Emerging human-technology relationships in a co-design process with generative AI

• While generative AI is transforming human-technology relationships, research and theorization on the use of generative AI in art, craft, design, and technology education is still in its infancy. • This study provides empirical findings and theoretical explorations of how pre-service teachers perceive human-technology relationships with generative AI by employing a research-creation approach. • In a speculative design process, emerging human-technology relationships emphasized distributed decision-making and human-AI co-creation. • Generative AI is actively contributing both to the object of activity and to the design process, shaping how people experience new forms of agency. This study explored how pre-service teachers (N = 33) perceived human-technology relationships with generative AI (genAI). The study employed a research-creation approach and implemented a hands-on workshop, in which the participants engaged in a speculative design process using generative AI. The study focused on how participants, armed with their new tool, approached their designs, made design decisions, and interacted with the responsive tool. The qualitative analysis of the video data from students' project presentations employed thematic analysis, interpreting the students' responses in relational terms. The results revealed that the emerging human-technology relationships were primarily expressed through distributed decision-making, with the AI actively contributing both to the object of activity and to the emerging design process. The findings highlight that genAI is neither passive nor neutral tool but actively transforms both the design process and its outcomes, shaping how people experience new forms of agency in relation to such technology.