NightCafe Creator is an image-generation tool launched in 2019 that creates artwork using text as a prompt (Slater-Robins, 2025). It supports many AI models like Stable Diffusion, DALL-E, and CLIP-Guided Diffusion to create digital images with different artistic styles and levels of detail (ibid.). Here is a short tutorial on how to use it:
The tool possesses a community feature in which users may “share their artworks, receive feedback, and engage in collaborative projects” (Wang, 2025). This interactive aspect can foster learning and the creative process while using the AI tool. It also possesses a credit system that limits the use of NightCafe Creator to a daily maximum of image-generation (ibid.).
Benefits
The use of AI image-generation tools in general, and NightCafe Creator in particular, can provide many benefits for learners and the learning process. For example, the freedom given to students when creating their own prompts for image-generation is an example of the learner-generated-context-based approach: the creation and use of digital technology that enables learners to build a ‘learner-generated context’ and learn within it (British Council, 2023). In other words, the tool itself can create a context for language learning.
Regarding teachers, NightCafe Creator is an excellent tool for creating visual resources quickly while making them tailor-made for the purposes of the lesson. In order to do this, educational authorities should instruct teachers in the use of image-generation AI tools which, according to UNESCO (2023) “only some seven countries (China, Finland, Georgia, Qatar, Spain, Thailand and Türkiye) reported that they had developed or were developing frameworks or training programmes on AI for teachers” (p. 26).
Drawbacks
It should also be mentioned that the use of NightCafe Creator in the classroom may raise several challenges and controversies, including the need for students to acknowledge the ethical issues related to generating pictures that may incorporate the faces of people without their consent, as in deepfakes (UNESCO, 2023), or the fact that marginalized voices and populations tend to be ignored as their presence online is minimal, so “Their voices are consequently not being heard and their concerns are not represented in the data being used to train GPTs” (UNESCO, 2023, p.17).
To conclude, NightCafe Creator is an image-generation AI tool with interesting learning uses that may facilitate teachers’ resource creation for lesson planning, and provide students with an authentic context for language learning. However, the tool should be approached while keeping in mind that image-generation can be dangerous if consent and deepfakes are not tackled in the classroom, or that the logic behind the AI can further marginalize voices and populations.
REFERENCES
Edmett, A., Ichaporia, N., Crompton, H., & Crichton, R. (2023). Artificial intelligence and English language teaching: Preparing for the future. British Council. https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/2024-08/AI_and_ELT_Jul_2024.pdf
Slater-Robins, M. (2025). What is NightCafe? Everything we know about the AI image maker. Techradar. https://www.techradar.com/pro/what-is-nightcafe-everything-we-know-about-the-ai-image-maker
UNESCO (2023). Guidance for generative AI in education and research. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000386693
Wang, J. (2025). A Comprehensive Guide to NightCafe AI. NFT Evening. https://nftevening.com/a-comprehensive-guide-to-nightcafe-ai/