Students’ Perceptions of Generative AI Image Tools in Design Education: Insights from Architectural Education

The rapid emergence of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has sparked growing interest across educational disciplines, reshaping how knowledge is produced, represented, and assessed. While recent research has increasingly explored the implications of text-based tools such as ChatGPT in education, far less attention has been paid to image-based GenAI tools—despite their particular relevance to fields grounded in visual communication and creative exploration, such as architecture and design. These disciplines raise distinct pedagogical and ethical questions, given their reliance on iteration, authorship, and visual representation as core elements of learning and practice. This exploratory study investigates how architecture and interior architecture students perceive the use of AI-generated images, focusing on ethical responsibility, educational relevance, and career implications. To ensure participants had sufficient exposure to visual GenAI tools, we conducted a series of workshops before surveying 42 students familiar with image generation processes. Findings indicate strong enthusiasm for GenAI image tools, which students viewed as supportive during early-stage design processes and beneficial to their creativity and potential future professional competitiveness. Participants regarded AI use as ethically acceptable when accompanied by transparent acknowledgment. However, acceptance declined in later design stages, where originality and critical judgment were perceived as more central. While limited in scope, this exploratory study foregrounds student voices to offer preliminary insights into evolving conversations about AI in creative education and to inform future reflection on developing ethically and pedagogically responsive curricula across the design disciplines.