Do you consider yourself a creative person? As much as I love to craft and crochet, I have never considered myself to be creative. It wasn't until a dear friend pointed out to me that there are all kinds of creativity, and when it came to designing and facilitating professional development, I was extremely creative. That was definitely a light bulb moment for me!
When talking about AI and creativity, there are a couple of schools of thought. Some people argue that AI can't replace human creativity, and rather than enhancing it, may actually make people less creative the more they use it. These people typically point out that AI is incapable of truly understanding emotion, nuance, and other uniquely human traits. Others argue that AI can help up be more creative by helping us see connections that we may have missed, brainstorming ideas, and providing feedback and suggestions.
Creativity as a trait and skill (yes it can be fostered), is highly valued and can benefit us in many ways. Creativity is what gives us music, art, literature, and other forms of self-expression. It is not only about coming up with brand new ideas, creativity is about connecting ideas in new ways, solving problems, and "thinking outside of the box". One key difference between Human and AI creativity is "the box". AI is designed to work within a predefined set of rules and parameters. Therefore, without careful prompting and on-going conversations with the AI, you may see creativity of AI lacking because it will stay "in the box" of how its been trained. On the flip side, human creativity is limited as well. One thing that limits us is our inherent biases that have us operating within cultural and experiential "boxes". Humans are also limited by our mental and physical capacities. Our short term memory can only hold so much information, and we can't process this information as quickly as AI can. Additionally, that purely human trait of having emotions can sometimes limit creativity as well. Emotions may cloud our judgement and influence what we are able to create.
So what is the answer? Does AI boost or hinder creativity? For me, the answer isn't and either/or, but both. If we automatically turn to AI for every little thing, those creativity neural pathways in our brains will begin to atrophy. So, it's important that we engage in creative pursuits to keep those pathways healthy. I also think it's important that we use the tools available to us to help us solve problems and assist us in being for effective and efficient. This is where collaborating with AI can help!
With AI as a partner, I can have a brainstormed list of 100s of ideas in front of me in less than a minute. If I struggle organizing and visualizing data, AI can help me generate charts and graphs in seconds. If I need a new way to teach a topic that will be relevant and engaging to my students, AI can help ensure that I'm using age appropriate ways to do that. One of my favorite things to do with AI right now is peruse the communities of both Ideogram.ai and Microsoft Designer. I will find images that appeal to me, use colors that I find attractive, etc. Just by clicking on these images, I can see the prompt that was used to generate that image and make note of any words that I may want to use in my prompts in the future.
In my opinion, if we're asking whether AI boosts or hinders creativity, we're asking the wrong question. The question is what is the right balance between humans and AI when it comes to creativity. How can we partner with AI to increase access to new ideas, new solutions, and new forms of self-expression. This is why prompt engineering is so important. When we know how to effectively and efficiently communicate with AI, we broaden our ability to think in new ways, overcome bias, and enhance our creative pursuits.
Just for fun, I asked ChatGPT to help me brainstorm ideas of how educators and AI can collaborate together creatively. Here's the list that was generated:
1. **Lesson Plan Design**: AI generates lesson plan templates based on curriculum standards, and educators customize them to fit their teaching style.
2. **Interactive Storytelling**: AI helps create branching narratives, while educators and students craft specific story arcs and character developments.
3. **Student Art Creation**: AI tools assist in generating initial design ideas or styles, and students refine and personalize the artwork.
4. **Collaborative Writing**: AI provides prompts, edits, or suggests sentence structures, while students and teachers maintain the creative control of the content.
5. **Music Composition**: AI generates melody or harmony suggestions, and students compose or perform the final pieces.
6. **Project-Based Learning**: AI offers project ideas or frameworks, and students adapt them to their interests and goals.
7. **Assessment Creation**: AI generates quiz questions or formative assessments, while teachers add personalized touches or adjust difficulty levels.
8. **Gamified Learning**: AI helps design game mechanics, while educators create content that aligns with learning objectives.
9. **Creative Coding**: AI suggests code snippets or debugging help, allowing students to focus on the creative aspects of coding projects.
10. **Virtual Reality Experiences**: AI designs virtual environments, and students or teachers fill them with educational content or narratives.
11. **Poetry Generation**: AI assists in generating verses based on themes, with students refining and editing the poems.
12. **Language Learning**: AI creates interactive dialogues or practice scenarios, while teachers and students role-play or adapt the content.
13. **Visual Storyboarding**: AI generates initial storyboards for videos or animations, and students add details or adjust sequences.
14. **Idea Brainstorming**: AI offers a variety of brainstorming prompts, and educators or students develop the ideas into full projects.
15. **Customizable Learning Paths**: AI designs adaptive learning pathways based on student data, while educators customize and adjust them as needed.
16. **Collaborative Research**: AI assists in gathering and summarizing research, and students or teachers synthesize and present findings.
17. **Creative Problem Solving**: AI suggests potential solutions to problems, and students work in groups to evaluate and implement the best ideas.
18. **Digital Collage Making**: AI generates a mix of visual elements, and students curate and arrange them to create a digital collage.
19. **Interactive Simulations**: AI builds the framework for simulations, while teachers and students add scenarios or variables relevant to the lesson.
20. **Virtual Field Trips**: AI designs the virtual space, and educators guide students through tailored learning experiences within the environment.
21. **Speech and Debate Prep**: AI offers counterarguments or suggestions, and students craft and refine their debate speeches.
22. **Creative Writing Workshops**: AI provides writing prompts or feedback, while students engage in peer reviews and collaborative editing.
23. **Student Portfolios**: AI organizes digital portfolios, and students select and annotate their best work to showcase their learning journey.
24. **Interactive Learning Modules**: AI generates interactive content, such as quizzes or puzzles, while educators integrate them into broader learning units.
25. **Collaborative Mind Mapping**: AI offers initial ideas or connections for mind maps, and students expand and personalize them according to their project needs.
These ideas highlight how AI can enhance creativity by providing support, structure, or inspiration while allowing us to maintain control and ownership over the creative process. I would love to hear how you have used AI to enhance your creativity! Leave a comment below, and be sure to check back for the next post in this series.
AI Series:
Does AI Boost or Hinder Creativity? Insights and Tools for Educators
Building AI Literacy: Strategies for Teaching AI to Students
The Risks and Rewards of AI in the Classroom: What Educators Need to Know
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AI Disclaimer: Blog post title, images, and list of Human/AI Collaboration opportunities created in collaboration with ChatGPT.
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