Anchored in the Learner: A Critical Review of AI Discourse in Design Education

Abstract

Generative AI is moving quickly into design education, universities and design schools have already issued guidelines, frameworks, and curricular advice. Across this work, three concerns stand out. The first is building students' AI literacy, the second is the effect of AI on the design profession, the third is redesigning teaching for the new tools. What receives far less attention are the student’s psychological needs, such as the need for autonomy, relatedness, competence when using AI for a design task. We argue that good educational frameworks should be anchored in the learner, not driven by technology. Following a scoping review approach, we read the recent design-education discourse on generative AI from 2022 to 2026 together with the established work on learner experience, psychological needs, and wellbeing in HCI and AI. Together they show a clear pattern. Related works are diverse but pay little attention to what students actually need. When needs do appear, they are used mainly to explain outcomes such as creativity or critical thinking. We argue that students' needs matter on their own, the field should start from what students need when deciding how to use AI in design education. Our contribution is not a new framework but a change of stance that puts the learner's needs first.

Keywords: Generative AI, Design Education, Learner-Centered, Psychological Needs

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1008081