AI: creative tool
Artificial intelligence can play a role in enhancing innovation and creativity, but at the same time it can also dampen it. For those who struggle to formulate new ideas, it is a great help. For those predisposed to creative instincts, artificial intelligence is not necessarily necessary.
These are the conclusions of a recent research on creativity mentionted in Science Advances, with mixed results on the impact of artificial intelligence on creativity.
People predisposed to creative thinking may see little impact with GPT-4-based AI assistants, concluded the researchers, Anil Doshi of the UCL School of Management and Oliver Hauser of the University of Exeter. Those with lower creative talents, however, benefit more. “Less creative writers experience greater uplift for their stories, seeing increases of 10% to 11% for creativity and 22% to 26% for how enjoyable and well-written the story is,” they observed.
Doshi and Hauser determined the creative quotient of 293 participants and then asked them to write stories in which they were rated on the creativity of their work. Some were aided by AI, some were not.
The biggest risk with AI-supported creativity is the homogenization of ideas and perspectives, they find. “We find that access to creative AI ideas makes stories rated as more creative, better written, and more enjoyable, especially among less creative writers,” they conclude. “However, AI-generated stories are more similar to each other than human-only stories. These results show an increase in individual creativity at the risk of a loss of collective innovation.”
The popularity of AI—especially genetic AI—may also lead to its downgrade. “Innovation is primarily a human skill with heightened sixth sense thinking,” he said Adrian McKight, Chief Digital Officer of WNS Global Services. “AI is a widely available capability, and in general, there is no competitive advantage in things that are widely available. Over-reliance on artificial intelligence is unlikely to bring success.”
What are the business implications beyond creative content? Business leaders see AI as a major enabler and enabler of innovation and agree that it has its limits when it comes to creative processes. Artificial intelligence must be a collaboration in which human ingenuity is supported by machines. People will always be needed to drive innovation.
A disadvantage of AI-assisted creativity is that the information generated is limited to the available data. “Artificial intelligence systems, in general, are good at learning patterns from history, but can struggle when presented with previously unseen new situations,” he said. Sai Bundavarapu, vice president of development planning and user experience at Blue Yonder. “Innovation is about new thinking, and human ingenuity with the help of AI is the recipe for innovation rather than relying on AI alone.”
While AI can improve the speed and quality of idea development, “it’s best used to augment our own thinking,” McKnight said. “This simply means that humans are the primary drivers and decision makers and must see AI as a highly capable partner in co-creating their business. It is the executive’s responsibility to bring clarity to the vision, and AI will always be the partner that needs their guidance and direction. Being too dependent or believing that AI will provide the right answer is slippery slope and can easily lead to failure.”
AI is promising for business because it can help catalyze creative thinking by taking more mundane work out of the equation. “It gives people a greater capacity for creative and collaborative work and new flexibility,” he said Graham Sheldon, Chief Product Officer with UiPath. “Thanks to GenAl and new analytical techniques, many of the unwanted, repetitive daily tasks—things like reading documents, analyzing unstructured communications, and extracting, compiling, and importing data—can now be automated. For example, with artificial intelligence and automation extracting information from invoices or comparing contracts, people use their time to make corrections, solve problems and make final decisions.”
Beyond taking on mundane tasks, Ai may eventually begin to enhance the creativity seen in organizations, opening up new approaches to thinking. “When AI and automation combine for end-to-end processes, it helps bring ideas to light and put them to work,” said Sheldon. “This is leading to a fundamental change in the way we approach work. People will have a much greater ability to make connections across AI-powered systems and discover insights that can lead to new business opportunities.”
Generative AI, “with its ability to create new content, can increase creativity and help innovation,” said Buddhavarapu. “It helps improve and generate new ideas – unlocking a new cycle of innovation and growth. Using artificial intelligence, businesses can hyper-personalize their products, services and experiences to the needs and preferences of an individual customer.”
As Sheldon put it: “it’s important to keep in mind a simple truth: here are things humans are great at, and there are things AI is great at.”
