Abstract:

In 2022, the Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation (bidt) called for digitalization labs, i.e., interdisciplinary teaching curricula among public universities. Digitalization labs promote inclusive and democratic participation in digitalization issues through interdisciplinarity, inquiry-based learning, and project-oriented work. In this context, "Artificial Intelligence in Culture and Arts" (AICA) is a digitalization lab founded in cooperation with Hochschule München University of Applied Sciences (HM) and the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich (HMTM). AICA aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills to comprehend and impact AI development in the creative and cultural industries. Little hindsight has been gained on digitalization labs to engage students from diverse expertise and fields in digital transformation issues. This work reflects on the efficacy of AICA, particularly its project-based course. Does this course foster AI literacy and self-efficacy in impacting the deployment of AI in culture and arts among students with contrasted technological prior expertise?

This article introduces the course and the five projects conducted by its participants. We then present a survey administered to the 12 participants of the course. The survey comprises two parts besides demographics. First, Likert-scale and open-ended questions investigate self-reported benefits in line with the digitalization lab objectives. Second, a multiple-choice question with a single correct answer investigates AI literacy from a social and technical standpoint. The results suggest that students perceive benefits in their self-efficacy, knowledge, and skills regarding AI in culture and arts. These benefits seem independent of prior expertise and primary field of study. This work also applies and reflects on an objective measurement of AI literacy. We discuss its results and propose 16 refined questions to be used in future investigations.

Keywords:

Artificial intelligence, culture and art fields, interdisciplinary teaching, project-based learning.