Toward a culturally situated perspective: Rethinking the role of AI in intangible cultural heritage pattern creation

Authors

• Xiaojing Yuan, School of Design, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan, ChinaFollow
• Xiang Yuan, School of Design, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan, ChinaFollow
• Sanyi Wang, School of Design, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan, ChinaFollow
• Hao Li, School of Design, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan, ChinaFollow
• MengZhi He, Creative Computing Institute, University of the Arts London, London, United KingdomFollow
• Duoduo Zhang, School of Design, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan, ChinaFollow
• Nick Bryan-Kinns, Creative Computing Institute, University of the Arts London, London, United KingdomFollow

Abstract

Research on generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in cultural design has primarily focused on generative control and creative efficiency, often overlooking the misalignment between AI task definition and cultural creation. This study explores how GenAI can be culturally adapted within traditional pattern-making practices. Using an ethnographically informed generative probe, field experiments were conducted in the Huayao cross-stitch community, which practices a form of Chinese intangible cultural heritage. The findings reveal how cultural practitioners negotiate creative logic and cultural judgment when collaborating with AI, identifying four key orientations: liveliness, locality, creation-in-progress, and community creativity. Building on these insights, the paper redefines AI’s role as a generative reflexive actor and introduces the perspective of Culturally Situated Task Definition (CSTD) to explain how cultural tasks are redefined through the mutual shaping of technology and practice, advancing an understanding of the mechanisms underlying AI’s cultural adaptation and meaning co-construction.

Keywords

Generative AI; Cultural Situatedness; Task Definition; Huayao Cross-Stitch

DOI

https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.2791

Citation

Yuan, X., Yuan, X., Wang, S., Li, H., He, M., Zhang, D., and Bryan-Kinns, N. (2026) Toward a culturally situated perspective: Rethinking the role of AI in intangible cultural heritage pattern creation, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.2791

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License