Designing Participatory AI: Creative Professionals’ Worries and Expectations about Generative AI

Generative AI, i.e., the group of technologies that automatically
generate visual or written content based on text prompts, has un-
dergone a leap in complexity and become widely available within
just a few years. Such technologies potentially introduce a massive
disruption to creative fields. This paper presents the results of a
qualitative survey (𝑁 = 23) investigating how creative professionals
think about generative AI. The results show that the advancement
of these AI models prompts important reflections on what defines
creativity and how creatives imagine using AI to support their
workflows. Based on these reflections, we discuss how we might
design participatory AI in the domain of creative expertise with
the goal of empowering creative professionals in their present and
future coexistence with AI.