology has become rapidly more capable in just a few years. Text-to-image models like Google’s Midjourney and Nano Banana can spit out images in a variety of styles based on short descriptions. Music generators like Suno and Udio allow users to hack streaming platforms with AI songs that sound like popular human artists. AI video models like Veo 3, Bytedance’s Seedance, and OpenAI’s Sora (before it was shut down last week) terrify actors, animators, and VFX artists alike. It is difficult to predict which creative processes will be in AI’s crosshairs next.

At the same time, reckless AI evangelists and Homeless people on social media platforms Making wild claims about how much design and media can be automated without any professional skills every time A new model has been releasedin spite of Glaring copyright concerns Which Often surrounded by such models. Meanwhile, AI providers such as Adobe, OpenAI and Google insist that their tools are specifically designed for this Helps Creators rather than replacing them or reducing demand for their work.

The message to innovators is clear from all sides: either embrace AI, or risk being left behind. Sometimes this message comes from the very art schools that exist to promote creative skills. Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt), California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), Royal College of Art in London (RCA), and Many other higher education institutions focus on creativity Now encourage students across a range of disciplines to explore the current AI landscape.

“At CalArts, we aim to incorporate critical engagement with generative AI into our courses and programming to ensure our students are able to play an active role in shaping future technologies rather than just interacting with them,” said Robin Wander, communications lead at CalArts. Edge.

This does not mean that manuals on AI tools replace existing curricula, or that students are necessarily expected to use the technology in their own work. They are expected to know how they He can However, use artificial intelligence. This includes technical limitations and, often, the ethical and legal implications that lie behind them. Many institutions have implemented AI use policies for students and faculty in the past few years, which largely send the same message: It is better to learn and understand these emerging technologies than to risk replacing them due to complacency.

As these organizations grapple with the ethics of AI, they also recognize the threat posed by the technology’s spread and dominance over the creative industries.

“We recognize the complex landscape of AI tools, many of which extract and share/sell user data, are trained on biased data sets, and have significant environmental impacts,” reads one such statement published by the company. Pratt Institute. “At the same time, we also recognize that mastery of AI tools represents a growing competency sought by employers and an area for professional development in many industries.”

The approach at CalArts is much the same. The school aims to provide the latest tools to its students along with ‘go live’ opportunities with organizations such as Adobe and Google And develop it, according to Wonder, while encouraging “critical discourse about the cultural, creative, ethical and environmental implications of using artificial intelligence.”

The goal of arts educators is to ensure that creative professionals remain essential in their respective industries by helping them either master AI tools or continually evolve beyond them. For Ray Friar, an assistant professor of art at York College in Pennsylvania, achieving this goal means teaching students how to use AI tools to complement rather than undermine their existing creative processes. In many cases, this comes in the form of ideation – using AI tools to visualize concepts and designs in the planning stages, but not for the final results.

“The focus is on creativity itself, because without that, the results are commonplace, and therefore essentially boring and non-specialized,” Fryer said. observer. “We work with students on how to guide AI tools at a professional level, stay aligned with developing good practices, and understand current copyright law, ethics, and other standards for responsible use of AI.”

Some courses require more direct engagement with AI tools, like the one he offers Chanel Center for Artists and Technology – A new CalArts initiative that describes artificial intelligence and machine learning as key focus areas. At Arizona State University (ASU), there is a class called “Self agent“It will be led by musician will.i.am (aka William Adams) in the spring of 2026, teaching students in the university’s School of Games, Arts, Media and Engineering how to build their own AI system that can in some way serve as a “digital extension of their creative identity, curiosities and goals.”

According to will.i.am, the course “represents a solution to replace human jobs with artificial intelligence.” ASU says the partnership will depend on the partnership of musicians An AI tool to focus your thoughts (FYI). – A creative ecosystem that allows users to share projects with collaborators, create text and images, and seek advice from the platform’s chatbot.

“We are always looking for ways to innovate our teaching to better prepare our students for this moment,” ASU President Michael Crow said in the announcement. “Our graduates must be prepared for the strong shift in jobs toward artificial intelligence.”

Some students and teachers have not taken kindly to the generative AI tools that have become part of creative courses, reflecting reality Negative emotions Which is also going on widely expressed by Professionals in the industry. There are concerns surrounding how generative AI models are trained — in many cases, by scrapping protected works without creators’ consent or providing compensation — and how automating design work could reduce job opportunities as companies try to lower their hiring costs.

I doubt that many students who are motivated enough to study a skilled creative trade (and pay the often exorbitant tuition costs to do so) are thrilled to become more qualified speed engineers. One study A study conducted by Ringling College of Art and Design in late 2023 found that 70% of its students felt “somewhat” or “extremely” negatively about AI, with most outwardly stating that they did not want it in the curriculum.

However, creative enterprises move forward regardless. Schools have a responsibility to help students explore and critique these tools firsthand because technology will always be a part of the creative industries, Wander says.

“This is the best way to provide creative communities with the skills and knowledge to influence how these tools develop or how they are used in creative work,” Wander said. “As with any emerging technology, there is a range of views among students and faculty about AI in the creative industries. Some are deeply skeptical. Others are early adopters.”