Exploring Normativity in Stable Diffusion: Insights for XAI in the Arts

Abstract

Generative text-to-image (T2I) systems are increasingly adopted in creative practice, yet their normative behaviors remain underexplored from the perspective of creative practitioners. In this workshop paper, we present a within-subject study with 14 creative practitioners using Stable Diffusion to create illustration from two tasks of differing specificity. We investigate whether and how practitioners perceive normative behavior in a T2I system and how it impacts their creative process depending on task specificity. Our findings show that participants perceived normative behavior through invariant patterns, stereotypical output, and unsolicited omission or addition of details. These experiences led to feelings of disempowerment and creative compromise. We discuss implications for XAIxArts, including prompt transparency and artist empowerment in creative contexts.