Research on the Challenges and Pathways of AI-Driven Digital Transformation in University Aesthetic Education

While artificial intelligence (AI) presents new opportunities for the digital transformation of aesthetic education in higher education, it also introduces significant challenges. These include an imbalance between instrumental and value rationality, a mismatch between technological capabilities and the needs of aesthetic education, inefficient resource development and sharing, outdated teaching models, and insufficient digital literacy, as well as gaps in evaluation systems. To address these issues, this study proposes a strategic framework for transformation: guiding technology use with the principle of “aesthetic cultivation”, developing a supportive and adaptive technological infrastructure, fostering a high-quality, shared digital resource ecosystem, redesigning human-AI collaborative teaching models, and establishing a multidimensional evaluation system that integrates technical and artistic criteria. These recommendations aim to facilitate the digital evolution of aesthetic education in the AI era, ultimately nurturing a new generation with refined aesthetic sensibilities and creative capabilities.