Balancing Cultural Preservation and Design: A Study on the Generative Artificial Intelligence-Empowered Framework for the Sustainable Design of Intangible Cultural Heritage

Generative artificial intelligence (Gen-AI) is a form of AI technology that can automatically generate new content, such as text, images, and audio, based on prompts. This study explores the opportunities and structural challenges of using Gen-AI to promote sustainable design in the field of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) from the perspectives of ICH designers and relevant experts. The research employed a variety of methods, including interviews (n= 40), grounded theory, the Delphi method (n = 20), exploratory factor analysis (n = 312), confirmatory factor analysis (n = 324), and expert interviews (n = 10). The study evaluated deep-seated issues arising from Gen-AI’s intervention in ICH design practices, such as cultural subjectivity, knowledge, power relations, and value circulation, through the lenses of Cultural Ecology, Extraction of Intangible Cultural Heritage Genes, Sustainable Communication, Technology Generation, and Human–Machine Collaborative Design. The results suggest that Gen-AI’s empowerment involves a tension between technological generative capabilities and cultural accuracy, as well as systemic-level transformations such as balancing communication efficiency with cultural depth and human–machine collaboration, and re-configuring the designer’s role.