Does AI Destroy Human Creativity?

Does AI Destroy Human Creativity

If you're present online and seen boycotts of brands using AI, you might have noticed that artists and AI don't exactly gel. More and more, artists are using AI as a helper instead of seeing it as a competitor or obstacle.

Many artists online add to the stigma around AI content. They engage in AI shaming or worry that AI might harm human creativity. Some wonder if AI is the final blow that will end creativity for good.

To many, AI is the instrument that will destroy creativity. What I am hoping to answer is if that opinion is merely fear mongering or is it based in reality.

Table of Contents

• Can Artificial Intelligence Be Creative?

• AI's Lack of Creativity

• How Does AI Affect Creativity?

• Building a Healthy Relationship Between Generative AI, Human Creativity, and Art

• Conclusion

Can Artificial Intelligence Be Creative?

When examining whether artificial intelligence will destroy creativity or not, be mindful that AI might potentially outlast humanity in general. In that case, AI would be the entity keeping creativity alive post-humanity.

I'm only partly joking, but if we want to think about future AI seriously, we should consider every possibility.

Is AI capable of creativity though? Does it have a creative process?

We know it generates creative outputs but that doesn't necessarily mean it engages in creativity. Human creativity is more abstract than artificial intelligence. AI uses training data to create new ideas from old ones.

For example, human writing is hard for AI tools to copy. This is because human thought is so random and complex.

Oxford and Miriam Webster differ in their definition of creativity. One validates AI, the other undermines it. Oxford defines creativity as:

"The use of the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work."

Here, creativity means using your imagination or original ideas. However, AI does not have imagination. Meaning it cannot be creative.

UC Berkeley's article on creativity and AI has a different view. It says that creativity is just mixing old ideas and patterns to make new ones. It quotes Mark Twain, asserting "There is no such thing as a new idea. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope."

In this case, artificial intelligence can be creative. It does this by automating how humans create new ideas from old ones.

AI's Lack of Creativity

If AI is capable of creativity though, why is AI generated content so obviously AI? It can't generate new ideas with the same human touch that you or I can. It might be able to think of good ideas, like filmmaker Paul Schrader recently lamented. But it can't think of truly fresh, unique ones.

Replacing human creativity is a taller order than just mixing and matching old ideas. UC Berkeley is wrong in their assessment in this case.

Humans don't just mix old ideas. Sometimes, they create completely novel ideas and combinations. Something AI cannot do.

An alumnus of Paul Schrader's filmmaking, Nic Cage shared his thoughts on creativity and AI with a profound statement against AI.

Nic Cage's emotional depth has always been a guiding light for humanity in tough times. So, maybe we should rethink AI's role in content creation. Perhaps AI assistance is a workable option for creatives. In that case, AI could make a better coach than author.

How Does AI Affect Creativity?

Now that we've answered "can AI be creative?", we need to ask whether AI assistance enhances creativity.

The answer is definitely. Creative work involves trying different things and learning from mistakes. AI can be an infinitely helpful person who gives feedback to creators whenever they ask.

If you need help brainstorming, AI is great for generating ideas. It can help you explore ways of thinking you haven't considered before.

Need feedback on your work? AI has the ability to generate helpful notes trained on the best creative work ever published.

The limitations of AI are many when it attempts to replace human creativity. However, when humans and AI work together, their potential is limitless.

Building a Healthy Relationship Between Generative AI, Human Creativity, and Art

What if artists who bring up the ethical considerations of using AI to shame others may be more toxic than those they accuse?

If a brand or artist wants to use AI to help them, so be it. They should have the freedom to use what tools are available to them to make their best work. If you say that AI's work is yours, people will see it as plagiarism and plagiarism is always wrong.

Artists should not view AI-powered art as a nemesis; instead, they can see it as another source of inspiration. Human and robot creative expression are not the same, but they can inspire each other like humans do.

Conclusion

AI is not going to kill creativity. AI is going to enhance the human experience in ways humans cannot even imagine.

Humans will draw inspiration from AI's creations and use AI's help to create their own inspiring works. Remember, we created this technology, and we intend to make the most of it.