More Talk Than Touch: Chinese Art Educators and the Overwhelming Discourse of AI in Higher Education

ABSTRACT This study examines the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in creative arts education within Chinese higher education, addressing a critical gap in the literature on AI's role in artistic disciplines. Using a mixed‐methods approach, the research combines surveys of 734 students and semi‐structured interviews with faculty from core art universities to explore perceptions of AI's impact on teaching, learning, and creativity. Findings reveal that gender significantly influences students' perceived value of AI, with female students reporting higher confidence in AI's educational benefits. Faculty acknowledge AI's potential to enhance efficiency but highlight discipline‐specific limitations, ethical concerns, and institutional barriers such as inadequate training and infrastructure. While AI fosters exploratory thinking, the risks of creativity homogenization and the reduction of traditional skills persist. The study underscores the need for structured pedagogical frameworks, ethical guidelines, and institutional support to balance AI's advantages with artistic integrity. These insights contribute to ongoing debates on technology integration in arts education, offering practical recommendations for equitable and ethically grounded AI adoption in creative disciplines.