The proliferation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) across multiple sectors has ushered in significant transformations, especially within the realms of education and creative industries, provoking considerable discourse regarding its effects on employability. This study examines the mediating effect of self-creativity identity within the association between AI development and unemployment anxiety among Fine Arts students. Utilizing a sample of 589 Fine Arts undergraduates in China, this research analyzes how AI's advancing capability to replicate creative tasks shapes students’ perceptions of their future career security. Findings indicate that AI exerts a substantial impact on self-creativity identity, with students perceiving AI as a transformative factor in their creative self-concept. Nevertheless, a notable contradiction arises; while AI contributes to enhancing self-creativity identity, it simultaneously intensifies unemployment anxiety, particularly concerning the perceived vulnerability of roles traditionally safeguarded by human creativity. Mediation analysis conducted via the PROCESS macro verifies that self-creativity identity partially mediates the relationship between AI impact and unemployment anxiety. These findings highlight the importance of equipping educational institutions to address such anxiety by cultivating resilience, adaptive skills, and AI literacy. Such initiatives may empower Fine Arts students to adeptly navigate an evolving landscape increasingly shaped by AI, thereby promoting their employability and reducing anxiety surrounding future career prospects.
Li-Wei Wei (Mon,) studied this question.