AI-Enhanced Immersive Learning for Intangible Cultural Heritage: The Case of Chinese Paper-Cutting

Abstract

The preservation and transmission of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) face increasing challenges in the digital era, including declining participation and the erosion of traditional apprenticeship-based learning. While emerging technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence–generated content (AIGC) offer new opportunities for cultural engagement, limited research has examined how their integration influences learning processes in ICH education. Addressing this gap, this study investigates how AI-enhanced immersive learning environments—combining VR interaction with AI-generated cultural content—shape learners’ engagement, perceived learning experience, and cultural understanding. Using Chinese paper-cutting as a representative case, a qualitative research design was employed, involving semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with nine participants. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify key experiential and interpretive patterns. The findings reveal four major themes: immersive engagement, perceptions of AI-generated cultural content, authenticity interpretation, and system-level opportunities and challenges. The results demonstrate that VR interaction enhances engagement through embodied and experiential learning, while AI-generated content functions as a generative learning scaffold that supports creative exploration and pattern recognition. Importantly, the study finds that cultural authenticity operates as a mediating mechanism, shaping how learners interpret and internalize digitally mediated cultural experiences. Authenticity is constructed through the alignment of interaction realism, cultural-symbolic coherence, and user interpretation. This study contributes to digital heritage education by developing a theoretically integrated framework that combines experiential learning, generative learning, and authenticity theory to explain AI-enhanced immersive learning. Practically, the findings provide insights for educators, cultural institutions, and technology developers on designing culturally grounded, engaging, and scalable learning environments. The study also highlights the role of immersive and generative technologies in supporting innovation within the creative economy and digital cultural industries, thereby advancing sustainable approaches to ICH transmission.