This paper investigates the aesthetic restructuring driven by artificial intelligence within contemporary design systems, proposing AI as a newly emerging aesthetic subject. Drawing on an interdisciplinary framework that integrates technology theory, cultural studies, and philosophical inquiry, the study examines how generative AI reshapes both aesthetic perception and design production. Through case studies and a comprehensive literature review, the research identifies four key dimensions in which AI transforms aesthetic experience—the perceptual, affective, interactive, and meaning/symbolic layers—revealing their impact on the aesthetic structure of the general public. Using Stable Diffusion as a representative example, the paper analyzes how generative models achieve exponential growth in creative productivity through topological recombination of style databases and autonomous algorithmic evolution, ultimately fostering a new paradigm of “technological aesthetics.” However, the uniqueness of human artistic creation persists across three essential dimensions: emotional expressivity, existential experience, and stylistic innovation. Accordingly, the study argues for the reconfiguration of the technology–art–humanity triadic relationship as a critical pathway toward a transition from “natural states” to “aesthetic transcendence.” This conceptual reorientation offers a theoretical foundation for envisioning future modes of coexistence, collaboration, and co-evolution between artificial intelligence and human artistic practice.

Authors:
Yang Xiaonan, Daegu University, South Korea
Xiangyuan Liu, Daegu University, South Korea

About the Presenter(s)
My name is YANG XIAONAN, and I am currently a PhD student in Service Design in the Arts and Design program at Daegu University.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Saturday Schedule

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