Xiao Cao, Heyi Zhang
Fostering creativity in early childhood has generated growing research interest due to its value for both individuals and societies. Artificial intelligence (AI) is believed to have the potential to impact children’s creativity and has been investigated in many empirical studies. However, there is a lack of comprehensive reviews exploring the impact of AI on creativity in early childhood. In order to address this gap, following the five-stage framework, this scoping review included 13 studies published from 2019 to 2024 and primarily conducted in the Western context to synthesise existing studies and suggest future directions. The results revealed two types of objectives in the existing studies, respectively addressing the questions ‘Can AI impact children’s creativity?’ and ‘What characteristics of AI will impact children’s creativity?’. Three types of AI, including social robots, programmable robots and an AI-driven system, were used in experiments, mainly with children aged 7–9 years. Characteristics of social robots and the AI-driven system, such as embodiment, creativity-fostering strategies and social behaviours, were investigated in some studies. Verbal and figural creativity were the most explored domains of creativity, which were often measured through components of divergent thinking. This review highlights research gaps and suggests directions for future work.