Is ChatGPT Creative? 5 Ways Creativity May Change Forever

As a creative writer, technologist, and someone with a strong interest in consciousness and cognition, I often wonder how AI-assisted creative projects might affect our understanding of the concept of originality in human creativity. Before diving in on that, it’s important to note I also believe humans may not have free will, or at least do not have as much choice as we think.

Neuroscience experiments are divided on the subject of free will, but I think the stronger argument against it, and why it matters to the human/AI creativity debate is about conditioning and genetics. There is no doubt that socio-cultural conditioning and genetic factors influence human behavior. For example, my Midwestern farm upbringing and genetic traits put some boundaries around my initial preferences and actions, then I went to college and moved to Chicago, which is a whole different set of experiences that affect my thoughts. All of this makes it difficult to determine where external influences end and my own free will begins, and how that affects what I do — and what kind of novels I write or perspective I bring at work.

This line of thinking, alongside working with ChatGPT for many hours, has given me a new perspective on creativity and originality.

I’ve come to understand that if humans aren’t 100% original due to a lack of free will, AI-generated content is equally as creative as what we produce. Both AI and humans create based on inputs, much like an artist painting from their memories or experiences.

Such a change in perspective has opened an entire world of possibilities in the way I think we’ll come to define creative work and its value. Here are 5 points I think about on a regular basis as I continue to learn about this rapidly maturing technology.

1. Shrinking the gap between ideas and outcomes: All technology has made it easier to bring new ideas to life, from metallurgy to the printing press to the Internet. Generative AI can act on an idea and produce an outcome in certain areas faster than any human. We may be moving beyond the era where ideas hold little value if they are not acted upon, because they can now be acted upon faster than ever.
2. Embracing teamwork between humans and AI: AI-generated content can be seen as an extension of human creativity, helping us discover new ideas we might not have thought of before. For example, AI might suggest a unique ingredient in a recipe that a chef would never have considered.
3. Recognizing the value of pattern detection across ideas: AI excels at finding patterns and using vast amounts of data to create new content. It seems to me that humans and AI could both be viewed as “idea mixers,” combining existing ideas in new ways, similar to how musicians sample and remix songs.
4. Focusing on idea quality rather than execution: This gets to a deep question: What is the point of creative works? To create, to express, to share, to make money? How intertwined is the value of the work with execution of it? For example, is a book better than a movie, or vice versa? If we’re honest with ourselves, and I think we should be, it’s rarely the medium that matters, it is the quality of the idea and how it makes us feel. Is there any reason feelings evoked or money made from an AI-generated or AI-assisted work are less real?
5. Rethinking the value of creativity: If our creativity is limited by the lack of free will, then society might reconsider the value of creative works. This could lead to reevaluating past accomplishments in art, science, and technology.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on these! My own ideas are still evolving, but I am optimistic on what this technology could mean, while also very aware of the dangers it could bring. Like all technological advances, it won’t be all good…

If you found this interesting, or want to read my books (published pre-ChatGPT!) please head over to awdavidson.com and check out my science fiction on Amazon.