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When you think of artificial intelligence, what comes to mind? Robots? Data organisation? ChatGPT? But what about creating whole new worlds? Often, we assume that AI tech can only be applied for practical purposes 鈥� and while it certainly can help with administrative tasks, it can also be a way to boost students鈥� imaginations.

One school in the UK has already been to help improve creative writing skills, by generating images of fantasy worlds based on students鈥� descriptions. Another school uses a chatbot to impersonate Charles Darwin and respond to students鈥� questions about evolution.

There are multiple ways to leverage AI to get students鈥� mental juices flowing, and foster more dynamic, thought-provoking classes. Here鈥檚 how AI can really bring students鈥� imaginations to life.

Personalised story prompts

Research that we have greater sustained brain activation during storytelling 鈥� which can stimulate young people鈥檚 imaginative capabilities.

Using a chatbot like ChatGPT or Claude, you can enter prompts (instructions) that ask the AI to generate a story brief based on students鈥� interests or around a particular theme. Students then have to write fictional narratives based on the brief.

For example, you could enter:

鈥榃rite me a story brief for students aged [age], and interested in sports and nature. The brief should include three items that have to be mentioned in the story, as well as feature a mysterious character and a surprising event. The brief should encourage students to think outside of the box.鈥�

You could ask the chatbot to generate a number of briefs, so you can select the one that makes the most sense for your class and their brilliant brains.

鈥榃hat if鈥� alternatives

Ever wondered how life would be if an event had unfolded in a different way? This activity gets students to think about alternative outcomes to history, filling in the gaps using their imaginations.

To get started, ask an AI chatbot to provide a list of historical events with alternative scenarios, in order for students to explain how things could have unravelled. The tech will then provide prompts like this:

• What if dinosaurs had never become extinct and evolved alongside humans?
• What if the world's population had developed a unified global language in the 1800s?
• What if the Apollo 11 mission had failed to land on the moon?
• What if the internet had been invented in the 1920s instead of the late 20th century?
• What if nuclear weapons had never been developed?

Students can either discuss the answers in groups and present a theory of what the world would look like today for the scenario(s). Or, students could write a diary entry for a fictional person living in the chosen scenario, explaining the society and conditions around them.

A picture paints a thousand words

Generative AI can transform written words into visual representations, which presents lots of opportunities for your students to play and expand their imaginations.

Get students to collectively or independently write a description of an abstract concept or theory. They can choose to make the description in the form of a person, a landscape, a food, or whatever feels right for how they picture it. An example could be if photosynthesis was a cartoon character, what would it look like? Or if alliteration was a dessert, how would it be served up?

Once the class is all set, they can enter the description into an AI image generator, and find out just how wild and wonderful the results are.

Field trips into other worlds

Virtual reality and augmented reality headsets use AI to simulate completely different surroundings that students can interact with. If your school has the tech, you could let students experiment with visiting imaginary worlds and contemplating the nuances of life there.

For instance, students could step into a world in the future, with flying cars and talking robots. Afterwards, they have to think about what the challenges of the world would be. Perhaps petrol stations would have to be suspended in the air 鈥� but then how is the petrol transported from the ground? You could also simulate worlds in the past - medieval England, or Ancient Egypt - where students have to navigate the challenges of daily life.

This activity immerses students in imaginative spaces, provoking questions and discussions which require them to come up with imaginative solutions.

Talk to anything

Similar to the school that used AI to embody Charles Darwin, you can tell an AI chatbot to take on the persona of an animal or object, and have students interact with it. The cool factor here is that students can engage with non-verbal species, developing their inquisitive nature.

For example, you could instruct the chatbot to answer questions in the style of a sloth. Students pose their questions, and get quick responses that are both educational and fun. The answers may look like this:

鈥淲ell......... I'm....... a sloth...... so...... I'll...... answer...... these...... questions...... veeeeery...... slowly. I'm............. hanging............. upside............. down............. from............. this............. branch............. just............. waiting............. And............. I............. have............. all............. day.鈥�

This activity enables students to give specific personalities to animals and inanimate objects, whilst also building their understanding of different beings. When they鈥檝e asked all their questions using AI, they could even try being the persona themselves, and answer fellow students鈥� queries in real time.

AImagine!

These are just a few of the ways to use AI to power your students鈥� imagination. As the technology continues to develop, there will no doubt be more extravagant paths to continue inventing and innovating.

Until then, read how to make the most of AI now 鈥� 7 AI tools to explore with your students in 2025, How AI in education can help your school improve accessibility, and 5 ways to discourage your students from cheating with AI.

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