CREATIVITY AND CULTURE IN THE AGE OF GENERATIVE AI

THE ROLE OF CULTURAL SPECIFICITY IN THE DESIGN OF AI!GENERATED CONTENT

Authors

  • Francesco Burlando Università degli Studi di Genova Author
  • Boyu Chen Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli Author
  • Niccolò Casiddu Università degli Studi di Genova Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.82068/pgjournal.2025.22.41.13

Keywords:

Artificial Intelligence, Prompt design, Generative AI, Language, Human-AI interaction

Abstract

The paper explores the relationship between language, culture, and generative artificial intelligence through a qualitative comparison of multilingual text-to-image models. Starting from three literary passages originally written in English, Italian, and Chinese, a trial was designed in order to analyze the impact of the user's native language on the production of visual content through AI software, as well as the impact of the language with which the latter were trained. The texts were transformed into prompts using different linguistic systems, and the generated images were then compared based on qualitative criteria. 
The study takes an exploratory approach and focuses on aspects such as semantic rendering, stylistic consistency, and the presence of implicit or explicit cultural elements. The aim is to explore the possibility that generative AI is not a neutral tool destined to culturally flatten the content generated in the future, but that it may instead reflect, or distort, the cognitive and symbolic specificities linked to the language and culture with which it interacts.

Author Biographies

  • Francesco Burlando, Università degli Studi di Genova

    Designer and PhD, is a Research Fellow at the Department of Architecture and Design, University of Genoa (Italy) and visiting professor at the Beijing University of Chemical Technology. His research focuses on the study and application of technologies, with particular reference to AI and robotics, through a more-than-human-centered approach.

  • Boyu Chen, Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli

    Designer, is a Ph.D. candidate in the National Doctoral Program of Italy. He studies at the Department of Architecture and Industrial Design at the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli and the Department of Architecture and Design at the University of Genoa. His research primarily focuses 
    on Inclusive Design, particularly navigation experience and walkability.

  • Niccolò Casiddu, Università degli Studi di Genova

    Full professor of the Department of Architecture and Design, Polytechnic School of the University of Genoa (Italy), as well as a visiting Professor at the Beijing University of Chemical Technology (China). His research focuses on accessibility and inclusion in environments and products, particularly on facilitating the interaction between technology and users.

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Published

2025-12-01

Issue

Vol. 22 No. 41 (2025): Writings of Complexity. <span>Rethinking the Codex Form</span>

Section

Research

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