Kansei Engineering was first developed by Japanese scholars. It emphasizes the transformation of human emotions, perceptions, and subjective experiences into scientific methods that can be analyzed and applied to design. Over time, it has gradually expanded into fields such as Product Design, Human–Computer Interaction (HCI), and User Experience (UX). The Taiwan Institute of Kansei has actively promoted Kansei Engineering and Emotion Research, both of which have become increasingly important academic trends in the fields of design and art research.

In the 2020s, Generative AI has experienced explosive growth. Particularly around 2022, models represented by ChatGPT, DALL·E, and Stable Diffusion significantly enhanced the quality of content generation, transforming AI from an “analytical tool” into a “creative tool.” AI is now capable of generating text, images, audio, and even code, thereby reshaping knowledge production and design processes. By 2023, AI technologies had become increasingly mature, and generative AI tools such as Adobe Firefly, Leonardo.Ai, Midjourney, and Gemini were widely adopted in the fields of design and art.

In the future, Artificial Intelligence will no longer be regarded merely as a computational tool oriented toward logic and efficiency. Instead, it will gradually evolve into an intelligent interactive partner equipped with emotional understanding and contextual awareness. Through the integration of research related to Kansei Engineering, AI systems will be able to learn and interpret subtle emotions and subjective feelings embedded in language, tone, and interactive processes. Generative AI combined with Kansei research will move beyond the traditional “command–response” mode of interaction and develop generative mechanisms capable of emotional resonance. Such Kansei AI can not only enhance users’ sense of engagement and satisfaction, but also contribute to the establishment of more natural, intuitive, and empathetic Human–AI interactions.

On the other hand, the integration of Kansei research and artificial intelligence also offers new interpretations and developmental directions for the relationship between virtual and real worlds. In the past, most Kansei research focused primarily on the simulation and extension of individual senses, such as vision or touch. However, driven by emerging Human–Computer Interaction technologies, future interactive experiences will move toward multi-sensory integration. By combining multiple forms of sensory information, including vision, hearing, touch, and even smell and spatial perception, AI systems will be able to construct more realistic and immersive interactive contexts, allowing users to transition between virtual and physical environments in a more natural and seamless manner. Furthermore, with the support of AR and VR technologies, designers will be able to conduct real-time adjustments and Kansei evaluations within integrated virtual–physical environments, thereby improving the accuracy and efficiency of design decision-making.