The staging of AI: exploring perspectives about generative AI, creativity and education

In this article we investigate the role of generative AI in education with a focus on creativity, metaphorically utilising relevant features from Augusto Boal’s Forum Theatre as part of a participatory qualitative inquiry. Presenting three distinct perspectives— Gatekeeper, Evangelist, and Diplomat—our article explores emotional and intellectual responses to AI and creativity, utilising theatrical forms to offer personal insights about the intricate balance between AI’s benefits and risks. Adopting a post-qualitative approach, we avoid forced consensus, instead weaving individual viewpoints with a reflective commentary that seeks to elucidate and critically engage with the ideas presented. The adoption of Forum Theatre as a metaphor for our inquiry serves to deepen our understanding of AI’s transformative potential in educational settings and highlights the need for a collaborative, dialogic and critical approach to AI in education in a time of global change, one that honours the diversity of opinions in this evolving domain.