Gen-Diaolou: An Integrated AI-Assisted Interactive System for Diachronic Understanding and Preservation of the Kaiping Diaolou

2026-02-03

AI Summary

This study addresses the challenges facing Kaiping Diaolou and Villages—a UNESCO World Heritage site—including contested authenticity, limited resources, and insufficient public engagement. To bridge the gap in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research between passive heritage presentation and unconstrained creative tools, the authors propose the first AI-integrated interactive system grounded in human-centered design. Through user studies and field experiments, including a pilot study (N=18) and an on-site museum deployment (N=26), the system significantly enhanced visitors’ diachronic understanding of Diaolou culture and strengthened their willingness to support its preservation. This work advances innovative applications of human-AI collaboration in the digital dissemination of cultural heritage.

Technology Category

• Humans and AI: Human-Computer Interaction
• Application Domains: Humanities & Computational Social Science
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Simulating Human Behavior

Application Category

• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Research challenges in human and human-AI computation
• Semantics and Knowledge: Data modeling to support human-machine intelligence, including LLMs agents, intelligent system behavior, explanations, and user-friendly interactions
• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy

Abstract

The Kaiping Diaolou and Villages, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, exemplify hybrid Chinese and Western architecture shaped by migration culture. However, architectural heritage engagement often faces authenticity debates, resource constraints, and limited participatory approaches. This research explores current challenges of leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) for architectural heritage, and how AI-assisted interactive systems can foster cultural heritage understanding and preservation awareness. We conducted a formative study (N=14) to uncover empirical insights from heritage stakeholders that inform design. These insights informed the design of Gen-Diaolou, an integrated AI-assisted interactive system that supports heritage understanding and preservation. A pilot study (N=18) and a museum field study (N=26) provided converging evidence suggesting that Gen-Diaolou may support visitors'diachronic understanding and preservation awareness, and together informed design implications for future human-AI collaborative systems for digital cultural heritage engagement. More broadly, this work bridges the research gap between passive heritage systems and unconstrained creative tools in the HCI domain.

Problem

• architectural heritage
• AI-assisted systems
• cultural preservation
• diachronic understanding
• heritage engagement

Innovation

• AI-assisted interactive system
• diachronic understanding
• cultural heritage preservation
• human-AI collaboration
• heritage engagement